Music Tonight: When the “An Acoustic Cafe Evening Tour” — featuring acclaimed singer/songwriters Kelly Joe Phelps, Carrie Rodriguez (pictured) and Erin McKeown — hits Lexington this Saturday, tickets will cost fans at least $15; when the tour hits Chicago Feb. 2 (with Pieta Brown replacing McKeown), tickets are $22. But when Phelps, Rodriguez and McKeown perform tonight at MOTR Pub in Over-the-Rhine (the second date on the tour), it won’t cost you a cent to attend. That’s a crazy-good bargain, especially in this economic climate. Click here to read our preview of the show and more on what the performers have been up to lately. And click below for music video clips from each artist.—-
Momentous Happenings in Music History for January 25 On this day in 1958, Elvis Presley became the first artist to ever have a single debut at No. 1 on the U.K. charts. The song? Click below.
Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers born Jan. 25 include: Brazilian Jazz legend Antonio Carlos Jobim (1927); co-founder of Ska icons The English Beat and Pop group Fine Young Cannibals, Andy Cox (1960); R&B/Pop star Alicia Keys (1981); and legendary R&B/Blues singer Etta James (1938).
James, known to most for her timeless version of “At Last,” passed away just this past Friday after a difficult battle with leukemia. James’ career had its share of ups and downs — she struggled with heroin addiction off and on from the ’60s until entering the Betty Ford Clinic in 1988. After beating her addiction, James released several acclaimed albums and, in more recent years, Pop superstars like Beyonce (who played James in the 2008 film about the pioneering Chess label, Cadillac Records) and Christina Aguilera often talked about how much James’ voice influenced them.
James’ last studio album, The Dreamer, was released in November of last year. As you can hear in her version of “Misty Blue” below, James’ voice was still a powerful, soul-stirring instrument, even in her final days. Try not to get a chill up your spine while listening …
This article appears in Jan 25-31, 2012.