The pioneers of rock ‘n’ roll and what we now call American Music are in their eighties now. It’s remarkable that Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino are still playing, but we’ve lost many other legends of that generation. Marshall Grant, the last living member of Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, died on Sunday. His bass playing…
Jimmie Fadden on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Americana music
Jimmie Fadden reflected on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s many influences and how they helped shape the band’s own brand of Americana music in an interview with Timesdaily.com: “We have a lot of different interests in the band. It’s kind of what propelled us from rather obscure mountain music to Delta blues artists to more contemporary players. Just a variety…
Review: Nick 13
You don’t often see the words “psychobilly” and “Lloyd Green” in the same sentence, let alone on the same album. Yet that’s truly the charm of “Nick 13,” the solo debut by the artist of the same name. Nick 13 is best known as singer and songwriter for Tiger Army, a psychobilly band that draws on the genre’s punk and…
Bob Dylan, Leon Russell at the Ryman
A legendary music figure took the stage at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville tonight, performing his greatest songs in faithful, spirited versions. That was Leon Russell. Of course, Bob Dylan took a different path. Born just one year apart, Russell, 69, and Dylan, 70, were a study in contrasts. Russell was determined to please. The newly-elected member of the Rock…