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Michael Jackson, Jackson 5, The: Michael Jackson: Thriller was the Masterpiece that Set Tone for Pop's Next Generation

Obituary by Andy Gill, The Independent, 26 June 2009

ROUSED FROM sleep with the shocking, if not entirely surprising, news that Michael Jackson was gone, I was halfway through my bowl of cereal when ...

Beyoncé, Jay-Z: Beyoncé and Jay-Z: America's other first couple

Profile and Interview by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 9 August 2009

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are black America’s second most famous couple: young, rich and with a direct line to the White House. ...

Corinne Bailey Rae : Corinne Bailey Rae: "It happened to me. It could happen to anyone at any time."

Profile and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 4 October 2009

From out of the darkest place, following the sudden death of her husband, Corinne Bailey Rae is re-emerging with an extraordinarily intimate and impassioned album. ...

Sam Cooke: Portrait Of A Legend 1951-1964 (ABKCO Records)

Review by Gary Pig Gold, Rock's Backpages, February 2011

MOST EVERY single time the 20th century's greatest singer-songwriters find themselves getting lionized or even litanized, it seems one towering figure is strangely, sorrowfully AWOL. ...

Gil Scott-Heron: 1949-2011

Obituary by James Maycock, The Independent, May 2011

GIL SCOTT-HERON lived a life of two distinct, very different halves – as dissimilar as night and day. Up to his mid-30s, Scott-Heron was a ...

Ashford & Simpson: Nick Ashford, 1941-2011

Obituary by Dave Laing, The Guardian, 23 August 2011

Singer and songwriter who had a string of hits with his wife, Valerie Simpson, during Motown's heyday. ...

Lee Dorsey, Allen Toussaint: Lee Dorsey: The Star in Greasy Overalls

Retrospective by Gavin Martin, Record Collector, October 2011

IT'S 1980; six years before Lee Dorsey's unexpected death, but his recording career is already over. What will prove to be his last album, Night ...

HAIM: New Band of the Week: HAIM

Profile by Paul Lester, The Guardian, 23 March 2012

A band featuring three sisters, who combine the wafty whimsy of folk with R&B beats. It shouldn't really work. It does  ...

Alabama Shakes: Boys & Girls

Review by Martin Aston, bbc.co.uk, 10 April 2012

This Alabama outfit might be the feel-good hit of the summer festival circuit. ...

Janelle Monáe, Gotye, Kimbra: Right on the Monáe: Janelle Monáe, Gotye, Kimbra

Report by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 18 July 2012

THE FIRST RULE for writers – apply seat of pants to chair – works for musicians, too. Thirty years ago, the hairbrush and the bedroom mirror ...

Terry Callier, 1945-2012

Obituary by Lois Wilson, MOJO, January 2013

The inspirational folk-jazz-soul singer songwriter died last month. Lois Wilson salutes him. ...

Rascals, The: The Rascals On Broadway

Live Review by Mark Leviton, Rock's Backpages, 17 May 2013

BEFORE THE LIGHTS dimmed at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on 46th Street in Manhattan to signal the start of The Rascals: Once Upon a Dream, ...

Bobby Bland: Bobby "Blue" Bland dies at 83

Obituary by Tony Russell, The Guardian, 24 June 2013

BOBBY "BLUE" BLAND, who has died aged 83, was among the great storytellers of blues and soul music. In songs such as 'I Pity the ...

Janelle Monáe: "I'm a time traveller. I have been to lots of different places"

Interview by Kate Mossman, The Guardian, 30 June 2013

She's an android-dating style queen who's been compared to Bowie. Is the R&B singer the saviour of pop? ...

Robin Thicke: The Blurred Lines of Blue-Eyed Soul

Essay by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 21 August 2013

ROBIN THICKE JOINS JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, GEORGE MICHAEL AND ELVIS ON THE SOULFUL WHITEBOY TIMELINE. BUT IS IT CULTURAL APPRECIATION OR APPROPRIATION? ...

Amy Winehouse Never Twerked

Comment by Amy Linden, Ebony, 26 September 2013

Born 30 years ago this month, Winehouse seemed more intuitively connected to black soul than other white pop stars in her wake ...

Drake, The Weeknd: Drake/The Weeknd: Manchester Arena

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 12 March 2014

ABEL TESFAYE, aka the Weeknd, is receiving the kind of cheers you rarely hear for what is technically a support act. The fast-rising 22-year-old Toronto ...

Aaliyah's Age Ain't Nothing but a Number Ages 20 Years

Retrospective by Michael A. Gonzales, Ebony, 27 May 2014

THE LATE SONGSTRESS'S DEBUT ALBUM DROPPED IN MAY 1994, LAUNCHING A TOO-BRIEF CAREER THAT'LL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN ...

Bobby Womack: Save The Children (Solar)

Sleevenotes by Bob Fisher, unpublished, June 2014

WHEN BOBBY WOMACK died on June 27th, 2014, at the age of 70, he was one of the last links to the world of '60s ...

Shalamar: The Complete Solar Hit Singles Collection

Sleevenotes by Bob Fisher, Sanctuary Records, July 2014

Dick Griffey and Solar Records ...