Chet Atkins never became a household name outside his genre of country music – but was recognised as a legend within it.

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Sad to hear of another rock’n’roll death, this time of George Kooymans, lead guitarist and co-founder of Dutch rockers Golden Earring.

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Heavy metal was never my music and Black Sabbath were never my band. But Ozzy superseded the genre he and his mates invented.

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This song’s lyrics could not be more pertinent today – half a century after it was recorded by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.

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Hayes Carll continues the rich tradition of comedy country sons with his heartbreak tale of his girl leaving him for Jesus.

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Another one gone: this time it’s Keith Dobson, aka Kif-Kif of Here & Now and World Domination Enterprises.

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Princess Nokia aims for the mainstream with a brand new electro anthem, Drop Dead Gorgeous, with a satirical video to match.

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Husband-and-wife schlager duo Cindy & Bert made arguably the best rock cover of all time with their reimagined version of Black Sabbath’s Paranoid… in German.

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Here’s another of those reggae deep cuts that passed me by at the time – and once again it’s by a female artist who flew under the radar. (more…)

Today I must tip my imaginary Stetson to my pal Craig Poland Smith for unearthing this gem for me by the literally named family quartet Southern Raised.

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