I always thought this song was by Devo until I read Quentin Tarantino’s novel Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, where it makes an appearance. (more…)

The word “legend” gets chucked about a lot but Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry really was one. Keith Richards once called him “the Salvador Dali of reggae.” (more…)

Freddie McKay emerged as a rocksteady singer in the late 1960s with Prince Buster and Coxsone Dodd, recording at the Studio One and Treasure Isle labels. (more…)

By the mid-Seventies you had to forage far and wide for rough-and-ready roots music in a music world dominated by prog dinosaurs and disco. (more…)

Novelty pop songs don’t come much more annoying than this, at least without children and bagpipes. Except they do – because Convoy prompted an even worse “parody” version. (more…)

The first time I heard Scott Walker’s distinctive baritone was when No Regrets came out early in 1976. (more…)

Here’s another very-oldie dating back to 1963 by The Drew-Vels – re-recorded four years later as a solo single by Patti Drew. (more…)

This may be the most extraordinary discovery I’ve stumbled upon.
It was recorded in 1963 but its psych-tinged blend of jazz, soul and blues is way ahead of its time. (more…)

This is the best, best-known, and best-selling song ever written by Tom T. Hall, who died last week. It’s also the only hit for Jeannie C. Riley. (more…)

When I was 18 I hated disco. I thought it had nothing to do with “proper” music involving men with electric guitars. But there was something about Tina Charles and this infectious earworm that broke through my snobbery.

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