After Kanye West unveiled his Paul McCartney-featuring ballad “Only One” on New Year’s Day, a spokesperson for the rapper said the track was the first of “what has become a prolific musical collaboration between these two legendary artists.” According to singer/producer Ty Dolla $ign, who provided background vocals on “Only One,” the next…… Source: RollingStone Link: Ty Dolla […]

Billy Joel was honored with the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in a star-studded celebration that aired Friday night on PBS, and among the tribute’s many highlights was host Kevin Spacey accompanying Joel on “Piano Man,” with the House of Cards actor showing off his impressive harmonica skills. Spacey…… Source: RollingStone Link: Watch Kevin […]

Longtime Grand Ole Opry star Little Jimmy Dickens, as easily recognized for his rhinestone-studded stage costumes as for his diminutive stature, has died of cardiac arrest. Dickens, who turned 94 on December 19th, was admitted to a Nashville-area hospital on Christmas Day after suffering a stroke. He last performed at…… Source: RollingStone Link: Grand Ole […]

Jeff Golub, the longtime jazz, blues and rock guitarist who played on albums by Rod Stewart and Billy Squier alongside his own solo work, died on Thursday at the age of 59, according to Jazz Times. While the exact cause of death remains unknown, Golub had experienced a series of medical setbacks…… Source: RollingStone Link: Rod […]

For hip hop fans, author Brian Coleman is doing the Lord’s work. In 2005, the writer and historian self-published Rakim Told Me, an oral history of some of the genre’s most influential albums told by its creators. Coleman would expand on Rakim with 2007’s Check the Technique and recently released Volume 2 of the popular…… Source: RollingStone Link: The Inside […]

U2 frontman Bono posted a 6,000-word A to Z summation of 2014 on U2.com, revealing that the massive bike injury he suffered last year may prevent him from ever playing guitar again. “Recovery has been more difficult than I thought,” the singer wrote. “As I write this, it is not clear that I will ever…… Source: RollingStone Link: Bono: […]

Taylor Swift hates Spotify. Prince hates YouTube. Garth Brooks hates everybody (except himself and Walmart). It’s hard to keep all the streaming-music holdouts straight in a world where download and CD sales are plummeting and Spotify, YouTube, Beats Music and the rest are clearly taking over the record industry. While…… Source: RollingStone Link: Islands in […]

Judging from the reaction of a record-breaking live crowd lining the streets of downtown Nashville Wednesday night, the city’s sixth annual Jack Daniel’s Bash on Broadway was “freakin’ awesome,” as Lady Antebellum sang. The country trio was one 40 acts who appeared on ABC’s Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve ’15…… Source: RollingStone Link: Lady […]

Vinyl sales and music streaming both soared by more than 50 percent in 2014 in the United States, even as overall sales kept declining, a music industry monitor said. Source: Yahoo Music Link: Vinyl sales rare bright spot for US music industry

D’Angelo notwithstanding, there were no Beyonce-esque surprise albums for the end of 2014. But as the clock turned on another year Wednesday night, Kanye West unveiled “Only One,” a minimal, poignant new track featuring Paul McCartney on keyboard. The song is available to hear on West’s website or via the iTunes store. Written from…… Source: RollingStone Link: Hear […]