Little Richard

Paul Anka, Ladies' Man and Sinatra Worshipper, Tells It His Way

My Way: An Autobiography By Paul Anka with David Dalton St. Martin's Press, 384 pp., $29.99 Currently celebrating his 55th year in show business with this autobiography and the new CD Duets -- which finds him singing with artists like Celine Dion, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, and (through the magic ... More >>

10 Iconic Final Concerts Plus The End Of Beatlemania

The Beatles' concert at San Francisco's Candlestick Park 46 years ago today was the end of an era for the band. Except for a famously unannounced appearance on top the Apple building two and a half years later, it would be the final live performance that the Fab Four would ever play together. It w ... More >>

Rest Of The Best: Houston's Top 8 Jukeboxes

Along with pickled pig's feet and a steady supply of Slim Jims, a good jukebox is a prime element for any great bar. But, like dinosaurs, jukeboxes are a vanishing breed. Unlike digital jukes, iPods or DJs, jukeboxes require love, care and maintenance, as well as -- among the truly great ones -- som ... More >>

Material Girl: Madonna's Top 10 TV Commercials

They don't call Madonna the Material Girl for nothing. She's definitely a self-promoter when it comes to her music. Better yet, when she does this, it's never the same advertised persona. Take, for example, when she first came onto MTV and performed "Like A Virgin" at the 1985 VMAs versus her perce ... More >>

Houston Scores Big-Time In Latest Editon Of Encyclopedia Of Country Music: Part 3

The further one digs into the second edition of The Encyclopedia of Country Music, the deeper one's appreciation of the contributions of Houston's country-music pioneers becomes. Yeah, just check out the black circles under the eyes and drunk-ass grins on Leon Payne's band above. That photo alone sp ... More >>

Houston Blues Legend Big Walter "The Thunderbird" Dies At 97

Big Walter "The Thunderbird" Price, the elder statesman of Houston blues who continued performing well into his nineties, died overnight, according to a Facebook post by local blues musician Steve Krase of Steve Krase & the In Crowd. Price was 97 and had been in a nursing home in north Houston. As ... More >>

Introducing...The Beatles: Celebrating Their First Ed Sullivan Performance

Lonesome, Onry and Mean didn't get in much trouble in school. So his parents were a little disturbed to find the eighth grader in the principal's office on the afternoon of February 10, 1964. He and his best friends, Mike Clowdus, Brad Rutledge, and Larry "Suitcase" Simpson, had been written up and ... More >>

Etta James: A Closer Look Into One Of The Greatest Voices Ever Heard

Etta James, almost universally praised as one of the finest voices of our era, has passed away at 73. Ironically, Ms. James had been discovered and recorded by rhythm and blues pioneer Johnny Otis, who passed away only two days ago. Ms. James, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993 ... More >>

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 >>

Davila 666

Lordy Lordy, T. Rex's Electric Warrior Is 40

​A few months back, we had this to say about T. Rex on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of their single "Bang A Gong (Get It On)" reaching the top of the UK charts. This Saturday, parent album, Electric Warrior, turns 40 years old. It bears repeating, not because we are too lazy to com ... More >>

Saturday Night: Wild Men Of Rock At The Continental Club

Photos by Marc BrubakerThree Mustangs & A Stallion (clockwise from top left): Andre Williams, Roy Head, Archie Bell, Little Joe Washington​Wild Men of Rock feat. Andre Williams, Archie Bell, Roy Head, Little Joe Washington, the Allen Oldies Band & special guest Sundance Head Continental Club S ... More >>

What A Houston Blues "Walk Of Fame" Could Look Like

Lightnin' Hopkins marker photo by Matthew Keever​It was a real pleasure for Rocks Off and Lonesome Onry and Mean to bring you this week's Houston Press cover story, "Old School," but it was also bittersweet. Not to put too fine a point on it, but none of these people are getting any younger - ... More >>

Top 10 Healing Songs, From One Who Knows

Chris Nelson/FacebookClint Broussard in his natural habitat.​Rocks Off was happy to run into our friend and Blues In Hi-Fi DJ Clint Broussard the other day at Leon's Lounge (where else?). We were a little surprised too, because it was the first time we'd seen him with two shoes on in months. ... More >>

"Whacko From Waco" & 10 Other Batsh!t Texas Songs

Texas: You're soaking in it.​Happy Texas Independence Day, everyone. Today The Only State That Matters officially enters its 175th year of pissing off the lesser 49 states and producing the best music anywhere on Earth. One of Texas' biggest honky-tonk heroes is of course Billy Joe Shaver, who ... More >>

Friday Night: Joe Ely Band At Rockefeller Hall

Photos by Jason Wolter​Joe Ely Band Rockefeller Hall February 11, 2011 Saturday night, almost exactly 24 hours after the Joe Ely Band's triumphant return to Rockefeller's Rockefeller Hall, Aftermath and a friend were chatting on Facebook about Houston's current bumper crop of up-and-coming in ... More >>

Soul City: Boogie-Woogie Godfather Amos Milburn

Black History Month is always a great time to recall some of Houston's greatest musical innovators and leaders. Rocks Off will highlight some of them during the remainder of February. ​Born in Third Ward on April 1, 1927, self-taught pianist Amos Milburn was one of the true godfathers of roc ... More >>

We Like The Eagles: Rocks Off's Not-So-Secret Shame

graphjam.com​The Eagles swoop into Toyota Center Sunday for what the omnipresent radio spots (if not the band itself) say could be their last tour, and Rocks Off has been thinking about them a lot lately. It started more than a month ago, when C3 announced the Eagles would headline/close this ... More >>

Into the Jungle

The Jungle Rockers are wound too tight for Vietnam...what about Texas?

Bros Before Hos: Tales From The Wedding-Band Front Lines

Courtesy Allen Hill EntertainmentAllen Hill (left) would rather not play "Take a Letter, Maria" at weddings, but he will.​ Sting once stated in an interview about The Police's trademark song "Every Breath You Take" that he was bewildered by the tune's popularity at weddings. It is, after all, a so ... More >>

He Said She Said: Albums From the Past Decade of Our Lives

​When this decade began, He Said was but 15 years old, bored, jobless and chubby. It ends with him 26, overworked, overstimulated and chasing away his self-imposed demons with too much of everything and too little of most things. But the one constant has been the power of music to lead him out of ... More >>

2009 Concert Rewind: SXSW 09 Revisited, Broken Arm and Everything Else

​ Balaclavas: "On the way to see Houston's own Balaclavas at the Independent to debut new stuff off the soon-to-be released Roman Holiday, I abruptly hit a curb with my bicycle. Luckily my elbow took one for the team. Well, it ended up getting fractured and I have all kinds of internal business go ... More >>

Rodney Crowell, Forever the Houston Kid

Gasoline Dreams

Houston Musical Landmarks and the I.Am.We Collective

Creepshow: Halloween Party Music

Music to keep your soiree from sucking like Dracula

The Houston 100: From Charles Brown to Sippie Wallace

Another Bump

Ten of the best coke anthems, plus a shortlist for the Cocaine Hall of Fame

Don't Fear the Reaper

The annual return of the Greil Marcus Rock Death Meter

The King Khan & BBQ Show

The King Khan & BBQ Show will appear Sunday, October 29, at Rudyard's, 2010 Waugh Dr. Call 713-521-0521 for more info. The Detroit Cobras also appear.

Bring On the Backlash!

Flinging poo at the haters with the Arctic Monkeys

South By So Huge

Austin's little music festival is all grown up

Standing Behind the Man

Playing in Chuck Berry's pickup band can be a trial by rock and roll fire

Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Laugh Trap

Comedy gets violent with Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood

Classics Rock

Which Greek god is your favorite musician?

Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis

Saturday, August 2

This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

A Beautiful Mind

A spate of tribute shows salutes a healthier Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators

Racket

Searching for the First Rock Song

Amplified

All People Considered

Amplified

Local Music News

The Reverend's Resolutions

Unforgettable?

The new Bobby Fuller retrospective salutes a questionable legacy

Burying the Brakeman

Heavy, Man

An endless drum solo for... the ten worst concept albums of all time

Static

Bo Knows

Regular Treat

Rotation