When Rodney Crowell released his '88 breakthrough, Diamonds & Dirt - spawning five #1 singles in the process - he'd already lived a musical lifetime, from his stint as a pre-teen drummer in his  …

Thoroughly engaging and supremely gifted, Nancy Wilson has jumped nimbly from genre to genre, initially taking flight in jazz in the late '50s with luminous talents like Cannonball Adderley, Gerald Wil …

It's usually a pre-requisite for dancehall stars to serve their apprenticeship on Jamaica's meaner streets, but Sean Paul's comfortable middle-class roots in Upper Saint Andrew Parish have bucked the a …

Sean Paul spent a large portion of the '90s laying down roots in the Jamaican music industry, honing his songcraft and DJ skills, and learning the ropes from mentor Don Yute. Early homeland hits like " …

How Mastodon went from being a bunch of dudes who met at a High On Fire show to an absolute force of nature is anyone's guess . . . until we examine the evidence, that is - a growing stack of head-turn …

Here's how we can tell Mastodon weren't messing around on their first proper full-length, Remission: they named one of its many whip-cracking cuts "Mother Puncher." Which speaks for itself as lo …

No other group in the world has been awarded a Congressional Record from the United States House of Representatives, saluting contributions to music, but Fourplay can add that particular distinction to …

You really want to hear Fourplay spread their wings? Then check out our selections from two of the outfit's boldest, most expansive releases: 2000's Yes, Please!, which added bluesy and Celtic s …

As the '70s drew to a close and the world was ready to move to a new groove, the English Beat was one of the first bands to shake up an intoxicating cocktail of ska beats, punk energy, and more hooks t …