Curtis Mayfield (1996)
“It isn’t every day a 54-year-old quadriplegic records a record….” There are comeback stories. And then there’s Curtis Mayfield’s comeback story. In mid-August, 1990, he was about to perform at an outdoor concert...
“It isn’t every day a 54-year-old quadriplegic records a record….” There are comeback stories. And then there’s Curtis Mayfield’s comeback story. In mid-August, 1990, he was about to perform at an outdoor concert...
“One of my first public appearances was at a talent contest. I sang and played Fats Waller’s ‘fododo-de-yacka-saki want some seafood mama.’ I could just see the teacher saying, “This boy is going straight...
Blog / Blog Posts / Blues / Jazz / Pop / R&B / The Katz Tapes
by Larry Katz · Published August 5, 2015 · Last modified June 30, 2017
“I don’t think I’m difficult. Not at all.” The prospect of interviewing Nina Simone was thrilling. And slightly terrifying.
Blog / Blog Posts / Blues / Pop / R&B / Rock / The Katz Tapes
by Larry Katz · Published May 28, 2015 · Last modified May 29, 2015
“A guy comes out of the gumbo, he likes to walk on concrete awhile.” October 14, 1980 Lippman House, Harvard University, Cambridge When B.B. King came to Harvard University, it was...
“I’ve come to accept that ‘Stand By Me’ is my secret key to survival…” In early 1987 Ben E. King – who died April 30 at 76 – was enjoying an entirely unexpected return...
“No one has to push me to be complex.” If there has been a musical menage à trois more sublime and more successful than that of composer Burt Bacharach, lyricist Hal...
“I think there’s as much self revelation in “What Is This Thing Called Love” by Cole Porter as there is in any song by Kurt Cobain.” Elvis Costello is nobody’s idea of Dionne...
Blog / Blog Posts / Blues / Country / Folk / Jazz / Pop / Rock / The Katz Tapes
by Larry Katz · Published February 8, 2015
“A lot of people don’t know this, but the blues, which is an American music, is not what you think it is. It’s a combination of Arabic violins and Strauss waltzes working it...
“I didn’t get rich, but it was better than picking cotton…” We can debate who invented rock and roll, but there is no question that it was Elvis Presley who turned it...
Blog / Jazz / More / Pop / R&B
by Larry Katz · Published December 22, 2014 · Last modified December 27, 2014
“Liberating the slaves is not popular.” It’s a mystery: What killed Oscar Brown Jr.’s career? Rule out drugs, booze, out of control ego or any...