Decade of Difference: Bob Marley
There is no more recognizable name in reggae music than Bob Marley. Fusing elements of ska, rocksteady and reggae with his distinctive voice and songwriting skills, Marley almost single handedly raised the profile of Jamaican [...]
Decade of Difference: Jimmy Cliff
Jimmy Cliff began performing as a child in local shows and fairs around his home in Saint James, Jamaica. By fourteen the young James Chambers felt ready and moved to Kingston, changing his name to [...]
Decade of Difference: Bunny Wailer
A founding member of the Wailers and a long association with Bob Marley would be enough to lock Bunny Wailer in as a reggae great, There is much more to his story as Bunny Wailer [...]
Decade of Difference: Burning Spear
Part Rastafarian preacher, part black historian Winston Rodney is Burning Spear, one of the most respected roots musicians in Jamaica. A native of Saint Ann’s Bay, it was another Saint Ann native who got Winston [...]
Decade of Difference: Desmond Dekker
Best known in the US for his hit Israelites, Dekker was the first Jamaican artist to bring international attention to the island’s unique sound. Orphaned in his teens, Dekker apprenticed as a welder where his [...]
Decade of Difference: The Steel Wheels
The Steel Wheels got their start in Harrisonburg through a meeting of Trent Wagler and Jay Lapp, who were playing in different bands at the time. Wagler credits his Mennonite upbringing for bringing “A Sense [...]
Decade of Difference: Betty Lavette
Betty Lavette grew up in Michigan, the child of occasional bootleggers who also hosted travelling R&B musicians in their home. Add in the fact that they also owned a jukebox stocked with R&B, blues and [...]
MC Taylor is at his most sincere on ‘Quietly Blowing It’
Just before the start of the pandemic, MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger was at a crossroads in his career. From releasing four new albums and an assortment of live records to [...]
Decade of Difference: Scott Miller
Scott Miller plays at Red Wing Roots Music Festival on Sunday Born and raised just west of Staunton in the farming community of Swope, Commonwealth artist Scott Miller left his home to pursue music, only [...]
Decade of Difference: Hiss Golden Messenger
MC Taylor and Scott Hirsch formed Hiss Golden Messenger in 2009 after the pair's previous band The Court & Spark broke up in 2007. Using the breakup as a catalyst, the pair relocated from northern [...]
Decade of Difference: The Mavericks
Raul Malo formed the Mavericks in the late 80’s in Florida. Although their focus was on country music, the band initially played rock clubs as the local country scene wanted bands that only played covers [...]
Decade of Difference: Rolling Stones (Day 4 of 4)
1973’s Goats Head Soup was the third in the Rolling Stone’s streak of eight number one albums and was the last to employ producer Jimmy Miller, the architect of the Stones sound in the 60s [...]