By Alan RichardApr 195 minMARSHALL CHAPMAN COMES HOME More than 50 years after she left Spartanburg, South Carolina, for Nashville, Marshall Chapman returned to her hometown to share her...
By Alan RichardMar 62 minEND OF THE GROOVEHoward Grimes died in February. The former drummer for the Hi Rhythm Section that backed so many greats at Royal Studios in Memphis had a...
By Alan RichardFeb 38 minCOUNTRY MUSIC AROUND THE WORLDFrom his home in Amsterdam, Jamal Khadar’s online radio program, Reimagining Country, is an exploration of his family’s cultural roots —...
By Alan RichardJan 922 minQUEEN ESTHER: RECLAIMING HER COUNTRYQueen Esther lives in New York City — but don’t you dare tell her she’s not a Southerner. Her very presence will prove you wrong. Then...
By Alan RichardDec 30, 202122 minBLACK WOMEN RULE: MY 2021 FAVORITESI began writing my list of favorite music from 2021 several weeks ago, and I must confess that I came to the same conclusion as NPR music...
By Alan RichardDec 20, 20215 minERIC SCHROEDER: SEARCHING FOR HOMEEric Schroeder is a young rock ‘n roller with something to say. On his memorable and edgy new album, The Crucifixion of Eric Schroeder,...
By Alan RichardDec 10, 20217 minCOUNTRY, RAP, BLUES: ONE NIGHT IN MEMPHISMEMPHIS — It took a great cause to bring some of America’s finest musical artists and their range of music together. It’s the kind of...
By Alan RichardDec 5, 20217 min'SACRED SOUL' SHOW BRINGS MUSIC TO LIFEMEMPHIS — Gospel artists Elizabeth King and Elder Jack Ward gloriously returned to live performances here this weekend for the first time...
By Alan RichardOct 25, 20214 minMICKEY GUYTON'S RYMAN MEMORIESNASHVILLE — Country singer Mickey Guyton shed some real tears from the Ryman Auditorium stage on October 17. While not the first time...
By Alan RichardOct 18, 20219 minJOHN PRINE'S LABEL TURNS 40NASHVILLE — John Prine was tired of the hobnobbing the music business seemed to require. What mattered most to him was writing songs,...
By Alan RichardOct 8, 20213 minMARSHALL CHAPMAN ROCKS THE RYMANNASHVILLE — When Nashville singer-songwriter and author Marshall Chapman stepped barefoot onto the same Ryman Auditorium stage where...
By Alan RichardOct 1, 20219 minTHE UNBROKEN BLACK MUSICAL CIRCLE NASHVILLE — Inside a home they christened the Black Opry House for a few days in late September, some of American roots music’s veterans...
By Alan RichardSep 24, 20213 minCARLA THOMAS GETS AMERICANA CROWNMs. Carla Thomas, the Memphis soul singer whose hits helped Stax Records become a major presence in popular music, was awarded a lifetime...
By Alan RichardSep 23, 20213 minLEON CREEK'S SONGS OF HOPESoulCountry is proud to officially premiere Leon Creek’s music video for the California group's “Hope Never Leaves My Side,” during...
By Alan RichardAug 17, 20214 min'SACRED SOUL' FROM NORTH CAROLINAJohnny Ray Daniels speaks softly, but his voice shakes North Carolina’s coastal plain when he and the other members of Little Willie and...
By Alan RichardJul 28, 20219 minHoward Grimes GETS HIS DAY IN MEMPHISMEMPHIS - During an event at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music to celebrate his new autobiography, Timekeeper: My Life in Rhythm,...
By Alan RichardJul 12, 20212 minHoward Grimes' MEMPHIS GROOVEMEMPHIS — Howard Grimes remembers that day at Royal Studios in 1972 when the groove just wouldn’t quit. Grimes was keeping time on the...
By Alan RichardJun 3, 202111 minJOHN PAUL KEITH: THE RHYTHM OF MEMPHISWhen John Paul Keith moved to Memphis, he had no idea how far down the city’s deeper-than-deep well of music, creativity and inspiration...
By Alan RichardMay 13, 20218 minOH, MERCY! MEET DEVON GILFILLIANSoul singer Devon Gilfillian hit the streets last year with thousands of his Nashville neighbors to protest police brutality after George...
By Alan RichardApr 24, 202110 minRick Holmstrom: SEEING THE LIGHTRick Holmstrom’s chiming, cutting, blistering guitar is like a duet partner on many of Mavis Staples’ recordings over the past two...