This week’s case study -- the final episode of our first season -- began life as a soulful ballad entitled “One Step Ahead” by the one and only Aretha Franklin.  Released on the Columbia label in 1965, the record scarcely made a splash.  In 1999, more than 30 years after its initial release, the...

Episode five is devoted to “Watermelon Man,” the first song on the first album by the pianist Herbie Hancock, released when he was just 22 years old.  In 1963, less than a year later, the adventurous Cuban bandleader and conga player Mongo Santamaria cut an irresistible Latin-esque version of it,...

Episode four of “The Singer and the Song” is devoted to “Tequila.”  Released into the world as catchy little rock instrumental in 1958, that song’s astonishing elasticity over the last six decades has generated flavorful jazz, r&b, rap, ska, cumbia, movie soundtrack, and marching band...