Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms yearning to breathe free.
When a group of sisters got together in the early ’60s to come up with a name for their rock and roll band, they turned to that greatest of reference guides — the dictionary. You could always count on ol’ Funk and Wagnall for inspiration. Or even Merriam and Webster. (Kids, you can Google those … Read more
“Girls with guitars? That’ll never work,” John Lennon was rumored to have once said. Little did he know that four fab femmes had been wielding electric guitars in his very own hometown of Liverpool, several years before he and his fellow Beatles took over the world. They named themselves The Liverbirds, for the fictitious Liver … Read more
The name Stax Records is synonymous with soul music. But did you know that the legendary label of black artists like Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Wilson Pickett, and Isaac Hayes was co-founded by a white woman who began her career as a school teacher? In the late 1950s, Estelle Axton began investing in Satellite Records, … Read more
Ladies, the next time you want to change your hairstyle or splurge on those Miu Miu pumps and your man gets bossy and tries to dissuade you, just say “you don’t own me.” Guys, the next time your lady tells you to turn down the car stereo or toss out those LPs that are hogging … Read more
“I slept with three of them and then decided the lead singer was the best bet.” That was burgeoning pop singer Marianne Faithfull in 1964, telling New Musical Express magazine that the quickest route to success would be to snag a Rolling Stone — most strategically, Mick Jagger. What a cocky thing to say, I … Read more