Episode 138: “I Fought the Law” by the Bobby Fuller Four

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 138: "I Fought the Law" by the Bobby Fuller Four
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The Bobby Fuller Four

Episode one hundred and thirty-eight of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “I Fought the Law”, and at the mysterious death of Bobby Fuller. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a fifteen-minute bonus episode available, on “Hanky Panky” by Tommy James and the Shondells.

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 podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com

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Episode 101: “Telstar” by the Tornados

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 101: "Telstar" by the Tornados
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The Tornadoes in the studio, with Joe Meek (standing)

Episode 101 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs is the first one of the podcast’s third year. This one looks at “Telstar” by the Tornados, and the tragic life of Joe Meek, Britain’s first great pop auteur. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Apologies for the lateness of this one — my two-week break got extended when my computer broke down.

Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Wipe Out” by the Surfaris.

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 podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

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

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
PLEDGE WEEK BONUS: "Chantilly Lace" by the Big Bopper







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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 Bopper’s death.

Every day of Pledge Week will start with the same section, which I’ll transcribe once, below, before the cut.

Pledge Week Intro

This is not a proper episode of the podcast. Rather, this is something else.

I’ve decided to hold a pledge week, to try to get a few more subscribers to my Patreon. So every day this week I’ll be putting one of the backer-only episodes I’ve done over the past year up on the main podcast feed, so people can hear what it is you get if you sign up for the Patreon, with this little introductory piece before them. If you’re already a backer, you will already have this episode, so you can skip this and everything else labelled “pledge week”.

I do one of these every week for my backers, and backers even at the lowest levels get them — if you sign up for a dollar a month you get each new one as it comes out, and access to all the old ones. There are fifty-nine of them up so far, as well as a few other things like the monthly Q&As I’ve been doing for backers. I’m only making seven of these available on the public feed, so there’s a lot still there for you to listen to. If this works well, I might do another one next year, when there’ll be another fifty-odd episodes to choose from.

None of this is meant to put any pressure on anyone who can’t afford it to back the podcast — the podcast will always remain free to listen to, and I hope it will remain ad-free as well. I know times are especially tough right now, and many of you literally can’t afford the money you’re already spending, let alone paying any more out. I only want backers who can spare the money.

But if you can afford it, and you like these bonus episodes enough, then go to patreon.com slash andrewhickey, that’s spelled h-i-c-k-e-y, or follow the link in the shownotes, and sign up, and you’ll get one of these the same day as every new episode. If you can’t, well… enjoy this extra free bonus, and don’t worry about it.

Transcript behind cut

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Episode 85: “Three Steps to Heaven” by Eddie Cochran

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 85: "Three Steps to Heaven" by Eddie Cochran







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Gene Vincent, Joe Brown, Billy Fury and Eddie Cochran

Episode eighty-five of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Three Steps to Heaven” by Eddie Cochran, and at the British tour which changed music and ended his life. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a fifteen-minute bonus episode, on “Quarter to Three” by Gary US Bonds.

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 podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

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Episode 74: “It Doesn’t Matter Any More” by Buddy Holly

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 74: "It Doesn't Matter Any More" by Buddy Holly







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The Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly

Episode seventy-four of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “It Doesn’t Matter Any More” by Buddy Holly, and at the reasons he ended up on the plane that killed him. 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 “Chantilly Lace” by the Big Bopper.

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 podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com

Continue reading “Episode 74: “It Doesn’t Matter Any More” by Buddy Holly”

Episode 67: “Johnny B. Goode”, by Chuck Berry

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 67: "Johnny B. Goode", by Chuck Berry







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Chuck Berry and Alan Freed

Episode sixty-seven of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Johnny B. Goode” by Chuck Berry, and the decline and fall of both Berry and Alan Freed. 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 “Splish Splash” by Bobby Darin.

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Episode 61: “That’ll Be the Day” by The Crickets

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 61: "That'll Be the Day" by The Crickets







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The Crickets

Episode sixty-one of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “That’ll Be the Day” by The Crickets. 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 “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry

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Episode 49: “Love is Strange” by Mickey and Sylvia

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 49: "Love is Strange" by Mickey and Sylvia







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Mickey and Sylvia

Welcome to episode forty-eight of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs. This one looks at “Love is Strange” by Mickey and Sylvia, and how a reluctant bluesman who wrote books on jazz guitar, and a failed child star who would later become the mother of hip-hop, made a classic. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a bonus episode available. This one’s on “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” by Jimmy Witherspoon, and is about blues shouting and the ambition to have a polyester suit.

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Episode 48: “Rock With the Caveman” by Tommy Steele

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 48: "Rock With the Caveman" by Tommy Steele







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Tommy Steele

Welcome to episode forty-eight of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs. This one looks at “Rock With the Caveman” by Tommy Steele, and the birth of the British rock and roll industry. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a bonus episode available. This one’s on “The Death of Rock and Roll” by the Maddox Brothers and Rose, in which we look at a country group some say invented rock & roll, and how they reacted badly to it

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