Behold yet another worldwide reggae star that you’ve probably never heard of. Unfortunately, unless their name is Marley, Toots or Spear, most reggae artists typically go unnoticed by the masses. Beres Hammond falls into that category, in spite of a 35-year career that has made him a superstar in his…

Glen Campbell, pop star, requires little introduction. Less obvious, however, is his start as anonymous session man backing artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and the Monkees, among others. (Remember, only Michael Nesmith could play.) Campbell even “joined” the Beach Boys during an eighteen-month tour. Once he was given…

The members of Boys Like Girls live at home in the suburbs with their parents and write vague, emotionally charged songs sugarcoated with precision pop hooks. Add Martin Johnson’s wavering, pained voice, a requisite ambiguous name and producer Matt Squire (Panic! At the Disco), and the band fits emo to,…

When legendary Studio One producer Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd died in 2004, he left behind a real legacy: Ska, widely considered to be the first truly Jamaican music, was among his most enduring creations. To pioneer the style — which combines the understated rhythms of 1960s R&B, jazzy horn sections…

Back in the early ’70s, Eric Clapton — struggling out of drug addiction and pursuing a solo career — turned “Cocaine” and “After Midnight,” both JJ Cale songs, into radio staples that saved his floundering butt. Now, some three decades later, Clapton and Cale have joined forces on an album…

With Colorado’s just-passed statewide smoking ban prompting threats of legal challenges, Habib Koité — headliner of Putumayo’s Acoustic Africa tour — may inadvertently add fuel to the debate with his signature song “Cigarette a Bana (No More Cigarette).” Of course, even without the ban, smoking at a West African music…

Despite the worldwide rise in reggae’s popularity — including the recent mega-success of Matisyahu — it’s still reasonable to be skeptical of a reggae band composed mostly of white guys. Nonetheless, while John Brown’s Body doesn’t have roots in Jamaica (the act is from Ithaca, New York), the members’ hearts…

There are guitarists, and then there are “certified guitar players.” Steve Vai, for example, is not a CGP, whereas Tommy Emmanuel is. Even though Emmanuel has recorded with Rolling Stone Bill Wyman and toured with Shania Twain, you’re probably more familiar with Vai. Don’t feel bad, though, if the name…

While Blur was busy parading around the globe to great acclaim in the ’90s, showing off the Brit-pop crown and racking up tabloid headlines, the Charlatans UK were quietly amassing a stable of number-one hits and headlining gigs. Fast-forward to 2006, and it’s more of the same. Although the elder…