Donna Summer

Five Disco Songs That Make Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" Blush

Hey 2013. We need to talk. You've already produced a number of good albums, some even by new bands. But I've got a bone to pick with you, and it's about this new song by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams. It's called "Get Lucky" and it's making waves with its disco revival sound that I'm guessin ... More >>

The Cavern and the Top 10 Iconic Rock Clubs In History

Last week back in 1957, the most famous rock club in England opened in Liverpool. There was absolutely no rock and roll on the bill that night. The Cavern Club was originally opened to mimic the cellar jazz bars that owner Alan Synter visited in Paris. There was a strict jazz-only policy in place ... More >>

Those Are People Who Died, Died: Musical Passings of 2012

Rocks Off put it off as long as we could, because December has been a pretty rough month. It always is for music. (Hollywood, too.) But it's time to call the roll of people who played or sang their last note in 2012, plus a few who were just as instrumental offstage. Precious few corners of the mus ... More >>

KC, of the Sunshine Band: "We're the Party Band"

If there were some kind of Ghostbusters-style aura-meter that could measure the feelings certain songs evoke in people, KC & the Sunshine Band's readings would be greener than the fields of Ireland. The Miami-based group dominated the charts in the mid- and late '70s with a string of singles -- "Boo ... More >>

For Once, the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Got It Right

Despite being sick and hacking up more different colors of phlegm than there are Power Rangers, I needed to certify that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wasn't completely mad for its incoming inductees. Rewind: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Set To Induct Rush, Heart, Donna Summer, and Public Enemy Y ... More >>

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Set To Induct Rush, Heart, Donna Summer, And Public Enemy

Today the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland announced their 2013 class of inductees. Public Enemy, Donna Summer, Heart, Albert King, Randy Newman, and longtime jilted proggers Rush have all made the cut. The star-studded ceremony is set for April 18 in Los Angeles. REWIND: Last Night: Rush ... More >>

Understanding the Rock Hall's 2013 Nominees: Chic? Kraftwerk? Butterfield?

Wednesday night The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced their 2013 nominees for induction next year. These names will be voted on by a committee of guys in bad weaves, rich people who know the right people, and tenured music writers with axes to grind. The names are as follows: The Pa ... More >>

Yes, Gary Kubiak Is In Mid-Season "Battling" Form

With Texans' training camp in full swing, there's one thing fans want to know -- is head coach Gary Kubiak in mid-season quote-machine form? The answer is decidedly yes. Odd circumlocutions? You bet: Former New Orleans Saint, current Texan Mitch King? "He's a try-hard player." Of Houston Cougars' ... More >>

Living Loud and Proud

Celebrating Houston’s Gay Pride 2012—The celebrity grand marshal, local GLBT history, where to watch the parade — and the parties

Yello Echo: Complicated Instigators Keep Disco Torch Lit

Each week, Rocks Off arbitrarily appoints one lucky local performer or group "Artist of the Week," bestowing upon them all the fame and grandeur such a lofty title implies. Know a band or artist that isn't awful? E-mail their particulars to sheaserrano@gmail.com. Here's what you're about to walk in ... More >>

The End of the Road: Digital Mourning in 2012

At the Houston Press office, I am usually the first person who finds out when a celebrity or musician dies, usually from a wire or, these days, the fine folks at TMZ. Hell, sometimes even when I am away from my desk I have to be the bearer of bad tidings, like when Adam Yauch passed on a few weeks a ... More >>

Disco Sucks, Long Live Disco: Your Essential Disco Playlist

Disco, that uniquely '70s, coke-laden, soulful, brash and flamboyant genre, was Public Enemy #1 for rockers and punks in the latter half of the Me Decade. Hippies and suburbanites cut their hair, stuffed their noses and took to the dance floors, tripping the light fantastic in their best polyester u ... More >>

7 Cool & Cheap Weekenders: Prom Night, Rocky Hill, Yann Tiersen, Etc.

Sorry we're late this week, but the good ol' Allen Oldies Band wants to help you start your weekend by rocking your socks off this evening at Natachee's Supper & Punch. Also, it's Prom Night down the street at the Continental Club. Boondocks is promising "Nu Disco, Italo, Cosmic Synth, Nu No Wave, ... More >>

RIP Donna Summer: Disco Queen Dies At 63

Donna Summer, the disco queen whose salacious songs sometimes clashed with her traditional values, has died of cancer at age 63, TMZ is reporting. Boston native Summer, born LaDonna Andre Gaines, sang in her church choir as a teenager before winning five Grammys and becoming one of the top-selling ... More >>

Play It Again, Sam: 10 Artists & Comedians Signed To Casablanca Records

Casablanca Records was a record company started by Neil Bogart -- no relation to the late legendary actor Humphrey Bogart, although Neil was a big Bogie enthusiast and admirer. In the 1970s, Casablanca Records was the go-to label for disco much like Death Row was the go-to place for gangsta rap in t ... 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 >>

Estelle

No Surprises: Rock Hall Set To Induct Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys

Photo By Marco TorresGuns N' Roses are Rock Hall bound, but which version of GNR will show up? ​This morning (well, it leaked last night) the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland announced their 2012 class of inductees. Included on the list are Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Bo ... More >>

The End is Nigh: 2012 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Edition

Mason Lankford said, "There will come a day when we forget the Rapture ever even happened," but Rocks Off is keeping an eye out for signs of our impending Armageddon. We were wrong last time, but we're totally right this time! Once again the time has come to select the most excellent musicians in o ... More >>

G N' R, The Cure & Chili Peppers Could Be Hall Of Famers Next Year

Oh, this will be a fun induction ceremony...​This morning, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland announced the list of nominees for its Class of 2012: The Small Faces & The Faces, Freddie King, The Cure, Guns 'N Roses, Heart, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Spinners, War, Joan Jett and the Bl ... More >>

Gloria Gaynor, Disco's Ultimate Survivor, Discusses That Song

​You know "I Will Survive." Everybody knows "I Will Survive." Aliens know "I Will Survive." Dogs know "I Will Survive." Dogs who are aliens know "I Will Survive." Gloria Gaynor's 1979 disco anthem, written by the same producers who wrote "Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel" and "Reunited," has l ... More >>

Five Great 2010 Albums Lonesome Onry And Mean Forgot

​Other than it just being a form of lazy journalism, one reason LOM hates making best-of lists is that there are always items that we forgot about, or considered but felt like they just barely didn't make it somehow. Then we wish we had included them. Here are a few more obscure 2010 albums th ... More >>

"Rape Gaze": Worst Genre Name Ever? Not Quite...

myspace.com/wearecreep​Let's take a moment to think about labels and what they mean to us. Why do people feel the need to label things? The obvious answer is: It's the only way we know what stuff is. To anyone who automatically dismisses the very idea of labeling, just imagine what it would b ... More >>

Bon Jovi, Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers? It Could Happen...

Stay classy, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame...​This morning the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced this year's ballot of nominees, with the winners to be announced in December and inducted next March in New York. Fifteen names are on this year's ballot, ranging from hip-hoppers, proto-metal icons, ... More >>

Bollywood's Greatest Western Hits: Beatles, Elvis, "Thriller"...

​Tonight, prolific Indian film composer/choreographer A.R. Rahman comes to Toyota Center to make up a July date he had to cancel after his tour was plagued with set malfunctions. In the wake of a near-disaster in Detroit back in June, Rahman and his company postponed dates in order to get thei ... More >>

Friday Night: Sheryl Crow At The Woodlands

Photos by Marc Brubaker​Sheryl Crow Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion August 27, 2010 There is a mile-wide disparity between what Sheryl Crow is doing now and what her fanbase wants her to do, which was evident on Friday night at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. Touring behind a Memphis-sty ... More >>

Lonesome Onry and Mean: Chuck Prophet's ¡Let Freedom Ring! Doesn't Disappoint

"American man in the laundry pile/ With the rain check claims and the skateboard child" - Chuck Prophet, "American Man"​We admit to being full-fledged, card-carrying members of the Chuck Prophet Party, but it still took Lonesome, Onry and Mean longer than usual to get the ears and head wrapped aro ... More >>

This Week in Beyonce: Bjork, BET Awards, "I Saw Beyonce at Burger King" and A Two-Year Break?

TWIB may be folding up shop soon: B says she's considering taking a two-year break. Gay New York rapper Cazwell, self-described as "imagine if Biggie Smalls ate Donna Summer for breakfast, has a song called "I Seen Beyonce at Burger King" (see video above) on next month's album Watch My Mouth. Cat ... More >>

Houston-Born TV-Theme Composer W.G. "Snuffy" Walden Enjoys His Wonder Years

Up to Snuff

Get Lit: The Pitchfork 500

Britney Spears, Blackout

Blackout

Give Us a Hand

Drenched in Blog: Hall of Fame Nominations a Big Cleveland Steamer

Aaron Loesch Vies to Become the Guitar Center King of the Blues

A dying Houston scene suddenly might have new life

Grammar Rock

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs break a few rules

Nouvelle Vague

Nouvelle Vague

Rotation

Gimme Gimme Shock Treatment

By the looks of Wayne Static's hair, somebody already has

Kelis

Tasty (StarTrak/Arista)

Beyoncé

Dangerously in Love (Columbia)

Attack of the Surf Punks

The Magnetic IV ride the waves of B movies and surf guitar gods

In Ali's Corner

Once a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs, Lloyd Wells caught the champ's attention with all his "pretty girls"

Gotta Get the Money!

Rotation

Urbana Renewal

The chef has changed, but the party rolls on

Dining a la Disco

Sempers has great food. Marvelous decor. And, alas, a Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

Workers of the World, Untie!

Boys' Shorts: The New Queer Cinema