R.I.P. | The AllMusic Blog

Apr. 8, 2020

Remarkable Songs About Ordinary People: Remembering John Prine

The perpetual sturdiness of Prine’s extremely human songs prove that compassion and tactful simplicity can count for just as much as big themes and grand execution. Read More

Apr. 1, 2020

“But Now it’s Time to Say/What I Forgot to Say” – Adam Schlesinger and Leaving Utopia Parkway

The passing of Schlesinger and other beloved musicians emphasizes our collective feeling of helplessness during an unpredictable time, but they also leave behind a light to help us find our way out of… Read More

Mar. 23, 2020

Kenny Rogers Exemplified How To Cross Over Without Really Changing

The country superstar demonstrated a keen grasp of the leeway granted by his audience, which allowed him to paint outside the lines without alienating anyone. Read More

Aug. 17, 2018

With Respect: Remembering Aretha Franklin

Editor Mark Deming traces the career of the late Queen of Soul, from her roots as a preacher's daughter to her rough start with Columbia Records to her breakthrough with Atlantic and subsequent torrent… Read More

Jan. 10, 2018

Grieving a Band and the Gift of a Proper Goodbye

After attending the final Dillinger Escape Plan show, Chris Steffen ponders the bittersweet joy of accepting a band's farewell at face value while ignoring the potential for cynicism surrounding an artist's… Read More

Oct. 6, 2017

Celebrating Tom Petty’s Catalog, Untarnished Even In Its Ubiquity

Singer/songwriter and former AllMusic staff writer Andrew Leahey pens a remembrance of the late Tom Petty, whose music was so omnipresent and seemingly effortless that it was nearly taken for granted. Read More

Mar. 22, 2017

Chuck Berry: The Man Who Invented America

Rock and roll was Chuck Berry's own creation and not an interpretation of someone else's traditions, so he pursued it with a passion that made him rock's first true poet laureate and its first guitar… Read More

Apr. 22, 2016

Forever In My Life: Remembering Prince’s Boundless Creativity

Throughout the myriad phases of Prince's career, from his 80s heyday to his foot-planting stubbornness in the 90s to his revered elder statesman status in the 21st century, his peerless musical mind never… Read More

Jan. 22, 2016

From Heartache Tonight to Partytown: Remembering Glenn Frey

Stephen Thomas Erlewine takes an in-depth look at the career and contributions of a guy who loved Motown in the ‘60s and couldn’t wait to pick up his guitar and play. Read More

Jan. 12, 2016

Rebel Rebel: The Fantastic Voyage of David Bowie

Just two days after releasing his twenty-fifth album, Blackstar, David Bowie departed this earth. Stephen Thomas Erlewine looks back on the man whose career concluded when he seemed still in the thick… Read More