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PODCAST

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs

Andrew Hickey presents a history of rock music from 1938 to 1999, looking at five hundred songs that shaped the genre.

music music history

All Episodes

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BONUS: I Read The News Today, Oh Boy: The Cuban...

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/10/06

This is the first of a new monthly feature that will run alongside the main podcast — once a month I’ll be doing a ten-minute bonus episode looking at non-music news from the time we’re covering in the podcast. These can be skipped if you’re only interested in the music, but add valuable context about the culture in which those records were made. This month’s is on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Year three of the podcast starts in a few days’ time, with

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Episode 100: “Love Me Do” by the Beatles

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/09/26

This week there aretwo episodes of the podcast going up, both of them longer than normal. This one, episode one hundred, is the hundredth-episode special and is an hour and a half long. It looks at the early career of the Beatles, and at the three recordings of “Love Me Do”. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available,on “Misirlou” by Dick Dale and the

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Episode 99: “Surfin’ Safari” by the Beach Boys

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/09/25

This week there aretwo episiodes of the podcast going up, both of them longer than normal. This one, episode ninety-nine, is on “Surfin’ Safari” by the Beach Boys, and the group’s roots in LA, and is fifty minutes long. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Misirlou” by Dick Dale and the Deltones. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by

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Episode 98: “I’ve Just Fallen For Someone” by Adam Faith

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/09/15

Episode ninety-eight of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “I’ve Just Fallen For Someone” by Adam Faith, and is our final look at the pre-Beatles British pop scene. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “San Francisco Bay Blues” by Jesse Fuller. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will

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Episode 97: “Song to Woody” by Bob Dylan

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/09/10

Episode ninety-seven of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Song To Woody” by Bob Dylan, and at the Greenwich Village folk scene of the early sixties. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Sherry” by the Four Seasons. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on

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Episode 96: “The Loco-Motion” by Little Eva

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/09/01

Episode ninety-six of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “The Loco-Motion” by Little Eva, and how a demo by Carole King’s babysitter became one of the biggest hits of the sixties. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on“Duke of Earl” by Gene Chandler. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will

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Episode 95: “You Better Move On” by Arthur Alexander

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/08/27

Episode ninety-five of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “You Better Move On”, and the sad story of Arthur Alexander. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Mother-In-Law” by Ernie K-Doe. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular

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BONUS: “Strawberry Fair” by Anthony Newley

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/08/24

This is a special extra episode of the podcast, not one of the “proper” five hundred. A book I’ve written, on the TV seriesThe Strange World of Gurney Slade,has just become available for pre-order from Obverse Books, so to publicise that I’ve done an extra episode, on the pop music career of its star, Anthony Newley. The next normal episode will be up in a day or two. Transcript below the cut. Erratum: In a previous version of this episode, I mentioned, in passing, my

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Episode 94: “Stand By Me”, by Ben E. King

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/08/18

Episode ninety-four of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King, and at the later career of the Drifters. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “If I Had a Hammer” by Trini López. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out

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Episode 93: “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/08/10

Episode ninety-three of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Please Mr. Postman” by the Marvelettes, and the career of the first group to have a number one on a Motown label. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Take Good Care of My Baby” by Bobby Vee. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will

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Episode 92: “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by the Tokens

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/08/02

Episode ninety-two of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens, and at a seventy-year-long story of powerful people repeatedly ripping off less powerful people, then themselves being ripped off in turn by more powerful people, and at how racism meant that a song that earned fifteen million dollars for other people paid its composer ten shillings. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of

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Episode 91: “The Twist” by Chubby Checker

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/07/25

Episode ninety-one of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “The Twist” by Chubby Checker, and how the biggest hit single ever had its roots in hard R&B. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Viens Danser le Twist” by Johnny Hallyday, a cover of a Chubby Checker record that became the first number one for France’s

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PLEDGE WEEK: “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/07/19

Welcome to the seventh and final in the Pledge Week series of episodes, putting up old bonus episodes posted to my Patreon in an attempt to encourage more subscriptions. If you like this, consider subscribing to the Patreon at http://patreon.com/join/andrewhickey . I’m glad to say that this pledge week has been successful enough that I may do another of these in a year or so. This one is about “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford, a record that was a huge influence on many, many

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Episode 90: “Runaway” by Del Shannon

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/07/18

Episode ninety of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Runaway” by Del Shannon, and at the early use of synthesised sound in rock music. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Blue Moon” by the Marcels. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out

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PLEDGE WEEK: “Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle...

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/07/18

Welcome to the sixth in the Pledge Week series of episodes, putting up old bonus episodes posted to my Patreon in an attempt to encourage more subscriptions. If you like this, consider subscribing to the Patreon at http://patreon.com/join/andrewhickey . This one is about “Black Denim Trousers and Motorcycle Boots” by the Cheers, one of the first Teen Tragedy records, and Leiber and Stoller’s biggest hit. Content warning — contains mentions of deaths in accidents, and of false

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PLEDGE WEEK: “Ain’t Got No Home” by Clarence...

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/07/17

Welcome to the fifth in the Pledge Week series of episodes, putting up old bonus episodes posted to my Patreon in an attempt to encourage more subscriptions. If you like this, consider subscribing to the Patreon at http://patreon.com/join/andrewhickey . This one is about “Ain’t Got No Home” by Clarence “Frogman” Henry, a classic of both novelty music and New Orleans R&B. Click the cut to view a transcript of this episode: (more…)

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PLEDGE WEEK: “Shake a Hand” by Faye Adams

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/07/16

Welcome to the fourth in the Pledge Week series of episodes, putting up old bonus episodes posted to my Patreon in an attempt to encourage more subscriptions. If you like this, consider subscribing to the Patreon at http://patreon.com/join/andrewhickey . This one is about “Shake a Hand” by Faye Adams, a classic of gospel-tinged R&B that influenced Little Richard, Elvis Presley, and Paul McCartney among others. Click the cut to view a transcript of this episode: (more…)

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PLEDGE WEEK: “Blue Yodel #9” by Jimmie Rodgers

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/07/15

Welcome to the third in the Pledge Week series of episodes, putting up old bonus episodes posted to my Patreon in an attempt to encourage more subscriptions. If you like this, consider subscribing to the Patreon at http://patreon.com/join/andrewhickey . This one is about “Blue Yodel #9” by Jimmie Rodgers, but it’s really about two great women who shaped twentieth century popular music without much credit — Lil Hardin and Elsie McWilliams Click the cut to view a transcript of

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PLEDGE WEEK: “The Flying Saucer” by Buchanan and Goodman

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/07/14

Welcome to the second in the Pledge Week series of episodes, putting up old bonus episodes posted to my Patreon in an attempt to encourage more subscriptions. If you like this, consider subscribing to the Patreon at http://patreon.com/join/andrewhickey . Click the cut to view a transcript of this episode: (more…)

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PLEDGE WEEK BONUS: “Chantilly Lace” by the Big Bopper

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs ·

2020/07/13

Welcome to Pledge Week! I’m doing a week of posting some of the Patreon bonuses I’ve done, to encourage those who can to sign up to my Patreon. ERRATUM: My understanding when I did this episode was that “White Lightning” was recorded right after the Big Bopper’s death. That is not actually the case — Jones just turned up drunk to the session because he was drunk, not because of his friend’s death, and they *released* the record a few days after

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