DOLLY PARTON (1946 - 2026)

It is still shocking to believe the passing of Dolly Parton, who worked hard to become a major player in country music before being able to transcend herself into a global superstar, finding success and popularity in all areas of entertainment. She had been going through some undisclosed health issues earlier in the year and it was revealed that Parton died after a brief battle with cancer on August 25th at the age eighty. 

While she was clearly a gifted performer, Parton also was a talented songwriter (who is said to have written over three thousand songs over her career), an savvy entrepreneur and a person of deep faith which helped guide her through an amazing life with an open heart and positive spirit. And Parton certainly stood out with her distinctive look (inspired by the style of the local town tramp she admired when she was a child) of big blonde hair, form fitting clothes that accentuated her curvy figure, sky-high shoes (she was only five foot tall) and plenty of sequins.

Born in the Great Smokey Mountains in Tennessee, Parton was one of twelve children living in a one room cabin on a tobacco farm. The family struggled financially but music played an important part in their lives. Parton began writing and singing music as a young child and would perform on local television and radio programs. By thirteen, she recorded her first single, "Puppy Love" in 1959. While this song wasn't much of a hit but it still gave her confidence to try a move to Nashville. In 1967, Parton recorded her debut album, "Hello, I'm Dolly" that would move it's way to number one on the country chart. She caught the attention of country superstar, Porter Wagoner and Parton would be asked to join his band and eventually be his co-host on his weekly television show. Wagoner and Parton became a popular musical duo and recorded twelve highly successful albums.

During this time, Parton began to release solo recordings with her biggest hit was "Jolene" which topped the country chart in 1974 and even made it on to the pop chart. And it around this time that Parton was ready to make a move away from Wagoner to pursue a career path on her own. Wanting to express her feelings about her musical partner, she wrote "I Will Always Love You" which went to number one on the country chart. Elvis Presley loved the song and wanted to record a version but his manager, Colonel Tom Parker informed Parton she would have to give him half of the publishing rights if Presley did. Parton had to sadly refuse which became a very wise business decision years later when Whitney Houston recorded a reimagined soulful pop version for her 1992 acting debut, "The Bodyguard" with the single selling well over twenty-four million copies.

Parton loved her success in country music but was curious about expanding her audience, deciding to work with a new manager, Sandy Gallin (who she met through Mac Davis and stayed with him for twenty-five years) to help her crossover to pop music. Her breakthrough came in 1977 with the title track from her nineteenth studio album, "Here You Come Again" where it reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the country chart. This was impressive feat for Parton as she managed to achieve this success without drastically changing her sound or alienating her country fans. More hits came on the country and pop charts with her profile heightened even further by appearing on numerous variety shows including her own, "Dolly!" which ran for one season in 1976.

Parton was lured to the movies and made her acting debut in the work-place comedy, "9 to 5", co-starring with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The film was a huge hit and Parton's theme song she wrote became her first to top the pop chart and to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. She went on to make more feature films that includes an adaptation of the Broadway musical, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" with Burt Reynolds, "Rhinestone", a 1984 comedy with Sylvester Stallone and "Steel Magnolias", a beloved all-star dramatic-comedy.

Parton invested in various charities, medical research and philanthropic projects that includes Dollywood, a theme park that was opened in 1986 located in Pigeon Forge, TN that provided jobs for the people in the community and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, founded in honor of her father who never learned to read or write, which mails one book per month to an enrolled child from the time of their birth until they enter kindergarten.

As one of the most accomplished and highly honored performers in country music with total sales of well over one hundred million records sold, Parton was able to help expand this distinctly American sound to attract a wide international audience. She was a charismatic entertainer, one who had a singular talent and extraordinary gift to be able to achieve this kind of rare universal appeal.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

Victoria Monét has just dropped a new song from her long awaited second studio album, "Frequency of Love" which should be available in October. The single, "Reach Out" from the Grammy award winning songwriter and performer with production by Kaytranada and D’Mile is another sensual r&b jam that looks at a woman tired of waiting for a lover to contact her and deciding to move on. The visuals for this song, filmed in sepia with direction by Dave Meyers and dynamic choreography from Sean Bankhead, is sultry and stylish, filled with impressively imaginative dance moves.



Some new songs I'm enjoying at the moment includes the latest music from Kelly Clarkson, the very first "American Idol" winner who is in the middle of the final season of her popular talk show, with "I'd Be Lyin'" that feels very much like the classic sound from the early days of her pop career; the alt-hip-hop artist, Syd has delivered her third studio album, "Beard" and a highlight is the song, "Callin'" that features Blu June; Orville Peck has returned to music after a brief stint on Broadway with "Too Little, Too Late" that has a more rockabilly vibe and the newest single from his upcoming fourth album, "Mule" due out in September; "Mexico Honey", the latest single from Kacey Musgraves' album, "Middle of Nowhere", is a bit of a departure from the country artist as the ballad features Latin pop and hip-hop sounds; the new single from the progressive soul performer, Steve Lacy, "Doom" is an adventurous alt-rock song with an equally potent music video; and Cardi B has dropped a surprise single, "Ah Ha" that shows she still ain't worried about her haters.

And this year marks the thirtieth anniversary since the release of Mariah Carey's fifth studio album, "Daydream".  There is a new collection, which is officially titled, "Daydream: 30th Anniversary Edition", that will include the original album plus unreleased bonus tracks, rare demos, live performances and remixes. When the record was released, "Daydream" marked a creative shift for Carey as she blended R&B, hip-hop and pop sounds smoothly together for the first time. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and featured the hit singles, "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby" and "One Sweet Day", Carey’s duet with Boyz II Men that was on top of the US pop chart for sixteen consecutive weeks. "Daydream" is also one of the best-selling albums of all time, with over twenty million copies sold worldwide.

And Kavinsky, the influential French DJ and producer, has passed away on July 28th at the age of fifty. The cause of death is not known at this time. Born Vincent Pierre Claude Belorgey, he had spent his early years as an actor before deciding to turn to music. "Kavinsky" was a stage persona he had created, a red-eyed, blue-skinned zombie who created electronic music. Belorgey had appeared as an actor in Quentin Dupieux's 2007 feature film, "Steak" and contributed music as Kavinsky for the first time. He went on to release three EPs which included "Nightcall" with the title track used during the opening credits of the 2011 film, "Drive", directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. Kavinsky would only release two studio albums during his career, "OutRun" in 2013 and "Reborn" in 2022.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

After spending her time emoting musically on the big screen and dazzling audiences with her performance in the two-part film musical, "Wicked", Ariana Grande is returning to her pop music career. "Hate That I Made You Love Me" is the lead single off of her upcoming eighth studio album, "Petal" which is due out at the end of July. Teaming once again with frequent collaborators, Ilya Salmanzadeh, and Max Martin, the song is a bit of a departure for Grande with this synth-pop ballad having a subtle, minimalist vibe. "Hate That I Made You Love Me" deals with her complicated relationship with fame and the public scrutiny that comes with it, especially commentary regarding her appearance and body. The humorous video for the song, directed by Christian Breslauer and features actor, Justin Long, plays like a short film that involves a man who has apparently murdered his wife (played by Grande) and buried her body while he is continuously being haunted by her. Grande has also begun her long awaited Eternal Sunshine Tour on June 6th which will take her through the US and Canada before concluding in September with a ten-date stop at the O2 Arena in England.



June is the month where we celebrate Pride and here is a collection of LGBTQ+ artists who have new music out: for his upcoming sixth studio album, "Adam", Adam Lambert digs into the sounds of '90's electronic and alternative rock with the first single, "Eat U Alive"; free from her label, pop diva, Kim Petras is now independently releasing her music and the latest song is "Brutalist"; the queer Nashville-based country group, the Cowgays (made-up of solo artists, Brooke Eden, Chris Housman, and Adam Mac) have released a campy tune, "Good Hoedown"; the English synth-pop act, La Roux has dropped a new track, "Cabin Fever" from their upcoming album, "Old Flames"; Frankie Grande is currently appearing in the Broadway production of "Titanique" and has delivered a fast-paced "Pride anthem" of the number he does in the show, "I Drove All Night"; David Archuleta has dropped his latest dance-pop tune, "Love For Free" and the electroclash performer, Slayyter has the single, "Dance..." from her second studio album, "Worst Girl in America".

And with her next album, "Confessions II" due out on July 3rd, Madonna is moving into overdrive to promote this dance music collection. First she was involved with doing some playfully sexy promo on the gay networking app, Grindr and then did a mini concert in the middle of Times Square in NYC. Now, the Queen of Pop has released "Confessions II – The Film". This fourteen minute visual album directed by TORSO features the first six tracks from the upcoming album. The short film made its premiere on June 5th at the Tribeca Festival and was released three days later on YouTube. Filled with wild imagery and many notable famous faces, this dazzling musical film is an impressive reminder of what a powerful and enduring force she is as a visual stylist and performer.

2026 NATIONAL RECORDING REGISTRY

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)



"Your Love" – Jamie Principle (1986) / Jamie Principle/Frankie Knuckles (1987) (singles)
"Rumor Has It" – Reba McEntire (1990) (album)



"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)



"1989" – Taylor Swift (2014) (album)

NEW SOUNDS

JAMES BLAKE

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.

RANDOM SIGHT + SOUNDS

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":

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

It's not like we haven't heard from Bruno Mars. He has been busy as a part of some recent, wildly popular musical collaborations with Lady Gaga, Rosé and the super-duo, Silk Sonic with Anderson .Paak. But it has been ten years since his own last studio album, "24K Magic". That is finally about to change as Mars has just announced the upcoming release of his fourth album, "The Romantic" due out on February 27th. There had been rumors of this record coming over the last three years with producer, D'Mile recently joining the project and co-producing with Mars. The first single, "I Just Might" is another blast of retro funk that Mars puts his own special spin on, a sound he has been exploring for some time, particularly with Silk Sonic. Mars has also announced that he will be hitting the road with The Romantic Tour which begins in April and takes the singer through North America and Europe.



Following his recent foray into French pop, the Lebanese-American singer, Mika is back with an upcoming English-language album, "Hyperlove" and the second single, "Immortal Love"; The Swedish pop artist, Robyn has dropped another single, "Talk To Me" from her forthcoming ninth studio album, "Sexistential"; Ari Lennox has another song, "Twin Flame" that will be on the long awaited third album from the r&b vocalist, "Vacancy"; and PinkPantheress teams with Zara Larsson for a new version of the single, "Stateside" from her remix album, "Fancy Some More?":

The legendary Dolly Parton has rounded up fellow artists, Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah, and Reba McEntire, with a new recording of her 1977 song, "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" to raise money for pediatric cancer research at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in Nashville. Parton had explained that she had originally written this as a "song of deliverance" when she was dealing with the pain from her break with longtime musical and business partner Porter Wagoner in 1974 in order to further her career. "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" has gone on to be covered by many artists since then including Parton herself who rerecorded this inspirational song two previous times before this recent version.

And finally, I would like to pay tribute to a couple of musicians we lost recently: Carl Carlton, a soul music hit maker, died on December 13th. The Detroit native had been recovering from a stroke he had in 2019. Carlton was seventy-three. He began his professional career as child, first performing under the name "Little" Carl Carlton, a publicity stunt that brought attention to Stevie Wonder who had achieved success around this time. After signing to a recording label, Carlton released some singles with the song, "Competition Ain't Nothing", becoming popular in the UK northern soul scene in 1968.

But his real breakthrough would come six years later with his version of "Everlasting Love" (which was first a hit for Robert Knight in 1967) reaching number eleven on the Billboard R&B chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. A royalty dispute with his new label, ABC Records would prevent Carlton from recording for a period of time. He would join a new label and find his way back on the charts in 1981 with the single, "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)". This popular funk song would reach number two on the r&b chart, earn Carlton a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance and continue to be a staple for soundtracks and music sampling.

Chris Rea, the British blues rocker, passed away on December 22nd at the age of seventy-four. He had been struggling with several health issues since the turn of the century which included pancreatic cancer, diabetes and a stroke in 2016. Born in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, Rea bought his first guitar in his early twenties and self taught himself how to play. A fan of the blues and American rockers, Rea became a member of the rock group, Magdalene and would begin singing after the vocalist failed to show for a gig. In 1973, Rea went on to form his own band which lead to him getting signed as a solo artist to Magnet Records. His debut album, "Whatever Happened to Benny Santini?" was released in 1978. The first single, "Fool (If You Think It's Over)" was only a minor hit in the UK but went on to reach number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earning him a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Rea would go on find greater success in his native country, recording twenty-five studio albums throughout his career with several charting songs on the UK pop chart. But Rea would never tour in North America, preferring to remain closer to his family than away from them for months at a time.

RANDOM SIGHT + SOUNDS

Following the less than warm reception to her last album, "143", Katy Perry has wasted no time to return with some new music. First performed live during the Lyon, France leg of her Lifetimes Tour earlier this month, "Bandaids" is a pop-rock ballad about dealing with the end of a relationship. This seems to reflect Perry's current state of mind as she's currently experiencing this with her recent break-up with actor, Orlando Bloom. A new album also appears to be on the horizon but no additional information has been revealed to date. The clever music video for "Bandaids", co-directed by Perry and Christian Breslauer, seems inspired by the horror franchise, "Final Destination" with Perry appearing in numerous horrific accidents.



Here are a few new music highlights: the Swedish performer, Zara Larsson has dropped a fresh remix of her dance-pop track, "Midnight Sun" (which helped earn Larsson her first Grammy nomination) that features Muni Long; best known as an actress, Hilary Duff has had some success as a pop singer and after almost ten years returns to music with a new single, "Mature" and an album due out soon; country crooner, Orville Peck recently released an EP, "Appaloosa" that includes this ballad, "Drift Away"; Perfume Genius has the latest single, "Me & Angel" from his seventh album, "Glory" and "FMT" (which stands for "F*ck My Type") is a guitar-driven, r&b ballad by Summer Walker about prioritizing a partner who genuinely chooses her and not settling for unhealthy relationships.

It has been twenty years since the release of "Confessions on a Dance Floor", the tenth studio album by Madonna. And to celebrate this milestone, a Twenty Years Edition has been released. This anniversary collection features the entire original album (seamlessly strung together like a DJ set), B-sides and remixes. It has also been announced that Madonna is not only returning to her long-time label Warner Bros. Records but it has been teased that there is a sequel of sorts to "Confessions" on the way. Not a lot of details on that yet but we should have that to look forward to next year. In the meantime, here are a few tracks from this album.

And finally, Ace Frehley, the lead guitarist of the costumed rock band, Kiss, passed away on October 16th at the age of seventy-four. Born Paul Frehley on April 27, 1951 in The Bronx, he received a guitar as a Christmas present when he was twelve, teaching himself how to play the instrument. He had gotten involved in street gangs around this time, which is when he got the nickname "Ace" but began to lose interest when music became more of a priority. Frehley began playing in local bands during high school and later got a job as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix. He drifted from several bands and worked many odds jobs to make a living before he saw an ad in The Village Voice looking for a guitarist. 

When he went in to audition, he met rhythm guitarist, Paul Stanley, bass guitar player, Gene Simmons and drummer, Peter Criss. He was hired and they became Kiss in 1973. The band decided to paint their faces and create stage personas for live performances with Frehley becoming "Space Ace". They released their self-titled debut the next year and while there was no hit single, the record went gold on the strength of promoting the album and touring. With a frenzied style of guitar playing, Frehley became one of the popular rock players during the 1970's.

In 1978, each member of Kiss released a self-titled solo album with Frehley having a hit single "New York Groove", a cover of a 1975 song by the British glam-rock band, Hello, reaching number thirteen on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. After Criss was voted out of the band in 1980, Frehley became frustrated by the musical direction of Kiss and was always outvoted as the replacement drummer had no vote. Two years later, Frehley would quit Kiss. Forming his own band, Frehley's Comet in 1984, he returned to his preferred heavy metal rock and enjoyed a brief time of success. In 1996, all four original members of Kiss reunited to tour and record an album, "Psycho Circus" before disbanding again by 2002. Frehley would go on to continue his solo career, with his latest album, "10,000 Volts" released last year, until his health had begun to decline recently.

SEX HYSTERIA

Jessie Murph, the provocative alt-country artist, has burst into the mainstream with her strip-club anthem, "Blue Strips" which is a reference to the blue security strip on one hundred dollar bills. This hip-hop tinged song with a country twang about a woman seeking payback for her man cheating on her with a stripper by showing up that club to throw money at her reached number fifteen on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

Like many music performers today, the Alabama native, Murph began her career posting videos of herself singing covers on TikTok and Instagram as child. By sixteen, she had built enough of a following to lead her getting signed to Columbia Records. A mixtape, "Drowning" soon followed in 2023 that brought Murph even more attention.

Pushing her sound even further than her debut album, "That Ain't No Man That's the Devil" from last year, Murph's recently released second album, "Sex Hysteria" digs deeper into edgy, country-soul confessional songs dealing with childhood trauma, love relationships and blunt sexuality. Sporting a towering beehive of inky black hair, Murph's image is of a classic '60's styled, sexy bad girl in constant search of a good time. She's even managed to attract rappers, Gucci Mane (who is also the name of a track on the album) and Lil Baby to provide vocals on the album.

The now twenty year old performer continues to push boundaries with the single, "1965". She has received some backlash from the song due to it's lyrics involving outdated gender roles while the video features a graphic sex scene that has raised accusations that she's glorifying domestic violence. But Murph has dismissed the controversy by stating it's all simply satire. 

Here is a sampling of the sounds by the daring, Jessie Murph which includes the controversial, "1965" and a remix of "Blue Strips" featuring Sexxy Red.

RANDOM SIGHTS + SOUNDS

When Miley Cyrus approached the recording of her latest album, "Something Beautiful", she was inspired by the win of her first Grammy Award last year for Best Pop Solo performance for "Flowers". It's not that she placed that much importance in awards but it did give Cyrus even more confidence that she was moving creatively in the right direction. A performer since she was thirteen when cast in the Disney Channel television series "Hannah Montana", the now thirty-two year old Cyrus has conceived her ninth studio album as a visual concept record centered around the theme of "healing". She continues to take control of her sound, co-writing and co-producing the album, with this collection utilizing alt-r&b, jazz and disco-pop to express her thoughts on discovering beauty and light following trauma and heartbreak. "Something Beautiful" also features guest appearances by Brittany Howard, Danielle Haim, Flea of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Super Model, Naomi Campbell. A musical film that is a companion to the album called "Something Beautiful", directed by Cyrus along with Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter, made its premiere on June 6th at the Beacon Theatre during the Tribeca Festival and will be released theatrically on June 12th.







June is Pride month and to help kick off the celebration here are some recent songs by artists who are either queer or strong allies: The latest song from David Archuleta is a sensual ballad, "Can I Call You"; the French musical stylist, Christine and the Queens has an upcoming EP collaborating with legendary disco producer, Cerrone and their lead single is the throbbing dance track, "Catching Feelings"; Sam Williams, the grandson of the influential country music pioneer, Hank Williams and son of Hank Williams Jr., is continuing in the family tradition yet in his own way with a country-pop love song that is unabashedly queer; German producer, Toby Gad has released "Run", a track from Donna Summer that was unreleased from the recording sessions for her final studio album, "Crayons" back in 2008; and the performer who first found fame in musical theater before soaring on to the big screen (in the adaptation of hit musical, "Wicked") and this year's Tony Awards host, Cynthia Erivo has managed to find time to record her second studio album, "I Forgive You", a collection of contemporary r&b.











And to close, here is a classic one-hit wonder from 1969 that I love from Spiral Starecase, a Northern California based band, and their big hit, "More Today Than Yesterday". Beginning as an instrumental group called the Fydallions, they managed to get signed to Columbia Records but the label insisted they change their name. Taking it from a 1946 psychological horror film but slightly altering the spelling, Spiral Starecase charted with "More Today Than Yesterday" with the soulful pop song reaching number twelve on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. None of their follow-up music managed to find much success and the band actually disbanded a little over a year after their charting hit due to in-fighting amongst the members and poor management.

NEW SOUNDS

MAREN MORRIS

Maren Morris broke through back in 2016 with her song "My Church" which was her first to reach the top ten of the US country singles charts. A recording contract with Columbia Nashville followed and she achieved more hit country singles. Morris dabbled in dance music a couple of years later, teaming with German record producer and DJ, Zedd and having their collaboration, "The Middle" become a smash international hit. After a few more successful albums, Morris has taken a page from Taylor Swift's playbook, moving away from pure country and has just released "Dreamsicle", a collection of modern pop that showcases another side of her impressive talent. Teaming up with a large number of the top producers in contemporary pop which includes Greg Kurstin and Jack Antonoff (who helped Swift on her journey into pop music), the politically outspoken Morris has delivered songs that express where she currently is in her life right now after recently ending her marriage to musician, Ryan Hurd and coming out as bisexual. She has planned to embark on her "Dreamsicle World Tour" to support the record with dates set across North America and Europe.





BARBRA STREISAND

With "The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two", Barbra Streisand offers a sequel to her popular 2014 duets album, "Partners". This collection, due out in June, has the legendary performer teaming-up with some of her musical contemporaries (Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Bob Dylan), pop music successors (Josh Groban, Sting, Mariah Carey, Tim McGraw) and current artists (Sam Smith, Laufey, Ariana Grande). The songs they perform range from pop standards to songs written by some of her duet partners. The first two songs released feature Streisand with the Irish rocker, Hoizer on a cover of Ewan MacColl's 1957 love ballad, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". And the former Beatle performs with Streisand, "My Valentine", a love song he had written for his album, "Kisses on the Bottom" back in 2011.

THE 67TH ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS

While music was the main focus of the 67th annual Grammy Awards, the wildfires that recently devastated the Los Angeles area was a top priority for the ceremony. Throughout the show, fundraising was being done for the California Fire Relief Fund, asking for donations to help. The evening began with the band, Dawes, an LA based, folk rock duo who lost their homes and recording studio in the fires, performing a version of Randy Newman's "I Love LA" with an all-star backing band that included John Legend, St. Vincent, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley and Brittany Howard. Later in the show, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga paid tribute to Los Angeles with their take on the Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreaming". Comedian, Trevor Noah returned for the fifth consecutive time to serve as host and continued to deliver a feel-good mood and light humor to the show.

As it has been stated before on previous Grammys, some of the highlights on the show were moments you would not see anywhere else. Surprisingly for the very first time, all the nominees for Best New Artist performed live on the show with the psychedelic rock trio, Khruangbin, pop vocalists, Benson Boone, Raye and Teddy Swims, hip-hop country artist, Shaboozey and rising rapper, Doechii (who put on an amazing set and won Best Rap Album, for her mixtape, "Alligator Bites Never Heal" earlier), with each displaying exactly why they were nominated. Fellow nominees in this category, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan had their own big production showcases as they were two of the biggest acts from last year. And Charli XCX brought the rave scene to the Grammys with a kinetic performance of "Von Dutch" and "Guess".

A starry tribute to the late Quincy Jones, who passed away last year at ninety-one, with Will Smith providing commentary of the legendary producer who began in jazz and expanded to pop music with Cynthia Erivo along with Herbie Hancock doing a sensational version of "Fly Me To the Moon"; country singer, Lainey Wilson and jazz musician, Jacob Collier teamed up to perform the jump blues number, "Let the Good Times Roll"; Stevie Wonder played harmonica accompanied by Hancock on "Bluesette" and leads a version of "We Are The World" with backing by Los Angeles students who lost their school in the fires and Janelle Monáe throwing down with a thrilling version of Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".

The Recording Academy President, Harvey Mason Jr. came out to speak on the changes the Grammys have done to diversify and expand the group after The Weeknd had publicly criticized the awards for the lack of transparency in the award selection process and stated he would boycott the ceremony. And to prove that he accepted the efforts made to improve the Grammys, The Weeknd came out to perform his new song, "Cry For Me", followed by "Timeless" along with rapper Playboi Carti.

Female artists dominated the nominations this year so it's no surprise that they walked away with a majority of awards handed out. And it was these musicians that made some important and memorable statements about the vulnerable and marginalized during their moment in the spotlight. During her acceptance speech for winning Best New Artist, Chappell Roan took the opportunity to call out record labels to support developing artists with livable wages and health care, explaining the struggles she went through having no skills to fall back on after being dropped from her label. Lady Gaga continued her unwavering support of the trans community when she received Best Pop Duo or Group with Bruno Mars. Alicia Keys was the recipient of this year's Dr. Dre Global Impact Award,  delivering a moving speech that drove home the point of the importance of female creatives being recognized for their contributions (and name checked several) and to fight back against shutting down the diversity in music, proclaiming rightly that DEI is not a threat but a gift.

The only male artist who received a major award was Kendrick Lamar for his popular diss track targeting his former friend, Canadian rapper Drake, "Not Like Us" who took home Song of the Year and Record of the Year and winning a total of five Grammys.

And Beyoncé, presented by members of the Los Angeles Fire Department, finally received Album of the Year for her country music concept album, "Cowboy Carter".  After being snubbed by the Country Music Association, she was visibly stunned to receive the Best Country Album award earlier in the evening. So by the time of the final award of the night, Beyoncé, who became only the fourth Black female to receive this prize, appeared to be a bit overwhelmed yet managed to thank the fire fighters, acknowledge one of the first yet slighted African-American country singers, Linda Martell, slyly implying that the prize was long overdue and encouraged artists to keep pushing forward. And while I wouldn't say that "Cowboy Carter" was my favorite out of her eight solo studio albums to date, Beyoncé continues to boldly experiment, not willing to settle for the expected and unafraid to be a little weird. This alone makes "Cowboy Carter" the album of the year.

Here is a partial list of the winners from the 2025 Grammys:

Album of the Year: "Cowboy Carter" – Beyoncé
Record of the Year: "Not Like Us" — Kendrick Lamar
Song of the Year: "Not Like Us" – Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
Best New Artist: Chappell Roan
Best Pop Vocal Album: "Short n' Sweet" — Sabrina Carpenter
Best Pop Solo Performance: "Espresso" — Sabrina Carpenter
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: "Die with a Smile" by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: "Visions" — Norah Jones
Best Dance/Electronic Album: "Brat" — Charli XCX
Best Dance/Electronic Recording: "Neverender" — Justice & Tame Impala
Best Dance Pop Recording: "Von Dutch" — Charli XCX
Best Rap Album: "Alligator Bites Never Heal" — Doechii
Best Rap Performance: "Not Like Us" — Kendrick Lamar
Best Melodic Rap Performance: "3" — Rapsody Featuring Erykah Badu
Best Rap Song: "Not Like Us" — Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
Best R&B Album: "11:11 (Deluxe)" — Chris Brown
Best Progressive R&B Album: "So Glad to Know You" — Avery*Sunshine and "Why Lawd?" — NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge) (Tie)
Best R&B Performance: "Made For Me (Live On BET)" — Muni Long
Best Traditional R&B Performance: "That's You" — Lucky Daye
Best R&B Song: "Saturn" — Rob Bisel, Cian Ducrot, Carter Lang, Solána Rowe, Jared Solomon & Scott Zhang, songwriters (SZA)
Best Rock Album: "Hackney Diamonds" — The Rolling Stones
Best Rock Performance: "Now and Then" — The Beatles
Best Rock Song: "Broken Man" — Annie Clark, songwriter (St. Vincent)
Best Alternative Music Album: "All Born Screaming" — St. Vincent
Best Alternative Music Performance: "Flea" — St. Vincent
Best Gospel Album: "More Than This" — CeCe Winans
Best Country Album: "Cowboy Carter" — Beyoncé
Best Country Solo Performance: "It Takes A Woman" — Chris Stapleton
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: "II MOST WANTED" — Beyoncé Featuring Miley Cyrus
Best Country Song: "The Architect" — Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves & Josh Osborne, songwriters (Kacey Musgraves)
Best Latin Pop Album: "Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran" — Shakira
Best Jazz Album: "A Joyful Holiday" — Samara Joy
Best Comedy Album: "The Dreamer" — Dave Chappelle
Best Musical Theater Album: "Hell’s Kitchen (Original Broadway Cast)" 

Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording: "Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration" — Jimmy Carter
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media: "Maestro: Music By Leonard Bernstein"
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television): "Dune: Part Two" — Hans Zimmer, composer
Best Song Written For Visual Media: "It Never Went Away" [From "American Symphony"] — Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
Best Music Video: "Not Like Us" — Kendrick Lamar
Best Music Film: "American Symphony" 

Songwriter of the Year (Non-Classical): Amy Allen
Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical): Daniel Nigro