John Lennon gave us some of the most sublime songs of the 20th century. He also gave us Imagine, a song that was not, as some people say, killed by ubiquity, but that committed Harakiri by its own tedious hand. But we’ll forgive him that. We’ll also forgive him for bowing out of music for…
In 1970, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon decided to get together and form a band. They might not have realized it at the time, but they were about to change the face of popular music forever. The most commercially successful band in history, Queen has sold over 300 million records, influenced…
Over the course of a career spanning four decades, Linda Ronstadt has turned her hand to everything. Country, rock’n’roll, jazz, opera, Broadway standards, big band, Mariachi… you name it, she’s tried it, and by and large, the results have been masterful. Since starting out in the 1960s as the lead singer of the folk-rock trio,…
James Taylor started his career in 1968 with the Beatles’ Apple label. He was 20 years old, had floppy hair, an acoustic guitar, and a notebook full of frank confessionals. Two years later, those confessionals found their mark with the release of his second album and commercial breakthrough, Sweet Baby James. Since then, he’s been…
Benjamin Jackson Burnley was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on March 10, 1978. When he was twelve, his family moved to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. He was homeschooled from age sixteen and quickly passed his GED requirements graduating much earlier than if he continued in public school. He moved to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at twenty-one and met…
Some country songs make you sad, others get you mad. But no matter whether they make you reach for the bottle in anger or in misery, they all do one thing. They all tell a story. Not all of those stories are worth listening to, but the good ones will always twang your heartstrings. The…
By the 1970s, country music was going through changes. A new breed of country star was taking over the charts, replacing the old school style of yesterday with a new type of outlaw glamour. Gram Parsons, Waylon Jennings, Linda Ronstadt, and dozens of others were all making as big a dent on the pop charts…
Fast Times at Ridgemont High was released on August 13, 1982. Cameron Crowe wrote the book after going undercover at a San Diego High School and later the screenplay for the film. At the time Crowe went underground, he was twenty-two. Yet, Crowe looked young and was able to stay undercover at Clairemont High School…
Hatebreed was founded in 1993 in New Haven, Connecticut. The group was one of the most well-known hardcore bands in the United States during the late 90s. One of the things that made them stand out was the fresh combination of old-school hardcore music with many aggressive metals. This was what brought them to the…