Music

Fifty-one years ago today, on Dec. 29, 1969, Merle Haggard's Okie From Muskogee album was released. The record, along with the title track, soared to the top of the charts."Okie From Muskogee" -- with lines like, "And I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee / A place where even squares can have a ball / We still wave Old Glory down at the courthouse / And white lightnin''s still the biggest thrill of all" -- was considered by many to be a statement against the political condition of the country...

Dave Grohl on Monday expressed a “huge, heartfelt thank you” to supporters of the Save Our Stages Act, which provides approximately $10 billion for independent concert venues amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is part of a long-delayed economic stimulus bill that President Trump signed into law on Sunday. “The preservation of America’s smaller, independent venues is not only crucial to the millions of whose lives are bettered by experiencing their favorite artists in the flesh, but to the future of music itself, as it gives the next generation of...

Keith Urban and his wife, actress Nicole Kidman, are in an unmistakable Christmas groove in a video of themselves singing an adorable original holiday song.The clip emerged on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24), just in time to give fans of both entertainers a love-filled Yuletide greeting. In the video, the country singer behind this year's The Speed of Now Part 1 sits with his partner in front of a festive outdoor backdrop, cradling an acoustic guitar and belting out an intimate version of his 2019 number "I'll Be Your Santa Tonight." Only this time...

Grimes will be releasing a rave edition of her latest album Miss Anthropocene on New Year’s Day, the experimental pop singer announced on Monday. The new version will feature remixes from DJs including REZZ, ANNA, and Richie Hawtin, along with rapper Channel Tres and several others. Except for tracks “4ÆM” and “Before the Fever” every song from the original release will be remixed on the new version. Grimes previously released two of the rave edition’s new remixes, the ANNA-remixed “So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth” and Hawtin-remixed “Darkseid.” Given the album’s...

Fifty years ago today, on Dec. 26, 1970, Lynn Anderson's single "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden" became her first No. 1 hit. The song was the title track of her 10th studio album."Rose Garden" was written by Joe South and included on his 1969 album, Instrospect. Freddy Weller, Billy Joe Royal and Dobie Gray each recorded the song as well, but it wasn't until Anderson's version that it became a chart-topping single.“It was popular because it touched on emotions,” Anderson said. “It was perfectly timed. It was out just as...

Tony Rice, the bluegrass guitarist and vocalist known for his elegant, innovative flatpicking, died Friday at his home in Reidsville, North Carolina. He was 69. Rice’s death was confirmed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, which inducted him into its Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Born David Anthony Rice in Virginia on June 8th, 1951, Rice learned about bluegrass from his father, an amateur musician who raised his family in Los Angeles, and Tony’s older brother Larry Rice, who played mandolin. When Tony was 20, he joined his...

Dolly Parton had already been a country star for a number of years by the time she released her 16th studio album, Here You Come Again, but the crossover success of the record launched the second phase of her career, in pop music, and earned the superstar her first gold album on Dec. 27, 1977 -- 43 years ago today.Parton first came to widespread national recognition on The Porter Wagoner Show in 1967, and she scored a string of hit singles as duets with Wagoner, as well as a number of successful solo...

After years on the real estate market — at continually reduced prices — Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch has finally been sold. The Santa Barbara County, California property, which has been owned by a venture between the Michael Jackson estate and a real estate investment firm since the singer’s death in 2009, recently sold for $22 million to businessman Ron Burkle; the billionaire previously served as Jackson’s advisor on business matters in the mid-2000s, when the singer struggled with debt due to his lavish lifestyle, the Wall Street Journal reports. Jackson...

Bluegrass great Tony Rice died on Christmas Day (Dec. 25). The lauded singer, songwriter and guitarist was 69 years old.According to a statement from the International Bluegrass Music Association, released on Saturday (Dec. 26), Rice was at home in Reidsville, N.C., when he died. A cause of death was not given, though a Facebook post from Ricky Skaggs on behalf of Rice's family reports that his death occurred "sometime during Christmas morning while making his coffee.""Not only was Tony a brilliant guitar player but he was also one of the...

A day before Christmas, Phish’s Trey Anastasio and Page McConnell gifted fans with their surprise “December” performance, which the guitarist and keyboardist recently recorded live at the band’s Barn studio in Vermont. The six-song, 45-minute gig featured six Phish tracks: Acoustic renditions of “If I Could,” “Mountains in the Mist,” “Wingsuit,” and “Joy,” a stripped-down electric take on Big Boat’s “Miss You” and — to conclude the surprise performance — a 15-minute rendition of fan favorite “The Squirming Coil.” In addition to streaming services, “December” is available to purchase through...