Nat King Cole was far more than a Christmas crooner; he was a jazz innovator, TV pioneer and quiet civil-rights force who changed American pop from the inside.
Kiss bassist Gene Simmons tried to trademark the classic rock-on hand gesture. Here is what he filed, why it blew up, and what it says about rock culture.
Carlos Santana says the best music ‘plays you’ – and his body rejected Elvis. What he really means about groove, Africa, Miles and listening with your bones.
From smoky Jacksonville bars to Abbey Road, Molly Hatchet turned three-guitar boogie into legend – and kept the name alive long after every founder was gone.
How Suzi Quatro kicked the door in, and how Debbie Harry and Joan Jett turned that shockwave into a sisterhood that rewired rock’s rules on sex, power and image.
How Mick Jagger turned a boiling hot, nearly 100,000 strong Los Angeles Coliseum crowd – and a brutal fan revolt against Prince – into one of rock’s defining stadium moments.
How Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick and Yippie prankster Abbie Hoffman plotted to slip Nixon LSD at a White House tea – and why it failed at the gate.
How a five minute border town ceremony, born from an onstage proposal and years of scandal, became country music’s most controversial great love story.
Most people know the songs, not the man. Here’s how Lead Belly’s prison-born anthems became pop hits and stadium chants.
How one London photo-op froze Bob Dylan and Joan Baez at the exact moment folk royalty, romance and protest music began to come apart.