Popular stories on MusicTales

1. 

   Orchestra

   A story of love and friendship in the music of World War I

   Frederick Septimus Kelly, a gifted Australian-born musician who spent much of his life in England, was among the…

   January 18, 2019

2. 

   Songwriter

   Lawdy Miss Clawdy: how Lloyd Price's first hit mixes blues and classics

   Lawdy Miss Clawdy is a rhythm and blues track that kicked off the career of the prolific New Orleans songwriter Lloyd…

   January 31, 2021

3. 

   Orchestra

   The multicultural heritage of Granville Bantock from Celtic folk music to Eastern philosophy of Omar Khayyám

   Granville Bantock was one of the most cheerful English composers whose rich heritage comprised more than 800 works…

   May 8, 2019

4. 

   Male Vocal

   Tuff Enuff: The Fabulous Thunderbirds' sole chart-topping song

   Tuff Enuff stands as the best-known track from the blues rock ensemble The Fabulous Thunderbirds. This song serves as…

   October 6, 2023

5. 

   Songwriter

   Mexicali Blues: debut song by the Grateful Dead's psychedelic poet

   Mexicali Blues was first released by Bob Weir, an acclaimed rhythm guitarist, vocalist, and founding member of the…

   March 24, 2021

6. 

   Male Vocal

   Somos Novios: exploring the meaning of Manzanero's famous bolero

   In 1968, Mexican songwriter Armando Manzanero released the enchanting love song Somos Novios. Two years later, American…

   July 1, 2023

7. 

   Orchestra

   Traditions of 3 countries woven into the music of neglected Asian composer Chiang Wen-Yeh

   The life path of the prominent Asian composer Chiang Wen-Yeh is closely connected to the three countries—Taiwan, Japan,…

   May 18, 2019

8. 

   Meditation

   Aham Prema: meaning behind the modern yoga chant

   Aham Prema is one of the essential mantras recommended for daily practice by many modern yoga schools. Surprisingly,…

   March 18, 2023

9. 

   Guitar Amplifier

   Bogner Shiva: boutique guitar amplifier found its tracking in metal genres

   Bogner Shiva is a powerful guitar amplifier that has earned the title of a true guitarist's darling, being the first…

   November 1, 2020

10. 

    Orchestra

    Beethoven was inspired by Goethe’s rhythmic poetry

    From 1809 to 1810, Beethoven composed the overture to Goethe’s play Egmont, depicting the life of the count of Egmont,…

    April 8, 2018

11. 

    Collaboration

    Échame la Culpa: another Fonsi hit echoing Despacito chords

    Échame la Culpa is a 2017 Latin pop track by Demi Lovato and Puerto Rican songwriter Luis Fonsi that remains their only…

    October 20, 2021

12. 

    Songwriter

    The fusion of traditional Mexican music in María Grever's songs

    María Grever, born Maria Joaquina de la Portilla Torres, was a Mexican songwriter who, combining the musical cultures…

    October 20, 2019

13. 

    Film

    Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered: Rodgers and Hart's timeless Broadway song

    Bewitched (Bothered and Bewildered) stands as a celebrated song and show tune hailing from the musical Pal Joey which…

    September 29, 2023

14. 

    Classical Guitar

    The fine blend of styles and cultures of the Assad brothers

    Brazilian-born brothers Sérgio and Odair Assad have set the benchmark for every classical guitarist by creating a new…

    July 24, 2018

15. 

    Classical Guitar

    Mariachi tradition and Cuban dances live in the informal hymn of Mexico

    Arturo Márquez was born in 1950, in Alamos, a town deeply immersed in the Sonoran desert. His father played the violin…

    September 17, 2018

16. 

    Sport

    Piazzolla's bandoneón played vital part in the worldwide tango music revival

    Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992), Argentinian composer known for his brilliant tangos, naturally played bandoneón, the most…

    April 27, 2018

17. 

    Orchestra

    Peaceful sound for troubling times in The Lark Ascending

    Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending is a contemplative and tender tone poem composed as a reaction to George Meredith…

    March 19, 2018

18. 

    Classical Guitar

    What kind of music did Louis XIV like?

    Robert de Visée’s music remains among some of the best examples of French Baroque guitar music to this day. Visée's…

    March 18, 2018

19. 

    Songwriter

    Rhinestone Cowboy: origins of Glen Campbell's best-known track

    Rhinestone Cowboy is a notable country track that hit the tops of global charts in the 1970s, extending beyond the…

    November 27, 2021

20. 

    Orchestra

    Obscured by Vivaldi, an Italian virtuoso found fans in England

    Francesco Saverio Geminiani—influential Italian violinist, composer, and theorist—was born in 1687 in the scenic town…

    July 14, 2018

21. 

    Orchestra

    Florida orange plantations cultivated an overlooked English composer

    Frederick Delius (1862–1934) was one of the most distinctive composers in the revival of English music at the end of…

    August 19, 2018

22. 

    Orchestra

    Im Sommerwind is an atypical work of the typical modernist composer

    Austrian composer Anton Webern rose to fame as a member of the Second Viennese School, a prominent movement known for…

    July 1, 2018

23. 

    Flute

    Flute Sonata: canonical performance of Poulenc's best-known piece

    The Sonate pour flûte et piano or Flute Sonata is among Francis Poulenc's best-known works, a French composer whose…

    June 26, 2021

24. 

    Film

    Young Adam score captures the desolate landscape of the 50s Scotland

    An adaptation of Scottish writer Alexander Trocchi's loosely autobiographical novel, Young Adam is a harsh portrait of…

    August 9, 2018

25. 

    Songwriter

    Garota De Ipanema: world's best-known bossa nova tune came to Jobim in a bar

    Garota De Ipanema is one of the best-known songs in the bossa nova genre, a dance style that originated in the 1950s as…

    June 9, 2021

26. 

    Orchestra

    Grieg's exquisite Norwegian cocktail of mountains, forests and sea

    Edvard Grieg composed the large body of his music surrounded by the scenic landscapes of the Hardanger fjord. Grieg's…

    April 29, 2018

27. 

    Meditation

    Kumar Gandharva and the perseverance of musical spirit over disease

    Kumar Gandharva was an eminent vocalist who sang Hindustani ragas and Carnatic devotional songs while also exploring…

    March 5, 2021

28. 

    Orchestra

    Franz Berwald: iconic composer of Scandinavian Romanticism was forced to earn a living as an orthopedist

    Franz Berwald was a Swedish composer whose works were not particularly popular during his lifetime but who, decades…

    January 29, 2020

29. 

    Meditation

    Rudra Veena: evolution of the instrument and Lydian mood of the Yaman raga

    Rudra veena is a string instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent where different types of veena have existed…

    July 26, 2021

30. 

    Piano

    The avant-garde tango by Horacio Salgán that shocked audiences in the 1950s

    Horacio Salgán was an Argentinean pianist who took the concept of how tango should sound and flipped it on its head by…

    December 22, 2019