NPR Music: Tiny Desk, New Music and Music News : NPR

Underground Railroad: A Conductor And Passengers Documented In Music

William Still (1821-1902), a conductor on the Underground Railroad who helped nearly 800 enslaved African Americans to freedom. Naxos American Classics hide caption

toggle caption

Naxos American Classics

Underground Railroad: A Conductor And Passengers Documented In Music

January 20, 2020 • When it comes to the Underground Railroad, everyone knows Harriet Tubman. But a new oratorio sheds light on a different, key figure named William Still.

Hear the story 4:11

Playlists

Hand-picked songs curated by the NPR Music staff

41 Women Who Should Be In The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

So why isn't Dolly Parton in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Fairfax Media Archives/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Fairfax Media Archives/Getty Images

41 Women Who Should Be In The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

Dolly Parton, Carla Thomas, Fanny, The Runaways and Salt n Pepa are just some of the women who should be in the Hall by now.

New Music Friday: Our Top 9 Albums Out On Jan. 17

The late rapper Mac Miller. His posthumous release, Circles, is on our shortlist for the best new albums out on Jan. 17. Christian Weber/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Christian Weber/Courtesy of the artist

New Music Friday

A posthumous release from Mac Miller, Halsey's Manic and Little Big Town's Nightfall top our shortlist for the best new albums out this week.

Chris Sharron

NPR Classical

This week's additions offer King connections: musicians and composers who had connections to Martin Luther King Jr., including Duke Ellington, Nina Simone and conductor Paul Freeman.

Viking's Choice: Polvo Reissues, Speed Punk, Apocalyptic Rebetika

Today's Active Lifestyles, Polvo's second album from 1993, gets a slight makeover from its original, puke yellow-and-green color scheme for a vinyl reissue. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

Viking's Choice

In the '90s Chapel Hill scene, Polvo stood out for how little it wanted to fit in. Those reissues, plus new music from Code Orange and Chubby and the Gang and old music from Greece.

More playlists

Editors' picks

Essential stories and videos from npr music

Jazz Saxophone Legend Jimmy Heath Has Died

Saxophonist, composer and arranger Jimmy Heath. Lonnie Timmons III/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Lonnie Timmons III/Getty Images

Jazz Saxophone Legend Jimmy Heath Has Died

The saxophonist and composer — an artist who wrote for Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, and who nurtured John Coltrane — died Sunday at age 93.

The Past Year, And Decade, In Music Listening: Video Rules, The Boy's Club Remains

Two competing data firms, BuzzAngle and Nielsen Music, released reports in early Jan. 2020 detailing the many changes in listening over the past decade. Kirsty Lee / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm hide caption

toggle caption

Kirsty Lee / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm

The Past Year, And Decade, In Music Listening: Video Rules, The Boy's Club Remains

Two reports released recently shine a light on the decade-long trends shaping our relationships to listening, from the dominance of video to the vinyl "boom" that isn't quite.

Diatom Ribbons, by Kris Davis (center) was selected as the No. 1 jazz album of 2019 in a poll of 140 critics. Davis' album includes contributions from a wide range of musicians, including Terri Lyne Carrington (left) and Val Jeanty (right). Caroline Mardok/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Caroline Mardok/Courtesy of the artist