Music

A new "best of" collection, The Soul Years, showcases the soulful vocals and composing skills of soul and R&B singer and composer Bobby Womack — and has become a favorite of many critics.

When Carole King's album Tapestry came out in 1971, it became one of the best-selling albums of all time and marked her as one of pop's most talented songwriters. King's masterpiece has been reissued as a 2-disc Legacy Edition by Sony. Music historian Milo Miles takes a look at the landmark work.

From jazz concerts and cabaret acts to multimedia art installations, Theo Bleckmann has made a name for himself in new York. Now, the vocalist and composer looks back to his native Germany.

Inspired by Sinn Sisamouth and other Cambodian stars of the '60s and '70s, brothers Zac and Ethan Holzman created a fusion cover band — complete with a former Cambodian pop star who had recently moved to Los Angeles.

Music critic Ken Tucker reviews soul singer Al Green's new album, Lay It Down.

Rapper, producer, fashion designer, restaurateur, grass-roots organizer and Broadway actor? Sean "Diddy" Combs might be the hardest-working man in hip-hop. He talks to Terry Gross about his career — and the "characters" behind his ever-changing names.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Evil Urges, the new album by the Kentucky indie-rock band My Morning Jacket. The band moves away from their Southern influences, instead using Manhattan as their muse for the album.

Operatic tenor Wayne Conner was an classical-music radio personality as well as a teacher at The Curtis Institute of Music, The Academy of Vocal Arts and the Peabody Institute. For 30 years, he also produced and hosted WHYY's "Singer's World" and "Collector's Corner." Connor died May 9 of liver cancer at the age of 79.

When Hank Williams died on New Year's day in 1953, he left behind a legacy of honky tonk hits as well an extended family who would continue making music for decades to come. Milo Miles reviews "Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy," an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame. "

Her father was Louis Armstrong's music director and a noted bandleader in his own right; her mother was a member of the iconic International Sweethearts of Rhythm. Critic Nat Hentoff says that pedigree — and her own unmistakable chops — make Cat Russell "the real thing" in a crowd of jazz wannabes "who couldn't lasted through a chorus in a contest with Ella Fitzgerald or Betty Carter."