If some sort of god or higher power exists, it clearly has a dark sense of humor—otherwise why send us plagues, floods, and fires, till even nonbelievers start to worry about the end times? And only a divine being with a cruel streak would’ve taken the Reverend Marvin Yancy from this earthly plane so young, […]
Category: The Secret History of Chicago Music
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Johnny Frigo became a top-tier jazz violinist in his 70s
Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place. It’s hard to believe that in more than 15 years of the Secret History of Chicago Music—at least 350 […]
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New-wave faves the ODD dissolved without an album
People often ask me how I keep finding subjects for the Secret History of Chicago Music after more than 15 years. I don’t have one answer to that question—sometimes I stumble on a record I didn’t know about, sometimes I go down a research wormhole in books or online. But one of my favorite ways […]
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Pulling back the veil on the Veil
Founded by Lorna Donley and David Thomas of DA!, the Veil broke up in 1989 without a formal release—but this month they finally get one.
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Mourning Joe Cassidy of Butterfly Child
Irish dream-pop genius Joe Cassidy lived in Chicago for more than a decade and became a beloved part of our music scene.
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Ari Brown belongs in Chicago’s canon of great tenor saxophonists
Ari Brown hasn’t often sought the spotlight, but his blend of bebop rigor and avant-garde daring puts him on par with the likes of Fred Anderson and Von Freeman.
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James Holvay helped create Chicago’s famous horn-rock sound in the 1960s
James Holvay is best known for writing the Buckinghams’ “Kind of a Drag” and cofounding the Mob, but he’s still making music more than 50 years later.
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Skanking Lizard helped birth Chicago’s live reggae scene
Skanking Lizard’s new vinyl retrospective, Original Chicago Reggae: 1978-1996, quadruples the number of formally released tracks in their discography.
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Ron Haydock was a Renaissance man of trash culture
In his tragically short life, Ron Haydock careened through rockabilly, monster magazines, pulp novels, and exploitation films.
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Soul singer Jackie Ross is so much more than a one-hit wonder
Jackie Ross had a smash with “Selfish One” in 1964—but that just happens to be the best-selling single from her decades of great songs.
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A local R&B favorite by the Fabulous Turks gets resurrected after half a century
Chicago singer-songwriter RJ Griffith has released a cover of his uncle’s old R&B band the Fabulous Turks.
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Saxophonist Gene Barge helped shape the sound of Chicago R&B
Gene Barge has done his most influential work as a sideman or producer, but he’s just as important as any of R&B’s marquee stars.
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Michael ‘Fuzzy’ deLisle is an unsung hero of the fertile 1970s Champaign-Urbana scene
Michael “Fuzzy” deLisle released just one single in his long career, but he’s played a staggering amount of great country rock and folk.
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Andrew ‘Big Voice’ Odom sang for blues stars but never became one
Andrew “Big Voice” Odom toured internationally—and also used to drop by Maxwell Street and overwhelm the makeshift sound systems.
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Pianist Willie Mabon gave Chess Records its first big hit
Despite a 1952 smash for Chess Records, pianist Willie Mabon was soon overshadowed by labelmates such as Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters.