The Hamiltones are a Grammy-nominated trio of North Carolina natives. The soul and R&B group first started as background vocalists for Grammy-winning soul singer Anthony Hamilton, who is from Charlotte, N.C. Known for their masterful harmonies and viral social media videos, The Hamiltones released their debut EP "Watch The Tone3s" this year. We spoke with the band about their special chemistry and North Carolina musical influences in an interview captured after their 2019 Art of Cool Festival performance. Watch below!
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Nina Simone’s first musical love was Johann Sebastian Bach.
In her autobiography, I Put a Spell on You she noted that Bach “is technically perfect… Each note you play is connected to the next note, and every note has to be executed perfectly or the whole effect is lost. Once I understood Bach’s music I never wanted to be anything other than a concert pianist. Bach made me dedicate my life to music.”
Billy Edd Wheeler says a good song just grabs you from the start. He would know.
Rural rivers and country songs have long crisscrossed the life of Durham singer-songwriter H.C. McEntire. They have become inextricably braided, like ivy vines around a live oak trunk or barbed wires across a weathered fence post.
Born in 1929, Reverend Faircloth C. (F.C.) Barnes was a gospel recording artist from Rocky Mount, N.C. His debut record Rough Side of the Mountain, a collaboration with with Reverend Janice Brown, reached #1 on Billboard’s Gospel Albums chart in January 1984.
Way back in the pre-digital days of 1992, newspapers published all their news on the actual paper you picked up from the driveway every morning. Press releases and pitches used to come to newspaper newsrooms on paper, too, sent in stamped envelopes rather than e-mail. I recall one from that spring when I had been music critic at the News & Observer (N&O) for about a year. It was a freelance submission sent by a writer all the way out in Vancouver, British Columbia, who was hoping the N&O would print his story.
Nightclub lifespans are akin to dog years, which makes it all the more remarkable that the Cat’s Cradle has been around Chapel Hill and Carrboro for more than half a century. And while the ride hasn’t always been smooth, for most of its history the Cradle has thrived as a beloved institution. The club marked the occasion of its 50th anniversary with two weekends of celebratory shows at the end of December and beginning of January, drawing capacity crowds for some of North Carolina’s top acts past and present.
This month PBS previews Ken Burns' latest documentary series: Country Music. The eight-part series traces "the history of a uniquely American art form...From its deep and tangled roots in ballads, blues and hymns performed in small settings, to its worldwide popularity." The series premieres on Sunday, September 15. In preparation, Come Hear North Carolina contributor and intern Scott Stegall prepared a timeline of North Carolina's unique country milestones.
In 1868 a man named Tom Dula (pronounced Dooley) was hanged in Statesville, N.C. after being convicted of murdering his lover, Laura Foster, in 1866.
The execution wasn’t the end of Tom Dula’s story. For generations rumors, conspiracies, and a hit song have swirled around the crime and its fallout.
Lee Morgan, the fiery-hot, extremely talented jazz trumpet player, died much too soon. His skyrocketing career was cut short, at age 33, one cold February night in 1972 at a Manhattan, N.Y. club called Slug's. He was shot to death by his 46-year-old common-law wife Helen. At the time, Morgan was experiencing a comeback of sorts. He had been battling a serious heroin addiction problem for years, but, by most accounts, was drug-free.