Dionne Warwick

6 Thoughts On Tracy McGrady's Exporting Himself To China For The 2012-13 Season

No one wants to spend their twilight years alone. It's often said that when the years are winding down, people want to be around their loved ones, around people who appreciate them and would do anything for them. If that is indeed true, then Tracy McGrady's signing a one-year contract with Qingdao ... More >>

10 Great Hal David Lyrics: "Enough Germs to Catch Pneumonia"

The music world truly lost one of the greats when songwriter Hal David passed away at age 91 following a stroke this past Saturday in Los Angeles. To borrow an old joke, the lyricist wasn't from the old school, he was from the school they tore down to build the old school: The artists who covered hi ... More >>

Texans-Saints: 4 Winners, 4 Losers (The Trindon Holliday Conundrum Edition)

If you are a sports couch potato (and if you are reading this, chances are that is the case), Saturday night was one of those nights that we probably take for granted all of the technological advances that allow us to consume all of the fare on the sports buffet simultaneously. Picture if you will, ... More >>

The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs: "I Listen a Lot to the '60s Still"

In the '80s, Susanna Hoffs was at the top of her game as a member of all-girl band the Bangles, who had many hits including "Hero Takes a Fall," "Walking Down Your Street," "Walk Like an Egyptian," "Eternal Flame," and countless others. Though the band split in 1989, Hoffs reunited with the Bangle ... More >>

Start the Revolution! 10 Songs About Historical Events

If you ever look at music throughout time, along with a history book -- they kind of complement each other. Some of the greatest songs in rock, R&B and rap have chronicled history both social, major news events, sports, entertainment and political. In my opinion, many times, the song is about what ... More >>

The American Bandstand (Extended) Hot 100

Somehow it's hard to believe that Dick Clark was only 82 years old when he died after suffering a "massive heart attack" Wednesday morning in Santa Monica, Calif. (Since I managed to survive one myself, I've noticed that anytime someone dies of a heart attack, it's always "massive."). Despite his yo ... More >>

Whitney & Me: One Fan's Recollections

Saturday I got a text from a close friend saying that Whitney Houston had passed away. Needless to say, I was a bit shocked. I honestly thought she would be around for years to come so that she could could keep blessing us all with her terrific voice.. I grew up listening to Contemporary Christian ... More >>

Six Songs We Bet You Didn't Know Were Written by Burt Bacharach

​A number of years ago, Rocks Off went to see Burt Bacharach perform with the Houston Symphony. We knew a little bit about his music and were familiar, or so we thought, with many of his bigger hits like "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" and "What the World ... More >>

Top 20 Throwback TV Theme Songs Part 1

​We grew up on television. Whether it was Saturday morning cartoons, afternoon re-runs, Sunday Disney and Wild Kingdom or Thursday night "must see" TV, we saw it. We noticed that on November 2, 1985, the Miami Vice soundtrack went to number one on the Billboard charts where it would stay for ... More >>

Upcoming: Blue October, Guitar Shorty, Weird Al Yankovic, Etc.

​Asleep At The Wheel: Sat., Aug. 20. The Firehouse Saloon. Blue October, Iamdynamite: Sun., Aug. 21, 8 p.m.; Mon., Aug. 22, 8 p.m. House of Blues. Bela Fleck & The Flecktones: Wed., Oct. 12. House of Blues. "Dharmageddon" With B L A C K I E, Roky Moon & BOLT, Fat Tony, Tyagaraja, ListenLis ... More >>

Wayback Machine To Bad Houston Fashion And Even Worse Ads

News brought to you by THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BOW EVER​Local media Mike McGuff has made a YouTube discovery that should make happy anyone who grew up in Houston in the `70s and early `80s -- a compilation of old news clips and ads. There are some famous faces: Dan Rather, Jessica Savitch, a very ... More >>

Celebrity Tax Cheats: Five Pieces of Crap Produced to Pay the IRS

Tax time is looming, and even though you get a weekend reprieve this year -- the deadline is April 18, not the 15th, because of an obscure Washington, D.C. holiday -- you'd no doubt like to skip the whole thing altogether. Some famous people have taken that same route. Unfortunately for them, they ... More >>

Hugh Hefner's Fiancee: 11 Things That Are Older Than Her

Crystal Harris: Not older than Iron Eagle​You know what is messed up and completely awesome? Hugh Hefner was 60 years old when his current fiancee, Crystal Harris, was born. Hef was hatched on April 9, 1926, and six decades and 20 days later his soon-to-be bride was born in Lake Havasu, Arizon ... More >>

Darden Smith, Dan Navarro

Things to Do This Weekend If You're (Almost) Broke

Rocks Off knows it's hard to have fun without spending money. Trust us, like Bill Clinton, we feel your pain. But we've been combing the club listings and put together a list of shows and other music-related happenings that won't set you back too any more than $10. You can thank us later, because yo ... More >>

Another Perspective on the Performance Rights Act

Wednesday, Rocks Off spoke with KCOH general manager Mike Petrizzo, who voiced his concerns about the financial hardships the proposed Performance Rights Act - which would compensate performers when their songs are broadcast on terrestrial radio the same way songwriters and publishers are - could po ... More >>

B.J. Thomas

Thom Bell and the Sound of Brotherly Love

While the ubiquitous songs of Detroit's Motown get anthologized and commercialized ad infinitum, and the critics salivate over the gritty southern soul of Memphis' Stax, the third great movement/label of '60s and '70s soul has always gotten short shrift. Until now, that is, with the release of the ... More >>

Dionne Warwick

Keith Reynolds

A Howling Howitzer

Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Keeping Promises

Against all odds, Main Street Theater's new show manages to be likable

Night of the Living Dead

The Zombies erupt out of the psychedelia graveyard

'Pac, Man

The officially sanctioned Tupac Shakur biopic emerges, and it's quite money

The Power of 12

Arthur Yoria and Matt Maloney launch a new local label with a roster of one

Don't Fence Us In

Aztex refuses to be ghettoized in the Tejano market

Charity Case

After the big split, HCC goes for the glamorous giving

Legacy of Gristle

Though Clarence Hollimon has passed, he lives on in his work

Valley of the Dull

Susann biopic isn't Great, not by a long shot

Where Will They Be?

A look at the rock scene in 2020

Love Supreme

Husband-and-wife R&B team are back in H-town

Best of Burt

He's Ba-ack

Burt Bacharach's swanky pop stylings return to hipness

Night & Day

May 7 - 13, 1998

Baby, It's Him

Burt Bacharach isn't making a comeback -- he never left

Sound Check

Heavy on the Lite

Ultra Lounge puts on paper a simple truth: Easy listening ain't easy

In Their Own Time

How deep is your love for the Bee Gees?