Last month, the Brit pop singer, Charli XCXmade a bold proclamation with "I think the dance floor is dead, so now we're making rock music". Many of her fans were taken aback by this statement since she made her name by creating energized music that you could dance to since her breakout single, "Boom Clap" back in 2014. But the singer/songwriter, born Charlotte Aitchison, was actually doing a little promoting for her newest bit of music, "Rock Music". And while this track has an edgy and rough vibe, it's not exactly a hardcore rock song but more guitar-driven with a dance beat driving the tune along. Charli has been busy: contributing music for the soundtrack of Emerald Fennell's adaptation of "Wuthering Heights" and performing as an actor in the films, "The Moment", "Faces of Death" and the upcoming Gregg Araki comedy-thriller, "I Want Your Sex". But she has not abandoned her pop music career with "Rock Music" being the first release from her seventh studio album with no title or street date revealed just yet.
Here's a round up of some intriguing new music: the soul music legend, Chaka Khan is back with "Chakzilla", an oddly titled funky dance track (with production by Greg Kurstin) which also happens to be the title of her first studio album in seven years; the latest single from Harry Styles, "Dance No More" has the former boy band member busting out some serious dance moves in the music video; the Swedish artist, Tove Lo has dropped a raw and edgy new single, "I'm Your Girl, Right?" with an equally spiky video; "Five Past Three" is an electropop single from the Chainsmokers’ newest EP, "Love Is Kind", which is a collaboration with the Swedish performer, Oaks; and Sir Paul McCartney has his twentieth solo album, "The Boys of Dungeon Lane" on the way with the song, "Home to Us", is a duet with his former bandmate, Ringo Starr.
The 2026 Eurovision Song Contest recently concluded on May 16th with thirty-five countries competing for the top prize of the best international original pop song. Held at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna for the contest's 70th edition, Dara from Bulgaria won the Grand Prize for "Bangaranga", a dance-pop song with the title taken from Jamaican Patois and has been translated as "a joyful kind of disorder". This song, the first win for this country, won both the jury vote and televote, the first entry to do so since 2017. The runner-up was from Israel with "Michelle" by Noam Bettan and in third is "Choke Me" by Romania's Alexandra Căpitănescu. Several countries had declined to participate this year in protest at Israel's inclusion in the contest due to the on-going Gaza war.
Clarence Carter, the blind soul singer behind the hits, "Patches" and Strokin'", passed away on May 13th at the age of ninety. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, Carter (blind since birth) attended the Alabama School for the Blind in Talladega and later went to Alabama State University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in music. After pursuing music professionally with friend, Calvin Scott in 1960, the duo formed the C & C Boys and recorded several singles but none of them gained much traction commercially. Six years later, Scott was seriously injured in an auto accident with Carter deciding to continue as a solo performer.
His first break came the following year with "Tell Daddy", his answer record to Etta James' hit, "Tell Mama", which reached the top forty on the r&b chart. Carter joined Atlantic Records which began a string of hits on the R&B and pop charts, starting with "Slip Away", "Too Weak to Fight", "Snatching It Back" and the naughty, "Back Door Santa". Carter's biggest hit came in 1970 with his version of "Patches", originally recorded by Chairmen of the Board, which reached number two in the UK and number four on the U.S. pop chart. The record would sell over one million copies and win the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song.
Carter's career would cool down following this but he did have one more hit record with "Strokin'" in 1986. While the song was considered too raunchy to actually be played on the radio, it was discovered by fans with it being played on jukeboxes and later found even bigger success when it was included on the soundtracks for Eddie Murphy's remake of "The Nutty Professor" and the 2011 crime-drama, "Killer Joe". Carter was briefly married to Candi Staton, who began as one of his background singers, in 1970 and they had a son together, Clarence Carter Jr., before divorcing in 1973.
The latest twenty-five sound recordings have been selected and inducted into National Recording Registry. Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the National Recording Preservation Board, selects titles each year that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least ten years old. This latest group brings the total number of recordings in the registry to 675.
Some of the recordings that have been honored include Beyoncé's chart-topping hit, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" from her third solo album, "I Am... Sasha Fierce"; the original Broadway cast recording of the Bob Fosse directed musical, "Chicago" that featured theater legends, Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera; the country music tale, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" that went on to become a crossover hit for the Charlie Daniels Band; Gladys Knight and the Pips' version of the country song, "Midnight Train to Georgia" which became the r&b group's first number one pop hit; Ray Charles' genre blurring album, "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" that features the soul music legend's versions of country music songs; the Byrds's cover of folk music singer and activist, Pete Seeger's song, "Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" became an anthem during the social turmoil of the 1960's; the all-female new-wave rock band, the Go-Go's debut album, "Beauty and the Beat" that reached the top of the US album chart; José Feliciano's bilingual Christmas song, "Feliz Navidad" has gone on to become a holiday classic; Chaka Khan put an early hip-hop spin on a cover of Prince's song, "I Feel for You" and "1989", Taylor Swift's first foray into pop, after first achieving fame in country music, which launched her into becoming an even bigger star.
Here is the complete list of the twenty-five selections entered into the 2026 National Recording Registry:
"Cocktails for Two" – Spike Jones and His City Slickers (1944) (single)
"Mambo No. 5" – Pérez Prado and His Orchestra (1950) (single)
"Teardrops from My Eyes" – Ruth Brown (1950) (single)
"Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)" – Kaye Ballard (1954) (single)
"Put Your Head On My Shoulder" – Paul Anka (1959) (single)
"The Blues and the Abstract Truth" – Oliver Nelson (1961) (album)
"Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" – Ray Charles (1962) (album)
"Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)" – The Byrds (1965) (single)
"Amen, Brother" – The Winstons (1969) (single)
"Feliz Navidad" – José Feliciano (1970) (single)
"The Fight of the Century: Ali vs. Frazier" (March 8, 1971) (broadcast)
"Midnight Train to Georgia" – Gladys Knight and the Pips (1973) (single)
"Chicago" Original Cast Album (1975) (album)
"The Devil Went Down to Georgia" – The Charlie Daniels Band (1979) (single)
"Beauty and the Beat" – The Go-Go’s (1981) (album)
"Texas Flood" – Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (1983) (album)
"I Feel For You" – Chaka Khan (1984) (single)
"The Wheel" – Rosanne Cash (1993) (album)
"Doom" Soundtrack – Bobby Prince, composer (album)(1993) "Go Rest High On That Mountain"– Vince Gill (1994) (single) "Weezer (The Blue Album)"– Weezer (1994) (album)
"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" – Beyoncé (2008) (single)
The Rolling Stones have just announced they are releasing new music, with "Foreign Tongues" which will be the legendary British rock band's twenty-fifth studio album. Their last album of original material, "Hackney Diamonds" was released three years ago and the Stones has once again teamed up with Andrew Watt to produce their latest effort which will be drop on July 10th.
While the two original members, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are now octogenarians (and longtime guitarist Ronnie Wood is not far behind at seventy-eight) and have been creating and playing music together for over sixty years, that doesn't mean they still can't rock. And they prove it quite convincingly with two songs released from the upcoming record. There's the lead single "In the Stars", a rousing blues-rock track with Jagger's vocals sounding in good form while another track, "Rough and Twisted" (which had been teased and put out on vinyl on Record Store Day last month under the band name, "The Cockroaches") is a guitar blasting blues number that glides with the band's classic swagger.
Some tracks were recorded during the "Hackney Diamonds" sessions and much like that last album, this new record will feature a few impressive guest appearances, this time by Paul McCartney, Robert Smith of The Cure, and Steve Winwood. "Foreign Tongues" will also feature the final recording with the band's original drummer, Charlie Watts which was done during a session in Los Angeles shortly before his death in 2021 at the age of eighty.
North West is the twelve year old daughter of the erratic hip-hop musician, Kanye West (currently going by "Ye") and the media personality-turned-entrepreneur, Kim Kardashian. And it's not really much of a surprise that she has been dabbling in professionally performing and making music since she was ten. Now, West has just debuted her first EP as a solo artist, "N0rth4evr". She was fully hands on in the production and songwriting of this recording with the six tracks featuring an intriguing blend of rap, goth rock and hyperpop. Most of the songs are under two minutes but I have to say that this album is a solid collection, twisting sounds and beats to inventively blast out her Gen Alpha angst. With "N0rth4evr", West reveals she has much in common with her father, credibly displaying that she does have the essential qualities to potentially become a major musical artist.
MAYA HAWKE
The actor and musician, Maya Hawke has released her fourth studio album with "Maitreya Corso". The title represents a fictional "magical misfit" persona that allows Hawke to boldly explore themes of ego, ambition, and reinvention. The songs possess an other-worldly vibe, transporting us through with eclectic sounds, understated arrangements and whimsical thoughts. The twenty-seven year old offspring of actors, Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman has crafted an indie-pop record that also pays tribute to her community of fellow musicians in the New York scene, collaborating with local performers like Benjamin Lazar Davis, Will Graefe, and Michael Riddleberger.
This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of "Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite", the debut album by the r&b artist, Maxwell. Inspired by the legends of classic soul, Maxwell took the music he loved and put his own distinctive spin to create a sound that was fresh and contemporary yet also capturing an old school vibe. "Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite", along with D'Angelo's "Brown Sugar" in 1995 and Erykah Badu's "Baduizm" released in 1997, would define the neo soul movement and helped reshape popular black music.
The Brooklyn native born Gerald Maxwell Rivera began creating music at seventeen after receiving a Casio keyboard. While hip-hop was becoming the dominate sound being played on r&b radio at the time, Rivera remained a fan of the soul he heard growing up in the 1980's. As he got older, he continued pursuing music, learning to play other instruments and gaining access to a recording studio where he worked on demos. Rivera had begun performing around in small clubs throughout New York City, which created some buzz for him, while his demos where making the rounds, leading to him being signed to Columbia Records in 1994
Taking on his middle name as his professional moniker, Maxwell went to work on his debut with songwriter, Leon Ware. But after completing the record about a year later, the label put it on hold due to concerns of it's commercial appeal. When "Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite" was finally released on April 2, 1996, the concept album did struggle a bit to receive attention with the first single, "...Til the Cops Come Knockin'" failing to chart. But the mellow collection of funk, jazz, smooth soul did gain some serious traction with the help of the second single, "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" peaking at number eight on the US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and crossing over to the top forty on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The follow-up single, "Sumthin' Sumthin'" also charted, helping "Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite" go on to sell over two million copies in the US alone.
The album would land on several Top-Ten Album of the Year lists and receive a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Album. This success lead to him being featured live on MTV Unplugged (which was highly unusual since he only had one album to date) with the EP being released the following year with his cover of Kate Bush's "This Woman's Work" becoming a hit, reaching number sixteen on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
It has been six years since she has released new music and Madonna is ready for a return. It has been teased for a few years and her fifteenth studio album is now official with "Confessions On A Dance Floor: Part II" which is due out on July 3rd. This spiritual sequel to the 2005 album has the Queen of Pop reteaming with producer, Stuart Price to create a modern and further exploration into dance music.
The first taste of this record is the song, "I Feel So Free", a deep house track that has Madonna speaking seductively (over a sample of the 1989 acid house song, "French Kiss" by Lil Louis) about being able to fully let loose while dancing. This is a thrilling preview and hopefully we'll get even more in a very short matter of time. In the meanwhile, here is the official visualizer for "I Feel So Free" with the lyrics and Lil Louis' original version of "French Kiss":
The number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of April 19, 1975, was "Philadelphia Freedom" by Elton John. The British rock artist was still riding high with a string of hit singles with this song becoming his fourth number one song on the US chart and held this position for two weeks.
"Philadelphia Freedom" was originally written by John with his musical collaborator, Bernie Taupin to pay tribute to tennis player, Billie Jean King as she was playing with the Philadelphia Freedoms, a part of a charter franchise of the World Team Tennis in 1974. Taupin could not really find a way to write a song about tennis so he went on to convey a message that was uplifting and somewhat patriotic. The song is also dedicated in part to the feeling of "the Philadelphia sound" which was the soul music of writer-producers Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Thom Bell. In fact, John would later perform "Philadelphia Freedom" on "Soul Train" on May 17. 1975, making him the second White artist to appearance on the r&b music program following Gino Vannelli who was on about four months earlier.
We'll be seeing a lot of the actress, Anne Hathaway over the next couple of weeks. First she will be seen on the big screen in "Mother Mary" from writer/director, David Lowery on April 24th. In this psychological-drama musical, Hathaway plays a pop singer called Mother Mary who reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer (played by Michaela Coel) on the eve of her comeback performance. The original songs in the film will be available on a soundtrack album, "Mother Mary: Greatest Hits" set for release on April 17th. Hathaway is performing the songs and a couple of the tracks have been released. "Burial" (written by Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX) delivers a "Lady Gaga" vibe while "My Mouth Is Lonely For You" feels like a "FKA Twigs" track and it should since it was co-written by the artist (who makes a screen appearance in "Mother Mary").
Then on May 1st, the long awaited sequel to the 2006 high-fashion comedy, "The Devil Wears Prada" hits theaters worldwide with Hathaway reprising her role as Andrea Sachs along with Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep as fashion editor, Miranda Priestly. An original song for the movie's soundtrack, "Runway" teams up Lady Gaga and Doechii for a euphoric house music song. Andrew Watt, Bruno Mars, Cirkut and D'Mile all co-wrote and produced this track.
The alternative R&B artist, Kelela makes her highly anticipated return after three years with "idea 1" who co-wrote and produced the track with PinkPantheress; Kehlani, who won two Grammy awards this year for her smash r&b single, "Folded", is back with new music delivering "Back and Forth" that features Missy Elliott; Saint Harison, the Brit singer/songwriter, has released a soulful ballad, "Stuck" from his upcoming EP, "Ghost"; another British act trying to gain some traction in the US is Flo, a classic girl hip-hop/soul group, that has dropped the lead single, "Leak It" from their upcoming second album
And I will close by paying tribute to the passing of two artists: Dash Crofts, one half of the the soft rock duo, Seals & Crofts, passed away on March 26th at the age of eighty-seven. Born Darrell George Crofts in Cisco, Texas, he got his nickname "Dash" when he was a baby. Crofts first started playing the piano as child before switching to the drums as a teenager. In high school, he played in a band where he met the saxophone player, Jim Seals. The two decided to try their luck as professional musicians by moving to Southern California in 1958. They briefly joined a rock band, the Champs before Crofts was drafted and spent two years with the Army. By 1969, they started recording under "Seals & Crofts" and by their second album, "Summer Breeze" with the title track becoming a top-ten pop hit in 1972, the duo had a string of popular songs. Seals (who died in 2022) and Crofts would part ways as an act in 1983 but would reunite for a concert tour in 1991 to 1992 and again in 2004 after the duo recorded their first new album since 1980 and also final recording together, "Traces".
And one of the pioneers that would greatly influence hip-hop culture,Afrika Bambaataa has passed away on April 9th. The Bronx native, who was was an originator of breakbeat DJing, died from complications of from prostate cancer and was sixty-eight. Born Lance Taylor, he was exposed to the ideologies of the Black Liberation Movement through his parents as a teen as well as the sounds of their eclectic record collection. After wining an essay contest that earned him a trip to Africa, Taylor was inspired by the sense of community while he was there and determined create one in his own neighborhood. Adopting the name, "Afrika Bambaataa Aasim", he set about creating the "Bronx River Organization" which was a positive alternative to the street gangs that infiltrated the Bronx and that he had once been affiliated. Bambaataa soon turned his attention to music after hosting several block parties and forming the Universal Zulu Nation which brought together socially and politically aware rappers and graffiti artists. Inspired by the emerging electronic music scene, he released "Planet Rock" in 1982 with the Soul Sonic Force that merged electro beats and hip-hop. The single, produced by Arthur Baker, reached the top five on the US R&B and Dance charts.
Charlie Puth has been around making music since 2011 after getting a record deal from his growing popularity posting himself singing covers on YouTube. His first single, "Marvin Gaye", that pays tribute to the Motown legend, was a duet with Meghan Trainor in 2015. And while the song was a popular in several countries, this doo-wop styled track was savaged by many music critics and even found its way on Worst Song of the Year lists.
Puth managed to rebound spectacularly by co-writing, producing, and providing vocals on Wiz Khalifa's single "See You Again" for the soundtrack of the film, "Furious 7". This song, which is in honor of actor, Paul Walker who had died before filming and had been a star in this movie franchise, spent twelve non-consecutive weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100, received three nominations at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song and was the best selling-song of 2015 worldwide.
Puth went on to release his debut album, "Nine Track Mind" which achieved great success as well as his following albums, "Voicenotes" in 2018 and "Charlie" in 2022. And while these albums and the singles went high on the charts and he received more award recognition, I must admit I wasn't overly impressed by his music, finding much of his work far too colorless for my taste.
Now the thirty-four year old New Jersey native has captured my attention with his just released fourth studio album, "Whatever's Clever". Puth has stated that he had charged his approach on how he created his music, opening himself to reveal more and put a personal touch into his songs. And I think it shows with the album feeling far more authentic and I'm able to make more of a connection to him as an artist. Inspired by the easy listening sounds of the 1980's, specifically what is currently being defined as "yacht rock", Puth teamed up with Michael Tucker, who is better known as BloodPop, to co-write and produce this album. "Whatever's Clever" is loaded with guest musicians that range from soft rock pioneers, Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins, jazz-pop star, Kenny G; Japanese pop artist, Hikaru Utada and contemporary r&b vocalists, Ravyn Lenae and Coco Jones. The album closes with the brutally honest, guitar driven ballad, "I Used To be Cringe" where Puth acknowledges that he tried a bit too hard to fit in as his idea of a musician. But with "Whatever's Clever", I think it's clear he has evolved, letting loose and allowing himself to go much deeper as a musical artist.
Puth had previewed a few tracks from the album during a four-night stand at Blue Note Jazz Club in New York late last year and did a follow-up residency at the recently opened Blue Note in Los Angeles. He plans on hitting the road on a world tour that will begin on April 22nd in San Diego and ending in Warsaw, Poland by July.
With her second studio album, the shrewdly titled, "This Music May Contain Hope", Raye is offering songs of encouragement and optimism, fearlessly using her life experiences and explaining her emotional state on each song. The British artist, born Rachel Keen, dabbles far beyond the current popular sounds of soul and hip-hop on this record by mixing in classic jazz, big band, gospel and orchestral textures to expand her musical expression.
Raye has enlisted inspired collaborators on some tracks which includes film composer Hans Zimmer on the latest single, "Click Clack Symphony" and soul music legend, Al Green on "Goodbye Henry" while on the final track, "Fin", she appreciatively reads off many of the names of the creatives, friends and family who contributed to help in the completion of this album.
Raye (who co-wrote all the tracks with a variety of writers) has lyrically explored the complexities of human emotion in "This Music May Contain Hope" while digging deep sonically to make a bold and contemporary album. Having stated that music has helped heal her through the most challenging and difficult times in her life, Raye hopes this collection of songs will possibly do the same for listeners.
The British musician, James Blake is probably best known for his innovative work behind the scenes, handling production for a wide number of artists which includes Jay-Z, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Frank Ocean and Beyoncé. But Blake had been making music as a solo performer long before his success as a go-to-producer. After living in Los Angeles for the last ten years, Blake decided to return to his native England. This move helped inspire his latest studio album, "Trying Times" and it is his first recording since departing from Republic Records and joining indie label, Good Boy Records. On the album, Blake reflects on some of the turmoil he had experienced with LA living and settling into a more tranquil state of being back in his home country. Unlike what he has usually done with other artists he had worked with, Blake is able to push even further his disjointed collection of fragmented sounds and beats to transform them into beautifully flowing, hypnotic songs rippling with his expressive, angelic vocals. A brilliantly deconstructed soul record, "Trying Times" takes you on a emotional musical adventure, one that is calmly offbeat and soothingly chaotic.
ELLA LANGLEY
I had become aware of country artist, Ella Langley from her charming single, "You Look Like You Love Me", a duet with Riley Green two years ago. This breakthrough along with a second single, "Weren't for the Wind" from her debut, "Hungover" made this twenty-six year old performer from Alabama one of the biggest new acts in country music of 2025. Now Langley is back with the catchy single, "Choosin' Texas" (co-written and co-produced with Miranda Lambert) that not only went to number one on the country chart but also reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and even became a major hit globally. Her upcoming second studio album, "Dandelion" will be co-executive produced by Langley, Lambert and Ben West and due out on April 10th. Another recently released single, "Be Her" is also moving up the country and pop charts.
DIONNE WARWICK
One of the true living legends of popular music, Dionne Warwick has been making music professionally for an incredible sixty-five years. Now the iconic eighty-five year old artist has announced a new album, "Dwets" (pronounced "duets") and it will officially become her final recording. Warwick's son, Damon Elliott, is producing the album and Diane Warren has written all of the songs for this collection which will most certainly be a heartfelt and celebratory finale to Warwick's amazing recording career. While the complete list of duet partners and the exact release date of "Dwets" will be announced soon, the first single has been released and features actress and singer Cynthia Erivo on the song, "Ocean in the Desert". This lovely ballad is about friendship and support during difficult times. And Warwick, who does plan to slow down after this album, has stated that she will still be around for the occasional live performance.
Sienna Spiro, a rising pop-soul singer from the UK is gaining attention on this side of the pond with her single, "Die on This Hill", The twenty year old has been performing and writing songs since she was ten, inspired by the records of her parents that included Frank Sinatra and Nina Simone and the hip-hop that was playing during her youth, dropping out of high school at sixteen to pursue music full time. As is common these days for aspiring musicians, Spiro posted clips of herself singing covers and original songs on social media. Two years ago, she released her first single, "Need Me". Spiro released more music and began performing around London, making an impression at the All Points East music festival. Last year, she released an EP, "Sink Now, Swim Later" on Capitol Records and went on tour throughout Britain. In October, the power ballad, "Die On This Hill", co-written by Spiro with Omer Fedi and Michael Pollack, was released and has gone on to become an international top-ten smash. Spiro is currently putting together her debut album and is in the middle of a headlining tour in the US.
Here is a round-up of new sounds that I'm listening to at the moment: "American Girls", the second single from Harry Styles' recently released album, "Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally"; Mary J Blige is back in fine form with a soulful ballad, "More Than a Lover"; Another single, "Ride" from Jessie Ware's upcoming sixth studio album, "Superbloom" is a shimmering dance track with the video featuring actor, James Norton; Bebe Rexha teams with Brit electro band, Faithless for a high energy, house track, "New Religion" and the first single by country artist, Kacey Musgraves, "Dry Spell" from her next album, "Middle of Nowhere" due out in May.
The sounds of classic disco, which enjoyed the height of its popularity during the mid-1970's, has climbed back up onto the current music charts. Donna Summer's 1978 version of Jimmy Webb's trippy ode to the Los Angeles site, "MacArthur Park" and Anita Ward's 1979 number one worldwide smash hit, "Ring My Bell" both recently made it back to the top ten of the iTunes music chart. Alysa Liu had skated to Summer’s song during the 2026 Winter Olympics and won the gold medal, helping this disco track receive rejuvenated popularity. A viral TikTok trend with "Ring My Bell" made sales and streaming of this song skyrocket this month. Ward, who went from schoolteacher to overnight disco star, only enjoyed success with this one song while Summer had a far more extensive and influential career before passing away in 2012, still known to the world as "The Queen of Disco". Let's get back on the dance floor and get lost in the beat of these songs with the entire seventeen minute epic version of the "MacArthur Park Suite" (which includes another charting single, "Heaven Knows") and Ward performing her hit on the British program, "Top of the Pops":
With just a week until the winners of Best Original Song for the 98th annual Academy Awards are announced, here's a rundown of this year's nominees. For her seventeen nomination (the most of any individual without a win), Diane Warren has written a song for a movie that is about herself. "Dear Me" is featured in the documentary, "Diane Warren: Relentless" which covers this songwriter's impressively prolific career with her writing over four hundred songs for some of the biggest pop artists in history. The ballad, "Dear Me", handpicked by Warren to be performed by Kesha, was written about overcoming difficult times while offering a message of hope. "KPop Demon Hunters", which became the most-watched original title in Netflix history, featured a song that attained worldwide commercial success and garnering millions of streams. In this animated movie, "Golden" is performed by the fictional K-pop girl group,Huntr/x who lead double lives as demon hunters. "I Lied To You" is a rousing, blues number in the supernational thriller and box-office smash, "Sinners", performed by musician-turned-actor, Miles Caton and written by the film's composer, Ludwig Göransson and r&b musician, Raphael Saadiq. "Viva Verdi!" is a documentary that looks into the lives of veteran opera singers and musicians that are mentoring young music students. A song from the film, "Sweet Dreams of Joy" is written by English composer, Nicholas Pike and performed by Puerto Rican soprano, Ana María Martínez. And American composer, Bryce Dessner and Australian rocker, Nick Cave have teamed-up to create the title track for the intimate, period drama, "Train Dreams" that details the challenging life of an American railroad laborer.
The nominations are very strong this year with each song more than worthy of winning. But there can only be one winner and I think it will be that brightly exhilarating K-pop song that will get the gold statue this time. And once again, the show does not plan to have all of the nominated songs performed during the telecast. Only "Golden" and "I Lied To You" will be done in special musical segments which is really not fair to the other nominees.
"Dear Me" from "Diane Warren: Relentless" (Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren)
"Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters" (Music and Lyrics by EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park)
"I Lied To You” from "Sinners" (Music and Lyrics by Raphael Saadiq and Ludwig Göransson)
"Sweet Dreams Of Joy" from "Viva Verdi!" (Music and Lyrics by Nicholas Pike)
"Train Dreams" from "Train Dreams" (Music by Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner; Lyric by Nick Cave)
Neil Sedaka, the pop performer and prolific songwriter, has passed away on February 27th at the age of eighty-six. After briefly singing with a doo-wop group, the Tokens as a teenager, the Brooklyn-born performer teamed up with Howard Greenfield to write many chart topping songs together at the Brill Building for other artists before becoming a popular recording artist himself, all which happened not long after Sedaka had turned eighteen.
During his time at the Brill, which began in 1958, Greenfield was handling the lyrics while Sedaka writing the music. The team had their first hit with their song, "Stupid Cupid" for Connie Francis that year. They would write other songs for Francis including "Where The Boys Are" which was the theme song for the 1960 movie which she co-starred and became Francis' signature song.
Sedaka was still determined to become a recording artist himself and signed with RCA Records. His first charting song was "The Diary", which was inspired by Francis not allowing him to read her own journal, reaching number fourteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. But his next single, "Oh! Carol" (which was inspired by his former girlfriend, Carole King) became an even bigger hit, peaking at number nine in 1959. More hits followed for Sedaka which included "Calendar Girl", "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" and "Breaking Up is Hard To Do".
Once the British invasion began around 1964, like many of the clean-cut, American pop stars, Sedaka could no longer get his music to chart. He was dropped by his label in 1966 and went back to songwriting full time. Sedaka wrote or co-wrote songs with Greenfield and other writers for The Monkees, the 5th Dimension, Patti Drew and Frankie Valli. But by the early 1970's, Sedaka was back trying to revive his own music career. He found some success touring in Australia and England and was able to rejoin RCA, recording the albums, "Emergence" in 1971 and "Solitaire" the following year. Neither album attracted much attention but the song, "Solitaire" found chart success for Andy Williams and the Carpenters.
Sedaka's fortunes began to shift around 1974 when he recorded the album, "Laughter in the Rain" in Britain. This title track went on to become a number one hit for the singer in the US in 1975, leading to Sedaka being signed to Elton John's label, The Rocket Record Company and a compilation album, "Sedaka's Back" featured material from three previous records he had recorded in the UK. Then later that year, Captain & Tennille recorded a version of Sedaka's song, "Love Will Keep Us Together", becoming a worldwide number one hit. Sedaka's follow-up album, "The Hungry Years" had the first single, "Bad Blood" (that features an uncredited Elton John) become his second number one hit that year. Another single from the album was a slowed-down version of Sedaka's 1962 hit, "Breaking Up is Hard To Do" which this ballad made it to number eight on the pop chart in 1976, making him the only artist to ever record an entirely new version of the same song with both reaching the Billboard Top Ten.
Unfortunately, Sedaka was unable to maintain this remarkable comeback. He recorded one more album, "Steppin' Out" for Rocket before joining Elektra Records, creating a bit of riff between himself and John but their relationship was repaired years later. None of the albums Sedaka recorded on his new label achieved great success. His last charting song was "Should've Never Let You Go", a duet with his daughter, Dara, which made it to number nineteen on the US pop chart in 1980.
But Sedaka would go on to receive plenty of appreciation for his sweeping and influential work. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983, a jukebox musical, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" came out in 2005 and a theatrical musical biography, "Laughter in the Rain" appeared five years later. Sedaka toured extensively over the last thirty years and even did a series of free mini-concerts online during the COVID-19 shutdown.
Billy Steinberg, the incredibly prolific songwriter who was behind many of the most popular songs throughout the 1980's and 1990's, has passed away on February 16th at the age of seventy-five. With his with longtime songwriting partner, Tom Kelly, together wrote or co-wrote with other artists the songs, "Like a Virgin" by Madonna, "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper, "So Emotional" by Whitney Houston, "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls and "I'll Stand by You" by The Pretenders to name just a few.
Born in Palm Springs and raised in Fresno, Steinberg formed a band called, Billy Thermal and they were signed to Richard Perry's Planet Records. The band's actual breakthrough came only when their songs that Steinberg wrote were covered by other artists like Linda Ronstadt who did her version of "How Do I Make You", the lead single form her 1980, "Mad Love" album and Pat Benatar recorded "I'm Gonna Follow You" for her 1980 album, "Crimes of Passion". After the band broke-up, Steinberg soon moved behind the scenes, working with Benatar the following year on her next album and writing the title track, "Precious Time" and teaming with Kelly to co-write another track, "Fire and Ice". This lead to Steinberg and Kelly being suggested to work with Madonna, a rising artist who was working on her follow-up album to her self-titled debut. "Like a Virgin" would be the lead single and title of that album, reaching number one in 1984 on the US pop chart for six weeks.
This helped this newly formed songwriting team become very in demand and other popular songs Steinberg and Kelly wrote include "Alone" (recorded by Heart), "Eternal Flame", "In My Room" (both co-written with Susanna Hoffs and recorded by the Bangles) and "I Drove All Night" (recorded by Cyndi Lauper, Roy Orbison and Celine Dion). By the mid-1990s, Kelly had lost enthusiasm for songwriting, leaving the business. But Steinberg continued on with his career, going on to co-write with other musicians including Rick Nowels, Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo and Josh Alexander.
The first time I had heard of Durand Bernarr was when I saw the clip of him racing to the stage during this year's Grammys to accept the award for Best Progressive R&B Album and delivering a humorously exuberant speech of joyous gratitude. But I must shamefully admit that I had not heard of Bernarr's album, "Bloom" which won him the prize. So I immediately set about listening to his record and now understand completely why he was the recipient of this honor.
The Cleveland, Ohio native was surrounded by music, raised by parents who were involved in the business with his mother being a music teacher and vocal coach and his father was an audio engineer. After learning production by working with his father, Bernarr began his professional career posting videos on YouTube and released a mixtape that featured his versions of popular songs of the day in 2009. Another mixtape that was covers of Erykah Badu songs lead to him working with her as a backing vocalist. Bernarr went on to record some EPs and collaborate with various other artists as a featured vocalist or providing background vocals. He received attention with "Wanderlust" in 2022 and "En Route" was Grammy nominated for Best Progressive R&B Album in 2024. Openly queer, Bernarr is an artist to watch who is boldly pushing r&b in exciting new directions.
Taylor Swift has released the music video for her single, "Opalite" which came together following her appearance on the British chat program, "The Graham Norton Show" and features the guests that was on her episode; Karyn White has finally returned to music with "You Gonna Want Me Back" that has the r&b vocalist, who made a splash with her self-titled debut back in 1988, delivering a fresh, midtempo groove;No Na is an Indonesian girl group that is receiving attention on this side of the world thanks to their latest single, "Work" and their energetic music video.
Another artist I slept on was Rochelle Jordan and her third studio album, "Through The Wall" released last year. This collection is an explosive mix of funky progressive soul and sleek electronic sounds that will leave you exhilarated as you are dancing through the night. Born in London and raised in Toronto, Jordan has been creating music since 2012, releasing her debut album, "1021" two years later which featured fairly traditional r&b. But it wouldn't be until almost seven years later when she would return with her follow-up, "Play with the Changes" which was due to some health issues and a battle with her former label over her artistic expression. With this album, Jordan was able to experiment further with underground dance and house, finding that she was in her element. A performer who is not sonically aggressive, Jordan prefers to keep her luxurious beats smooth and steady to help elevate the dance floor.
And I will close by paying tribute to Chuck Negron, one of the vocalists of the pop-rock group, Three Dog Night, who passed away on February 2nd at the age of eighty-three. Born and raised in New York, Negron (whose father was nightclub performer, Charles Negron) sang in local vocal groups as a teen. He headed to Los Angeles after being recruited to play basketball at CAL State. His interests soon returned to music and in 1967, Negron, along with fellow singers, Cory Wells and Danny Hutton came together to form a musical group called Redwood, They were briefly signed to the Beach Boys' imprint record label, Brother Records. But during recording sessions, Brian Wilson was producing their demos and not happy with their sound. The rest of the Beach Boys soon wanted him to concentrate on their band's next album so Redwood was dropped. Not long after, these vocalists assembled their own backing band with Ron Morgan on guitar, Floyd Sneed on drums, Joe Schermie on bass, and Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards and became "Three Dog Night" which refers to the practice of using dogs for warmth in the outback with "three dogs" indicating a freezing night.
Beginning with their 1968 self-titled debut album that featured their first pop hit, "One" which was a cover of Harry Nilsson's song, Three Dog Night went on to have twenty-one top-forty singles including three reaching number one. But legal battles, internal conflicts and drug abuse, the band imploded by 1976. Negron had his own struggles with serious drug addiction, even living for a period on Skid Row in Los Angeles, before seeking recovery and finally getting clean by 1991. He found his way back to music, recording four solo albums including "Negron Generations" from 2017 which featured him with two of his daughters. Here are a couple of Three Dog Night songs that Negron sang lead vocals on:
