Arts and Entertainment

Ever since "Graceland" Paul Simon has been scorned over his penchant for what's now called cultural appropriation. But time was he wasn't universally condemned for traveling abroad to tap into…

A couple of slices of Orbison Noir are but two (or three) of the many standouts in a great month for music. Arranged alphabetically as always. Enjoy this month's feast…

This is not only one of the best R&B covers of a pop song you'll ever hear, the guitar by Duane Allman is credited with giving birth to the entire…

Used to be that R&B acts would cover mainstream pop hits routinely, often improving them in the process. You can't find a better example than what the Isley Brothers did…

People know this song from Bobby Womack's 1974 release, which reached No. 10 on the Hot 100 (No. 1 on the Hot Soul Singles chart), but that wasn't its first…

Didn't mean to run another War song so soon, but to quote the lyrics, summertime is here. Yes, I know Americans foolishly start their seasons with a celestial solstices and…

Every once in a while I learn that a hit song that I thought was original is actually a cover. That's the case here. The song was a hit in…

This band was a true one-hit wonder. Originally from Florida, Blues Image moved to Los Angeles in 1969 and released one album before 1970's "Open," which included their only hit,…

We're all familiar with the concept of the one-hit wonder, bands or singers who disappear after one popular single. Sometimes even bands with two hits are mistakenly included in such…

RE Vanella and I had a little discussion on one of yesterday's threads about the greatest rapper of all time. RE touted Biggie Smalls as the GOAT, which is a…

War is one of those groups that shows up year after year on lists of "best bands snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." This was the title…

Is pop-punk still a thing? Twenty years ago bands like Green Day welded punk's energy to pop's accessibility for one of rock's last hurrahs before the hip-hop deluge. "Movies," released…