The Letter Janis Joplin Mailed to Herself the Week Before She Died — That Changed Everything We Thought We Knew About Her Last Days

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Janis Joplin died on October 4, 1970, at the Landmark Motor Hotel in Hollywood, at twenty-seven years old. The official accounts of her final days have always described someone who was, by the accounts of friends and musicians around her, in relatively good spirits — working on Pearl, what would become her masterpiece, and seemingly … Read more

The Drum Pattern John Bonham Created on ‘When the Levee Breaks’ That No Producer Has Been Able to Fully Reproduce in Fifty Years

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In 1970, Led Zeppelin set up their recording equipment in the main hall of Headley Grange, a 19th-century English workhouse with stone staircases and high ceilings, and John Bonham sat down at his drum kit at the bottom of the staircase while the microphones were placed two floors above him. The result — the opening … Read more

Five Things Roger Waters Built Into ‘The Wall’ That Pink Floyd Didn’t Realize Were About Them Until the Album Was Already Released

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Pink Floyd’s The Wall, released in 1979, is one of the most autobiographical albums in rock history — but it is autobiographical in a way that its own creators did not fully decode until after the fact. Roger Waters, who wrote almost all of the material, was drawing from sources so personal and so close … Read more

The one musician Phil Collins never wanted to speak to, calling him “a miserable bastard.”

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Phil Collins never pretended to be a tortured artist. While critics often dismissed songs like Sussudio and I Can’t Dance as lightweight, Collins embraced the idea that music could simply be fun. After years of success with Genesis and his solo career, that optimism eventually drew backlash from listeners who preferred the band’s progressive-rock roots. … Read more

Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams Perform ‘Us’ Live Together for the Very First Time — and the Internet Melted

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Fans of Taylor Swift and Gracie Abrams were treated to a special moment when the two artists performed their song “Us” live together for the very first time. The highly anticipated performance quickly became one of the most talked-about music moments online, with fans flooding social media to share their excitement and reactions. The song, … Read more

Stevie Nicks Becomes Emotional Watching Taylor Swift Perform “Opalite” on Solo Piano, Calling the Achievement a Celebration of Pure and Timeless Songwriting.

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Music fans were deeply moved by a reported moment in which Stevie Nicks became emotional while watching Taylor Swift perform “Opalite” with nothing more than a single piano. According to the story, Nicks was brought to tears by the raw emotion and honesty of the performance, saying, “I felt that in my soul.” The performance … Read more