The holiday seasons of 1938 and 1939 in New York City were graced by two special concerts that marked a turning point in our musical history. The “From Spirituals To Swing” concerts on December 23, 1938 and December 24, 1939 at Carnegie Hall were a coming-out party for blues, jazz, and African-American music in general. […]

Country Joe McDonald wrote one of the most influential protest songs in the 60’s, The I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin-To-Die Rag,” often referred to as “The Rag.” That song was associated closely the “The Fish Cheer” – you know the one that goes: “Gimme an F!….” etc. The song originally appeared on an EP thayt Country Joe and The […]

Before the dawn of the Hot Topic era, “120 Minutes” was one of the very few lifelines for the weird kids - hair metal haters, goth poets and smart, Sassy-reading kids lost amidst the prescribed vacuous teen rituals. These kids were often too young to sneak into cool clubs or easily travel to the nearest […]

Thelonious Sphere Monk is recognized as one of the most influential figures in the history of Jazz and his impact as a composer and pianist has had a profound influence on every genre of music. Monk probably composed ” Round Midnight” in 1938, though no one knows for sure. Monk soon became known as a […]

Recorded March 25, 1963, “Ring of Fire” became the biggest hit of Johnny Cash’s career, staying at #1 on the charts for seven weeks. It was co-written by June Carter and Merle Kilgore. For June Carter, “Ring of Fire” was a metaphor for falling in love with Cash. Both were still married to other people. […]

Initially inspired by his memories of the death of Buddy Holly in 1959, ‘American Pie’ is autobiographical and presents an abstract story of Don McLean’s life from the mid 1950s until when he wrote the song in the late 1960s. When the song was released in 1972, it reached the top of the Billboard 100 […]

Opening for Bonnie Raitt at a show in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 22, 1974, 25–year–old Bruce Springsteen was bursting with new material and severely in need of some kind of big break. He got it when Jon Landau, reviewing the show for The Real Paper, wrote:
“I saw my rock-and-roll past flash before my eyes. And […]

A staple of late night MTV from 1987 to 1995, “Headbangers Ball” coincided with hair metal’s peak and presented a stark contrast to the channel’s daytime Top 40 videos. It kicked off April 18, 1987 as a mix of mainstream to obscure hard rock. Dubbed “The Ball”, it replaced Dee Snider’s “Heavy Metal Mania”, a […]

(The Yardbirds, 1966: Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Keith Relf, Jim McCarty, and Chris Dreja)
The Yardbirds, a British rock band, are noted for starting the careers of three of rock’s most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. A blues-based band whose sound evolved into experimental pop rock, they had a string of hits […]

The ABC-TV network had a show back in the 80’s called “Kids Are People, Too” that aired on Sunday mornings at 7am. It premiered September 10, 1978 and ended September 5, 1982. They had some very surprising musical guests. Kiss and Cheap Trick appeared on the show as did Patti Smith, who sang the Debby […]