Roy Trakin

Roy Trakin is a Recording Academy/GRAMMY.com contributor.

Roy's Articles

Flaming Lips: Wayne Coyne On Sad, Strange “Mr. Ambulance Driver”

The Flaming Lips' At War With The Mystics rolled in four years after the eclectic group's one-two commercial breakthrough of 1999's The Soft Bulletin and 2002's Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M1RlH97xTI4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> By 2006 the band veered into a harder-edged direction, mashing up Pink Floyd-inflected prog psychedelia and Prince-influenced percolating funk into a curious hybrid…

Sep 22, 2017 - 01:23 am

Kirk Franklin: The Message Of “Why,” Lyrics & Stevie Wonder

With hits like "Looking For You" and "Declaration (This Is It)," Kirk Franklin has made a career out of skillfully combining contemporary R&B and hip-hop with gospel. From the very start, Franklin has often collaborated with secular artists to drive his uplifting messages home. Case in point: "Why," Franklin's catchy gem of a collaboration with Stevie Wonder, presents a social…

Sep 5, 2017 - 11:29 pm

Kirk Franklin Shirley Caesar GRAMMY tribute: What songs will he pick?

Fort Worth, Texas, native and GRAMMY winner Kirk Franklin is arguably the current leading light in contemporary gospel music. He is a pioneer in mixing traditional gospel with contemporary R&B and hip-hop in a way that prefigured the likes of Chance The Rapper, among others. He'll lend his talents during The Recording Academy's PBS TV special honoring the 2017 Special…

Jun 29, 2017 - 04:03 am

Adele, Alicia Keys, Jack White on phone use at concerts

As Adele ascends to the stage in the middle of Staples Center in Los Angeles for the first of her eight sold-out summer shows, she has them at "Hello." And by "them," I mean the hundreds of mobile devices being held aloft to capture her grand entrance, fit for a queen in her glittering black gown."I'll probably never watch it…

May 15, 2017 - 01:36 pm

Joey+Rory: Remembering Mama’s last hymn

(The Making Of GRAMMY-Winning Recordings series presents firsthand accounts of the creative process behind some of music's biggest recordings. In this installment, Rory Feek of Joey+Rory details the making of Hymns, which won Best Roots Gospel Album at the 59th GRAMMY Awards. Feek recorded the album with his wife, Joey Feek, who died of cancer on March 4, 2016.)Joey finding…

May 15, 2017 - 01:36 pm

Rock And Roll Over: Music, Legacy And Mortality

The last 15 months have been an unfortunate harbinger of what to expect in music in the next decade or so, starting with the death of King of the Blues B.B. King, then heavy metal god Lemmy Kilmister, R&B diva Natalie Cole, country/rock pioneer Glenn Frey, soul legend Maurice White, country icon Merle Haggard, and a 57-year-old Prince, among others.…

Aug 12, 2016 - 04:12 am

Is The Surprise Album Release The New Black?

Shopping for the latest album releases used to be so easy. Physical product would be delivered to national retail chains, heralded either by hit singles on the radio, ads in the local circulars, a late-night TV appearance, and maybe even a larger-than-life billboard looming over Sunset Boulevard or Times Square. The wireless wonder of the Internet was just a sci-fi…

May 26, 2016 - 10:06 pm

Antenna For The Stars

Has video killed the radio star…again? The Buggles' video of the same name famously launched MTV in 1981, and 30 years later television is continuing to make its unique mark within the music world.Music and TV have been partners in creating pop stars since the dawn of the medium in the late '40s, when the popular radio show talent competition…

Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

Antonio “L.A.” Reid Is Writing His Next Chapter

(Epic Records Chairman/CEO Antonio "L.A." Reid will receive the President's Merit Award at the 2013 GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons during the Pre-GRAMMY Gala on Feb. 9, the night prior to the 55th GRAMMY Awards. The Recording Academy will present Reid with the honor in recognition of his significant contributions to the music industry and the impact his efforts have had…

Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

Donald S. Passman Is The Author On Music Law

Recently, veteran music business attorney Donald S. Passman released the eighth edition of his seminal book, All You Need To Know About The Music Business, a standard text for law schools and music business programs. First released in 1991 and considered the "industry bible" by the Los Angeles Times, the new edition offers artists and professionals advice for creating, selling,…

Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

GRAMMY.com Exclusive First Listen: Nathan East

Nathan East — longtime bassist for GRAMMY-nominated smooth jazz quartet Fourplay — is set to release his self-titled debut solo album on March 25. Ahead of the album's release, GRAMMY.com has your exclusive first listen to his instrumental bossa nova take on the Fourplay track "101 Eastbound" and his melodic string-laden rendition of "America The Beautiful." Stream Nathan East's album…

Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

Salli Frattini Readies The YouTube Music Awards

Veteran awards show producer Salli Frattini spent 19 years at MTV, starting in 1988 as a line producer and going on to become senior vice president and head of production. In the process, Frattini oversaw nearly two decades' worth of MTV Video Music and Movie Awards shows, in addition to executive producing two Super Bowl halftime shows. In 2008 she…

Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

The Concert Puzzle

Over the last decade, as the recorded music industry contracted at a double-digit annual rate, the live concert touring business continued to grow, with worldwide ticket revenues rising from $1.5 billion in 1999 to $4.6 billion in 2009, according to Pollstar.This growth played a large part in fueling the merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster, which was approved by the…

Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

The Decade Download

Given the events of the last decade, it's hard to believe that back in 2000 the music industry was positively bullish. Music revenue for the year climbed to a robust $14.3 billion. Meanwhile Seagram mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr., who had acquired PolyGram in May 1998 for $10.4 billion, flipped his combined company, including Universal Music Group, to French utility company…

Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

The First (And Last) Rock Critic: Paul Williams Remembered

(Crawdaddy! magazine founder Paul Williams died March 27 at age 64. Williams has been credited with helping create rock music criticism.) Before Rolling Stone and Creem battled for the hearts and minds of rock fans, predating the likes of Xeroxed and stapled punk 'zines such as New York Rocker and Trouser Press and setting the stage for the online self-importance…

Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

Bigger Than The GRAMMYs?

(For a complete list of 53rd GRAMMY Awards nominees, click here.) To paraphrase John Lennon, is the GRAMMY Pre-Telecast Ceremony bigger than the GRAMMY Telecast? Okay, nothing tops the excitement and sheer event status of Music's Biggest Night, but when it comes to award presentations, the Pre-Telecast leads by about 90. Last year, awards in 99 GRAMMY categories were presented…

Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

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