James Sullivan | Rolling Stone

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Jack Kerouac's Lost 'Beat Generation' Play Premieres | ARTICLE

Rumors of a movie based on Jack Kerouac's On the Road have been around for so long that Montgomery Clift, who died in 1966, was once floated for a leading role. Francis Ford Coppola bought the rights...
October 11, 2012 1:45 PM ET
Morrissey Induces Swooning in Boston Tour Opener | ARTICLE

Morrissey doesn't need your help. "It's my life to wreck my own way," he crooned languidly on "Alma Matters," two songs into the kickoff date of his latest American tour at the gilded, palatial Wang Theatre...
October 6, 2012 2:29 PM ET
Levon Helm Band Sets Date for 'Midnight Ramble Sessions Vol. 3' | ARTICLE

Click to listen to Levon Helm's 'Same Thing' Set for release on November 20th, the third installment of the Levon Helm Band's Midnight Ramble Sessions...
September 24, 2012 7:00 AM ET
Q&A: Author Michael Chabon on the Vinyl Soul of 'Telegraph Avenue' | ARTICLE

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon has an essay in a recent issue of Rolling Stone on what he calls "backbeat jazz" – the hard bop and soul-jazz that inspired his teeming new novel, Telegraph Avenue. The...
September 14, 2012 1:30 PM ET
Q&A: David Byrne Explains 'How Music Works' | ARTICLE

Just as he's debuting his new work with St. Vincent, the creatively insatiable David Byrne is also publishing a book, called How Music Works. Beautifully designed by Dave Eggers' McSweeney's publishing house, it's a smart, accessible...
September 12, 2012 11:30 AM ET
Q&A: Twitter Star Rob Delaney on 'Conan,' Shakespeare and 'Slappa-Dappa-Doodle' | ARTICLE

You know Rob Delaney, or at least you're familiar with his beefy, hairy midsection: He's the outrageous, wildly popular Twitter presence (584,000 followers and counting) with the ridiculous avatar in the green Speedo. He's got sex...
September 7, 2012 5:30 PM ET
Bruce Springsteen Kicks Off New Tour Leg at Fenway Park | ARTICLE

The singer looked momentarily lost in thought, sitting shoulder to shoulder with his saxophone player at the lip of the stage. For a moment they were two guys on the street corner, figuring it out. Suddenly
August 15, 2012 12:05 PM ET
'Unfamous Black Guy' W. Kamau Bell Set for Chris Rock-Produced FX Debut | ARTICLE

People often assume the mother of comedian W. Kamau Bell is a college professor – Janet Cheatham Bell has edited textbooks, compiled anthologies of black quotations and written a memoir about growing up in pre-Civil...
August 7, 2012 3:15 PM ET
Curtis Mayfield Tribute Will Feature the Roots, Sinead O'Connor, TV on the Radio | ARTICLE

After the freak accident that paralyzed him in 1990, the great Curtis Mayfield recorded his last album, 1997's New World Order, with heroic effort: by singing one line at a time while lying on his back. "You...
July 17, 2012 9:00 AM ET
Playlist: The Songs That Made Them Stars | ARTICLE

Even "overnight" sensations were undoubtedly years in the making. For many – if not most – musicians, the road to success is marked by speed bumps, switchbacks and blinking yellow lights....
July 2, 2012 8:00 AM ET
Third Annual VidCon Features Huge Growth, YouTube Upgrades | BLOG ENTRY

This week, YouTube announced that they will begin rewarding creators who reach a million subscribers with a big gold-plated "play" button, much like the music industry's gold record. That bit of news, delivered at the opening day...
June 30, 2012 4:10 PM ET
Levon Helm's Band Rambles On | ARTICLE

Larry Campbell performed with Levon Helm for the last eight years of the revered drummer's life. Though the multi-instrumentalist has had plenty of notable experiences in music, not least being the years he spent on tour with...
June 15, 2012 9:50 AM ET
Born on the Bayou: Exploring Louisiana in 18 Songs | ARTICLE

The Lousiana Purchase of 1803 brought nearly a million acres of new land to the United States of America, spreading as far afield as Montana. Working out to about three cents an acre, the purchase continues to...
June 11, 2012 3:00 PM ET
Leon Hendrix: Jimi 'Was Always Told to Shut Up When He Was a Kid' | ARTICLE

In the song "Castles Made of Sand," Jimi Hendrix sang about a "little Indian brave" who dreamed of growing up to be a fearless warrior. "I was surprised to find myself the main character in the...
May 16, 2012 5:00 PM ET
The Legacy of Dick Clark, 'The Fastest Follower in the Business' | ARTICLE

When the Doors went on American Bandstand in the late Sixties, Dick Clark wanted Jim Morrison, the Lizard King in leather, to wear a tie. There was nothing casual about Dick Clark. Someone had to be the facilitator...
April 18, 2012 5:15 PM ET
Lenny Bruce Legacy Reexamined | ARTICLE

Lenny Bruce, the man who made comedy the frontline for free speech, was famous for swearing and using racial and ethnic slurs on stage. Off stage, however, his act was much cleaner. Once, when he was being...
March 10, 2012 3:50 PM ET
Can Rush, Peter Gabriel Legally Order Limbaugh to Cease Using Their Songs? | ARTICLE

In the clamor over Rush Limbaugh's personal attacks on Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke, who recently testified at a Congressional hearing on contraception, musicians including Peter Gabriel and the band Rush have demanded that the conservative...
March 8, 2012 3:15 PM ET
Chuck Berry, Leonard Cohen Get First PEN Songwriting Awards | ARTICLE

Midway through Paul Simon's praise of Chuck Berry, who was honored alongside Leonard Cohen as the first two recipients of PEN New England's Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award Sunday at the John F....
February 27, 2012 1:00 PM ET
Billy Strange, Session Guitarist for Elvis, Dead at 81 | ARTICLE

Billy Strange, who played guitar for Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra and on the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album, died Wednesday in Nashville at age 81. Strange, a member of the great L.A. session group known...
February 24, 2012 11:40 AM ET
Gary Oldman Dials It Down | ARTICLE

The cast of characters Gary Oldman has portrayed on film would make a pretty intimidating street gang. There's Sid Vicious, of course, as well as lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald, the crucifier Pontius Pilate, a count by...
February 23, 2012 12:35 PM ET