On April 22, 1978, Bob Marley stood on a stage at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, and did something that no politician, no police force, and no government initiative had been able to accomplish in the preceding years of political violence that had killed hundreds of Jamaican civilians. He brought Michael Manley and Edward … Read more
Berry Gordy built Motown Records on a specific philosophy of crossover appeal — music made by Black artists that was produced and presented in ways designed to reach a white mainstream audience that the American music industry of the early 1960s had constructed significant barriers against. The formula was deliberate: polished production, precise choreography, professional … Read more
The Berlin period — 1976 to 1979 — is the chapter of David Bowie’s life that his most serious admirers return to with the most consistent reverence, and it is the chapter that almost did not happen because the person who needed to escape Los Angeles most urgently was not Bowie but Iggy Pop, and … Read more
The Beatles’ recording career lasted eight years — from Please Please Me in 1963 to Let It Be in 1970. In those eight years they moved from straightforward rock and roll influenced by Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry to a body of work that encompassed chamber music, psychedelic experimentation, avant-garde tape loops, Indian classical music, … Read more
The story of Syd Barrett is the story that Pink Floyd could never fully escape and never fully tell — the story of the man who founded the band, named the band, wrote the band’s first hits, and then disappeared from the band in 1968 as his mental health collapsed in ways that the people … Read more
There are meetings between artists that history records and meetings that history almost missed — encounters that happened in private, witnessed by few people, documented in fragments and partial accounts that only fully surface years later when the principals are no longer alive to confirm or deny the details. The meeting between Freddie Mercury and … Read more
Few musicians have divided opinion quite like Noel Gallagher. Critics have spent decades accusing him of borrowing heavily from his musical heroes, while fans point to his extraordinary gift for writing unforgettable melodies. Whatever side you fall on, one thing is undeniable: Noel’s songwriting has earned him a place among Britain’s finest modern rock composers. … Read more
For nearly a month, the same motorcycle appeared behind my daughter every afternoon. Not close enough to speak to her. Not close enough to touch her. Just there. Every day, after nine-year-old Lily left Riverside Elementary and started the short walk home, a black Harley would emerge somewhere along the route. The rider always stayed … Read more
Some moments in music history are so heartbreaking that they forever change the artists who lived through them. For George Harrison, December 8, 1980, became one of those days. While the world would soon learn of John Lennon’s tragic murder in New York City, Harrison had spent part of that day putting the finishing touches … Read more
Few singers in rock history have inspired as much awe—and intimidation—as Robert Plant. As the unmistakable voice of Led Zeppelin, Plant redefined what a rock frontman could sound like, combining earth-shaking power, bluesy soul, and piercing high notes that seemed almost impossible to reproduce. Over the decades, countless vocalists have stepped onto the stage hoping … Read more