• Satchmo & Billie

    3 sad songs with equally sad stories behind them

    Aside from their inherent musicality, delivering as they intended to do, these songs have also spawned stories that are just as miserable. Here are three sad songs with equally sad stories behind them.
  • Michael Jackson, Prince and More: The Best of The Apollo's Last 30 Years

    New York City is full of famous music venues but few if any can live up to the flory of The Apollo Theater in Harlem, which has hosted the legendary Amateur Night for more than 50 years, as well as playing host to James Brown's Live at the Apollo, which many consider to be among the greatest live albums of all time. Few realize the dark period the venue went through during the '70s and '80s however, totaling nearly ten years where the famous stage was closed. It would be bought and given a shot in the arm however, reopening during May 1985, ready again to host the rowdiest of concerts. Music Times has dug through the last 30 years to find some of the most momentous events and great concerts held at The Apollo since it reopened.
  • Cassandra Wilson Reinterprets Billie Holiday Nicely on 'Coming Forth By Day'

    Society always celebrates the records that top the Billboard 200 album chart. Back of The Billboards is a Music Times weekly segment that looks at the opposite end: the new record that finished closest to the back of the Billboard 200 for the previous week. We hope to give a fighting chance to the bands you haven't heard of. This week we look at Cassandra Wilson and her tribute to the discography of Billie Holiday, 'Coming Forth By Day.'
  • Buddy DeFranco Dead at 91: Clarinetist Played with Count Basie, Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra

    Buddy DeFranco, one of the world's greatest jazz clarinetists, died Wednesday, Dec. 24. He leaves behind a musical legacy that lasted more than 70 years, playing in bands led by Tommy Dorsey and Count Basie in addition to performing with Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. DeFranco was 91. The musician got his start in the late 1930s, bouncing around from band to band, NPR noted. He hooked up with Dorsey in 1944. DeFranco played with the band for four years before he decided to break out of swing music, opting instead for bebop, a difficult genre for a clarinetist to shine in. He toured with Basie to finish out the 1940s. DeFranco formed his own band in the '50s before joining Holiday for a European jaunt. As rock 'n' roll started gaining momentum, the musician did work for TV and film until he landed a gig fronting the Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1966. He continued to play well into his 80s. According to "The Washington Post," DeFranco played on more than 160 albums.
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