Asheville’s music community features an impressive number of unique personalities. But it’s safe to say that only one has a personal history that includes a period spent as a Vaishnava monk. Ādi Puruṣa Das performs and records as Adi the Monk, making instrumental music that – on the surface at least – has little to

Too often the Monkees have been dismissed, and called names like the Prefab Four. While it’s undeniable that the group was assembled by music and television executives looking to capitalize upon the popularity of the Beatles, the Monkees were certainly not the only rock/pop act of that era to be put together by behind-the-scenes figures:

In my final year of college, I was exceedingly fortunate to have signed up for a course called American Popular Music History: Stephen Foster to the Present. There were only six of us in the class, and our professor was one Murray Silver; he had just co-authored Myra Lewis‘ book, Great Balls of Fire. But

Fans of 1960s pop are – to varying degrees – familiar with Paul Revere and the Raiders; the band enjoyed a long string of hit albums and singles that stretched into the 70s. And thanks to their high visibility via the weekday television program Where the Action Is, the Raiders influenced a generation, not least

In my occasional Blast from the Past blog entries, I take a quick look at notable reissues from notable recording artists — some you’ll recognize; some you probably missed. All are worth a closer look. Jazz fans know that one of the most legendary collaborations in the genre was the string of live 1956-’57 Monk