Louder: 100 Years of the Groundbreaking “Crazy Blues”

The Small, Black-Owned Record Label That Made a Big Impact in 1970s D.C.

A new compilation of music released on Black Fire Records is a vital link between jazz and go-go, the city’s official genre.

By Giovanni Russonello

Tobe Nwigwe Never Planned to Go Viral. Then He Rapped About Breonna Taylor.

The Houston rapper and singer has been making music with a close-knit team for five years. A 44-second track released in July brought his message to a larger audience.

By Leslie Pariseau

Why Kathleen Edwards Had to Quit Music (and Open a Coffee Shop)

When the Canadian musician was in a dark spot, a friend jokingly suggested she change paths. It ended up being the detour she needed to find her way back to songwriting.

By Lindsay Zoladz

Holly Humberstone Wants Her Songs to Last a Lifetime

The young British singer, who writes conversationally intimate pop music, is about to release her debut EP.

By Jon Caramanica

my ten

Gloria Estefan Wants to Get Inside Your Head

The Latin-pop innovator studied psychology and never gave up her fascination with the mind. She shared her list of cultural must-haves while preparing to release her 14th solo album.

By Lindsay Zoladz

the playlist

Drake’s GIF-a-Thon, and 9 More New Songs

Hear tracks by Miley Cyrus, Loyal Lobos, Rico Nasty and others.

By Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica and Lindsay Zoladz

The Welcome Return of the Chicks

How would Nashville be different if it hadn’t pushed the trio away? A conversation about “Gaslighter” and beyond.

those we’ve lost

Trini Lopez, Singing Star Who Mixed Musical Styles, Dies at 83

His blend of American folk, Latin and rockabilly music captivated listeners worldwide. His secret: arrangements that people could dance to. He died of Covid-19.

By Jim Farber

Gloria DeNard, Who Educated Through Jazz, Is Dead at 93

She founded the East Harlem music school Manna House Workshops because, she said, “I wanted the people in the community to have a better feeling of self-worth.”

By Steven Kurutz

Wayne Fontana, Hitmaker With ‘The Game of Love,’ Dies at 74

The song brought him and his British Invasion band, the Mindbenders, a bit of success in the mid-1960s. Then he went solo, and the hits did not keep coming.

By Julia Carmel

those we’ve lost

Bill Mack, D.J. Beloved by Truckers and Country Fans, Dies at 91

With a signal that reached half the country, the “midnight cowboy” was one of radio’s first national personalities. He died of the coronavirus.

By John Leland

the charts

Taylor Swift, No. 1 Again, Is Last to Benefit From an Obscure Chart Rule

When a physical album is sold, it often comes with a digital copy. Which one counts in Billboard’s totals is changing.

By Ben Sisario

R. Kelly Allies Accused of Using Arson and Bribery to Silence Witness

Prosecutors say one defendant set fire to a car parked outside the house of a woman who had publicly accused the singer of abuse.

By Nicole Hong

Cue Up the Shirelles: Cousin Brucie Is Back at WABC-AM Radio

Bruce Morrow, who some fans thought would retire after leaving SiriusXM this month, is returning, at age 84, to the station where he worked in the 1960s.

By Julia Jacobs

montreal dispatch

Should Montreal Subway Honor Polarizing Priest or Jazz Genius?

A fight to rename a metro stop pits those who want to celebrate a revered Black musician against those who want to retain the name of a priest who espoused equal rights for Francophone Quebecers — and also anti-Semitism.

By Dan Bilefsky

What Phil Collins and the YouTube Twins Tell Us About Music

The brothers Tim and Fred Williams have wowed the internet with their YouTube reactions to vintage music. Why are generation-spanning videos like theirs so popular right now?

By Sandra E. Garcia

A Jazz Drummer’s Fight to Keep His Own Heart Beating

Milford Graves devoted himself to studying the rhythms of the heart. It turns out he was creating a technique to treat himself.

By Corey Kilgannon