From Motörhead to Mötley Crüe: A History of the Umlaut—Rock's Most Peculiar Punctuation
Where did the gothic garnish that became a trademark of rock bands like Mötley Crüe and Blue Öyster Cult get started?
Where did the gothic garnish that became a trademark of rock bands like Mötley Crüe and Blue Öyster Cult get started?
In the late ’90s, young people across America fell hard for swing, a musical genre that hadn’t been popular since before their parents were born.
Debbie Harry became a rock icon as the lead singer and co-founder of the band Blondie, but here are some things you might not know about this natural redhead.
When ABBA took an indefinite hiatus in 1982, they couldn’t have predicted the goodwill they’d garner over the next several decades.
After helping to invent the supremely chill, lightly funky sound known as “yacht rock” in the ’70s, Kenny Loggins went full speed into the ’80s and took the highway to the danger zone of movie soundtracks.
The Nirvana frontman didn’t just play the blue Fender Mustang in the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video—it was also his favorite kind of guitar.
The roughly three-minute limit dates back to the early 20th century—but the digital music landscape is affecting the custom.
A gospel singer who rose to national fame in the 1940s, Rosetta Tharpe's work on the electric guitar inspired the likes of Elvis and Johnny Cash.
The new Beatles documentary 'Get Back' shows Paul McCartney writing one of the band's greatest hits on a day when John Lennon was running late.
Named the “song of the century” by TIME in 1999, “Strange Fruit” continues to devastate listeners nearly a century after its original recording.
Madonna wasn't yet a household name when she opened the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards by humping the stage, leading some people—including her own management team—to believe her career was over.
Jim Morrison was the self-styled Lizard King, a leather-pants-loving rock deity who fronted the Doors and represented the dark and druggy flipside of the utopian ’60s dream.
Janis Joplin didn’t have a long or prolific career. The freewheeling Texas blues-rock howler recorded just four albums between 1967 and 1970. But in that short time, she left an indelible mark on rock ’n’ roll history.
Although MTV has more recently become synonymous with reality TV and cheap clip shows, there was a time when the network truly did live up to its name. And it all began at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981.
The road to Jimi Hendrix’s guitar fire, The Clash’s ‘London Calling’ album cover, and other epic guitar smash moments began in London’s Railway Hotel.
Elvis Presley’s Graceland hasn’t changed too much since he lived there—the last record he ever listened to is still in the record player.
“Girl Groups” is one of those musical genres that’s difficult to define, but that has been incredibly influential on pop music as a whole throughout the decades.
“Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the so-called Black national anthem, was written by 20th-century novelist/poet/songwriter James Weldon Johnson as a rallying cry for perseverance and social justice.
After funding COVID-19 vaccine research and donating millions of books to kids, Dolly Parton definitely deserves a statue or two.
Although they’ve never been taken too seriously, boy bands have been a force ever since The Beatles took the stage on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' and the world witnessed female "hysteria" at its best.
The biggest hit that pop band a-ha ever had was actually a reworked idea. 'Take on Me' had failed three times before.
With upbeat songs and catchy lyrics, the 1960s band The Swingin’ Six helped usher in a new era for the United States Postal Service.
Though strongly associated with the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, the popular hymn was born off the shores of Buncrana, Ireland.
Before the rock band hit it big, they wrote and performed a commercial jingle for the popular rice cereal.