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G. Love & Special Sauce’s self-titled debut album was an out-of-left-field record upon its release in May 1994. An innovative concoction of rock, hip-hop, blues, and jazz music, its lead single “Cold Beverages” quickly overtook radio stations coast-to-coast that summer, but the band was none the wiser of its unusual, unexpected success.

“It was getting played on MTV, played on Beavis and Butt-Head,” G. Love tells Rolling Stone. “It was a hit record, but we didn’t know it was blowing up ‘cause we were doing 250 shows a year in a...

Michael Cuscuna, the three-time Grammy winner, Mosaic Records co-founder, historian and archivist who produced hundreds of jazz reissues and studio sessions during his career, has died. He was 75.

Cuscuna died Saturday of cancer at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, Grammy-winning recording artist Billy Vera, a longtime friend, announced.

Cuscuna produced the 1970 album Buddy & the Juniors, featuring Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and Junior Mance, for Vanguard Records, and 1972’s Give It Up, Bonnie Raitt’s lone gold album during her time at Warner Bros.

He produced reissues and studio sessions for Impulse, Atlantic, Arista, Muse, Elektra, Freedom, Novus and virtually the entire Blue Note catalog.

“Plainly stated, Blue Note Records would not exist as it does today without the passion & dedication of Michael Cuscuna,” execs from the label wrote on Instagram.

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Readers of Blues & Rhythm magazine know his work in the blues field,...

Stony Island is a classic film directed by Andrew Davis that tells the story of two musicians who start a band in Chicago's South Side against all odds. The film celebrates the music scene in Chicago and pays tribute to the city's rich musical history, mentioning artists like Benny Goodman, Buddy Guy, and Chaka Khan. Stony Island received positive reviews from critics and was praised for capturing the spirit of the city with a refreshing cynicism, according to Roger Ebert.

We have an exclusive clip from the 45th anniversary re-release of classic film that rarely gets the attention it deserves these days — Stony Island. Before he directed The Fugitive, Holes, Under Siege, A Perfect Murder, Collateral Damage, and other blockbuster films, Andrew Davis helmed the funky classic Stony Island, an era-defining film about two people who start a band against all the odds. The film stars Richard Davis, Gene Barge,...

Weeks after releasing a gritty cover of Muddy Waters’ “Rollin’ and Tumblin,'” Billy Gibbons issued a second tribute to the blues legend with his take on “Standing Around Crying.”

The Zz Top guitarist offers a slow, simmering version of the cut, laced with his signature, screaming slide-guitar. “Baby, look how you got me standing ’round crying/ I know I done love you, little girl, but you always resting on my mind,” he howls over a 12-bar blues pattern.

Both of Gibbons’ Waters covers appear on his upcoming solo LP,...

Washington -- Here's a listing of the 2012 inductees to the National Recording Registry in chronological order:

1."After You've Gone," Marion Harris (1918)

2."Bacon, Beans and Limousines," Will Rogers (Oct. 18, 1931)

3."Begin the Beguine," Artie Shaw (1938)

4. "You Are My Sunshine," Jimmie Davis (1940)

5.D-Day Radio Broadcast, George Hicks (June 5-6, 1944)

6."Just Because," Frank Yankovic & His Yanks (1947)

7."South Pacific," Original Cast Album (1949)

8."Descargas: Cuban Jam Session in Miniature," Cachao Y Su Ritmo Caliente (1957)

9.Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, Van Cliburn (April 11, 1958)

10.President's Message Relayed from Atlas Satellite, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Dec. 19, 1958)

11."A Program of Song," Leontyne Price (1959)

12."The Shape of Jazz to Come," Ornette Coleman (1959)

13."Crossing Chilly Jordan," The Blackwood Brothers (1960)

14."The Twist," Chubby Checker (1960)

15."Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's," Clarence Ashley, Doc Watson, et al. (1960-1962)

16."Hoodoo Man Blues," Junior Wells (1965)

17."Sounds of Silence," Simon and Garfunkel (1966)

18."Cheap Thrills," Big Brother and the Holding Company (1968)

19."The Dark Side of the Moon," Pink Floyd (1973)

20."Music Time in Africa,...

DVD Release Date: July 10, 2012

Price: DVD $14.98, DVD/CD $19.98

Studio: Eagle Rock

Mick and Muddy give it up for rock and blues at The Checkerboard Lounge.

Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones Live At The Checkerboard Lounge Chicago 1981 represents a one-night-only, now-legendary coming-together of the renowned bluesman and the world’s greatest rock’n’roll band.

On November 22, 1981, The Stones were touring America to promote their Tattoo You album when they had a night off in Chicago. What to do? The decision was a no-brainer, as they quickly learned that Muddy Waters was in town that night performing at the beloved Checkerboard Lounge. It didn’t take long before Muddy called up to the stage the attending Stones: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ron Wood and Ian Stewart. The British bad boys wound up jamming with Muddy and his band for nearly an hour-and-a-half, joined by ace guitarist Buddy Guy (who owned the...

Earl Hooker: Two Bugs and a Roach (Arhoolie)

Earl Hooker ought to be more famous than he is, but between shyness about his vocal abilities and dying at just 41 years of age, this guitar whiz's public profile remained low. His fellow musicians knew how good a player he was, though; Hooker played on records by Muddy Waters (whose “You Shook Me” was overdubbed atop Hooker's instrumental “Blue Guitar”) and Junior Wells, among others. He was especially admired for his slide playing, but using standard tuning, he was able to easily switch from slide to picking.

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Chicago blues star had a hit with 'Wang Dang Doodle.'

By Gil Kaufman

Koko Taylor

Photo: Michael Caulfield/ WireImage

Koko Taylor, one of the giants of Chicago blues, died on Wednesday at her Chicago home at the age of 80 of complications from a May 19 surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding, according to her official Web site.

"Koko Taylor was one of very few women who found success in the male-dominated blues world. She took her music from the tiny clubs of Chicago's South Side to concert halls and major festivals all over the world," read a tribute on her Web site. "She shared stages with every major blues star, including Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy as well as rock icons Robert Plant and Jimmy Page."

The singer, whose signature songs included "Wang Dang Doodle" and "I'm a Woman," was known as the "Queen of the Blues.