It’s surprising to me that we’re now several months into Soul Serenade, and I have yet to feature a track by the Temptations. They are, after all, my favorite soul…
Ken Shane
844 Articles
Ken Shane lives in Narragansett, R.I. He is a freelance writer and far and away the oldest Popdose writer. In fact, he may be the oldest writer, period. He wants you to know that he generally does not share his colleagues' love for the music of the '80s, and he does not forgive them for loving it. (Ken passed away in November 2022. R.I.P. —Ed.)
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
The idea of a collaboration between two of America’s greatest composers is one that is intriguing, but also fraught with peril. The biggest problem is that the music of George…
Ken Shane
4 Min Read
George Wein started the Newport Folk Festival in 1959, and though economic difficulties caused the festival to close down in 1971, it was revived in 1985, and it’s been running…
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
The story of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell is one that ends tragically, but begins in glory. Together they stormed the charts in 1967 with a series of indelible soul…
Ken Shane
3 Min Read
To read Part One of my coverage of the 10th annual XPoNential Music Festival, please click here. If anything, the weather along the banks of the Delaware River in Camden,…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Last year I saw Eli “Paperboy” Reed and his band the True Loves at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. I came away a little disappointed. I’d been following their…
Ken Shane
4 Min Read
It was a sweltering hot July weekend when beloved Philadelphia radio station WXPN brought the 10th annual XPoNential Music Festival across the river to Wiggins Park on the Camden, NJ…
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
Jeff Beck’s sister was responsible for a nice chunk of rock and roll history when she fortuitously introduced him to another young guitarist named Jimmy Page. When Eric Clapton left…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Gene McDaniels is an artist who saw success during the years between the rise of Elvis Presley, and the rise of the Beatles. Many people think that popular music was…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Quick, name another band whose lineup has been intact for 26 years. Not that easy is it? Not these days, not any days. Los Lobos can claim that distinction. Steve…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
“These are the days I remember.” With these words, Mark Olson opens his latest solo venture Many Colored Kite. These are good days for Olson, particularly coming as they do…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
“Get On Up” by the Esquires was a huge record on the Atlantic City Boardwalk in the summer of 1967. It was a perfect song for the a cappella groups…
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
Like many Americans, my first encounter with reggae came via Eric Clapton’s cover of “I Shot the Sheriff,” which was on his 1974 album 461 Ocean Boulevard. Clapton deserves praise…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
This week I bring you another one of those classic soul songs that I just couldn’t stop listening to back in the day. I played the 45 over and over…
Ken Shane
4 Min Read
On May 18 of this year, the Rolling Stones released a remastered and expanded edition of what is arguably the greatest rock and roll album ever made, Exile On Main…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Everyone knows Ben E. King. He’s the guy who co-wrote and sang the immortal “Stand By Me,” which was a Top Ten hit in 1961, and again in 1987. True…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
A new Crowded House album is always cause for celebration, and Ken Shane thinks their latest is one of their best.
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
In January of next year, Tom Rush will be 70 years old. The New Hampshire born folk-rock pioneer is still out there on the road, and still releasing albums, as…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
Harvey Fuqua died on Tuesday. He was 80 years-old. Fuqua was from Louisville, KY, where in 1951 he founded a group called the Crazy Sounds. After the members of the…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
On Tuesday, my review of the new Jimmy Webb album, Just Across the River, ran on Popdose. If you read it, you know that I am a huge fan of…
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
I’ll tell you one thing right from the jump; Alejandro Escovedo’s new album, Street Songs of Love (Fantasy/Concord Music Group), may be my favorite album of the year from a…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
It’s a rare but welcome event for Ken Shane when Jimmy Webb releases a new album.
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
In what many people would have called an unlikely move, Crosby, Stills & Nash invited Neil Young join them in 1969. Their first album together took them to the top of the world.
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
OK, I admit it. I know fuck-all about Bobby Brown. Week after week I use this space to pontificate about the great soul music of the past. You put up…
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
As often happens these days, this collection is being released in several formats. This is a review of the standard, two-CD set that has been released in the United States…
Ken Shane
5 Min Read
Non-Comm is the annual Triple A radio conference hosted by WXPN in Philadelphia, and held at that city’s wonderful venue, World Cafe Live. The conference draws radio programmers from all…
Ken Shane
2 Min Read
There must come a time when a great artist gets tired of being just a critics darling, with a small but devoted band of hard core followers. When that happens,…
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
In 1972, the Isley Brothers, on the verge of becoming a six-piece, vocal instrumental family funk juggernaut, scored a minor hit with “Work to Do.”
Ken Shane
1 Min Read
You know these guys, at least you know their work. Between them, Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere were complicit in the creation of dozens of hit records in the ’60s…