The Private Conversation Between Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash That Changed Country Music Forever — And Neither Man Ever Fully Described

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The Million Dollar Quartet session of December 4th, 1956 at Sun Studio is famous. Elvis, Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis — an accidental convergence that Sam Phillips was smart enough to record. The photographs exist. The tape exists. The cultural mythology of that afternoon has been enormous and well-documented. What is less documented is … Read more

The Guitar Solo Jimmy Page Played That Made Robert Plant Drop to His Knees in the Middle of Recording — And Refuse to Stand Up Until It Was Finished

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There is a phenomenon that musicians describe with remarkable consistency when they talk about encountering greatness at close range. A physical response. Something that happens in the body before the mind has processed what the ears are receiving. A shift in the relationship between the person listening and the space they are occupying. The music … Read more

Rush shook up the setlist at their second Kia Forum show, delivering a full performance of the legendary “2112” suite and giving fans a night to remember.

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Rush continued their triumphant Fifty Something Tour with a second sold-out performance at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum on Tuesday, June 9, treating fans to one of the most remarkable setlists of their modern era. After launching the tour in spectacular fashion on Sunday, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson—joined by touring drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist … Read more

The Three Words John Lennon Said to Yoko Ono Every Morning for the Last Five Years of His Life — That She Has Never Stopped Hearing

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The public version of John Lennon and Yoko Ono is one of the most contested narratives in popular culture. Contested by people who blamed her for the Beatles’ breakup — a blame that was never fully fair and has become less fair with each passing decade of historical reassessment. Contested by people who found the … Read more

The Reason Jimi Hendrix Always Played His Guitar Behind His Back — That Had Nothing to Do With Showmanship

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Jimi Hendrix is remembered as the most visually extraordinary performer in rock history. The guitar played with his teeth. The guitar played behind his back. The guitar set on fire at Monterey in 1967 — a moment so perfectly theatrical that it has been discussed for fifty years as the ultimate act of rock showmanship. … Read more

Five Songs George Harrison Recorded After The Beatles Ended — That Finally Said Everything He Had Been Forbidden From Saying For Ten Years

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There is a specific kind of creative frustration that has no adequate outlet. The frustration of having things to say and being systematically denied the platform to say them — not because what you have is insufficient but because the people controlling the platform have a vested interest in prioritizing what they have over what … Read more

The Night John Lennon Heard “Hotel California” for the First Time — And Called Don Henley at Midnight to Tell Him Something Nobody Expected

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John Lennon

There are moments in the life of a working musician when someone whose opinion exists in a completely different category from the ordinary categories offers a judgment on your work. Not a critic. Not a fan. Not a colleague of equivalent standing. Someone whose relationship to music goes so deep and has produced work so … Read more

“It Destroyed Her for 3 Months” — Aaron Dessner Explains How Taylor Swift Turned Heartbreak Into a Record-Breaking Masterpiece

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Few songs in modern music have had the cultural impact of All Too Well (10 Minute Version). The extended version of the fan-favorite track became one of the most talked-about releases of Taylor Swift’s career, turning a painful chapter of her past into a historic musical achievement. When Swift released the 10-minute version of the … Read more