Browsing all articles in Music Profiles.
Eddie Van Halen donates guitars to public schools
Los Angeles (CNN) Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Eddie Van Halen credits music with keeping him out of trouble — and he asks an important question: “Could you imagine a world without music?” “It’s a must,” Van Halen told CNN’s John Vause during an interview Tuesday. “It has to be taught.” In an era […]
Wyclef Jean: “If I Was President (2016)”
Los Angeles (CNN) Wyclef Jean has long talked about presidents. In 2004, he sang: If I was President I’d get elected on Friday Assassinated on Saturday Buried on Sunday They go back to work on Monday He re-worked and re-released the song in 2009 after Barack Obama was elected to the White House. A year […]
Andy Grammer brings “Fresh Eyes” to L.A.’s Skid Row
Los Angeles (CNN) Pop rock singer Andy Grammer wrote “Fresh Eyes” for his wife, but thanks to a new music video, the song has taken on a different meaning and put the spotlight on Los Angeles’ homeless population. “It’s about rediscovering love with someone you’ve been with for awhile,” he told CNN’s John Vause. Yet, […]
2016: The Year the Music Died
Los Angeles (CNN) February 3, 1959… Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper killed in a plane crash. It was the day the music died… Then, came a sad 11 month stretch in 1970-71 when the world lost Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Louis Armstrong. Both stretches of time were awful but, […]
Black Eyed Peas’ Taboo fights DAPL & Cancer
Los Angeles (CNN) “The Fight” — it’s the new single by Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas. And he’s been doing a lot of fighting lately. He’s been on the front lines with fellow Native Americans trying to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline from being built on their sacred land. Taboo also recently opened up […]
Patterson Hood compares Donald Trump to George Wallace
Los Angeles (CNN) The lead singer of Drive-By Truckers, Patterson Hood, admits that he fits right into Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” – at least on paper: a middle aged white guy from north Alabama and front man of a southern rock band. But nothing scares Hood more than a potential Donald Trump presidency. “We’re […]
Jay-Z: War on drugs is an epic fail
Los Angeles (CNN) Rapper Jay-Z is getting political — calling the U.S. war on drugs an “epic fail.” In a video op-ed published in the New York Times, he says the drug war unfairly targets African Americans. Jay-Z narrates over Molly Crabapple’s artwork taking viewers on a journey back to the early 1970s when President […]
Michael Chiklis: From “The Shield” to “The Singer”
Los Angeles (CNN) You know him as the good cop in The Commish, the bad cop in The Shield and the new cop in Gotham. For his latest role, Michael Chiklis is trading in a badge for a microphone – releasing his debut solo record Influence on September 16th. “I’ve always felt that music was […]
Lance Bass no one needs an AR-15
Los Angeles (CNN) Social media has been flooded with tributes to the 49 people killed in the Orlando mass shooting. Famous figures in the L-G-B-T community are also speaking out on Twitter. TV host Andy Cohen tweeted: “I am speechless, sick and so sad reading the news from Orlando. Sending strength to my gay brothers […]
Ben Harper takes on police shootings on latest album
Los Angeles (CNN) Perhaps it all started with “Go Down Moses” or maybe “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” African-Americans have been using music and song for decades to protest slavery, oppression and discrimination. In recent months, there’s been a reawakening of sorts. Be it Beyoncé and her Super Bowl performance and new album, “Lemonade;” Prince […]