Billy Preston

The History of The Beatles In Doctor Who

Perhaps no band in the real world has had quite as much of an impact on the world of Doctor Who as the Beatles did. Both were of course fantastic products of England in the '60s, but some of the connections go far deeper than a contemporary complementary pop-culture acknowledgment. Almost every si ... More >>

Har Mar Superstar Brings Bye Bye 17 to Mango's Tonight

Har Mar Superstar hits Mango's on Wednesday night a week before his newest album, Bye Bye 17, hits physical and digital shelves. The collection of songs are heavily-influence by vintage soul and R&B, but still have his cheeky, lovelorn swagger going for them. He recorded the album in Austin at Pub ... More >>

The Best Shows In Houston This Week: Rihanna, Suzanna Choffel, Wavves, etc.

Rihanna Toyota Center, April 15 Rihanna has combined her athletic stature, formidable vocals, down-for-whatever attitude and some alarming life choices to become a flashpoint pop star, a lightning rod for controversy that even Lady Gaga would have trouble rivaling these days. Musically, the Barbado ... More >>

5 New Rules For Your Party Playlist

The keg is on ice, and the snacks are in the party bowls slowly going stale. The streamers are hung and the party hats are sitting on the kitchen table, perhaps ironically, perhaps not. The neighbors have been bribed with invitations or money, and the local police are on full alert. The drug dealers ... More >>

The Beatles' Rotted Apple Records Ripe for Rediscovery

Strange Fruit: The Beatles' Apple Records Chrome Dreams, 162 mins., $19.95. While the Beatles' formation of their Apple company had roots in a tax dodge, the foursome really did (at least originally) seek to create a haven where creative types across different genres from art and film and design to ... More >>

The Secret History of "You Are So Beautiful"

Six years ago today, on June 6, 2006, the world lost Houston-born musician Billy Preston. The session man, kind soul and all-around secret weapon was in the mix for some of the best and brightest moments of rock's heyday. The man backed up Little Richard and Sam Cooke, and as a child prodigy he play ... More >>

Before We Cared: 10 Bit Players Who Became Superstars

On this day in 1965, British songstress Petula Clark reached number one on the charts with "Downtown," a pop classic with an unforgettable hook that has become a mainstay of oldies radio, film soundtracks and TV advertisements in the years since. The song even served as a plot point in an episode o ... More >>

Top 10 Musical Scenes In Quentin Tarantino Films

​Sunday, Quentin Tarantino, one of the best modern film directors not named Uwe Boll, turns 48 years old. It's hard to believe the beloved hipster director has now been on the public radar for almost 20 years, with his feature-length debut and breakout movie Reservoir Dogs turning the big 2-0 ... More >>

"Auld Lang Syne," In All Its Many Colors

​Harry: What does this song mean? My whole life, I don't know what this song means. "Should old acquaintance be forgot" - does that mean we should forget old acquaintances, or if we happen to forget them, that we should remember them, which is not possible because we've already forgotten them? ... More >>

The Rolling Stones At Hofheinz Pavilion In 1972, Firsthand

Ed. Note: Rocks Off's own Lonesome Onry and Mean himself, William Michael Smith, attended the Rolling Stones concert at Hofheinz Pavilion in June 1972 that was filmed for the movie Ladies and Gentlemen, The Rolling Stones. Since the movie screens at 7:30 p.m. tonight at several Houston-area theaters ... More >>

Last Night: Jack Johnson At The Woodlands

Photos by Liana Lopez​Jack Johnson Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 18, 2010 Check out a slideshow from last night's concert. The dirty secret about Jack Johnson is that he may be the closest thing this generation has to the iconic singer-songwriters our parents grew up with in the lat ... More >>

Aftermath: Mango's Shakes To Warpaint, Grandfather Child, Buxton And Balaclavas

Jason WolterWarpaint, back in Texas again...​There couldn't have been a more a disparate yet completely unifying bill at Mangos on Friday. Grandfather Child headlined, showcasing their new seven-inch release, with Los Angeles' Warpaint and Houston's Balaclavas and Buxton bringing up the rear. The ... More >>

Hit the Road, Jack: 10 More Notable Musical Deaths From the Past Decade

​ Looking back, this past decade wasn't too kind to rock and roll as a whole. We lost plenty of people who weren't exactly disgustingly huge as Michael Jackson or as monolithic as Johnny Cash. This decade took its share of people who were massively influential and iconic, but not on the grand worl ... More >>

Aftermath: Taylor Hicks' Supper-Club Soul Patrol at Warehouse Live

Craig Hlavaty​Monday night's Taylor Hicks show left Aftermath with way more questions than answers, mostly of the existential variety rather than the musical. Our minds were blown, and not in the same "Oh man, I finally got to listen to Zaireeka the other night" kind of way that the Soul Patrol ma ... More >>

Five Direct Beatles Connections to Texas

Four postcards included in the limited edition of The Beatles: Rock Band​ Looks like Beatlemania 2.0 is in full swing. Rocks Off may have mentioned how excited we are to play The Beatles: Rock Band at Coffee Groundz tonight, with prizes, drink specials and much laughter as we try to gnash our way ... More >>

Joe Cocker

Screen Plays

B.B. King Sure Has a Lot of Friends

Is there anyone who doesn't love B.B. King? If you're talking about the 83-year-old bluesman's fellow musicians, the answer is a resounding "No!" King has probably sat in with with more players (and vice versa) than anybody else save perhaps Willie Nelson, with whom of course King has teamed up co ... More >>

New Life for Soul Train

Various Artists

Vee-Jay: The Definitive Collection

The Houston 100: The Best Bayou City Songs Ever

Don't Fear the Reaper

The annual return of the Greil Marcus Rock Death Meter

Everlasting Sounds

Ten of the year's most timeless records

Bayou City Music Mindbender, Part II

Another chance to test your knowledge of local lore

Swede Emotion

Capitalism gives the leftists in the (International) Noise Conspiracy a raw deal

Jet

Get Born (Elektra)

The Man Who

Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis is the guy behind the guys

Static

Static