Tuesday October 11, 2011
Indian music legend Jagjit Singh passed away on October 10. Alongside his wife, Chitra, Singh is considered the driving force in the ghazal revival that began in the 1970s and continues to this day. A talented and evocative vocalist and a wildly creative composer, Singh scored films, recorded dozens upon dozens of full-length albums, and performed in concert around the world, ultimately influencing an entire generation of ghazal singers (popular ghazal singer Kiran Ahluwalia told Facebook yesterday that Jagjit Singh was "The reason I became a singer").
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Wednesday September 28, 2011
If you're a fan of calypso music, then it's likely that you're already familiar with the name Calypso Rose. Born McArtha Lewis on the island of Tobago in 1940, she's undoubtedly the best-known female singer and performer that the genre has ever produced. If you've not had the pleasure of hearing her music, now would be a great time to start!
More About Calypso and Calypso Rose:
Image (c) Jason Gardner, Provided by Artist
Tuesday September 27, 2011
Once again, I've gone in and added a few more great old Irish folk songs to our growing Irish folk song lyrics collection. This time, it was a song of longing for Ireland's green shores ("Spancil Hill"), a funny and totally politically incorrect song about old maidship ("Old Maid in a Garret"), a sad song of lost love (The Galway Shawl"), and an uproarious long ballad about -- er -- an afternoon of fun gone terribly wrong ("Courtin' in the Kitchen"). If 'tis something new to sing ye seek, check these out for sure.
Image (c) Aaron Graubart / Getty Images
Monday September 26, 2011
When most people think of reggae, they think of Jamaica, and they are not wrong, of course. Reggae is undeniably a New World music, created organically from bits and pieces of everything from British country dance music to vintage New Orleans R&B. Its most obvious contributor is, of course, African music, which is the Mother of reggae's characteristic backbeated rhythm and many of the melodic elements that form the genre. African culture is also a great contributor to reggae music, as well, with the themes of Panafricanism and African heritage being so important to the Rastafarian religion and, subsequently, supplying the spiritual background for many of reggae's greatest lyricists.
It should come as no surprise, then, that reggae has been popular among African listeners for as long as it's been exported, to the point where Bob Marley, who visited Africa twice in his lifetime, remains one of the best-selling artists of all time on the African continent. Africa has produced more than its fair share of outstanding reggae artists, as well, and if you don't own some of their music, you definitely should. Read on: African Reggae CDs that Every Reggae Fan Should Own.
