Episode 120: “A Hard Day’s Night” by the Beatles

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 120: "A Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles
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The Beatles, in black and white, running down a street

This week’s episode, the first on the new host, looks at “A Hard Day’s Night”, and the making of the film that would define music cinema for decades to come. 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 “Tobacco Road” by the Nashville Teens.

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 97: “Song to Woody” by Bob Dylan

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 97: "Song to Woody" by Bob Dylan







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Bob Dylan pulling his pants up

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. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

Continue reading “Episode 97: “Song to Woody” by Bob Dylan”

Episode 78: “What’d I Say” by Ray Charles

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 78: "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles







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Ray Charles

Episode seventy-eight of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “What’d I Say” by Ray Charles, and at Charles’ career in jazz, soul, and country. 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 “Sea of Love” by Phil Phillips.

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 78: “What’d I Say” by Ray Charles”

Episode 5: Rosetta Tharpe and “This Train”

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 5: Rosetta Tharpe and "This Train"







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Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Welcome to episode five of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs. Today we’re looking at Sister Rosetta Tharpe and “This Train”

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Episode 4: “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” by Louis Jordan

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 4: "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie" by Louis Jordan







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Welcome to episode four of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs. Today we’re looking at Louis Jordan and “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie”

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Episode 2: “Roll ‘Em Pete” by Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 2: "Roll 'Em Pete" by Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson







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Big Joe Turner

Here’s the second episode, on “Roll ‘Em Pete” by Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson. One erratum before we continue — in the episode, I say that “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” follows a particular formula common in hokum songs. That’s not actually true for the original version — it is true for Bill Haley’s cover version, and Elvis’ and the versions after them, but in Joe Turner’s version the part we now know as the chorus didn’t come in until near the end. Sorry about the mistake.

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Episode 1: “Flying Home” by the Benny Goodman Sextet

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 1: "Flying Home" by the Benny Goodman Sextet







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An image of Charlie Christian

Welcome to the first episode proper of A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs! As this is the first real episode, you may notice a couple of flaws in the production — those will hopefully get ironed out in the coming weeks. In the meantime, sit back and listen to the story of “Flying Home” by the Benny Goodman Sextet!

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