As a songwriter, producer, singer, and musician, Mike Hurst has earned his place in the pop pantheon. A member of The Springfields alongside Dusty Springfield and her brother Tom, Hurst later formed a band with Jimmy Page (The Methods) and produced hits for Cat Stevens, P.P. Arnold, Manfred Mann, The Spencer Davis Group, Fancy, Showaddywaddy, […]
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1977 was a whirlwind year for Melissa Manchester. The singer-songwriter toured North America's arenas and amphitheaters that summer with Leo Sayer before launching a solo tour in the fall that attracted the attention of none other than Bob Dylan, who attended the Minneapolis date. Melissa played Carnegie Hall, appeared on network television specials, taped a […]
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1972 was a banner year for T. Rex's Marc Bolan. The glam rock pioneer was riding high thanks to the success of 1971's chart-topping Electric Warrior and its hit singles "Get It On" and "Jeepster," and would continue his streak of hits with The Slider (No. 4 in the U.K.) and two more No. 1s, […]
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Welcome to The Weekend Stream, a relaxing weekly review of notable digital-only catalogue titles. There may be no CD or vinyl, but there's plenty of great new/old music to discover! Some fascinating finds ahead from the '70s, '80s, '90s and far beyond - but first, another streaming housekeeping note... You may have read our thoughts […]
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It's a new year, and Bandcamp Fridays are back! The beloved independent music service brings back their beloved mini-holiday today (February 4), and again on March 4, April 1 and May 6. On those days, they'll waive the fees they make off music they host - all the money will go directly to artists and […]
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Welcome to this week's Release Round-Up! B.J. Thomas, In Remembrance: Love Songs and Lost Treasures (Real Gone Music) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) Real Gone Music remembers the late, great B.J. Thomas with this new collection of rare and previously unreleased material drawn from both Thomas' personal archives and the vaults of Reprise and Warner Bros. Records. In […]
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To commemorate this year's Black History Month, Real Gone is reissuing three albums by African-American artists from the 1950s and 1970s in the doo-wop, jazz and soul genres: Flamingo Serenade by The Flamingos, Circles from William S. Fischer, and Super Slick from Don Julian & The Larks. All of them hit stores tomorrow, February 4. […]
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B.J. Thomas first reached the U.S. top 10 in 1966 with a heartfelt cover of his father's favorite Hank Williams song, the plaintive ballad "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." The Oklahoma-born, Texas-raised artist had his sights beyond just the country genre, however. His always authentic and altogether compelling voice was equally at home in […]
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It's no rumor and there's no fooling: Graham Parker's first proper solo album is getting expanded on CD this April 1 from Iconoclassic Records. "I've always been striving to make a record that sounds beautiful," Parker told Musician about his first without backing band The Rumour. "I think Another Grey Area sounds beautiful. Everything is in […]
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Natalie Cole lost her father, Nat "King" Cole, when she was just fifteen years of age. But a little more than a quarter-century after his untimely passing, Natalie paid the ultimate tribute to Nat when her studio album Unforgettable...With Love celebrated his rich oeuvre. Anchored by a virtual duet with him of his classic "Unforgettable," […]
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