Nina Simone:  I’ll Look Around

Nina Simone: I’ll Look Around

Nina Simone is simply one of the greatest artists of our time. Trained at Juilliard in classical piano, only starting to sing later in life, she embodies a true renaissance musician to me: someone who loves all genres of music and is interested in being a part of all...
Alfred Hayes/Earl Robinson: Joe Hill

Alfred Hayes/Earl Robinson: Joe Hill

“I never died, says he”—and thus Paul Robeson sings of the union organizer Joe Hill, a man who did die for his cause. Perhaps today, as so much is said about dark times we live in, it is critical to remember there were much darker. And the society grew...
Yoko Ono:  Approximately Infinite Universe

Yoko Ono: Approximately Infinite Universe

Much has been said about Yoko Ono, her music, her art, and her relationships. There is plenty of recorded history, stories and legends around these topics readily available to the interested. Let’s leave almost all that behind. Listen to these songs all together...
Melissa Etheridge:  Silent Legacy

Melissa Etheridge: Silent Legacy

It was the winter of 1993 and I was in my grandmother’s kitchen nervously attempting to tell her that I was gay. I had grown up hearing the word faggot so regularly that the idea of confessing that I was one of “those people” was a threat to everything I held dear,...
Stevie Wonder:  If It’s Magic

Stevie Wonder: If It’s Magic

What a wonder Stevie is! I have always been a fan of his uplifting and inspiring music. He is the magic that is everlasting. “If It’s Magic” is a song I listen to to keep faith alive. I lay down on my comfy bed and gaze upon the paper butterflies hanging from my...