Rufus Thomas

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 >>

Soul Nite 2012

The Funky Chicken: Good Stuff in the Mailbox

Yeah, it's like that.​Once again our mailbox has filled to overflowing with CDs (and zip files). The desk looks like a Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown of jewel cases, and the entire room is littered with (largely unread) piles of hype-and-tout. And while much of what comes over the transom ... More >>

Zoo Station: A Noah's Ark Of 75 Animal Songs

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee ... More >>

Dear Penis: 20 Songs About The Tube Snake Boogie

prince.orgGuess who turns 53 today?​Good Lord, what would we do if not for Weinergate? It's hot as hell outside, the Astros are terrible and Rick Perry might run for president next year. But as long as there are congressmen tweeting pictures of their junk to women they barely know, Rocks Off h ... More >>

The Musical Minds That Made Booker T The Soul Man He Is Today

​How good a musician is Booker T? Along with the rest of the MGs, the house band of seminal soul imprint Stax who had several instrumental hits of their own besides backing Stax's powerhouse roster (Rufus Thomas, Albert King, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding...) throughout the '60s, the Memphis-born m ... More >>

Inquiring Minds: Lucero's Ben Nichols Explains Why Stax Soul The Replacements' Pleased to Meet Me = His Band

Lucero "Sixes and Sevens" from Lucero on Vimeo.​A decade and six albums into their career, Memphis country-punks Lucero made the leap late last year from their own indie label, Liberty & Lament, onto Universal/Republic Records. The band's rabid, boozy following may have been hesitant at the ti ... More >>

The Best Christmas Album of 2008 is... Metal?

Album of the Week: Christmas a Go-Go

One thing about Christmas songs, every single artist to ever pick up a guitar or drumstick seems to have recorded at least one, a company that apparently includes Joe Pesci, Soupy Sales (kids, ask your grandparents) and garage gods the Electric Prunes. Guaranteed, Christmas a Go-Go is the only plac ... More >>

Dan Aykroyd on the (Mostly Texan) Blues Brothers Band, Our New House of Blues, Lightnin' Hopkins, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Houston Kinfolk, SNL in Campaign '08 and More

Plymouth Rock

The cornerstones of popular music can be found inside Jimmy's Pawn Shop

Feel-good Fortune

Altman's back with a strong Southern drama