• Donald Trump’s Dad Was Woody Guthrie’s Racist Landlord, Subject of Unrecorded Songs

    By the time Woody Guthrie signed his name to lease an apartment in one of Fred Trump's Brooklyn buildings in December 1950, he had already written and recorded many of his most famous condemnations of inequality and racism as well as his alternative national anthem "This Land Is Your Land." However, recently published unrecorded songs suggest that current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's dad was the subject of some of the folk icon's most scathing criticisms.

  • The FBI and Musicians: John Lennon, N.W.A., Nine Inch Nails and More Acts with Reports

    John Lennon appeared on The Dick Cavett Show on this date more than forty years ago and made a bold prediction: The FBI were keeping a close eye on him. This might sound like a typical conspiracy theory of the early '70s, except that it was totally true...either an indication that the FBI was predictable or it just wasn't very good at the secrecy thing. Lennon had all of the makings for a good FBI target: He had a record with drugs, he was vocally against the Vietnam War, and his political leanings were just right of being a godless communist. He wasn't the first, nor would he be the last, to gather attention from the Bureau. Here are another lot of otherwise harmless musicians that would get lengthy files in Washington D.C., from Elvis Presley to N.W.A.

  • Village Vanguard, New York's Most Cherished Jazz Club, Turns 80

    In a nation full of monuments, of which President Barack Obama has been on a crusade to protect, there may be no city in the U.S. more historically rooted in Americana than New York City. But on a smaller scale, through a more narrow scope, it is the city's underground and word-of-mouth venues, the clubs like the Village Vanguard, that have yet to close -- or, for that matter, change. The jazz club has turned 80 years old.

  • 'Weird Al' Yankovic Talks Life After RCA Contract on 'The Late Late Show'

    Most artists would be worried about reaching the end of a lengthy recording contract, but not "Weird Al" Yankovic. The parody singer's last album, Mandatory Fun, marked the end of his 32-year agreement with RCA. Yankovic sees it as an opportunity to work on some of his other passions, like "authentic American folk music," he told guest host Thomas Lennon on The Late Late Show last night (Feb. 16). He showed off his chops with a Woody Guthrie parody about his upcoming tour.

  • Super Bowl's Most Shazamed Songs: What Commercial Soundtracks Got Most Interest? Car Commercials Do Best

    Advertisers paid more than $4.5 million per 30 seconds of airtime during the Super Bowl last night so they like to know that their wares get people's attention. One way to do this is to examine what soundtracks get Shazamed, or searched using music identification service Shazam. Last night's most Shazamed moments came during the halftime show (more on that later) but outside of that it looked like New York songwriter Marc Scibilia induced the most curiosity with his rendition of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" featured during a Jeep commercial.

  • Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Bring the Funk on 'White Christmas' Cover [LISTEN]

    Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings have been known to bring some serious funk to their cover songs. They almost made Woody Guthrie's 1944 tune "This Land is Your Land" unrecognizable, and now they're bringing some signature soul licks to "White Christmas." The cover presented by Cole Haan, which recently dubbed the act this season's "Gifted and Talented muses."

  • 12 Famous Musicians and Their Ashes: Find Out The Final Resting Places of Kurt Cobain, Marvin Gaye, Freddie Mercury(?) and More

    The spat over Alan Freed's remains is just another example where the keeping of ashes can only lead to bad things. Having the remains of loved ones in the house leads to experiences ranging from traumatic (theft) to horrifying (a la Keith Richards father). If you want to visit the remains of the performers listed below, you'll have to settle for a very general view of a very general area.
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