Search results for

Forty years ago, Allan Sherman topped the pop charts by replacing the lyrics of folk songs with satires of Jewish American life. And in doing that, he offered a perfect snapshot of what it meant to assimilate.

Conor J. O'Brien is the driving force behind the acoustic folk outfit Villagers, and his intensity pushed the band to the top of the charts in Ireland even before its debut had been released. In just a couple of years, Villagers has become one of the biggest musical names on the Emerald Isle and an internationally known folk group.

Two-time Grammy-winner India.Arie calls her music an expression of her way of life. Her third studio album came out June 27 and jumped to the top spot on the Billboard chart. She performs live from NPR's studio 4A.

Having recently moved from basement performances to the top of the U.K. singles charts, Sandi Thom continues to win fans, thanks to a whimsically appealing brand of folk-pop. Characterized by powerful vocals, her songs find Thom lusting for the era of vinyl at the record store and letters through the mail.

"We Are The Pipettes" has enough zip, drive and sass to be the theme song to a cartoon about the band's adventures, so much so that it's not surprising that The Pipettes' members throw out a roll call at the top.

Chocolate Genius is the brainchild of Marc Anthony Thompson. The music is a mixture of R&B and jazz experimentation — all topped off with a lyrical style more commonly heard in indie singer-songwriters. His new release is Black Yankee Rock.

Final Fantasy is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Owen Pallett, who first achieved notoriety as a member of The Arcade Fire. Pallett makes music that marries the serious and the silly, informed by everything from Dungeons & Dragons to the songs on Top 40 radio.

In the 1990s, Bobby Valentino was part of the teen vocal group Mista. Now he's gone solo, with a self-titled CD and a single, "Slow Down," that's already topped the R&B charts. Ed Gordon talks with Valentino about his burgeoning career and his soulful influences.

The artist's second album Guts sits at No. 1 on the U.S. and U.K. album charts. Since its release, the album's racked up more sales in Britain — outselling the rest of the U.K. Top 10 combined.

The Olympic torch has reached the top of Mount Everest, the climax of a massive publicity campaign leading up the Olympic Games. China hopes the spectacle of the flame atop the world's highest mountain will erase the memory of ugly protests. But some activists say that by taking the flame up Everst, China is trying to show its dominance over Tibetans.