Lynne Margolis is a Recording Academy/GRAMMY.com contributor.
The guys in Midland know they’re in the midst of a moment they’ll only experience once: that sweet spot when a band’s star starts to rise and reality starts to resemble their dreams. Right now, they’re enjoying their growing fame, which began building with the release of their hit single, “Drinkin’ Problem,” and went into hyper-drive with the September 22 release of…
(To learn more about supporting fair pay for music creators, and The Recording Academy's Advocacy & Public Policy initiatives, visit www.grammy.org/advocacy.)The United States shares a dubious distinction when it comes to compensating artists for terrestrial radio airplay: It is one of the few developed countries without the right, joining nations such as China, North Korea and Iran.This startling fact formed…
Punchlines flew with nearly as much speed as a Ramones song during Celebrating 40 Years Of The Ramones, this year's annual GRAMMY Museum Musical Milestones panel at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, on March 17. The panel and an evening showcase were held as a prelude to the exhibit Hey! Ho! Let's Go: The Ramones And The Birth Of Punk,…
(The GRAMMY Museum will host Reel To Reel: The King Of Broken Hearts With Jim Lauderdale on Dec. 11. The event will feature a screening of The King Of Broken Hearts, a feature-length documentary highlighting Lauderdale's career journey, and will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Lauderdale. Visit the GRAMMY Museum website for ticket information.)Americana artists Jim Lauderdale and…
(Check back for GRAMMY.com's daily news and blog coverage from South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, including reports on Recording Academy-related events. Meanwhile, visit The Recording Academy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more SXSW updates.)On the same day the Rolling Stones announced they will headline festivals in Belgium and Holland in June, a South by Southwest panel presented by the GRAMMY Museum debated how Mick Jagger, Keith Richards…
(Looking for more music-related travel ideas? Read the Summer Travel Issue of GRAMMY magazine.)When GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli was the head of education and public programs at Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, he led tours through pockets of the United States where the roots of rock and roll had been planted. Stops included several out-of-the-way places…
As one of the top nominees for the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards, Mumford & Sons share nominations for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song with Alabama Shakes, Jack White, the Black Keys, and Bruce Springsteen, while their sophomore album, Babel, is nominated for Album Of The Year as well as Best Americana Album alongside releases by the Avett Brothers,…
In the audio world, Technical GRAMMY Award recipient Rupert Neve is arguably a bigger star than the artists who recorded some of pop music's most iconic albums through his analog mixing consoles. Considered the "father of the recording console," the self-taught engineer's achievements include designing the console that inspired Dave Grohl's Sound City film, which documents the now-defunct Los Angeles…
(A partnership between The Recording Academy and Hyundai, Re:Generation premiered in February during GRAMMY Week. Watch a special online premiere of the film below. Re:Generation will also be screened this week at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. See below for screening information.)On the surface, Re:Generation addresses a familiar musical theme: What happens when you ask disparate, seemingly incompatible talents…
(Check back for GRAMMY.com's daily blog coverage from South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, including reports on Recording Academy-related events. Meanwhile, visit The Recording Academy on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more SXSW updates.)When Stephen Bruton, the late GRAMMY-winning co-producer of the Crazy Heart soundtrack, and his friend, film director Gary Fortin, began planning an epic concert they dubbed "Road To…
(Editor's Note: On Dec. 6 the GRAMMY Museum will celebrate its five-year anniversary by offering free admission to the Museum all day. For more information on the GRAMMY Museum and its programs, visit www.grammymuseum.org, follow the Museum on Twitter @TheGRAMMYMuseum and "like" the GRAMMY Museum on Facebook.) If GRAMMY Museum Executive Director Bob Santelli has his way, America will one day…
Though Johnny Cash passed away in 2003, he's having a very good year in 2012. The latest in a series of events honoring the man in black — an 80th-birthday tribute titled We Walk The Line: A Celebration Of The Music Of Johnny Cash — drew a slew of GRAMMY-winning performers to Austin, Texas, for a lively Friday-night show on…
If being in a band is similar to being married, imagine what it's like for bandmates who actually are married — or related as siblings, parents and children, or other kin. When bands share more than just the same stage every night, it gives new meaning to the adage, "The family that plays together, stays together."Intergenerational groups have long been…
(Editor's Note: Founded in 1973, The Recording Academy Memphis Chapter is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2013. GRAMMY.com is publishing a special content series paying tribute to the Chapter and the surrounding region's rich musical legacy, which encompasses the deepest roots of American music and the birthplaces of blues, jazz, ragtime, Cajun, zydeco, and rock and roll. The Chapter hosted…
Though the Sex Pistols are often credited with popularizing punk rock in the '70s, when the dust settled on that rebellious music era another group of British punk rockers were labeled "the only band that mattered": the Clash.From their formation in London in 1976 by guitarists/songwriters Mick Jones and the late Joe Strummer, and bassist Paul Simonon (the band were…
When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led his historic March on Washington in 1963 — perhaps the single most galvanizing event associated with the civil rights movement — musical activists the Staple Singers were in England. More than 50 years later, Mavis Staples still hasn't overcome missing it. But the GRAMMY winner frequently flanked King on the front lines, and…
(Bruce Springsteen will be honored as the 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year on Feb. 8 at a special tribute performance and dinner in Los Angeles, recognizing his accomplishments as an artist and humanitarian. MusiCares' mission is to ensure that music people have a compassionate place to turn in times of need while focusing the resources and attention of the…
(For information about The Recording Academy's events and programs in Texas, visit the Texas Chapter on GRAMMY365.)From "cosmic cowboys" such as Willie Nelson to lauded bluesmen such as the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, Austin, Texas, has always served as a lure for musicians. But now the city known by its trademarked slogan as the "live music capital of the world"…
When GRAMMY winner Gary Clark Jr. taped his "Austin City Limits" episode with Alabama Shakes in late 2012, the blues guitarist had already performed at the White House with Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, and B.B. King, and played alongside Eric Clapton. In fact, Clark had also already played on "Austin City Limits," appearing five seasons earlier in a tribute to…
As guitarist and key songwriter for Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipients the Band, Robbie Robertson and his fellow bandmates, including the late GRAMMY winner Levon Helm, helped form the roots-rock genre now known as Americana. Following their start as rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins' backing band, the Hawks, the Band performed as Bob Dylan's backing band before emerging as their…
