The Beatles’ Greatest Hits? Three Choicest Cuts from the Sgt. Pepper Sessions
‘Strawberry Fields Forever,’ Penny Lane,’ and ‘A Day in the Life.’ Imagine if all three were on Sgt. Pepper. Prologue...
Rock 'n' Roll Nostalgia
‘Strawberry Fields Forever,’ Penny Lane,’ and ‘A Day in the Life.’ Imagine if all three were on Sgt. Pepper. Prologue...
The New Orleans sound reflects the diversity and eccentricity of the local culture. Fats Domino ignited its first rock ‘n’...
Sly’s brand of ‘psychedelic funk’ was a perfect fit for the late sixties. Prologue It must have been Sylvester Stewart’s...
The studio-based duo was on a timeless quest for sonic perfection. Prologue: The Birth of Steely Dan In the sixties,...
DJ Alan Freed hosted the gathering at the Cleveland Arena, capacity 8,600. Up to twenty thousand teens showed up. What...
Recreational drugs and rock ‘n’ roll: It was fun until it wasn’t. The songs endure. In the rock ‘n’ roll...
An Article 5 convention could put cherished American constitutional rights up for grabs. A group of deep-pocketed, dark-moneyed conservatives is...
Stax-Volt was built on the unshakeable foundation of genuine Soul music uniquely African-American. Prologue In the fifties, there was...
All of these acts thrived amid the screaming roar of the Fab Four. Prologue In March 1963, after being brushed...
Gov. DeSantis wants to remake the New College of Florida along the lines of Hillsdale College, a private, conservative bastion...
Assorted moments fused rock’s footprint: rockabilly, teen idols, Skiffle, the Twist, Buddy Holly’s tragedy, and the first power chord. Then...
The chaos over acceptable books is a dress rehearsal for what conservatives really want: public school privatization. Culture War in...
A mostly British phenomenon in the ’70s, progressive rock, or interchangeably “art rock,” was a refuge for rockers wanting to...
Recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Pat Benatar gave us a soundtrack for the ’80s. Prologue Last week,...
Carly Simon was a fixture on the charts in the ’70s. Then, Pat Benatar ruled rock radio throughout much of...
Rock ‘n’ roll was the natural outcome of musical interactions between Black and white. The Fifties By the mid- 1950s,...
Here’s a list of beloved songs about places we might have visited. The songs, as they say, are all over...
DeSantis uses minorities and immigrants as props to enflame his white grievance base. It just might blow up in his...
During his darkest moments (feigning that persecuted look that plays well with his base), Trump has Georgia on his mind....
The rise and fall of ‘Telstar’ creator Joe Meek, who never saw a dime in royalties from his sixties megahit....
Ray Davies was an unlikely songwriter to lead a sexual revolution. He just wanted a hit record. Lola…a light-hearted song...
Butterfield’s swagger and his command of the blues harp created a link to white rock audiences. Prologue During my freshman...
MAGA Warrior Doug Mastriano recently named Jenna Ellis, a face of Donald Trump’s court battles over nonexistent voter fraud, as...
Alpert’s unique trumpet sound is the upshot of experimental studio overdubbing and trips to Tijuana bullfights. About two years before...
‘Better to be judged by 12 than carried by six.’ Tragedy in Uvalde, Texas We’ve all shed tears for the...
Starting as strictly backup players to two legendary performers, The Band developed a likable and totally unique sound. Prologue The...
There’s a powerful new tranquilizer in the street drug supplies of Philadelphia and other cities that’s causing mysterious body wounds...
Putin regards liberal democracy as on its last legs. Will the US prove him right or wrong? Donald Trump, presumed...
The death of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins recalls a genre whose distinctive sound influenced bands in other musical hotspots,...
Ask the good people of Tulsa, Oklahoma: American history cannot be unlived. Critical Race Theory You know that conservatives have...
My reminiscence of being part of a crew who got up before dawn to hawk a tabloid newspaper on Philadelphia...
Both voting rights bills died in the Senate and elections remain vulnerable to partisan bad actors. Let’s embrace what’s possible....
The Justice Department, state prosecutors, and the House Select Committee are on the case. In the 2020 post-election craziness in...
Here’s a Top 10 playlist of songs about friendship (plus a bonus round). Naturally, the Beatles, Stones and Dylan top...
That year in rock was kind to the great Chuck Berry, who scored his first and only #1 hit with...
Their charges and sentences have been lenient compared to the BLM George Floyd protesters, many of whom are doing hard...
The Fab Four recorded jolly ad-libs for their fan club members to celebrate the Christmas holiday. You better believe frenzied...
‘Sloop John B’ and ‘Sail On, Sailor’ were off the charted course from the Beach Boys’ idealized California culture. ‘If...
“Having election deniers run elections is like having arsonists take over the fire department.” Sound the Alarm If you are...
You can get anything you want (excepting Alice). During my adult life, I have made a ritual of listening to...
As a massive public figure, Clapton must realize that spouting his pro-COVID nonsense could have grave consequences. Paraphrasing the Independent:...
The faux journalist’s election year misadventure targeted Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who conservatives love to hate. You might have heard...
The cheating Houston Astros get off with a wrist-slap, while Pete Rose, a man with a gambling addiction, gets the...
Even with the bitter taste of the Maharishi and Yoko Ono’s unwanted presence, the Beatles created a masterpiece. Most rock...
Printed-word storytelling is not a lost art in this new crop of rock books hitting bookstores and libraries this fall....
Texas Republicans’ strict ‘pro-life’ stance conceals a culture of death. Election Audit for Texas? Being from the east coast, my...
His drug addiction hidden from view, Apple Records could sense the immense talent in a young James Taylor, the first...
There was always a chance for a racial confrontation in the German town where I was stationed. So we opened...
The story behind Traffic’s deep dive into British folk music. Prologue: Steve Winwood At the center of it all was...
But just in case COVID exists, say Republicans without evidence, its spread is being caused by recent immigrants. I can’t...
The flight of the Jefferson Starship Enterprise was not a charted course. Did the Jefferson Airplane betray its “Haight-Ashbury” roots...
Republicans still have the edge in redrawing state maps. That means gerrymandering is alive and well. Prologue At first blush,...
Though on the surface a Euro-democracy, Hungary under autocrat Viktor Orban has dismantled democratic norms much like Donald Trump tried....
Six essentials about the reclusive Nyro, who wrote songs that others made into hits. Prologue Right around reaching my teenage...
Republicans are busy changing the rules to make it easier for their party to overturn the will of the voters...
Q: Who shot Ashli Babbitt? A: The people who keep asking that question. All of a sudden, six months after...
Rubber Soul marked the end of ‘Beatlemania’ and heralded the dawn of creating the gold standard in recording artistry. You...
The Ameican Experiment began with a raised fist towards the mightiest of world powers. It was built for the long...
Is relitigating the past the smartest electoral strategy for the GOP? The bogus recount of ballots cast in Arizona’s Maricopa...
Priscilla Bohlen on her second go-round in art: ‘It’s a great life!’ It was author F. Scott Fitzgerald who said...
On recording the greatest record album of all-time. The Beatles album Revolver, forever in the shadow of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely...
A break-away third party? A Trump indictment? The demise of our democracy? Will the fever ever break? Autocrats of the...
The song was based on a poem that Crow’s producer found in a Pasadena used bookstore. The Nineties: Rock’s Last...
Gig workers lack safety net protections, while internet-based companies save on labor costs and receive a government bailout. Prologue The...
Republicans weaponize political misinformation through a right wing echo chamber. When it’s debunked, some damage filters through. Rogue Recount Here...
Since 1910, African Americans have been stripped of 90% of farmland that was legally their own. Prologue: 40 Acres and...
Two original Yardbirds have kept the flame burning long after the band’s final 1968 concert. Three Guitars It is a...
Or maybe Babe Ruth was the ‘American Cristobal Torriente.’ If I should see [Cristobal] Torriente walking up the other side...
Blues guitar great Kenny Wayne Shepherd has become prey to a racial reckoning. Kenny Wayne Shepherd, longtime blues guitarist, singer...
The story of a clash of cultures in the late ’70s. In the midst of all those great rock acts...
Here are five truly awesome guitar recordings, released during the golden age of rock. This is a chord. This is...
50 years ago, ‘Imagine’ and ‘What’s Going On’ validated rock ‘n’ roll as a force for social change. Janet Jackson...
Ace songwriting and production team Holland-Dozier-Holland helped make Berry Gordy’s dreams come true. Back in the Day If you came...
In the House, Democrats can benefit from primary challenges by Trumpian extremists. Conventional wisdom. It’s a bear when it works...
The sixties was a time for breaking down racial barriers. Music was no exception. The Way It Was By the...
The rioters included dozens of financial deadbeats and some convicted of violence against women. Requiem for an Ex-President With Donald...
‘The Swampers’ in Muscle Shoals integrated soul, rock and the blues to become sought-after, elite instrumentalists You’re in rock ‘n’...
With impeachment acquittal likely, there are other remedies to hold Trump accountable. Impeachment For those of you wishing upon a...
The late ‘Wall of Sound’ producer was allowed on George Martin’s sacred turf. The results were not pretty. The Late...
Part I: Get government on the side of workers and make the ‘gig economy’ a personal choice. Scalia’s Revenge One...