It’s a good time to be a forgotten band from the 1960′s and ’70s. While the world might not have been ready for them at the time, over the last few years music fans have been embracing the fascinating stories of these long-forgotten acts that had been been relegated to record store dust bins. Of the recent crop of rediscovered acts that are having a bigger second act than their first is the band Death. Formed in 1971 by brothers Bobby, David and Dennis Hackney in Detroit, Michigan, the trio started out as an R&B act but switched to rock after going to see an Alice Cooper concert. The trio played a particularly ferocious band of hardcore protopunk that was more aggressive than fellow Motor City acts the MC5 and Iggy & The Stooges.

In 1974, according to bandlore, Death was signed to Groovesville Productions, recording seven songs at Detroit’s United Sound Studios with hopes of being distributed by Columbia Records. The band allegedly had a disagreement with label head Clive Davis about changing their name to something more commercially acceptable for the times. In 1976, Death pressed 500-copies of their single Politicians in My Eyes/Keep On Knocking, but found it impossible to get radio play in their native Detroit as disco was ruling the airwaves.

It wasn’t until roughly three decades later that they finally got their due, when Bobby’s sons had discovered that the single had become highly sought after by record collectors, and considered something of a missing link between 1960′s garage rock and the CBGB’s punk scene.The master tapes to those 1974 sessions, which had been sitting in Bobby’s attic, were restored and reissued  by Drag City in 2009 as For the Whole World to See, which was followed in 2011 with the collection of demos Spiritual Mental Physical. The story of music’s first black punk band is now the subject of the new documentary A Band Called Death, and features interviews with the surviving Hackney brothers, as well as Henry Rollins, Alice Cooper and more. The doc will be available on VOD and iTunes on May 24, followed by a theatrical release on June 28. Let’s check out the trailer…

A quick primer of well-known music festivals from the late 1960′s/early 1970′s might looks something like this – Monterey Pop, Woodstock, Altamont, Summer Jam and the Atlanta International Pop Festival. Much like today’s saturated festival landscape though, there were dozens of fests that didn’t quite have the cultural impact – for better or worse – as the ones mentioned. In the June of 1971 an ambitious eight-day music festival called the Celebration of Life was set to take place in McCrea, Louisiana, a town located on the east bank of the Atchafalaya River. The lineup was as impressive as they come with roughly 70 acts set to perform. The bill featured the likes of Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, the Beach Boys, Ike & Tina Turner, Sly & The Family Stone, B.B. King and Quicksilver Messenger Service.

Some 50,000 (with a reports of up to 150,000) concert-goers descended onto the small Louisiana town, only to find themselves dealing not only with brutally hot weather, a lack of food, water and medical facilities, but also strong local opposition to festival. Oh, and not to mention the fact that promoters were scrambling to get permits, build the stage and had essentially lied about the bill, not actually booking many of the bands – just advertising that they would be there. Yet some 40-plus years later, the story of this ill-fated disastrous fest is barely a footnote in music history.

All in all only seven of the 27 acts that were advertised actually showed up. Chuck Berry, Stephen Stills, WAR and John Sebastian were among those that performed, with the festival shutdown after its third day. A new 25-minute documentary called McCrea 1971 by Nick Brilleaux and Scott Caro is set to tell the tale of this somehow forgotten festival. Let’s check out the trailer…

For more on the Celebration of Life Festival, check out these two blog posts for a detailed description of what went down.

In the decade-plus since the release of their self-titled debut in 2001, The National have become the model of what it means to be a successful indie-rock band. The Brooklyn-based act have slowly grown their audience through of a series of critically acclaimed albums full of their brand of dark brooding rock, anchored by lead singer Matt Berninger’s unmistakable baritone voice. On May 21, the band will release their sixth full-length effort Trouble Will Find Me. The self-produced 13-track effort was mixed by longtime collaborator Peter Katis and features guest appearances from likes of Sufjan Stevens, Sharon Van Etten, Annie Clark (St. Vincent) and Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire).

In conjunction with the release of the new record, The National are also the subject of the new documentary, Mistaken For Strangers, which opened this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. The 80-minute film, which has been receiving rave reviews, had its origins when Matt Berninger decided to invite his younger brother Tom to join the band on their 2010 as a crew member. The doc chronicles Tom’s interactions with the band on and off-stage, which eventually led to him being fired from his crew duties, while also looking at the relationship between him and his brother as the band became bonafide rock stars. Let’s check out the trailer…

The National will head out for a lengthy summer world tour, which features a huge hometown show at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on June 5, and includes a slew of high profile festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Outside Lands.

Over the course of two full-length studio albums and an EP Bon Iver front man Justin Vernon has enchanted us with his heart-tugging falsetto vocals and lushly arranged folk-rock. If you think you’ve got him pegged as just the poster child for the beard-rock movement then think again, as Vernon has unleashed a new side with his latest project The Shouting Matches. The three-piece act, that also features Brian Moen (Peter Wolf Crier) and Phil Cooke (Megafaun), originally came together back in 2006, in the wake of the break-up of the much mythologized DeYarmond Edison. The band, who played one live show together, got put on hold when Vernon began to focus on Bon Iver and the recording and release of his instant classic debut album For Emma, Forever Ago.

Fast forward some seven years later, with Vernon having seemingly said everything he could with Bon Iver and putting that project on the dreaded indefinite hiatus, we get GROWNASS Man - the debut album from The Shouting Matches. The ten-track effort is a jangly collection of loose Southern blues-rock that is steeped in vintage Bonnie Raitt, The Band and ZZ Top. The trio had their high-profile coming out party last weekend at Coachella, where they used their slot to played their album, sans one song, in order in its entirety. Watch I Need A Change from that set…

An easy way to put it is that Shuggie Otis is this year’s version of Rodriguez. While there are certainly a number of similarities and parallels between the two artists, Otis’ story has a lot more close brushes with fame when he was originally recording music, than Rodriguez ever did. The son of Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer Johnny Otis, Shuggie was a child guitar protege, who began playing as a member of his dad’s band starting at age 12. In 1969, at the age of 15, Al Kooper recruited him to be featured on the second installment of his Super Session albums, while later that year he released his debut album Here Comes Shuggie Otis – which showcased his funkified blues guitar playing. In addition to his solo work Otis continued to tour and record with his father, as well as continuing his work as a studio musician playing with the likes of Etta James, Louis Jordan, Bobby “Blue” Bland and Frank Zappa. With Zappa, Shuggie Otis played electric bass on the Hot Rats track Peaches En Regalia.

It’s Otis’ 1971 record Freedom Flight where he really came into his own, offering up a record of psychedelic soul and funk, and featured his most recognizable tune, Strawberry Letter 23, which was turned into a number one hit by The Brothers Johnson in 1977. It took Otis nearly three years to record the follow up Inspiration Information, an album on which he played nearly every instrument, but failed to make an impact with, despite it becoming a crate-diggers favorite in the years following. Shortly after the record’s release Shuggie was approached by Billy Preston, who was tasked by the Rolling Stones to ask him to be their guitarist on their upcoming world tour, as a replacement for Mick Taylor.

Otis, who declined the offer, as well as Quincy Jones’ to produce his next album, was later dropped by his record label and played session man on a handful of records before seemingly drifting into obscurity. It was the Luaka Bop’s 2001 re-release of Inspiration Information, that also featured tracks from Freedom Flight, which renewed interest in Otis. After a bit of a disastrous comeback attempt over a decade ago, Otis will release a double-album this Tuesday that features an expanded version of Inspiration Information, as well as his first album of new material in forty years with Wings Of Love. Otis, who was profiled in the New York Times this weekend, stopped by The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon to perform Inspiration Information, with the help of The Roots. Let’s check it out…

Shuggie Otis recently kicked off a tour that brings him to Chicago for a pair of shows Lincoln Hall.

Prior to 2009 if you had asked most music fans if they had heard of Phoenix, they’d likely have thought that you were talking about Arizona’s capital city and not the Parisian act. That all changed with the release of the band’s fourth studio album – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. The record featured ear-wormy electro-disco-rock tracks like Lasso, 1901 and Lisztomania, which propelled Thomas Mars & Co. from a little known underground band to a critical and commercial success story seemingly overnight. While they had their hype machine working early, with a song featured during the Super Bowl, the band’s big break came when they made their debut appearance on Saturday Night Live, where they have the rare distinction of playing three songs on the long-running late-night sketch show.

With Phoenix gearing up for the release of their long-awaited follow-up Bankrupt!, which hits stores on April 23, the band made a return trip to 30 Rock, as they were once again booked to perform at Studio 8H this past weekend. While they only got the standard two song appearance this time around, the band offered up takes on the album’s lead single Entertainment, as well as the brand new tracks Trying To Be Cool / Drakkar Noir. Let’s check it out..

Over the last few months there has been tons of chatter, rumors and speculation surrounding the details of the Queens Of The Stone Age’s new studio album. For their first new set of material since 2007′s Era Vulgaris, the stoner-rock-act have gone indie moving from Interscope to Matador Records, and confirmed that their sixth record will be called …Like Clockwork and will be released this June. Those are not quite the details that have been getting buzz around the internet though, it’s been more about just who joined front-man Josh Homme in the studio this time around, with the list of contributors extending beyond Homme’s circle of rock-star friends. There are the “usual suspects” like Dave Grohl, who stepped behind the kit for the band’s 2002 break-out record Songs for the Deaf, plus former QOTSA members Mark Lanengan and Alain Johannes, as well as bassist Nick Oliveri – who was fired from the band back in 2004.

The album will also feature more QOTSA family members with Brody Dalle, who played on the Eagles of Death Metal’s record, and Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys (Homme produced their 2009 release Humbug). If that wasn’t enough, Trent Reznor, Jake Shears (Sister Sisters), Jon Theodore (Mars Volta) and the easily the most unexpected name on the list – Sir Elton John – will also make appearances on the album. Over the weekend the Queens Of The Stone Age played their first live gig since 2011 at Lollapalooza Brazil, and offered up their first taste of what’s to come by debuting the new track My God Is The Sun. Let’s check it out…

The members of von Grey stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the thousands of bands that descended upon Austin for the music portion of SXSW – not because of some lavish clothes they were wearing or wild stage antic, but for the sheer fact that their oldest member is barely old enough to vote while their youngest isn’t even a teenager yet.

Hailing from Atlanta,  the quartet consists of sisters Kathryn, Annika, Fiona and Petra and may be best described as a teenage version of the Dixie Chicks or what would have happened if Hanson grew up listening to Mumford & Sons. The talented four-piece act, who describe their sound as alt.folk, deftly play a dazzling array of acoustic instruments from guitar to fiddle to mandolin to banjo to lap steel, and have a stage presence of a band that has been gigging for years – thanks in part to the fact that they all started playing music beginning at the at tender age of five-years-old.

Last fall von Grey released their self-titled EP, which was produced by Nick DiDia (Bruce Springsteen, Gaslight Anthem). The five-song effort provides a snap shot of what these young ladies can do – showcasing their harmony-laden, radio-friendly wise-beyond-their-years sound. Last month the sister act stopped by the Ed Sullivan Theater to make their network television debut, where they performed Coming For You on the Late Show With David Letterman. Let’s check it out…

Over the last few years, the West London music scene has gathered at the Notting Hill Arts Club for a monthly night of music dubbed Communion that has churned out an impressive number of critically acclaimed acts – notably HT faves Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling and Michael Kiwanuka. With its pedigree firmly established the latest in the line of folkie British acts to emerge from that scene which deserves your attention is recent Partisan Records signees Treetop Flyers.

The Treetop Flyers, who won the Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent Competition in 2011 and are ostensibly named for a Stephen Stills tune, will release their full-length debut The Mountain Moves on June 25. Produced by Noah Georgeson (Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom, Bert Jansch) the record features the band’s throwback brand of soulful, harmony-laden folk-rock  that nods to the likes of CSN, The Band and Little Feat. Let’s check out this live acoustic version of the album’s lead single Things Will Change, which you can download for free via their Soundcloud page.

For someone that has been recording albums for roughly 45 years and has contributed to over forty albums, Richard Thompson doesn’t get the same instant name recognition as many of his contemporaries. The British singer-songwriter and guitarist got his start as a founding member of the highly underrated folk-rock act Fairport Convention in the late-1960s, playing on the band’s first five records – including their seminal 1969 release Liege & Lief. After leaving the group in ’71, Thompson went on to release a string of records with his wife Linda over the next decade  that mixed the traditional British folk sounds of his earlier work with his emotionally evocative lyrics.

Thompson has remained a bit of a cult figure, never achieving widespread commercial success, despite consistently receiving critical acclaim for his studio output, most notably for his 1991 release Rumor & Sigh, which features arguably his most recognizable song – 1952 Black Vincent Lightning. Earlier this month Thompson released his 14th solo album, Electric, via New West Records and recently stopped at New York City radio station WFUV’s studio on the campus of Fordham University to perform a handful of songs from the album. Let’s check out this take on The Snow Goose…

Richard Thompson will kick off the North American leg of his world tour with a gig at the Peabody Opera House in St. Louis on April 17, but prior to all that will make an appearance at SXSW.

Back in late December a giant-sized mural appeared on the side of a building at the intersection of Front and Master Streets in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia. The mural’s sole purpose was to announce the release of Kurt Vile’s new studio album – Walkin’ On A Pretty Daze. Created by graffiti artist Steve Powers, the piece not only revealed the record’s title, but its track-listing as well. On April 8, the singer-guitarist will release the sprawling 68-minute double-album Wakin On A Pretty Daze via venerable indie label Matador, which will include a special limited-edition, deluxe blue vinyl addition, whose cover will be blank and will come with a sheet of graffiti icon stickers.

Last week Vile released the “non-music video” for the album’s hazy nine-plus minute title track, for which he got some heavyweight help courtesy of famed director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Stop Making Sense). The beautifully-shot clip weaves gorgeous city-scapes with time-lapse footage showing the creation of the large-scale art piece. Let’s check it out…

Kurt Vile will head out for a 19-date world tour that kicks off with a pair of high profile appearances at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival on April 14 and 21.

Long before the Grateful Dead rolled out their monstrous sound system known affectionately as “The Wall Of Sound,” famed record producer Phil Spector was crafting a sound in the recording studio using layers of sounds that became his calling card throughout the 1960′s. Spector originally had aspirations of being a performer, having early success with his band The Teddy Bears, who had a number one hit in 1958 with To Know Him Is To Love Him, which sold over one-million copies. Despite their success, the band broke up the next year, and Spector turned his attention to record producing, apprenticing under the famed songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller at the Brill Building in New York.

Spector again had success right out the gate, this time as the producer of Ray Peterson’s Corrina, Corrina, which hit number seven on the charts in 1961. It’s when Spector moved out to California and set up shop at Gold Star Studio in Los Angeles that his famed Wall Of Sound came together, as he teamed up with a group of session musicians that came to be known as the Wrecking Crew. Spector produced over 25 Top 40 hits in the early 1960′s, most famously with The Crystals and The Ronettes. He would later go on to work with The Beatles, producing their 1970 album Let It Be, as well as co-producing solo albums by George Harrison and John Lennon.

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While there are certainly many out there who would whole-hardheartedly agree with The Dude about the Eagles, the fact still remains that they are one of the most successful bands of the last 50 years, having sold a staggering 150 million albums worldwide, including 42 million copies of their Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 alone. The initial incarnation of the band came together in Los Angeles in the Spring of 1971, when Don Henley, Glen Frey, Randy Meisner and Bernie Leadon were recruited to back Linda Ronstadt as her touring band. The foursome, who appear on Ronstadt’s 1972 self-titled album, played one live gig backing the songstress, after which deciding to form their own band.

Signed to David Geffen’s fledgling Asylum Records, the band – who named themselves Eagles after a peyote and tequila fueled night – found success right out of the gate with their Glyn Johns-produced self-titled debut. The record mixed country-rock with the sounds of Laurel Canyon’s emerging singer-songwriter movement and produced three Top 40 singles – Take It Easy, Witchy Woman and Peaceful Easy Feeling.

The band would go on to become one of the biggest bands of the 1970′s, with a string of three straight number one albums: One Of These Night, Hotel California and The Long Run. The career of the Eagles, who were infamous for their offstage antics and personal differences and have reunited a numerous times since 1994 for seemingly cash-grab tours and albums, is the subject of the new documentary simply titled The History Of The Eagles. The doc will air the over the course of two nights on Showtime, premiering next Friday, February 15, at 8:oo PM ET/PT, with part two following on Saturday night. Let’s check out the trailer…

While the name Ben Harper is certainly a familiar one to our readers, blues harmonica legend Charlie Musselwhite, whom the singer-songwriter has teamed up with for his latest studio album, may not be. Born in Mississippi in 1944, Musselwhite is considered to be one of the two most important artists to emerge from the “white blues movement” of the late 1960′s, alongside Paul Butterfield. Musselwhite moved to Chicago from Memphis in search of higher paying factories, ingraining himself the city’s blues scene and playing alongside the likes of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Buddy Guy and John Lee Hooker.

Thanks in part to the success of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Musselwhite was signed to Vanguard Records, releasing his debut album Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s South Side Band in 1966. The album was one of the first blues records to be marketed towards rock fans and is considered one of the most influential albums in bridging the gap between rock and blues audiences. Today the formidable duo, who first met back in 1997 during a session with John Lee Hooker, will release Get Up! via the legendary Stax label. The ten-track effort combines what Harper and Musselwhite do best, mixing blues, gospel, roots and R&B.

Let’s take a look at the video for the album’s first single I Don’t Believe A Word You Say…

Harper and Musslewhite will team up for a series of shows together this Spring, which include an album release show tonight at New York City’s Irving Plaza and a high profile appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

The city of Muscle Shoals, Alabama holds a special place in music history. The musicians that headed to the unassuming town in the Northwest corner of Alabama, near the Tennessee River, to record at FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound who tried to harness the “Muscle Shoals Sound” reads like the roster of inductees at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

For a solid twenty year period some of the most famous and influential rock, soul, funk, country and R&B songs and albums were recorded there – from Aretha Franklin’s I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You to Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years to Otis Redding’s Sweet Soul Music to The Rolling Stones’ Wild Horses. The city was also the place where a young Duane Allman cut his teeth as a studio musician, most famously playing on Wilson Pickett’s cover of The Beatles’ Hey Jude.

In recent years the city has captured the imagination of a new generation of acts, looking to once again harness the city’s seemingly uncanny ability to bring out the best in bands, with The Black Keys, Drive-By Trucks and Alabama Shakes all recording albums there. The  history of the famed city and recording studios and session musicians is the subject of a new aptly titled documentary – Muscle Shoals - which features interviews with the likes of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bono, Steve Winwood and more. Let’s check out the trailer…

After its debut at Sundance on the 26th, the film is expected to be screened at theaters across the country and should eventually make its way towards a DVD/Blu-Ray release.