Songwriter

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Songwriter
Traditions of Malian music spread worldwide through Afel Bocoum and Damon Albarn collaboration

The famous Malian songwriter Afel Bocoum began his musical career in the 1960s at the age of thirteen when he joined…

January 5, 2020
Poetry
Peter Sinfield: the songwriter whose lyrics embellished the formative prog rock albums of the 1970s

Peter Sinfield is an iconic songwriter who has written for most influential albums of the prog-rock genre released…

December 15, 20193 comments
Album
Swordfishtrombones: groundbreaking instrumentation catches Tom Waits' signature sound

Released in 1983, Swordfishtrombones became the first self-produced album by Tom Waits that not only established the…

October 23, 2019
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
Songwriter
The morna: essential music of the Cape Verde archipelago reached mainland thanks to Cesária Évora's voice

With roots in the 18th-century Cape Verde, the morna music is a vital and culturally definitive genre of the…

September 8, 2019
Songwriter
The resonance of African tribal heritage in Ali Farka Touré's guitar

Ali Farka Touré was one of the first Malian songwriters to arrange African folk music for acoustic and electric guitar,…

July 20, 2019
Band
Tinariwen: 40 years of nomadic desert music driven by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib's guitar

Formed by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib in the late 1970s, the African band Tinariwen always had a clear mission to preserve the…

June 19, 2019
Choir
5 African states adopted the liberation song by Enoch Sontonga as the national anthem

Nkosi Sikelel 'iAfrika has been the most frequently sung tune throughout the African continent for over a hundred years…

May 22, 2019
Songwriter
The bottleneck guitar blues by Blind Willie Johnson is sliding through space on the Voyager Golden Records

Among the musical works sent by NASA into space to represent the cultural values of mankind, sharing its rightfully…

May 12, 2019
Classical Guitar
The native heart of Peruvian folk as explored by ethnomusicologist Alomía Robles

It has been a little more over a century since the Peruvian composer Alomía Robles crossed the Andes in search of…

January 1, 2019
Songwriter
Big Bill Broonzy's guitar made ripples on both sides of the Atlantic

Big Bill Broonzy was one of the most important Chicago blues singers whose songs would inspire, among many others,…

December 14, 20181 comment
Songwriter
The smoky alto of Chabuca Granda elevated the Creole waltz to the international level

Chabuca Granda is the single most important figure in the history of Peruvian music. Though identified with the city of…

December 3, 2018
Songwriter
Just Another Diamond Day: the stunning rediscovery of the hippie-era gem

Vashti Bunyan is an English singer and songwriter primarily known for her 1970 album Just Another Diamond Day, which…

November 30, 2018
Songwriter
Sūrsāgar: ocean of poetry that expanded for five centuries

Sūrdās was a North Indian devotional poet, musician, and saint who lived in the 16th century. His lyrics, addressed…

October 27, 2018
Songwriter
The three acts of Lonnie Johnson' blues

Lonnie Johnson (1889—1970) was a prolific American musician, singer, and songwriter, and one of the first major blues…

October 18, 2018
Songwriter
The timeless tragedy of Molly Malone

Not many songs can boast international recognition of being so deeply and fondly Irish the way Molly Malone does. Also…

October 12, 2018
Band
CAN: from the mind of Czukay to the golden age of krautrock

German band Can established themselves as pioneers of experimental avant-garde by seamlessly combining their influences…

September 7, 2018
Songwriter
La Mer poem became an international hit after years of searching for a melody

Charles Trenet was one of the most influential popular French songwriters in the mid-20th century. A performer of…

September 4, 2018
Songwriter
German roots of the Moon of Alabama

The Alabama Song first appeared in a collection of five poems published by German playwright Bertolt Brecht in 1927,…

August 27, 2018
Songwriter
Voice of Wassoulou preserves the ancient roots of West Africa

Oumou Sangaré is a Malian singer regarded as the greatest female voice in modern African music. She began her career as…

August 21, 2018
Film
The drama of The Chain kept alive on the big screen

The Chain, included on Fleetwood Mac’s classic 1977 Rumours album, has retained that particular brand of culturally…

August 16, 2018
Songwriter
Rabindra Sangeet have been an essential part of Indian culture for more than a century

A native of Calcutta, Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913—the first Asian person to receive…

August 10, 2018
Trombone
Moonlight Serenade got its name to contrast the sun

Glenn Miller, American big band leader, composer, and trombonist, is considered the primary musical symbol of the World…

August 8, 2018
Songwriter
Cream's biggest hit inspired by Hendrix's debut in England

Sunshine of Your Love by the British rock band Cream is perhaps their best known song that spawned numerous covers…

July 30, 2018
Songwriter
I Put a Spell on You: the wild roots of the song's blackout drunk recording

I Put a Spell on You is a 1956 song written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins that became an instant classic and remained his…

July 23, 2018
Songwriter
Ghosts of past wars alive in the Lowlands of Holland

The Lowlands of Holland is a popular British folk song that depicts a young widow mourning her husband whose ship was…

July 16, 2018
Songwriter
There were no bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover

(There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover is an iconic song composed in 1941 by the American songwriting…

July 8, 20184 comments
Film
Easy Living owes Billie Holiday for giving it voice

A tender ballad Easy Living has forthright lyrics that declare just how wonderful life can be when living for someone…

July 6, 2018
Songwriter
Ursula Le Guin as told through English alt-folk

Alt-folk band This Is the Kit is a project started by the British musician Kate Stables that comes to life through…

June 29, 2018
Songwriter
The Birth of 'Venus': from Stephen Foster, to The Big 3, and Shocking Blue

Stephen Foster (1826—1864) was an American composer whose vast contribution to a popular song, specifically the ballad…

June 25, 20182 comments