NASHVILLE - Music fans are mourning the loss of a true Country legend. George Jones, 81, died Friday at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
 In 1955, Jones recorded “Why Baby Why,” his first hit for Starday Records.  Born in Saratoga, Texas, he began performing in local clubs at age 10.  In the late 1940s, he worked […]

WASHINGTON - American folk and roots music performer Doc Watson died on May 29 of complications from abdominal surgery.
For more than five decades, Watson entertained audiences around the world with an eclectic repertoire that included elements of folk, blues, Country, bluegrass, rockabilly, and even jazz.  A master of the contemporary flat-pick guitar style, the eight-time […]

WASHINGTON - Earl Scruggs, whose distinctive style of bluegrass banjo picking influenced countless players and helped to shape the sound of modern country music, died in a Nashville hospital Wednesday, March 28.  He was 88 years old.
Before Earl Scruggs, most banjo players used a two- fingered picking style. But all that changed after the 21-year-old […]

LOS ANGELES - Medical authorities have ruled that the death of U.S. music star Whitney Houston last month was due to accidental drowning and the effects of cocaine use and heart disease.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office made the announcement Thursday, saying no foul play is suspected. Houston’s manager and sister-in-law, Patricia Houston, says the […]

WASHINGTON - Davy Jones, lead singer of the made-for-TV band The Monkees and first crush of millions of girls worldwide, died of a heart attack in Florida Wednesday. He was 66 years old.
Most of his fans first heard of Davy Jones in 1966, when the Monkees television program invaded living rooms worldwide. In reality, the […]

LOS ANGELES - Fans of Whitney Houston gathered outside the hotel in Beverly Hills, California, where the singer died Saturday at the age of 48.
 
Houston was found unresponsive in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel Saturday afternoon.  Police say they found no obvious signs of criminal intent and are investigating the cause of death.
 
Some […]

WASHINGTON - American blues singer Etta James, best known for her early-1960s hit “At Last,” has died of leukemia.
 
The singer’s manager said the 73-year-old James died Friday at a hospital in California with her husband and two sons by her side. Her manager described her death as a “tremendous loss” for her fans around the […]

LONDON - A coroner has ruled that British singer Amy Winehouse died as a result of drinking too much alcohol.
 
Speaking at the inquest in London Wednesday, coroner Suzanne Greenway issued a verdict of “death by misadventure” after Winehouse consumed enough alcohol to put her blood alcohol level at more than five times the legal drunk-driving […]

NASHVILLE - None other than show business legend Dolly Parton once said that there were just three real female singers: Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, and Connie Smith. “The rest of us,” she said, “are only pretending.”  Connie Smith has just released “Long Line of Heartaches,” her first album of new songs since 1998, and only […]

MIAMI - Clarence Clemons, the burly star saxophonist of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, died Saturday, six days after suffering a stroke following surgery.  Clemons was 69.
His bandleader, Springsteen, announced on his website Clemons’ loss was “immeasurable.”  Springsteen said “we are honored and thankful to have known him and had the opportunity to stand beside […]

NEW YORK - Famed jazz pianist and composer George Shearing, 91, died Monday, February 14 of heart failure in New York City. Shearing was born in England but settled in the United States in 1947.
His recording career lasted more than six decades and included albums with some of the top names in jazz.  Despite being […]

WASHINGTON - Billy Taylor, an American jazz icon, has died of a heart attack at the age of 89.
Taylor’s family announced Wednesday the musician died in New York City overnight.
Taylor was renowned as a pianist and composer.  His career began in the 1940s and included live performances as well as appearances on radio and television. […]

NEW YORK - Fans of John Lennon, a member of the iconic British band The Beatles, are holding tributes worldwide Wednesday to remember the late rock star on the 30th anniversary of his death.
Lennon was shot and killed Dec. 8, 1980 outside his New York apartment.
People are gathering to play Lennon’s music and lay flowers […]

VIRGINIA - American bluegrass music originated with immigrants from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales beginning in the early 1600s. Those early settlers made their homes in the Appalachian Mountains in what’s now eastern United States.
Through their music, they told stories about their struggles and daily life.  Americans living today in a section of the Appalachian […]

WASHINGTON - American bluegrass music remains popular in many parts of the United States.
Jam sessions, where musicians get together to play, can be found across the country, and even other parts of the world.
One of the longest running bluegrass jams is held twice a month in Florida.
Jamming
Under weeping willows and oak trees, musicians gather to […]

NEW ORLEANS - With the promise of hearing some great jazz at the 41st Annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (being held April 23-May 2), fans will not be disappointed.  But, be prepared to encounter almost every other type of music imaginable, with the possible exception of chamber music and Gregorian chants.
Although classical music […]

WARSAW - This spring marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Frederic Chopin, who was born and raised in a village just outside Warsaw.  His musical legacy forms an integral part of modern Poland’s cultural identity.
For any visitor to Warsaw, it does not take long to realize that Frederic Chopin is everywhere.  Schools, streets […]

NAZARETH - The Martin Guitar Company in Nazareth, Pennsylvania is world-renowned for making some of the finest guitars ever made. However, the economic downturn in the U.S. has cast a shadow over the company, which has been making guitars for 176 years.
Nazareth is an old industrial town located in central Pennsylvania. For many years its […]

LUBBOCK - On February 3, 1959, a small plane crashed in a corn field in Iowa, killing three rock and roll stars - Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, known as “The Big Bopper”. 
The 50th anniversary of that tragic event is being observed by rock fans around the world, but especially in Clear Lake, […]

TAMPA - Super Bowl Sunday is of course famous for the battle between two teams trying to win the National Football League championship. Over the years, the entertainment during halftime has grown to be an extravaganza of its own. For Super Bowl XLIII, American Rock & Roll icon Bruce Springsteen will play for an estimated […]

WASHINGTON - Veteran jazz pianist Herbie Hancock has won the album of the year prize at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.Hancock’s album - “River: The Joni Letters” is a tribute to singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell.
Hancock said in his acceptance speech Sunday in the U.S. city of Los Angeles that it had been 43 years since a […]

PHOENIX - Being selected to entertain the crowd and the huge worldwide audience for the Super Bowl has become almost as prestigious as playing in the National Football League’s annual championship game. This year’s halftime music will feature American rock legends Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. 
In recent years, the halftime show has seen the likes […]