Robert Johnson News

"What's your favorite song?" archive: "Lisa Says" ~ Velvet Underground, 1969 "Ball and Biscuit" ~ White Stripes, 2003 "Where is My Mind?" ~ The Pixies, 1988 "Watching and Waiting" ~ Moody Blues, 1969 "Voodoo Child ~ Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1970 "Victoria" ~ The Kinks, 1969 "Rid of Me" ~ P.J. Harvey, 1993 "Little Girl" ~ Syndicate of Sound, 1966 ...

McMillan Library in Wisconsin Rapids will present Minnesota acoustic blues guitarists Bingham & Thorne in concert at 7 p.m. July 16 in the Library's Fine Arts Center.

This band built a lot of buzz at this year's MerleFest, and for good reason. Songs such as "Weary Angel" show the band is willing to apply its traditional roots to some Eastern-sounding tunes, without sounding like it's trying too hard to be hip.

Summer is the perfect time for enjoying the outdoors, visiting neighbors and going to concerts.

As a teenager, Michael Lee Ammons signed up for harmonica lessons because he wanted to learn to play a small instrument that traveled well during his frequent camping trips in the Wisconsin woods.

To borrow a phrase from legendary musician Robert Johnson, Deep Ellum has the crossroad blues.

In 1963, the Ku Klux Klan bombed 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., killing four girls.

Memphis label Yellow Dog Records , a group that traffics in authentic American roots music, has found a vein of gold in Oregon, mining artists for its roster that include Mark Lemhouse, Mary Flower and Terry Robb.

At this late date you're surely aware of the plight of 508 Park Avenue , the site of the makeshift studio in which Robert Johnson, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys and perhaps even Charlie Parker recorded.

"This history of American popular music culminates with the splintering of music culture by the Fab Four." ...Critiquing critics "It is often said that history is written by the victors, but in the case of pop music, that is rarely true," Wald writes.

This week, two new episodes will air back-to-back, airing at 9:00 and 9:30pm Sunday, 6/14. First up is a oeMemphis Bluesa , where Nick learns the blues first hand when an innocent business trip with Dad results in him taking the stage on the spot where the legendary Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil 100 years before.

On a sunny Friday morning, Shonda Warner and I are in her red Toyota pickup heading southwest on Highway 61 out of Clarksdale, Miss., on our way to see one of her farms.

There is nothing quite like the freedom of creative expression behind an independent artist.

Here's a quick and easy little blues riff played by Robert Johnson that you can learn with the help of an mp3 and tab.

INJECTING SOULFULLY SWINGIN' JAZZ LINES AND LUSH EXTENDED CHORDS INTO THE 12-BAR BLUES.

Former schoolmates Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney formed Black Keys in 2001. The duo plays the Three Rivers Arts Festival tonight at 8. When the Black Keys plays the Three Rivers Arts Festival at 8 p.m. Friday, drummer Patrick Carney will be within spitting distance of his old school.

Wed Jun 3, 2009 4:20am EDT - Legendary blues guitarist Bo Diddley performs at the 35th annual Bumbershoot Seattle Arts Festival in Seattle September 4, 2005 .

It's been a year since Bo Diddley died. His death on June 2, 2008, of heart failure at age 79 ended one of the most influential careers in pop music history.

No one can dispute that there are those who paved the way for those here today. Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker and many other greats.

Bo Diddley is gone. But his beat goes on. May 29, 2009 02:20 PM Mention Bo Diddley's name and most everyone thinks one thing - the beat.