Episode 170: “Astral Weeks” by Van Morrison

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 170: "Astral Weeks" by Van Morrison
/

Left to right Jeff Barry, Bert Berns, Van Morrison, Carmine "Wassel" DeNoia, and Janet Planet

Episode 170 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Astral Weeks”, the early solo career of Van Morrison, and the death of Bert Berns.  Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a forty-minute bonus episode available, on “Stoned Soul Picnic” by Laura Nyro.

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 170: “Astral Weeks” by Van Morrison”

PLEDGE WEEK: “Hanky Panky” by Tommy James and the Shondells

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
PLEDGE WEEK: "Hanky Panky" by Tommy James and the Shondells
/

This episode is part of Pledge Week 2022. Every day this week, I’ll be posting old Patreon bonus episodes of the podcast which will have this short intro. These are short, ten- to twenty-minute bonus podcasts which get posted to Patreon for my paying backers every time I post a new main episode — there are well over a hundred of these in the archive now. If you like the sound of these episodes, then go to patreon.com/andrewhickey and subscribe for as little as a dollar a month or ten dollars a year to get access to all those bonus episodes, plus new ones as they appear.

Click below for the transcript

Continue reading “PLEDGE WEEK: “Hanky Panky” by Tommy James and the Shondells”

Episode 141: “River Deep, Mountain High” by Ike and Tina Turner

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 141: "River Deep, Mountain High" by Ike and Tina Turner
/

Ike Turner (sat down, shadowed) and Tina Turner standing behind him

Episode 141 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “River Deep Mountain High’”, and at the career of Ike and Tina Turner.  Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Also, this episode was recorded before the sad death of the great Ronnie Spector, whose records are featured a couple of times in this episode, which is partly about her abusive ex-husband. Her life paralleled Tina Turner’s quite closely, and if you haven’t heard the episode I did about her last year, you can find it at https://500songs.com/podcast/episode-110-be-my-baby-by-the-ronettes/. I wish I’d had the opportunity to fit a tribute into this episode too.

Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on “Wild Thing” by the Troggs.

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 141: “River Deep, Mountain High” by Ike and Tina Turner”

Episode 121: “The Leader of the Pack” by the Shangri-Las

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 121: "The Leader of the Pack" by the Shangri-Las
/

The Shangri-Las

Episode one hundred and twenty-one of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “The Leader of the Pack”, the rise and fall of Red Bird Records, and the end of the death disc trend. 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 “California Sun” by the Rivieras.

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 121: “The Leader of the Pack” by the Shangri-Las”

Episode 118: “Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy” by Manfred Mann

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 118: "Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy" by Manfred Mann
/

Manfred Mann

Episode 118 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy” by Manfred Mann, and how a jazz group with a blues singer had one of the biggest bubblegum pop 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 thirteen-minute bonus episode available, on “Walk on By” by Dionne Warwick.

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 118: “Do-Wah-Diddy-Diddy” by Manfred Mann”

Episode 110: “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 110: "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes
/

The Ronettes

Episode 110 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Be My Baby”, and at the career of the Ronettes and Ronnie Spector.  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 “Little Saint Nick” by the Beach Boys.

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 110: “Be My Baby” by the Ronettes”