Joan Armatrading’s “Weakness In Me”
Joan Armatrading has long been known for heart-on-sleeve songs that listeners (especially women-loving women) could find themselves in. “Weakness In Me” is one such song — plaintive, pleading, and...
View ArticleJanis Joplin –“Piece of My Heart”
This Thursday raw rock goddess Janis Joplin invites you to come back for seconds, no napkin, no bibs, a love that sticks to the ribs, oh, come on, come on, come on, come on! Tweet
View ArticleWillie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton recorded “Hound Dog” before Elvis Presley and “Ball ‘n’ Chain” before Janis Joplin. She was the big black butterfly whose wingbeat helped stir up the rock ‘n’ roll...
View ArticleNona Hendryx’s “Transformation”
Where is Nona Hendryx? You could find her in Labelle, a glam rock funk psychodelic black-to-the-future group of the 60s and 70s. You can try to catch her in her subsequent solo career, roaming through...
View ArticleSinéad O’Connor –“Óró, Sé Do Bheatha ‘Bhaile”
For today’s Throwback Thursday we’re going waaaay back — to 18th century Ireland. The song has a misty provenance, but has come to be known as a revolutionary tune — especially in relation to both the...
View ArticleBilly Tipton –“Don’t Blame Me”
Billy Tipton was a jazz/swing pianist, bandleader, and booking agent. His life was also sensationalized after his death, once the public learned that he had been assigned female at birth. But the...
View ArticleMa Rainey –“Prove It On Me Blues”
They say I do it, ain’t nobody caught me. Ma Rainey talks back to the State in “Prove It On Me Blues.” The song nods to her arrest in 1925 for participating in an orgy with women in her home (Bessie...
View ArticleLiberace
Władziu Valentino Liberace. The very embodiment of The Fabulous. His virtuosity with the piano was noted and cultivated early in his life, but his opus of opulence is likely his most enduring legacy....
View ArticleJobriath’s “Space Clown”
Don’t be afraid of the Space Clown. You’re so entertaining and amusing. Jobriath is widely considered to be the first openly gay rock star. A star shot across the sky and smiled/then vanished in a...
View ArticleMaya Songbird
“If you have ever had to rebirth a gazillion times in one carnation. This song is for you,” is the love note tucked in Maya Songbird’s “Live Again.” The song is part of her #MayAmra collaboration,...
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