R&B legend Teddy Pendergrass passed away earlier this week after a long illness. Pendergrass, 59, got his start singing gospel music in Philadelphia churches, and later became a drummer for a local group called the Cadillacs. After merging with another more well known group, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, he became their lead singer in 1970. He later left the group and struck out on a solo career after signing with Philadelphia International Records - where his next several albums went gold and platinum. During this time he received several Grammy nominations, Billboard's 1977 Pop Album New Artist Award, an American Music Award for best R&B performer of 1978, and awards from Ebony magazine and the NAACP. A tragic car accident in 1982 left him paralyzed from the waist down. He made a dramatic return to the stage at the Live Aid concert in 1985, and in 1998 he founded Teddy Pendergrass Alliance to aid people with spinal cord injuries.

A Treasury of Field Recordings from the Library of Congress is a collection of recordings. These recordings have been collected since 1928. They include folk songs from all across America. The ones from the back roads in the Delta are examples of the precursors of the Blues. It is a great historic record of American music.

The fall season is an exciting time for many students who participate in their high school marching bands.  The months of hard work and preparation finally come to light on the football fields and in the many competitions.  Journalist, Kristen Laine, marched in an Indiana high school band, and later returned to the state to write American Band, the story of the Concord High School Marching Minutemen.  Her story portrays the lives of these high school students, who do not conform to the usual high schoo

Catfish Kate and the Sweet Swamp Band by Sarah Weeks is a great story to read aloud. While Kate and her band want to play music in the swamp, some of the other animals want their peace and quiet. Luckily, Kate comes up with a creative compromise to satisfy everyone. This is a very fun story to read aloud because it has a strong rhythm and rhyming pattern throughout the book. If you like this book, check out some other books by Sarah Weeks such as: Bunny Fun, Overboard and Paper Parade.

What better way to enjoy the Memorial Day weekend than to attend Movement 2009 (aka the Detroit Electronic Music Festival) in downtown Detroit's Hart Plaza.

"Mitchie Torres is living her dream.  She's attending the prestigious Camp Rock for her music and has befriended pop star Shane Gray!  But Mitchie has been pretending to be someone she's not to gain acceptance by the popular crowd.  If her secret comes out, will she get the chance to prove to everyone that she deserves a place in the spotlight?"

Check it out in:  Camp Rock

Motown Records, founded by Berry Gordy, marks it's 50th anniversary by celebrating all year long.  Discover some of Motown's history through the library's collection of books and videos.  Re-live the sounds with some tunes by

Are you looking for some good rock music to listen to that you may not have heard when it first came out? The Black Parade is without a doubt my favorite CD so far of this past decade and definitely deserves to be listened to.

Celebrate St. Patrick's day early with the Irish band's first album in 5 years. "No Line on the Horizon" has just been released and is receiving rave reviews. Find more of U2's nearly 30 years of chart crashing songs here at CPL.