Arts Feb 21 Soul singer Jerry ‘Iceman’ Butler, whose hits included ‘Only the Strong Survive,’ dies at 85 By Hillel Italie, Associated Press
Arts Dec 23 Thom Bell, ‘Sound of Philadelphia’ producer, dies at 79 Thom Bell, one of the architects of the 1970s "Sound of Philadelphia," has died. By Hillel Italie, Associated Press
Arts Oct 03 Lee Fields used to be ‘Little James Brown,’ but these days, he’s all himself Now touring on his new album, “It Rains Love,” soul singer Lee Fields spoke with the PBS NewsHour on how he forged his own path, why he left the music business for several years, and what it was like meeting… By Frank Carlson
Arts Jul 07 Watch 6:01 Memphis youth carry on the legacy of Stax Records soul music Stax Music Academy is located on the site of the original Stax Records studio in historic Soulsville, which many legendary musicians -- including Aretha Franklin, Memphis Slim, and Booker T. Jones -- called home. It aims to nurture the next… By Saskia de Melker, Lauren Knapp
Arts May 19 Watch 2:57 Pell tells his story through trial, some error — and lots of ‘experimental soul’ How 'experimental soul' has become artist's guiding force… By PBS NewsHour
Feb 26 Watch Obama ‘hey-ho’ his way through Ray Charles’ ‘What’d I Say’ By Joshua Barajas After saying he wasn't going to sing Wednesday night, President Barack Obama broke his promise at the tailend of a Ray Charles tribute concert at the White House. Continue reading
May 01 R&B singer Ben E. King dies at 76 By Nora Daly American R&B and soul singer Ben E. King, who is best known for his song "Stand By Me," died Thursday at the age of 76. Continue reading
Dec 26 The musicians we listened to in 2014 By Victoria Fleischer Before we ring in 2015, we want to reflect on some of the great Art Beat stories from this past year. So who did we listen to in 2014?… Continue reading
Jul 30 Soul musician Curtis Harding on keeping with tradition and staying current By Victoria Fleischer Soul musician Curtis Harding originally wanted to be an oceanographer, but growing up in a musical family left its mark. “My mother’s a gospel singer. My sister plays piano. We all sang in the church, sang on the road,” he… Continue reading