Nov 11th, 2008 · Up until this summer, Los Angeles-based singer Alex Lilly had been known mostly for her role as backup singer for pop duo The Bird and the Bee. Recently, however, Lilly embarked upon a new project and took the spotlight for herself. With the help of 10 of her friends, she's created the band Obi Best and recorded the keyboard-driven pop debut, Capades.
Oct 18th, 2008 · You are given a word. Drop two letters so that the remaining letters, in order, spell the name of a world capital. For example, given "backup," the answer would be "Baku," the capital of Azerbaijan.
Jun 13th, 2008 · Joan Wasser spent the 1990s as an alt-rocker and backup violinist in various bands. But when she started performing as Joan as Police Woman, she developed a knack for punk-informed soul. Hear an interview and stripped-down in-studio performance.
Jun 11th, 2008 · Naomi Shelton is gruff and she takes no guff. In an ominous minor key and a stern tone, the sixtysomething singer from Alabama asks the musical question, "What Have You Done?" Her backup singers in the Gospel Queens plead ignorance: "I don't know, I don't know."
Jun 10th, 2008 · A bill making its way through Congress would force NASA to add one more shuttle mission to its schedule so that a billion-dollar anti-matter and cosmic-ray detector can be brought to the space station. The 15,000-pound instrument was built largely with foreign funding, making it a painful project for NASA to abandon. But the agency says there is no room for it on the currently planned flights, which are full with higher-priority items, including backup hardware for the space station.
May 28th, 2008 · The international space station's lone toilet is broken. The solid waste collection system is still functioning, but for liquids, the astronauts have to make do with a backup bag. NASA will send replacement parts on the next shuttle.
May 8th, 2008 · The '70s soul player performs a transcendent, refreshingly unadorned cover of Al Green's "I'm So Glad That You're Mine." Rather than dressing up (and thus weighing down) the arrangement, he relies on little else besides a guitar, an acoustic piano, drums, and some backup singers.
Apr 30th, 2008 · Willie Nelson turns 75 today, April 30, and to honor him there's a major biography, a career-spanning box set, and an essay from Fresh Air's rock historian — who sang backup vocals, once upon a time, on a Willie Nelson albums.