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Thursday

The Voices Of Black Women Were Essential To Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound

Darlene Love in 1964. Love was the uncredited singer on a handful of the biggest hits produced by Phil Spector during the era when he was making his "Wall of Sound" production technique famous. ABC Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty hide caption

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ABC Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty

The Voices Of Black Women Were Essential To Phil Spector's Wall Of Sound

The full impact of Spector's musical legacy is impossible to measure without accounting for the creative labor of singers like Darlene Love and the damage Spector's manipulations did to their careers.

Tuesday

Friday

We Need To Be Able To Feel

Maria Schneider (center) whose album Data Lords was one of 2020's most acclaimed jazz albums, performs with her orchestra at the New York City club Jazz Standard, where the group had an 16-year annual Thanksgiving week performance that was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Gulnara Khamatova/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Gulnara Khamatova/Courtesy of the artist

Best Music Of 2020

We Need To Be Able To Feel

The cost of 2020 — in lives, livelihoods, legacies and communities — is high and still being tallied. For jazz critic Nate Chinen, all that loss demands change to old ideas of critical objectivity.

Thursday

The 2020 Jazz Critics Poll: It's After The End Of The World

Pedal steel player Susan Alcorn, whose album with her quintet, Pedernal, was the pick for the best album of the year by Francis Davis, who runs the annual NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll. David Lobato/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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David Lobato/Courtesy of the artist

Best Music Of 2020

The 2020 Jazz Critics Poll: It's After The End Of The World

2020 was an annus horribilis if there ever was one, writes Francis Davis, the founder of NPR Music's Jazz Critics poll, and much of the year's best jazz carried post-apocalyptic feelings within it.

Tuesday

Friday

Bluegrass Band Sister Sadie Embodies Tradition, But Bends It Too

Dale Ann Bradley (left), Tina Adair, Gena Britt and Deanie Richardson (center) of the bluegrass band Sister Sadie do their impression of the rock band Queen. Jon Roncolato/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jon Roncolato/Courtesy of the artist

Bluegrass Band Sister Sadie Embodies Tradition, But Bends It Too

This fall, the bluegrass supergroup Sister Sadie became the first all-female band ever to win the top prize at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards.

Bluegrass Band Sister Sadie Embodies Tradition, But Bends It Too

Listen · 7:15
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Thursday

In Memoriam 2020: The Musicians We Lost
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

In Memoriam 2020: The Musicians We Lost

The sheer volume of loss felt by the music world in 2020 is almost overwhelming. Here is NPR's tribute to dozens of the musicians — founders and innovators across genres — who died this year.

In Memoriam 2020: The Musicians We Lost

Listen · 7:02
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Tuesday

'Brother Robert' Reveals True Story Of Growing Up With Blues Legend Robert Johnson

Annye Anderson — stepsister of Robert Johnson — published her memoir Brother Robert: Growing Up with Robert Johnson in June. Ben James hide caption

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Ben James

Music Interviews

'Brother Robert' Reveals True Story Of Growing Up With Blues Legend Robert Johnson

Annye Anderson, the stepsister of Robert Johnson, whose life became a founding myth of American music, has written a memoir about the real life behind the legend.

'Brother Robert' Reveals True Story Of Growing Up With Blues Legend Robert Johnson

Listen · 5:56
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Monday

James Newton Howard, A Composer Who Can Do It All

Composer James Newton Howard in 2008. Wim Lippens/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Wim Lippens/Universal Pictures

James Newton Howard, A Composer Who Can Do It All

James Newton Howard has composed the music for more than 100 films: thrillers, Disney animation and big fantasy series. His latest is the Tom Hanks western, News of the World.

James Newton Howard, A Composer Who Can Do It All

Listen · 5:31
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Friday

'Rompan Todo' Explores A Turbulent History Of Latin America Through Rock Music

Sergio Arau (center) poses with fellow Botellita de Jerez bandmates. They were one of the most influential groups in the '80s after rock re-emerged in Mexico following 15 years of censorship and repression. Lourdes Grobet hide caption

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Lourdes Grobet

Music Interviews

'Rompan Todo' Explores A Turbulent History Of Latin America Through Rock Music

Rompan Todo is a new Netflix six-part documentary series that explores the socio-political history of rock music in Latin America from its genesis in the 1960s to the present.

'Rompan Todo' Explores A Turbulent History Of Latin America Through Rock Music

Listen · 5:40
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Tuesday