MUSIC | CuppaGo

The Jazz Songbook Re-Imagined: Beegie Adair

Throughout a 60-year career of renowned jazz piano mastery, Beegie Adair's unique style left a lasting impact on classic songs. While...

Rick Johnson

Aretha Franklin: Rare And Classic Performances By The Queen Of Soul

Very few artists have impacted music like the "Queen of Soul." Here is a showcase of some rare and classic live performances: full of...

Rick Johnson

The Afro-Caribbean Roots of Jazz: Early Recordings

Although jazz is often said to be an American creation, that's not the whole story. The rhythms and syncopation of jazz originate in...

Rick Johnson

Ground-Breaking Mexican-American Jazzmen: Remaking the Border of Jazz

In the 1950s and 1960s, Anthony Ortega, Ralph Peña, and Chuck Flores brought their own unique sounds into a jazz world that seemed to...

Rick Johnson

The Ethereal Sound of Outer Space

How would you feel if suddenly, as you quietly admired a dark and starry sky, you heard the stars, galaxies, and black holes making all...

Rick Johnson

Music Central To Cultures: Part One

Today Cuppa Go begins a journey through musical forms across the globe that are central to cultural traditions. Music, as a universal...

Rick Johnson

Bettie Mae Fikes: The "Voice Of Selma" And Singing For Freedom Ever Since

Known as "the Voice of Selma," Bettie Mae Fikes became a Civil Rights Movement activist at age 15 and never looked back. Her powerful...

Rick Johnson

The Mills Brothers: Legendary Harmonies, Ground-Breaking Artists

Selling more than 50 million records while breaking racial barriers, they are one of music history's best-loved and most influential...

Rick Johnson

Sights! Music! Tastes! Three Amazing Ways To Virtually See The World

No reason to stay home! With these virtual travel opportunities, not even decades can keep you away! Choose Your Destination: AirPano -...

Rick Johnson

Langston Hughes: Jazz Man

Poet, social activist, playwright, essayist, and leading voice of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes was also deeply in love with...

Rick Johnson

Classic Brazilian Sounds: Bossa Nova And Beyond

Take a break and listen to some classic Brazilian music that has circled the world and planted songs in people's minds everywhere. Bossa...

Rick Johnson

These Female Mexican Guitarists Differ In Style, But All Are Electrifying!

Historically, many areas of instrumental music, especially the guitar, have been heavily male-dominated. But today, these Mexican women...

Rick Johnson

Johnny Mathis: Legendary Voice Of Velvet & Ruler The Croon

The iconic king of the romantic ballad has been recording and packing concert halls for more than sixty years, and he's still going...

Rick Johnson

Ella Fitzgerald's Magnificent Musical Collaborations

The 'First Lady of Song' is not only widely considered the greatest female jazz singer of all time in her own right, but her...

Rick Johnson

Bagpipe Jazz! With Gunhild Carling, That's Just The Warmup!

This is one of the hardest working musicians out there! Playing an amazing range of instruments with high-energy virtuosity, this Swedish...

Rick Johnson

'Miss Jazz': A Painter Of Songs, Transcendent At The Keyboard

Carmen McRae was one of the great jazz singers, finding the tender, warm, or heartache depth in the songs she wrote and performed. An...

Rick Johnson

Lovie Austin: Stellar Blues/Jazz Composer, Pianist, And Bandleader

Now nearly forgotten, Lovie Austin was a founding talent of the Golden Age of Jazz and leader of her own band, the Blues Serenaders,...

Rick Johnson

Joaquín Orellana: Groundbreaking Guatemalan Sound Artist

Among the most influential living members of Latin America’s musical avant-garde, for more than fifty years, Joaquín Orellana has been...

Rick Johnson

Toshiko Akiyoshi: Jazz Trailblazer And Big Band Leader Like No Other

Ground-breaking jazz pianist, band-leader, and composer-arranger Toshiko Akiyoshi not only gave the world astonishing music, but made the...

Rick Johnson

Nancy Wilson: Legendary 'Song Stylist' Of Jazz, Blues, And Pop

Enjoy rare live performances of the singer and civil rights activist who has been called the most important vocalist to move freely among...

Rick Johnson

Humanity: One. Connected. A Rainbow Of Possibilities.

What really might happen if we truly realized our oneness? Here's some ways to explore the idea... One Humanity - This interactive mural...

Rick Johnson

Marvin Gaye: Asking Good Questions & Legendary Soul

Few singer/songwriters have matched Marvin Gaye's combination of silky, emotive vocals and soul-popping lyrics. Sing it Marvin: "We don’t...

Rick Johnson

Birthday Bash! Sarah Vaughan, James Weldon Johnson & Nina Simone Drop Fire And Light In Your Cuppa!

It's been six months since Daily Cuppa Go started serving "fresh unexpected" each day. To celebrate, we're having a party with some very...

Rick Johnson

Mahalia Jackson: Queen Of Gospel & Voice Of Civil Rights

With a voice that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said "comes along once in a millennium," Mahalia Jackson became the soundtrack of the...

Rick Johnson

Nat "King" Cole: Voice Of Velvet. Dynamite On The Piano.

Nat King Cole was perhaps the greatest combination of jazz piano and singing voice of the 20th Century. Nat King Cole - A 1-hour...

Rick Johnson

Around The World In Sacred Sounds

Sacred sounds and music have inspired and sustained humanity throughout time. Explore the different sacred sounds. What sonic...

Rick Johnson

Sly And The Family Stone: Music For Everyday People. Stand, Folks!

A band whose members were black and white, men and women, and who broke old rules to make new music, Sly and the Family Stone still sing...

Rick Johnson

Eric Dozier's Oral History And Musical Message On Healing Racism And Transforming Humanity

Eric Dozier is a self-described “itinerant blues preacher,” musician, and educator on a mission “to promote healing, justice and racial...

Rick Johnson

The Earliest Photo of Louis Armstrong And Other Rare Moments With Him

Louis Armstrong is one of the true jazz legends. Enjoy some of his earliest and rarest live performances as he was shaking up the...

Rick Johnson

We Are One. All Together Now.

Now more than ever, accepting the reality of the oneness of humanity is the first fundamental prerequisite for solving human crises....

Rick Johnson

Ordinary People, Courage, And Change

Common people, all of us, black and white, young and old, rich and poor are able to accomplish so much. What types of courage and change...

Rick Johnson

Hear The Oldest Music In The World

From Africa to Mesopotamia to Egypt to China to Europe, listen to humanity's oldest music as sung and played on instruments. Anduwa: Aka...

Rick Johnson

Rare Classic Jazz Performances!

These historic recordings hold treasures for jazz lovers! Club Hangover Archives: 1954-1958 - 25 complete unedited half-hour broadcasts...

Rick Johnson

The Best Music In The World? You Be The Judge.

When it comes to crossing cultural divides and creating connections across the globe, nothing is more unifying than music. Explore some...

Rick Johnson

The Staple Singers: The Beat Of Freedom, Love, and Justice Goes On

The Staple Singers' fusion of music and message produced a powerful elixir of love, justice, and liberation. Here's their story and a...

Rick Johnson

Great Ladies Of Blues And Jazz

Let's celebrate a few of the ground-breaking women who left a legendary mark on Blues and Jazz music, but seem less remembered these...

Rick Johnson

Jazz: Spiritual, Powerful, Transcendent

Jazz is a highly expressive art form, displaying the full range of musicians’ individual personalities, and thus of their spiritual,...

Rick Johnson

One Planet. One Human Journey.

Settle back and get your mind blown by the simple reality of our oneness. One human family. One planet. One human journey. The song...

Rick Johnson

The Drummers Were (and Are) Women

Across the globe, men often appear to dominate the acoustic art of drumming and drumming performance. Closer inspection, however, reveals...

Rick Johnson

Van Gilmer (Part 2): Sweet Music for Your Sunday

So many readers enjoyed the post with music from the choir Van Gilmer directs, that I'm giving you a second serving. Amazing Grace O Son...

Rick Johnson

Van Gilmer: From Growing Up in a Segregated World, to Civil Rights Activism, to Musical Empowerment

Van Gilmer grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, at the height of Segregation. He was arrested many times for civil rights activism. His...

Rick Johnson

Indigenous Artists Remaking Music and History

Indigenous musicians present themselves in a wide array of rhythm, tonality, phrasing, attitude, and message. RUMBLE: The Indians Who...

Rick Johnson

Exploring the Latino and Afro/Latino experience in the United States.

There’s no better time to explore the Latino and Afro/Latino life experience, culture, and contributions to U.S. society that you didn't...