Episode 166: “Crossroads” by Cream

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 166: "Crossroads" by Cream
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Cream

Episode 166 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Crossroads”, Cream, the myth of Robert Johnson, and whether white men can sing the blues. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have a forty-eight-minute bonus episode available, on “Tip-Toe Thru’ the Tulips” by Tiny Tim.

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 149: “Respect” by Aretha Franklin

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 149: "Respect" by Aretha Franklin
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Rev. CL. Franklin, Aretha Frankln, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Episode 149 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Respect”, and the journey of Aretha Franklin from teenage gospel singer to the Queen of Soul. 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 “I’m Just a Mops” by the Mops.

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/

Also, people may be interested in a Facebook discussion group for the podcast, run by a friend of mine (I’m not on FB myself) which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/groups/293630102611672/

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Episode 115: “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 115: "House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals
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The Animals

Episode one hundred and fifteen of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals, at the way the US and UK music scenes were influencing each other in 1964, and at the fraught question of attribution when reworking older songs. 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 “Memphis” by Johnny Rivers.

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 115: “House of the Rising Sun” by the Animals”

Episode 109: “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Peter, Paul, and Mary

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 109: "Blowin' in the Wind" by Peter, Paul, and Mary
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Peter, Paul, and Mary

Episode one hundred and nine of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Blowin’ in the Wind”, Peter, Paul and Mary, Bob Dylan, the UK folk scene and the civil rights movement. Those of you who get angry at me whenever I say anything that acknowledges the existence of racism may want to skip this one. 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 “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by the Crystals.

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 109: “Blowin’ in the Wind” by Peter, Paul, and Mary”

Episode 108: “I Wanna Be Your Man” by the Rolling Stones

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
Episode 108: "I Wanna Be Your Man" by the Rolling Stones
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The Rolling Stones in 1963

Episode 108 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “I Wanna Be Your Man” by the Rolling Stones and how the British blues scene of the early sixties was started by a trombone player.

Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.

Patreon backers also have an eight-minute bonus episode available, on “The Monkey Time” by Major Lance.

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 108: “I Wanna Be Your Man” by the Rolling Stones”

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 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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