Jim Farber
Posts
Jerry Butler, Singer Known as the Iceman, Dies at 85
Known for his resounding baritone and his courtly manner, he briefly led the Impressions before beginning a successful solo career.
Marianne Faithfull, Chanteuse of Survival, Is Dead at 78
A fresh-voiced pop star and Mick Jagger’s muse in the 1960s, she went on to experience more than her share of hard times before emerging...
The Super-Sampled Band Cymande Made Funk With a Message. It’s Back.
The British group with Caribbean roots stopped performing in 1974. Its slow-rolling comeback is realized on Friday with a new album, “Renascence.”
Peter Yarrow, the Peter of Peter, Paul and Mary, Dies at 86
The folk trio he formed with Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers became a pop phenomenon, scoring hits like “If I Had a Hammer” and...
Phil Lesh, Bassist Who Anchored the Grateful Dead, Dies at 84
One of the first rock bassists whose instrument regularly took a lead role, he also had a hand in writing some of the band’s best-known...
Herb Alpert’s 50th Album Is Here. What’s Kept Him Going Places?
The trumpeter, now 89, is at work on albums, live shows and sculptures, driven by the joy of creating and communicating. “I don’t look back,”...
A New ‘Red Hot’ Album Tackles a Hot Topic: Transgender Awareness
“Transa,” with 46 tracks due Nov. 22, brings together artists including Sam Smith, Sade, André 3000 and Jayne County.
Duke Fakir, Last Surviving Member of the Four Tops, Dies at 88
He sang tenor on hits like “Standing in the Shadow of Love,” “Reach Out, I’ll Be There” and “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey...
Linda Thompson Can’t Sing Her New Songs. Her Solution? ‘Proxy Music.’
The singer and songwriter who rose from the ’60s British folk-rock scene lost her vocals to a neurological disorder. So she wrote a batch of...
Rudolph Isley, an Original and Enduring Isley Brother, Dies at 84
He provided harmony vocals and the occasional lead. He also helped write some of the group’s biggest hits, including “Shout,” “Fight the Power” and “That...