Fats Domino was one of the best-selling African-American singers of the 1950s and early 1960s. He first attracted national attention with “The Fat Man” in 1949. The record was a massive hit, selling over a million copies and peaking at #2 on the Billboard R&B charts. It has been estimated that Domino has sold in […]

“Louie Louie” has become a standard in pop music, with hundreds of versions recorded by different artists, but version by The Kingsmen recorded in 1963 is the best-known recording. The song is written in the style of a Jamaican ballad; and tells, in simple verse-chorus form, the first-person story of a Jamaican sailor returning […]

Musicians United for Safe Energy, or MUSE, was an activist group founded in 1979 by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and John Hall of Orleans. The group advocated against the use of nuclear energy, forming shortly after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in March 1979. MUSE organized a series of five No Nukes […]

The Chronic is the highly influential debut album from Dr. Dre, released in 1992. It is noted for popularizing West Coast hip hop. Its peak chart position was #3, and went on to sell 4 million copies with chart-breaking hits. “The Chronic” is slang for premium-grade cannabis. The album cover itself is a homage to […]

Jim Morrison died in Paris at the age of 27 on July 3, 1971. He was found in a bathtub at his apartment at 17 Rue Beautraillis by his girlfriend, Pamela Courson. A doctor’s report stated the cause of death was heart failure aggravated by heavy drinking. However, over the years there have been various […]

De La Soul’s platinum debut 3 Feet High & Rising is the cornerstone of late 80s progressive hip-hop. This Prince Paul-produced, sample heavy effort was, for better or worse, one of the first to introduce comedy skits between songs. Blending samples from classic rock, jazz, country, and even “Schoolhouse Rock”, the album’s many memorable tracks […]

In 2004, Brian Burton came to prominence as a musician/producer under stage name Danger Mouse by mashing up The Beatles’ White Album and Jay-Z’s Black Album. Coupling illegal Beatles samples with Jay-Z’s acapella raps, the album gained notoriety when EMI, copyright holder of the White Album, demanded Burton and all retailers cease distribution. Amidst the […]

“Rock the Casbah”, the only U.S. Top 10 hit by The Clash, was released on 1982 album Combat Rock. The last album to feature the original Clash lineup, Mick Jones departed after the album’s completion, and Topper Headon was fired due to heroin addiction. Critics targeted “Rock the Casbah” as too mainstream, but the band […]

They were the first family of country music. Between 1927 to 1943 Sara, “A.P”, and Maybelle Carter would write, record and perform roots music which would have a profound and lasting impact on the genres of bluegrass, country and folk. To this day, their legacy continues.
Their bio from the Country Music Hall of Fame outlines […]

Carly Simon’s smash “You’re So Vain” has led to much gossip since its release in 1972. The song, a biting kiss-off to a self-absorbed womanizer, was a #1 hit and spawned what fans consider to be one of the enduring musical mysteries of the 70s. Who is the song about? Guesses have included Mick Jagger […]