music

This Father's Day we share one of our most beloved feature interviews with one of the world's most beloved musicians and a family's beloved dad -- gone too soon -- Jim Rodford, Bassist. This interview with Abbe Sparks turned out to be one of his last and is now included in the book "Jim Rodford [...]

The 25th annual WinterFest Music Festival benefiting the Light of Day Foundation (LOD) continues to see the light as the final weekend of shows draws near, Friday, January 24th and 25th. (schedule below). In its quest to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease and the Parkinsonisms (ALS and PSP), The LOD Foundation always begins with the [...]

The Light of Day Foundation and its quest to find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease and the Parkinsonisms (ALS and PSP) begins with the power of music. The power of music to heal is a given. The power of music to raise awareness and funds for a cause -- in this case, for debilitating neuro-degenerative [...]

It’s January in New York City and all that jazz. Literally, NYC is the place to be for everything Jazz this month. The City plays host to Winter JazzFest, the Jazz Congress, and the Unity Jazz Festival. These events along with musical showcases around town from the world's largest performing arts conference (APAP) will keep [...]

Ella Jenkins was the ultimate pioneer. Dubbed the first lady of children's music, her  contributions to the genre and the world will stand the test of time. This week, Ella passed away at the age of 100 leaving a legacy of riches in song and spirit for the world to enjoy in perpetuity. We have [...]

The world leaves their heart with Great American Songbook crooner Tony Bennett who died Friday at 96 years old. His devotion to performing and preserving the American standards spans decades and touched people of many generations. In honor of Mr Bennett we share our 2016 feature on the man, the crooner, author and activist who [...]

Legendary acoustic guitarist Laurence Juber’s wind beneath Paul McCartney’s WINGS still blows mighty fierce. This two time Grammy®-Winner and former lead guitarist in WINGS flew into the Big Apple to …
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It’s back in live action! Record Store Day 2022 returns full throttle to a single day format with a few caveats. Due to the uncertain times we all are living in RSD has made some contingencies in preparation for the unexpected. Record Store Day 2022 returns The global pandemic affected record stores worldwide in 2020. That [...]

And the GRAMMY® goes to women rockers on and off the musical stage this year.  Last night’s 64th annual GRAMMY Awards show returned fully LIVE after last year's pandemic postponement and scaled-back live show with pandemic protocols. The coveted awards show had to move it’s scheduled late January 2022 date due to the persistent presence [...]

Gypsy Jazz comes front and center to NYC this weekend when guitarist/composer Stéphane Wrembel brings his annual Django A Gogo Music Festival to The Town Hall on March 5th. The festival celebrates the music of legendary jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt and brings together some of the finest musicians in the world to celebrate the constant [...]

Rock icon Ian McDonald passed away on February 10th after a long battle with cancer. He leaves us with a legacy of music and love for his family, friends and colleagues. Today we share our interview with Ian from 5 years ago, originally published June 11, 2017. #RIP British Rock Icon Ian McDonald of HONEY [...]

The legendary “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey remains top of mind these days as a trailblazing performer and inspiration. The newest vehicle to keep the music icon at the forefront in the 21st Century is a half-hour television special tribute by Netflix in partnership with the GRAMMY Museum®. ABOUT THE TV SPECIAL An inspiring [...]

Remembering John Lennon 40 years later. (1940 - 1980). Forty years ago on that fateful day of December 8th, we lost music legend John Lennon to senseless gun violence when he was brutally shot and killed in front of his residence at The Dakota in New York City. John Lennon, 1940 - 1980. Photo taken [...]

Live Performance and our independent venues are in serious jeopardy and time is running out to save our stages. The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) hopes to keep both alive …
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Lady Gaga's inspiring words to believe in yourself is the Socially Sparked Quote of the Week. The award-winning diva's powerful message of encouragement comes at a time when our struggles and suffering are exemplified due to the pandemic. Lady Gaga's inspiring message during her VMAs acceptance speech "You can spin your struggles into gold, you [...]

The New York City (NYC) music community came out Sunday morning to pose in solidarity to save our independent venues and live entertainment with the support of the newly-formed New York Independent Venues Association (NYIVA). NY photographer Arnie Goodman and digital media diva Abbe Sparks organized the impromptu Save Our NYC Stages Photo Event to [...]

Legendary singer and activist Aretha Franklin was a champion of music, culture, civil rights, human rights, the women's movement and so much more. Her words on respect and human rights are our Quote of the Week in honor of the two year anniversary of her death in 2018. Portrait of Aretha Franklin by Andy Warhol [...]

Folk singer songwriter Woody Guthrie’s legendary song ‘This Land Is Your Land’ is still made for you and me as the anthem turns 80 on February 23rd. The folk hero and his timeless song have Socially Sparked® our lives since 1940. There have been many renditions over the decades of Woody’s unofficial classic anthem since [...]

EPILOGUE Remembering the legendary bassist Jim Rodford today. Jim Rodford died on January 20, 2018, months after our Socially Sparked® Spotlight Interview was first published for Father's Day 2017. His death was sudden due to a fall down the stairs; days after a performance. Socially Sparked News spotlight feature with the legendary bassist for The Zombies, [...]

Down to the Roots Deep in Muddy Waters