Nathan Smith is a contributor to GRAMMY.com
There’s one Cher joke that has endured over the years: "The only thing left after a nuclear war is cockroaches … and Cher." It’s a wry reminder of the remarkable longevity, survival and staying power that the GRAMMY-winning singer has achieved in her legendary half-century career. First hitting the airwaves in 1964 with husband Sonny Bono, Cher has persevered in…
Kylie Minogue is sometimes overlooked when sizing up the Australian pop icon's discography. But her fifth studio record, which was released on Sept. 19, 1994, remains a transformative and daring entry that jumpstarted a new phase of Minogue’s career. Minogue’s self-titled album sought to relaunch her as an elevated and experimental artist. Gone was her "girl next door" image; Kylie…
“How it all came about was a miracle,” says Terry Britten, the co-writer and producer of Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got To Do With It.” The enduring single on Turner's 1984 album Private Dancer, released 40 years ago this month, was the songstress' ultimate emancipating act. It liberated her from the strictures of a music career bound to former husband…
"We felt there was no exit from Blondie," Clem Burke, long-standing drummer of Blondie, said in 1999. Burke was speaking on the occasion of Blondie's new record, aptly titled No Exit. At the time, the band had reunited after a 15-year absence and, according to Burke, "reared its head again, a four-headed monster." Although Burke jested about being unable to…
