Last Updated on December 1, 2025 by Black Sunshine Media
Great artists don’t always get the recognition they deserve. We’re here to change that.
Artist Spotlight: Grand Funk Railroad
Explore the story of Grand Funk Railroad — from their Michigan roots to sold-out stadiums and everything in between.
Artist Spotlight: Them Crooked Vultures
Supergroups have the potential to really be special. Them Crooked Vultures prove that with their unique modern take on rock and roll.
Artist Spotlight: Moondog, The Viking of Sixth Avenue
This is the story of Louis Thomas Hardin, better known as Moondog: part mystic, part prankster, part genius, and one of the most unusual figures in 20th-century music. If you’ve seen The Big Lebowski (1998), you’ve already heard Moondog, even if you didn’t realize it. The Coen Brothers famously used his compositions, including “Theme” and “Stamping…
Artist Spotlight: Carol Kaye
If you’ve listened to popular music from the 1960s and 70s, you know bassist Carol Kaye; perhaps you just don’t know you know Carol Kaye. This statement could also hold for the following names: Leon Russell, Larry Knechtel, Barney Kessel, Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco, and hundreds of other musicians who worked the West Coast studio…
Artist Spotlight: Mike Watt/Minutemen/fIREHOSE
The highlight of my rock n’ roll fandom was meeting Mike Watt and having a regular conversation with him, not the typical I’m your biggest fan type-shit. The meeting happened at the Double Door while Watt was touring for Contemplating the Engine Room, around 1996-97. And then, I had the good fortune to interview Watt…
Artist Spotlight: Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder is a universal superstar, but he’s got one album that nobody talks about, Music of My Mind (1972), and it might be his best album. Let’s talk about it. Struggles with Motown As a child prodigy, Wonder signed with Motown’s Tamla label at age 11 and was given the professional name Little Stevie…
Artist Spotlight: The Glove + Adam and the Ants
Black Sunshine Media was founded on the pursuit and exposure of lesser-known artists and bands and their work. Sharing new sounds is our passion. We love turning people onto stuff they might have missed. In this post, we’ll look at two albums from bands that deserve another shot: Blue Sunshine by The Glove (1983) and…
Artist Spotlight: King Crimson
The term “progressive rock” was originally applied to bands that fused hard rock with classical music to expand the styles and concept of what a rock band could do. Procol Harum, Pink Floyd, The Moody Blues, and The Nice all operated in the zone of what is now called progressive rock, but none represented a…
Artist Spotlight: Bad Brains
As a rock hobbyist and quasi-historian, I’ve built a small roster of underrated, unsung, and forgotten artists and albums. These are “back pocket selections” when talking or writing about music. “If you like so-n-so, you should check out…” Bad Brains is the most frequently cited artist, specifically their first three records. The band is one…