Alan Paul

John Fogerty's voice lent Creedence Clearwater Revival its signature sound on hits such as "Proud Mary," "Who'll Stop the Rain," "Fortunate Son" and "Born on the Bayou." From 1969, the band released five hit-laden albums before sputtering, then…

Peter Frampton was a veteran guitarist by the time he released 1976’s double live album "Frampton Comes Alive!" Though just 26 years old, he had already founded Humble Pie and played on many landmark recordings, including George Harrison’s All Things…

By Alan Paul Canadian Ryan Pyle moved to China in 2002 and established himself as a freelance photographer, traveling the country shooting for a host of publications, including The Wall Street Journal. In 2010, he turned the lenses on himself and his…

Canadian journalist Jonathan Campbell spent a decade immersed in Beijing's burgeoning music scene, as both a drummer and promoter. During my own time there (2005-09), I knew Campbell a bit - he played one gig with my band, Woodie Alan – and…

Tama Matsuoka Wong examined the unruly greenery growing in one of a dozen raised beds in her New Jersey backyard. Most gardeners would be reaching for a spade or a bottle of herbicide to eradicate this bushy plant. Ms. Wong had a very different…

The members of the Allman Brothers Band are known for being Southern men, but the group has always had an intense relationship with New York City. Its greatest album, 1971's "At Fillmore East," documented a live performance at the fabled East Village…

By Alan Paul Journalist Jim Yardley's story antenna started vibrating when "Boss Wang," the impulsive, bullying billionaire owner of the Taiyuan Brave Dragons, hired ex-NBA coach Bob Weiss to try to turn around the worst team in the Chinese…

Journalist Jim Yardley's story antenna started vibrating when "Boss Wang," the impulsive, bullying billionaire owner of the Taiyuan Brave Dragons, hired ex-NBA coach Bob Weiss to try to turn around the worst team in the Chinese Basketball…

The last year saw a flood of solo releases by members of the Allman Brothers band. The first three, by Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks' Tedeschi Trucks Band, were all nominated for the Best Blues Album Grammy Award. But the fourth and…

Little League players love composite bats. With their light swing and springy action, the bats make young players feel like home run kings. But this season, for the first time, Little League is banning most composite-barrel bats because they enable…

When I posted my 'Panda Dad' essay the other day, I didn't really know what to expect, but it certainly was not nearly 200 comments, pickups by several other blogs – and now a Today show appearance, scheduled for next Wednesday. I just had some…

There are countless motivations for traveling, but most people abandon "throwing yourself into the deep end to see if you can swim" after they have kids. It just feels too risky to set off on aimless wanderings into parts unknown with children in…

LIVE TONIGHT: The Journal's Katie Rosman will liveblog Amy Chua's appearance, with husband Jed Rubenfeld and older daughter Sophia, here. Follow on Twitter at @WSJIdeasMarket. I have watched the uproar over the Tiger Mom debate with growing annoyance…

During my three-and-a-half years living in Beijing, I went native in a lot of ways. I ate Chinese food for breakfast, lunch and dinner most days. I tried to shop in local markets as much as possible. And I never got the Slingbox or satellite TV…

Changsha, China The scene at the windowless Coco Club, a "private club for successful people" in Hunan, Mao Zedong's home province, was improbable by any measure. A packed, drunken crowd of local high rollers was screaming for American roots music.…

One of the great curiosities in modern sports is the Chinese people’s lavish affection for Kobe Bryant. During last year’s Beijing Olympics, he was greeted with a rapturous reception and mobbed everywhere he went. He appears in commercials and on…

This will be my final Expat Life column. After three and a half years, 91 columns and six months back in the U.S. it is simply time to move on. My recent 13-day return visit to China helped me achieve closure with most parts of my existence there,…

I always understood that living in Beijing seemed pretty wild to most people back in the U.S. On visits home I had to make a conscious decision whether to exaggerate or downplay the exoticism. The truth is that in a big, rapidly developing Chinese…

The volume and intensity of response to my recent column on battling the repatriation blues caught me off guard. It is a subject to which virtually all expats who have returned home keenly relate, and almost uniformly feel isn't well understood by…