The NY Independent Music

Harry Nilsson captured at work in 1974 on his single "Many Rivers To Cross." (Photo: RCA Records).

Harry Nilsson, a Quiet Genius, Pioneer of ‘Salon Rock,’ Recalled in New Book

WinchesterNovember 16, 2021

Harry Nilsson captured at work in 1974 on his single "Many Rivers To Cross." (Photo: RCA Records). Millennials and Gen-Xers may not immediately know the name Harry Nilsson, but they likely have listened to his music at some point in their lives. ...

POP

Freda Payne is the subject of a new biography. (Photo: Freda Payne)

Freda Payne’s Golden Career Captured in New Book ‘Band of Gold’ by Mark Bego

WinchesterNovember 11, 2021

Freda Payne is the subject of a new biography. (Photo: Freda Payne) Singer Freda Payne, best known for the No. 1 hit song, “Band of Gold,” in 1970, has been the star of several Broadway touring productions, and a popular fixture on telev...

POPREVIEWS

George Harrison posed for his iconic album cover with fanciful garden gnomes. (Photo: George Harrison.com)

All Things Must Pass 50th Anniversary Remix: Feel George Harrison’s Spirit, Again

Matt KindelmannAugust 19, 2021

After The Beatles finally ended it in the spring of 1970, three bandmembers soon followed up with solo albums and embarked on new and disparate careers....

POPROCK

Monkees Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith performing on stage. (Photo:

Micky Dolenz Album Instills Monkee Mike Nesmith’s Songs With New Relevance in Age of COVID-19

Mark BegoJune 11, 2021

Monkees Micky Dolenz and Michael Nesmith performing on stage. (Photo: GabboT) The new Dolenz Sings Nesmith album is one of the best and most perfectly produced solo albums recorded by any individual member of '60s TV show and later band, The Monk...

POP

Lorde is set to release a new song and a sexy new image. (Photo:

Lordy! Lordy! Lorde! Kiwi Singer Posts Racy Song Cover: But Is It Really Her? (See!)

Keith GirardJune 8, 2021

Lorde is teasing her first new music in four years with a shocking display of flesh. (See!)...

POP

August Darnell and Adriana Kaegi performing as Kid Creole and the Coconuts. (Photo: John Rynski)

Kid Creole Founders Launch New Creation, NFT Streaming Media Art (See!)

Keith GirardJune 3, 2021

Kid Creole & The Coconuts, one of the best live bands ever, have embraced the current NFT craze by releasing a 30 second digital art piece “Got to be a Man.” ...

POPDANCE

Monkee Micky Dolenz has a new album and tour on the way. (Photo: DisCompany)

Micky Dolenz Finally Gets His Wish; Singing Michael Nesmith Songs on New Album

WinchesterMay 20, 2021

The full 13-track album is officially released on May 21. , A Monkees-Farewell Tour was announced, kicking off in September....

POP

Biggie Smalls is memorialized in this Brooklyn street mural. (Photo: )

Gruesome Relic From Biggie Smalls Murder Up for Sale; Could Fetch $150k

Keith GirardMarch 29, 2021

Biggie Smalls, also know as the Notorious B.I.G, was at the height of his rap career when he was gunned down in a 1997 drive-by shooting. Now a gruesome relic from the event is up for auction...

POP

Lil Nas X is reaching out about his coming out. (Photo: Fabebk)

Little Nas X Uses ‘Montero’ Video Launch to Shared ‘Scary’ Coming Out Story

Keith GirardMarch 26, 2021

Little Nas X is using the launch of his new music video to share his feelings about coming out. ...

CELEBRITIESRAP

Casey Bishop creates a sensation on her American Idol audition. (Photo: ABC/ScreenCap)

Unheralded Singer Casey Bishop, 15, Could Make American Idol Relevant Again (See)

Keith GirardFebruary 22, 2021

Casey Bishop, an unheralded 15-year-old singer, gave an electrifying performance on "American Idol."...

POP

Mary Wilson sings in Dec. 2019 for Friends of the LBJ Library. (Photo: Jay Godwin)

Mary Wilson, Co-Founder of The Supremes and Storied Singer, Dies at 76

Keith GirardFebruary 9, 2021

Mary Wilson, who shot to the top of the charts as a founding member of The Supremes, has died....

POP

Phil Spector Wall of Sound Polluted, Homogenized Rock for Radio; RIP

Keith GirardJanuary 18, 2021

Phil Spector was hailed as a musical genius for his "wall of sound" production, but his legacy is far more clouded....

POP

Prince singing in Brussels in 1986. The singer's estate has been socked by a hefty IRS bill. (Photo: Prince)

Prince Estate Mired by IRS Claims, Leaving Relatives Penniless in $80M Dispute

Keith GirardJanuary 4, 2021

Prince singing in Brussels in 1986. The singer's estate has been socked by a hefty IRS bill. (Photo: Prince) Prince, the iconic "Purple Rain" singer, is facing a green drain on his estate. The IRS charges his estate has been under-valued by almos...

POP

Paul McCartney Adds Coda to His Long Career with ‘McCartney III’

Matt KindelmannDecember 22, 2020

Paul McCartney releases McCartney III, the long awaited album in his solo trilogy. (Photo: Bang ShowBiz) I did what any Paul McCartney fan would do when rumors began circulating that McCartney III, the long belated third installment in ...

POP

The Oxfords are back with a No. 1 album on Amazon's Pop Oldies chart. (Photo: The Oxfords)

The Oxfords, a Throwback ’60s Philly Band, Finds New Fans With Oldies Album

Keith GirardDecember 7, 2020

It has been quite the year – eminently frustrating for certain – but the Philadelphia group, The Oxfords, saw the rebirth of their sound....

POP

Gene Cornish recounts his days as a founding member of The Rascals. (Photo: DisCompany)

Gene Cornish’s Life as Rascal Detailed in New Book About America’s ‘First Rock Band’

WinchesterDecember 2, 2020

“Good Lovin’: My Life As A Rascal” by Gene Cornish is a reflective look on what made The Rascals one of rock’s most enduring bands, long after it broke up....

ROCK

The Beatles in a promo photo from their Magical Mystery Tour in 1967, near the end of their time together. (Photo: Parlophone Music Sweden)

Paul Left The Beatles 50 Years Ago With First Solo Album; It Still Resonates Today

Matt KindelmannSeptember 16, 2020

The Beatles spent the last three years of the 1960s breaking up. By the spring of 1970, little more than a snarled set of business relationships was keeping them together....

POP

Victor Kastel reached deep into his past to create a modern album. (Photo: DisCompany)

Victor Kastel Reaches Back for an Album That Speaks to Today

WinchesterJuly 28, 2020

Singer-songwriter Vic Kastel has just issued his first-ever album, Time Traveler (Island Avenue Records), with much of the music recorded in the mid-70s....

BLUES

Daeodon finds its stride as the hell pig of Grunge rock. (Photo: DisCompany)

Daeodon Takes Grunge Out of the Garage With ‘Forever Strangers’

WinchesterJune 23, 2020

Daeodon (day-o-don), the broad-ranging, post-grunge rockers named for a pre-historic creature, sometimes called a “hell pig,” delivers music with “teeth” on its new CD album Forever Strangers....

BETWEEN THE LINESROCK

Prince was acutely aware of intolerance and spoke out against it. (Photo: Bang ShowBiz)

Prince Called Out Intolerance in 2015; Read His Words and See His Video

Keith GirardJune 8, 2020

Prince, a Minneapolis native who rose to become a music legend, was acutely attuned to racial intolerance and expressed his feelings in a moving letter that resonates with today’s “Black Lives Matter” protests....

POP

Liam Gallagher, former Oasis frontman, says his long-running feud with Robbie Williams is over. (Photo:

Liam Gallagher, Robbie Williams Ready to End One of Rock’s Longest Feuds?

Keith GirardMay 28, 2020

Williams have been feuding for 20 years, longer than any other rock stars. But Liam, at least, seems ready to bury the hatchet. Is a reunion possible?...

POP

Petula Clark's signature 1974 Royal Albert Hall concert has been captured on a new CD. (Photo: Petula Clark)

Petula Clark’s 1974 Royal Albert Hall Concert a Sonic Blast on New CD

Mark BegoMay 6, 2020

Petula Clark’s 1974 concert at The Royal Albert Hall in London has been released on a new CD, so imagine my delight when I recently opened it up....

REVIEWS

Project Grand Slam Debuts Video for ‘I’m Falling Off Of The World,’ a Coronavirus Anthem

WinchesterApril 28, 2020

Robert Miller and his band Project Grand Slam, have released a video of their new song, “I’m Falling Off Of The World,” which could serve as an anthem for those locked down in isolation by the coronavirus pandemic....

JAZZ