Back in the 60’s Stax Records famously plowed the fertile ground of the overlap between early rock & roll and rhythm & blues. That sound became identified with Memphis, but like the stone thrown in still water, its effects spread across the south from Muscle Shoals all the way to the Atlantic seaboard. Along the […]
Robert Finley – Black Bayou
Robert Finley is releasing his fourth album “Black Bayou”, but still there are a lot of people unfamiliar with him and his unusual backstory. In fact, Finley didn’t even take up music full time until he was in his sixties. This on the face of it doesn’t seem like the most opportune time in his […]
Monday Morning Video – Julie Rhodes
New England singer-songwriter Julie Rhodes is a powerhouse performer. Don’t believe me? Check out this performance.
Monday Morning Video – Otis Redding
If I could go back in time, Otis Redding is one of the performers that I’d most like to see. Here he is in 1966 performing a cover of The Temptations’ “My Girl” (written by Smokey Robinson and fellow Miracle Ronald White) followed by Redding’s own “Respect” (most notably covered by Aretha Franklin). One great […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Fall 2023
Alameda, Anna Rose (from the White Pony/Electric Child Music release Last Girl of the Rodeo) Anna Rose doesn’t pull any punches – lyrically or musically – on Last Girl of the Rodeo. The LP cycles through the collapse of a relationship, bleeding raw emotion as it does. The deeply brooding “Whatever Gets You Through the […]
Monday Morning Video – Marvin Gaye
In addition to being one of soul music’s most dynamic performers, Marvin Gaye was also one of its most prodigious musical artists. In honor of its 50th anniversary, Gaye’s iconic album Let’s Get It On is being reissued in a special deluxe edition. The collection includes a treasure trove of bonus material, from demos and […]
Devon Gilfillian on Diversity, Eating Clean, and Charlie Treat’s Basement
Nashville-based soul singer Devon Gilfillian talks about getting hit by a drunk driver, how his first band got its name, and the importance of putting together the right team.
Sandy Bailey Premiere – Daughter Of Abraham
There are plenty of musicians who were raised in a deeply religious environment, chose a different path, but maintained and built upon the musical foundation of the church. You can attribute that talent to all the time spent in choirs and gospel services–the 10,000 hour meme. Sometimes, though, you just sense it comes from somewhere […]
Mayer’s Picks – The Best of 2023 (So Far), the Songs
Suicide of Town, Ben de la Cour (from the Julian Records release Sweet Anhedonia) Amidst an album of dark and sobering ballads, de la Cour proves that he can rock with the best of ‘em. Simple Things, The Band of Heathens (from the BOH Records release Simple Things) Getting by on simple things, letting go […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Spring, Part 3
Broken Heart of Mine, William Prince (from the Six Shooter Records release Stand in the Joy) “Is the moon shining bright where you are? Is it even shining at all?,” asks William Prince at the start of the outstanding “When You Miss Someone”, the lead track from his latest album. The song wistfully chronicles the […]