Our most enduring stars are those who have reinvented themselves over time. On the heels of hard rock (The Man Who Sold the World ) and pop (Hunky Dory) albums, Bowie changed his sound and created his most iconic persona, the bisexual androgyny glam rocker from another planet Ziggy Stardust.
Some time before, he’d started showing […]

At the time when the video for Thriller came out (December 2, 1983), there were no TiVos or DVRs. There were VCRs, sure, but you might not want to leave it to chance: The premiere of Thriller was a television event, a water-cooler moment that no one wanted to miss. The 14-minute music video was […]

The King died at 42. Unless you believe he’s still alive, a rumor that has circulated since that fateful day when he was found slumped on a toilet in his Memphis mansion Graceland. Even though there had been reports of his failing health for months, the world was stunned by the news that the king […]

Stereophonic sound, commonly called stereo, is the reproduction of sound, using two or more independent audio channels, through a symmetrical configuration of loudspeakers, in such a way as to create a pleasant and natural impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing. It is often contrasted with monophonic (or “monaural” or just […]

The Rolling Stones sure have made some great albums in their long career. However starting in 1968 they released four absolutely incredible studio albums in a row that to this day remain some of the best of their career, and perhaps some of the most important rock records of all time.
Starting with Beggars Banquet (1968) […]

Thanks to Don McClean and his tune “American Pie” February 3, 1959 will always be known as the day the music died. That’s when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “Big Bopper Richardson” died in a plane crash along with the pilot, Roger Peterson. The three were bound for Fargo, North Dakota from Clear […]

It was years in the making and grew out of an idea by visionary WXPN general Manager Mark Fuerst to create a national show that would reflect the musical tastes of WXPN and draw in a new audience for public radio. The World Cafe debuted in October 1991 with longtime Philadelphia radio star David Dye […]

At the start of the Summer of Love in June, 1967, the Monterey International Pop Music Festival in California was the precursor to Woodstock, bringing together a stellar roster of musicians and an audience of 200,000, including a number of record execs who signed many of the acts.
The Byrds, The Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield, Otis […]

In 1955 juvenile delinquency was a hot topic in the nation and in Hollywood. That was the year James Dean starred in Rebel Without a Cause. It was also the year of the movie Blackboard Jungle, starring Glenn Ford as a new teacher in an inner-city boys high school in New York determined to […]

If it were written today, the opera would probably be about a guy with a talent for a web-based game, but it was 1969 and a different past time. The Who’s Pete Townsend crafted “Tommy” a concept album about a “deaf, dumb & blind kid” who had a magical way with a pinball machine. The […]