Country music legend Loretta Lynn recorded “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” her autobiographical hit, in 1969. It tells the story of her life growing up “in a cabin on a hill in Butcher Hollar,” while her father worked all night in the Van Lear Coal Mine. The single was released by Decca Records in 1970 and reached […]

Nick of Time is a blues rock album by Bonnie Raitt, released in March of 1989. It is seen as a comeback album for her, because her career had been stalled with a few lackluster albums in a row. This album the first release after Bonnie had overcome her substance abuse issues, and […]

As the 70s came to a close, punk was floundering. The early pioneers had evolved one of a few ways. The Clash had progressed beyond punk’s nihilism. The Sex Pistols self-destructed. The Ramones were struggling under pressure to break through. Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski would lead punk’s next mutation, hardcore, with label SST and […]

Jesse Stone wrote a song for Big Joe Turner entitled “Shake, Rattle and Roll” and it was released in April 1954, reaching # 1 on the Billboard R&B chart on June 12, but its success did not cross over to the pop charts at all. Bill Haley & his Comets recorded a more memorable […]

Bauhaus’ essential goth rock dirge “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” makes a memorable and significant connection between the emerging goth culture and vampires by referencing Lugosi, the vintage horror star who originated the role of Dracula on stage and screen. “Dead” was Bauhaus’ first single, released in 1979, and while it did not enter the pop charts […]

Aretha Franklin is the undeniable Queen of Soul. Although she is known for her soul/R&B music, she has contributed and sang gospel, jazz, rock, blues, pop, and even opera music. Born the daughter of Rev. C. L. Franklin, a well respected Detroit gospel singer and clergyman, Franklin’s father was a close friend of civil rights […]

Every career has its highs and lows, and Willie went through some lows. In search of a new beginning, Willie moved back to Texas in 1972and found his way to the Austin’s old Armadillo World Headquarters, creating a bond with long-haired rock’n rollers. In 1978, he released Stardust, a collection of pop standards that spent […]

With 14 weeks at #1 on the singles charts, Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” from the 1992 soundtrack to The Bodyguard became the longest consecutively running #1 single of all time. This insanely popular hit was written by Dolly Parton in 1973 during her split from longtime collaborator Porter Wagoner and released the […]

Girls on Film was the single from Duran Duran’s first album, and has become their signature song. Released in July of 1981, it quickly reached no. 5 in the UK singles chart. It was the band’s second hit in the U.s. and rose to #11 in Austrailia. The song fared well on the radio […]

One of Philadelphia’s premier rock clubs — now and then — has been the Electric Factory which opened on February 2, 1968 with The Chambers Brothers. Located in an old converted tire warehouse at 22nd and Arch Streets, it was founded in 1967 by Larry Magid and Allen Spivak. Over the years, it hosted acts […]