Holland-Dozier-Holland is a songwriting and production team made up of Lamont Dozier and brothers Brian Holland and Edward Holland, Jr.. The trio wrote and arranged many of the songs making up the Motown sound that dominated American popular music in the 1960s. The three came together to create material for themselves and other artists, but […]

It’s one of the classics of rock. Released on September 16, 1968 the double album was originally released in the UK with that now-famous cover photo of naked women. The album showed the full range of Hendrix’s musical talent and featured session players like Dave Mason, Al Kooper, Steve Winwood, Jack Casady along with the […]

Forget “great metal album”… Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction is a crucial release of the 1980s, scorching the decade’s pop landscape in 1987 and forcing critics to grudgingly acknowledge the long-maligned genre. An aggro-rock monster, it trampled the Billboard charts Godzilla-style, and supported by stellar singles “Paradise City”, “Welcome to the Jungle”, and the […]

The Funk Brothers finally got their due in the 2002 documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Who are the Funk Brothers? The uncredited and largely unheralded session musicians who performed on Motown’s recordings from 1959 until 1972 – more #1 hits than the Beatles, the Stones, Beach Boys, and Elvis combined. Inspired by a […]

Sneering out at the world behind oversized glasses, Declan Patrick Aloysius McManus made his debut as Elvis Costello in 1977 on his Stiff Records debut, “My Aim Is True.” With songs ranging from the country-influenced “Alison” to the two songs from his first single (”Less Than Zero” b/w “Radio Sweetheart”), Costello showcased his already-impressive range […]

Hotel California was released by The band Eagles in late 1976. It is the first Eagles album without founding member Bernie Leadon, and the first album with Joe Walsh. It is also the last album featuring original bass player and singer Randy Meisner. Since its release in late 1976, it has sold over […]

March 12, 1955 was a sad day in music history – particularly jazz – when Charlie “Bird” Parker died. Though the official cause of death was pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer, his death was hastened by his drug and alcohol abuse. The 34-year-old Parker was so haggard that the coroner mistakenly estimated Parker’s age to […]

Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. was the first album recorded by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. It was released in 1973 and sold about 25,000 copies in the first year. On his debut album, Bruce showed he was the best songwriter to come along since Bob Dylan. The album kicks off with the […]

The Pretenders, finally broke through in 1979, they wasted no time, growing from promising newcomers on the British music scene to major international stardom with a pair of smash albums to their credit in a mere three years. But the Pretenders’ meteoric rise came to a crashing halt in 1982, when drug abuse claimed the […]

Aretha Franklin, the undisputed “Queen of Soul” and the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. On February 29, 1968, Aretha Franklin won a pair of Grammy Awards (her first) for “Respect.” That same month, her cover of Don Covay’s “Chain of Fools” goes to the top fo the […]