Ray Charles

Five Essential Willie Nelson Albums

This week and into next, the State of Texas and the rest of the world will join together in saluting American hero Willie Nelson on his 80th birthday. Rocks Off would certainly like to add our congratulations, but we woke up today -- well, yesterday -- looking to start an argument. The standard li ... More >>

New Book Gives Session Aces the Wrecking Crew Their Past Due

The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret By Kent Hartman Thomas Dunne Books, 304 pp., $25.99. Motown had the Funk Brothers, Nashville had the A-Team, and Stax/Volt had their Memphis men, but gold-record-for-gold-record, no group played on more hits in the '60s and '70 ... 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 >>

The Lion Of The Blues: Happy Birthday Bobby "Blue" Bland

Today marks the 82nd birthday of Hall of Fame blues man Robert Calvin Bland, better known as Bobby "Blue". In a case of being "in the right place at the right time", Mr. Bland was born in Rosemark, Tennessee in 1930, then moved to Memphis at eighteen to begin his career. He became an original member ... More >>

Looking Back at A Very Special Christmas Track by Track

In the late 1980's, music empresario Jimmy Iovine cobbled together quite a collection of pop and rock artists to record songs for a Christmas album benefitting the Special Olympics. In 1987, A Very Special Christmas was released and rapidly became an instant holiday classic thanks to the star powere ... More >>

Out Today: Glee Warbles, Gorillaz Fall, Kinks Ride Again

​It's been a week since the Foo Fighters' album, Wasting Light, hit the stores, and Rocks Off has probably averaged at least one or two spins of the solid disc per day. Right now, we are actually on track four. Will anything top Light this week? That remains to be seen. Next week will bring ... More >>

Rocks Off's Fantasy RodeoHouston Lineup

Photos courtesy of Houston Livestock Show & RodeoGeorge Strait in 1996​If you walk through Reliant Center, hanging from the ceiling are banners listing almost every musical performer RodeoHouston has hosted since the '60s. The names reflect the hallowed history of country and fleeting fancies ... More >>

Andre Williams

Season of the Witch

U2's awe-inspiring Reliant Stadium show prompts a search for the unknown — and unknowable — in music.

Aftermath: Houston's "Fab 40" Does Abbey Road at Discovery Green

Photos by Groovehouse​Something about these Fab 40 concerts at Discovery Green makes Aftermath swell with pride at the mere fact of being a Houstonian. Seeing several dozen musicians of every age and race on stage together recreating a landmark album note for note, all in the shadow of the skyline ... More >>

Aftermath: Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood at Toyota Center

Photos by Daniel Kramer Two words came into Aftermath's head shortly into the show uniting these former Blind Faith bandmates and arguably two of classic rock's biggest stars: peerless musicianship. They stayed with us for the rest of the concert. While we can appreciate the bombast and big show of ... More >>

Another Rock Mag Bites The Dust: Performing Songwriter Says Goodbye

Print publications focusing on music continue to fall like pine trees in a hurricane. The latest to close its doors is 16-year-old Performing Songwriter. Editor/publisher Lydia Hutchison announced Wednesday that the June issue would be the last. The magazine joins No Depression, Blender and Count ... More >>

Seth Walker: Leap of Faith

For April 15: Five Movies About Taxes

April 15 each year brings with it the journalistic challenge of covering yet another "last-rush filers" story, or some clever way to say that it's the deadline for getting your return in. (We still wonder if anyone's ever been prosecuted because their return had an April 16 postmark.)The subject of ... More >>

Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel: Willie and the Wheel

Album of the Day: Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel's Willie and the Wheel

Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel Willie and the Wheel www.willieandthewheel.com The late Jerry Wexler, who passed away last August at age 91, was best known as an advocate and producer for top R&B and soul artists like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett. But Wexler was a ... More >>

Aftermath: Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis and Norah Jones at Jazz at Lincoln Center

Photos by Frank Stewart/ Jazz at Lincoln Center When Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis first shared the stage at New York's Allen Room for Jazz at Lincoln Center almost exactly two years ago, the concert was simply billed as "Willie Nelson Sings the Blues." There was no hint that music history ... More >>

Charley Pride

Aftermath: Heybale! at the Continental Club

“Dancin’ in the Street…Motown & More Revue”

Uptight? Everything is all right!

MySpaced Out

Our social-network scout sizes up some all-female Scandinavian bands

Sanity Claus: Separating Holiday-Music Gifts from Seasonal Disorders

Sesame Street: Old School Volume 2, Chinatown: Special Collector's Edition, Sicko: Special Edition and Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who

The Kids Were Alright

Get Lit: Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music, by Phil Ramone

Houston's Very Best Songs Ever

...otherwise known as the H-Town 20

The Houston 100: From Sir Douglas Quintet to Guy Clark

Drenched in Blog: Unknown Pleasures

You Know You Want It. Too Bad You Can't Have It

Heptomaniacs

Houston's indie/reggae/soul/punk/rock/pop band

O Christmas Song, O Christmas Song

Never Opening Near You

Music biopics Hollywood won't make

Jamie Foxx

Unpredictable

Hello, He's Not Johnny Cash

Walk the Line never strays from the dull telling of a tall tale

Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Last Night at the Alamo

A Grammy party at a local theater turns into quiz night down at the local pub

Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Roadie Royalty

Houstonian author and Webmaster Karl Kuenning is a prince among road dogs

She's Gone (Away from) Country

But Tift Merritt's latest release, Tambourine, is up for Best Country Album

Playbill

New Angels in Rock Heaven

Scoring the grim reaper's 2004 harvest

Crash and Yearn

Howard Hughes gets what he wants, in this case a fun and loving biopic

Robert Randolph and the Family Band

Cindy Scott

Major to Minor (Self-released)

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Shine your boots and bust out your cowboy hat -- it's that rodeo time of year

Tony Joe White/Mike Barfield

Saturday, July 13

Brass Tacks

Who killed "When the Saints..."? The Dirty Dozen, and don't you forget it.

Tough Customer

Press Picks

Disorder in the Court

In The Madness of King George, it's not good to be king