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☆ Opinion: How Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ reveals America’s true nature
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Opinion Roxanne Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

And Beyoncé’s bold, brilliant new album “Act II: Cowboy Carter,” which dropped Friday, is no exception to those musical roots. Roxanne Jones CNNIt was from Africa that the banjo, the signature instrument of country music, arrived on our nation’s shores. For a brief time in the 1960s and 1970s, Black country music artists received some commercial success and recognition. And, though he’s in the Country Music Hall of Fame today, Bailey was never recognized for his countless contributions to the genre. And by this measure, I’d say Beyoncé’s second act, “Cowboy Carter,” is indeed classic country music.

Persons: Roxanne Jones, Jones, ”, Cowboy Carter, Roxanne Jones CNN, There’d, Beyonce, Alice Randall, “, ” Randall, Linda Martell, Martell, Ray Charles ’, Charley Pride, DeFord Bailey, mistreating Bailey, ” Bailey, Bailey, Uncle Wilbur, Patsy Cline, Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, Bey Organizations: ESPN The Magazine, ESPN, New York Daily News, Philadelphia Inquirer, CNN, NPR, Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame Locations: Africa, America, Texas, Beyoncé, Nashville , Tennessee

☆ Beyoncé debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and makes history
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-20 | by ( Alli Rosenbloom | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Beyoncé’s new song “Texas Hold ‘Em” debuted in the top spot of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart on Tuesday, the publication announced. Beyoncé’s other new country song “16 Carriages” ranks No. She is also the first woman to have topped both the Hot Country and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts since the lists began in 1958. Morgan Wallen, Justin Bieber, Billy Ray Cyrus and Ray Charles are the only other artists to have reached No. Both “16 Carriages” and “Texas Hold ‘Em” were released on Feb. 11 after Beyoncé teased the release of new music in a surprise Super Bowl ad for Verizon, accompanied with eye-popping visualizer videos on YouTube.

Persons: CNN —, ”, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Justin Bieber, Billy Ray Cyrus, Ray Charles, Veep, Tony Hale, Queen Bey Organizations: CNN, Billboard, Verizon, YouTube Locations: Texas

Melanie, the singer-songwriter who rose through the New York folk scene, performed at Woodstock and had a series of 1970s hits including the enduring cultural phenomenon “Brand New Key," has died. Her publicist Billy James told The Associated Press that Melanie died Tuesday. With a voice that could shift from high-pitched and coy to a deep soulful rasp, Melanie wrote and sang hits including “Look What They’ve Done to My Song Ma" and “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)." “I probably have a quirky way of writing, and I think I was misunderstood,” she told the Tennessean newspaper in 2014. Melanie was married to her manager and producer Peter Schekeryk from 1968 until his death in 2010.

Persons: Melanie, Billy James, Leilah, Beau Jarred, coy, I’ve, you’ve, “, ”, Paul Thomas Anderson's, Jimmy Fallon, Melanie Safka, Joan Baez, Janis Joplin, Ray Charles, Miley Cyrus, Peter Schekeryk Organizations: New, Woodstock, Associated Press, “, Tennessean, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Party, Woodstock Music, Fair Locations: New York, Tennessee, U.S, Queens , New York, Greenwich, York, Europe, City

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed in New York City on Wednesday that alleges he groped a woman at a rooftop bar and restaurant in Manhattan in August 2015. Foxx's representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages. The actor is best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of singer Ray Charles in the 2004 film "Ray." Music industry veteran Jimmy Iovine was likewise sued on Wednesday by an woman claiming he sexually abused her. In the Iovine complaint filed in New York state court in Manhattan, a woman identified only as "Jane Doe" said she was sexually abused, forcibly touched and subject to sexual harassment and retaliation in August 2007.

Persons: Jamie Foxx, Jane Doe, Foxx, Ray Charles, Ray, Jimmy Iovine, Iovine, Douglas Wigdor, Dr, Dre, Russell Brand, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, Sean, Diddy, Combs, Axl Rose, Sheila Kennedy, Dawn Chmielewski, Steve Gorman, Daniel Wallis, Dan Whitcomb, Robert Birsel Organizations: Interscope Records, West Coast, Universal Music, Beats Electronics, Apple, Thomson Locations: New York City, Manhattan, New York, West, Los Angeles

☆ The night train revolution has been hailed as an alternative to airplanes. Here’s how that’s going
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-12 | by ( Ben Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Wherever they run, night trains are complicated, labor intensive and expensive to operate – one of the major reasons they went into decline in the first place. The $770 million contract could eventually see up to 370 new overnight carriages introduced to update Italy’s entire overnight train fleet. “Politicians must be clear: the night train market will be effectively closed for a very long time,” he says. So, what does all this mean for the much-vaunted night train revolution? With the honorable exception of government-subsidized Nightjet, which plans to expand rapidly over the next five years, European night train services have yet to match the hype.

Persons: Love, James Brown, David Bowie, Ray Charles, –, they’ve, Charisius, Agatha Christie, James Bond, Mark Smith, ”, “, ÖBB, “ Superliner, Kuleshova, Smith, it’s, Alex Halada, Nick Brooks Organizations: CNN, Orient Express, Austrian Federal Railways, Swiss Federal Railways, Deutsche Bahn, Italian State Railways, Amtrak, California Zephyr, European, Bloomberg, Getty, Regiojet, Compagnie Internationale des, VIA Rail, European Union, Frankfurt, Eurostar, EU Rail, EU Locations: Europe, Russia, Scandinavia, Vienna, Hamburg, Germany, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, France, Sweden, Milan, Sicily, Messina, Europe’s, United States, Berlin, Stockholm, Denmark, Czech, Prague, Croatia’s, London, Dresden, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Spain, Venice, Florence, Rome, Madrid, Porto, Portugal, Edinburgh, Zurich, AFP, EU

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Usher has a new confession: The Grammy winner will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in Las Vegas. The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced Sunday that Usher would lead the halftime festivities from Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11. “It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list,” Usher said in a statement. Usher is expected to wrap up his Las Vegas residency in early December before he makes his Super Bowl halftime appearance a couple months later. Usher will join a list of celebrated musicians who have played during Super Bowl halftime shows including Beyoncé, Madonna, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, U2, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson and Katy Perry.

Persons: — Usher, Usher, “, ” Usher, Ray Charles ’, ”, Ludacris, Lil Jon, Alicia Keys, He's, NBC’s, “ Hustlers, Roc, Jay, ” “, he’s, Jeezy, Usher bares, ” Jay, Jesse Collins, Hamish Hamilton, It’s, Rihanna, Oliver Schusser, Beyoncé, Dre, Snoop Dogg, Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Katy Perry, “ Usher, Seth Dudowsky Organizations: ANGELES, Apple Music, NFL, Apple, Roc Nation, Allegiant, Loves, Las, Roc, Super, of Music Locations: Las Vegas, superstardom, U.S, Paris

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana folklorist Nick Spitzer and Mississippi blues musician R.L. Boyce are among nine 2023 National Heritage Fellows set to be celebrated later this month by the National Endowment for the Arts, one of the nation’s highest honors in the folk and traditional arts. He founded the Louisiana Folklife Program, produced the five-LP Louisiana Folklife Recording Series, created the Louisiana Folklife Pavilion at the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans and helped launch the Baton Rouge Blues Festival. “But see, I play the old way, and nobody today can play my style, just me.”Boyce has played northern Mississippi blues for more than half a century. He has shared stages with blues greats John Lee Hooker, a 1983 NEA National Heritage Fellow, and Howlin’ Wolf.

Persons: Nick Spitzer, R.L, Boyce, Spitzer, Bess Lomax Hawes, ” Spitzer, Willie Nelson, Ray Charles, Dolly Parton, Fats Domino, “, Hawes, ” Boyce, ”, John Lee Hooker, Howlin ’ Wolf, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Ed Eugene Carriere, Michael A, Cummings, Joe DeLeon “ Little Joe ” Hernandez, Roen, Elizabeth James, Perry, Luis Tapia, Wu Man Organizations: ORLEANS, Heritage Fellows, National Endowment, Arts, Heritage Fellowship, Library of Congress, Washington , D.C, Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts, Tulane, Louisiana Folklife Program, Louisiana Folklife, Baton Rouge Blues, Smithsonian’s Center for Folklife, Heritage, Associated Press, NEA, Blues, Heritage Fellow Locations: Louisiana, Mississippi, Washington ,, New Orleans, Acadiana, Washington, Indianola , Washington, New York, Temple , Texas, Waimea , Hawaii, Dartmouth , Massachusetts, Santa Fe , New Mexico, Carlsbad , California

☆ Singing Competition Again Comes Under Fire After Use of Blackface
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Claire Moses | More About Claire Moses | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In response to that criticism, the show said the negative comments were surprising. This time around, “Your Face Sounds Familiar,” which is in its 19th season, has not yet publicly responded. The show’s Instagram account indicates that multiple contestants have dressed in blackface to perform as Black singers, including Snoop Dogg, Ray Charles, Bill Withers and Missy Elliott. She said the continued use of blackface on the show might be because the stigma surrounding it is smaller in Poland, which has a population that is overwhelmingly white, than it is in the United States. About 97 percent of Poland’s population identifies as ethnically Polish, according to Minority Rights Group International.

Persons: Snoop Dogg, Ray Charles, Bill Withers, Missy Elliott, Mia Moody, Ramirez, cornrows Organizations: Baylor University, Group International Locations: Texas, Poland, United States

☆ Kenneth Anger, 96, Dies; Experimental Filmmaker Left a Pop Culture Legacy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Dennis Lim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

His death, at an assisted living center, was confirmed on Wednesday by Spencer Glesby, a spokesman for Sprüth Magers, a gallery that has represented Mr. Anger since 2009. He said an announcement of the death had been delayed while matters involving Mr. Anger’s estate were being put in order. Mr. Anger embodied the love-hate relationship between underground art and mass culture. Few other avant-garde filmmakers borrowed so liberally or so subversively from popular iconography. And with his sensuous, mystical imagery and pioneering use of pop soundtracks, perhaps none saw their work so readily absorbed back into the mainstream.

☆ Factbox: Facts about actor-activist Harry Belafonte
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

* Belafonte received a Tony Award in 1954 for his role in Broadway's "Almanac" and became the first Black actor to win an Emmy for a 1959 television variety special. * Belafonte received three Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. * Although Belafonte and co-star Dorothy Dandridge were accomplished singers, their vocals in the 1954 movie "Carmen Jones" were sung by LeVern Hutcherson and Marilyn Horne. * Belafonte's movies often had racial themes. * Belafonte produced the 1984 movie "Beat Street," one of the first movies about break-dancing and hip-hop culture.

☆ Harry Belafonte, who mixed music, acting, and activism, dies at 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Bill Trott | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Belafonte was born in New York City's borough of Manhattan but spent his early childhood in his family's native Jamaica. A few weeks before the launch, Belafonte told Rolling Stone magazine that singing was a way for him to express injustices in the world. "We were instructed to never capitulate, to never yield, to always resist oppression," Belafonte told Yes! "The Navy came as a place of relief for me," Belafonte told Yes! Belafonte was the first Black performer to win a major Emmy in 1960 with his appearance on a television variety special.

☆ Jerry Lee Lewis, rock ’n’ roll pioneer who sang ‘Great Balls of Fire,’ dies at 87
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Brandon Griggs | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

And I’ve been on one all my life,” Lewis said in “Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story,” a 2014 biography by Rick Bragg. Jerry Lee Lewis performs on stage at the Country Music Festival held at Wembley Arena, London in April 1982. In 1989 “Great Balls of Fire!”, a biopic starring Dennis Quaid as Lewis, brought new attention to Lewis’ life and music. Jerry Lee Lewis speaks at the Country Music Hall of Fame 2022 inductees presented by CMA at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on May 17, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. Well, forget about it, let me hear that song.’”Lewis is survived by his wife, Judith Coghlan Lewis, his children Jerry Lee Lewis III, Ronnie Lewis, Pheobe Lewis and Lori Lancaster, sister Linda Gail Lewis, cousin Swaggart and many grandchildren, nieces and nephews, according to his representative’s statement.

☆ (video) A fost stabilit care este cel mai bun cântec din toate timpurile
▼ + stars: | 2015-10-13 | by ( Onixmedia Srl | ) diez.md time to read: +3 min

(video) A fost stabilit care este cel mai bun cântec din toate timpurileSavantul Dr Mick Grierson a stabilit, cu ajutorul unei analize computerizate, care este cel mai bun cântec din toate timpurile. La baza cercetării au stat top chart-uri ale unor publicații cu renume și a inclus 50 de piese muzicale populare. Cea mai bună combinație a tuturor factorilor luați în considerație a fost înregistrată la piesa care a luat locul întâi – „Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Nirvana. „Știința nu poate contribui la obținerea unui cântec perfect”, a subliniat Mick Grierson. „Like A Rolling Stone”, Bob Dylan#8.

Persons: Mick Grierson, John Lenon și, bază, în, această, susține, Descoperă, jos piesa, Vezi, John Lennon, Billie Jean ”, Michael Jackson, ”, „, Jude ”, Bob Dylan, O’Mine ”, Elton John, Chubby Checker, Whitney, David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Judy Garland, Marvin Gaye, Bruce Springsteen, Simon, Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin, Haze ”, Jimi Hendrix, „ Jonny B, Chuck Berry, Bob Marley, Jeff Buckley, Ben E King, „ Papa’s, James Brown, Ray Charles, Martha Reeves, Sam Cooke, Ike, Tina Turner Organizations: Beatles, „, Eagles, Zeppelin, Oasis, Whitney Houston, Radiohead, Stone, Boys, Police, Vandellas, Prince Locations: jos, „, Dire Straits

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