Cher finally recognised 60 years after her first recordings, while Mary J Blige, Peter Frampton and Dave Matthews Band are among the other inductees Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, Mary J Blige and A Tribe Called Quest are among the stars to be added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year – many of them rather overdue. Artists can be added to the US institution 25 years after their first recording, but Cher – who once described her snub by the Hall as “kind of rude” – has had to wait until 60 years after her first releases with Sonny & Cher to be included ..read more

(Analog Africa) This sparkling time capsule of Congolese rumba from 1969 to 1982 features homegrown melody and soul with James Brown’s electrifying funk influence This latest compilation from the redoubtable Analog Africa label is subtitled “Sound Madness from the Shores of the Mighty Congo River”, an alluring but slightly misleading description. In truth there is little madness in evidence among its 14 tracks, most of which are precisely played and delightfully sung examples of Congolese rumba from 1969-82, a genre distinguished by its melodicism, intricate Latin rhythms and sparkling guitar ..read more

(Dead Oceans) The trio return to their relaxed, mid-tempo origins with 12 tracks spanning sunkissed bliss to humid funk and ballads Few bands have established as distinct an instrumental sound as H trio Khruangbin. Since the release of their debut album, The Universe Smiles Upon You, in 2015, the group have honed a style that combines the reverb-laden twang of spaghetti western melodies with the undulating groove of 70s disco and the earthy shuffle of funk. It is a concoction that has filled arenas, leading audiences to sing back guitar hooks as if they were lyrics. Following the upbeat, celeb ..read more

The pop-soul singer takes your questions on name changes, musical touchstones, the transformative power of amateur boxing, and not dating Charlize Theron Do you stand by your claim that [debut album] Introducing the Hardline … is as significant as Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band? VerulamiumParkRanger I said a lot of shit, but Muhammad Ali was one of my heroes, and I similarly realised that if you say outrageous things, it gets attention. As a young artist, you’ve got to get your work heard and to a degree I hypnotised myself into believing I was a genius. It worked like a charm, but I did ..read more

He was the boy from Alabama who wrote a hit while still at school. And the classics just kept coming – from I’m Your Puppet to Do Right Woman. The great songwriter relives his days with the stars Aretha Franklin was six years into a hit-free career when Dan Penn wrote her a song that would go on to become a classic, synonymous with her name. “Aretha walks in and she’s got this aura around her,” says Penn of the recording session, which took place at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama. “The girl was special, that was obvious. I sang her Do Right Woman, Do Right Man, accompanied ..read more

From Kylie’s megamix to Rema’s maximalism, we rate and slate the performers at British music’s biggest night of the year Women dominate as Raye scores record-smashing six wins Raye’s wins defied the music industry’s limited imaginations Brits 2024: full list of winners Kylie, Dua Lipa and record-breaking Raye: the Brits in pictures It would be inaccurate to say that Dua Lipa is entering her flop era – the first singles from her upcoming album, Houdini and Training Season, are currently in or around the top 20 most streamed songs globally on Spotify. But there’s something a little gimlet-eyed ..read more

Vocalist and last surviving founder member of the American soul and disco group the Spinners By the time the Spinners were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, Henry Fambrough was the only surviving founder member of the American soul and disco group formed 69 years earlier. Known in Britain as the Detroit Spinners to avoid confusion with a popular folk music quartet from Liverpool, they would go on to record more than 30 hit singles, seven of which reached the US top 10 between 1972 and 1980, and to win 18 platinum and gold albums as well as six Grammy award nominations. Am ..read more

They toured the US and headlined Harlem’s Apollo while no British TV show would air them – but their legacy was rescued by hip-hop This documentary is an education and a good-news story about the remarkable 70s British funk band Cymande (the word is a calypso term for “dove”) who should be as big as Earth Wind & Fire, but aren’t. Or at least not yet. Their talent allowed them to transcend the racism and dullness of Britain’s cultural scene in the days of the Edward Heath government, recording three albums and becoming the first British band to headline New York’s Apollo Theatre during a he ..read more

London MC wins best male and song of the year, while Potter Payper beats stiff competition to win album of the year Central Cee has topped the winners at the 2024 Mobo awards, winning best male for the second year in a row, and best song for Sprinter, his collaborative track with Dave, that dominated the summer months with a 10-week run at No 1. Elsewhere the awards, which celebrate black musical artistry in the UK and globally, spread the garlands across a diverse range of music, with no one artist dominating ..read more

From Abba to U2, midcentury vocal groups to 00s emo, we highlight songs that clear up the previous year’s party and look to a fresh start Over the festive period, the playlists of those who celebrate Christmas (and Mariah Carey) burst with seasonal classics in the manner of a stocking bulging with oranges. There’s Frosty the Snowman! There’s The Little Drummer Boy! There’s Cyndi Lauper going down on Pelle Almqvist from the Hives’s mother! But new year is too often neglected when it comes to musical curation. So here, in no particular order, are some of the greatest cuts to kick off the next 36 ..read more