Rock & Roll: From The Beginning

Rock & Roll: From The Beginning

By Terence J. O'GradyMusicMusic CommentaryMusic History
Download on the App Store

Rock & Roll: From The Beginning episodes

  • Episode 15: Stars of the '80s: Michael Jackson, Prince & Madonna
    Episode 15 will focus largely on two giants of black pop in the '80s--Michael Jackson and Prince. For Jackson, the emphasis will (naturally) be on the album Thriller. For the more complex Prince, the greatest attention will be paid to the Purple Rain album and film. We'll also make a fairly extended side trip to investigate the coming of age of one of the greatest competitors for the hearts and dollars of music fans in the '80s--Madonna.
    40 min
  • Ep. 15: Stars of the '80s: Michael Jackson, Prince & Madonna
    Episode 15 will focus largely on two giants of black pop in the '80s--Michael Jackson and Prince. For Jackson, the emphasis will (naturally) be on the album Thriller. For the more complex Prince, the greatest attention will be paid to the Purple Rain album and film. We'll also make a fairly extended side trip to investigate the coming of age of one of the greatest competitors for the hearts and dollars of music fans in the '80s--Madonna.
    40 min
  • Episode 14: Punk & New Wave
    We'll set the scene for our discussion of New Wave and Punk by surveying early precursors of both styles, e.g., the Velvet Underground, David Bowie, and the Ramones, Graham Parker, and Elvis Costello. We'll also take a look at some of the more popular New Wave groups (in terms of record sales), e.g., the Police, the Cars and the more experimental Talking Heads. For our representatives of the Punk movement, we'll focus on two classic British examples--the Sex Pistols and the Clash.
    1 hr
  • Episode 13: Elton John & Bruce Springsteen
    Elton John's highly successful career will be documented into the '80s, including contributions from his main lyricist Bernie Taupin and an analysis of John's personal synthesis of gospel music and lyrical pop-rock with occasional side trips to clever parodies of various styles ranging from early rock & roll to Disco. Looking at Bruce Springsteen, we'll examine his first highly successful album Born to Run and also look at Darkness at the Edge of Town, The River, and Born in the USA, in which he experiments with new stylistic elements.
    1 hr 1 min
  • Episode 12: Singer/songwriters and other trends in the '70s
    This episode will focus on singer/songwriters and the more introspective, lyrical and confessional style they introduced in the early '70s. We'll begin with Cat Stevens (later Yusuf Islam) and move on to Carol King and her epic album, Tapestry, one of the best-selling albums of the '70s. Other singer/songwriters surveyed will be James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot. We'll also do a brief survey of other trends that take hold later in the '70s (including Disco) as manifest in the evolving styles of the Bee Gees, Donna Summer and others.
    55 min
  • Episode 12: Singer/songwriters and other trends in the ’70s

    This episode will focus on singer/songwriters and the more introspective, lyrical and confessional style they introduced in the early '70s. We'll begin with Cat Stevens (later Yusuf Islam) and move on to Carol King and her epic album, Tapestry, one of the best-selling albums of the '70s. Other singer/songwriters surveyed will be James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot. We'll also do a brief survey of other trends that take hold later in the '70s (including Disco) as manifest in the evolving styles of the Bee Gees, Donna Summer and others.

    55 min
  • Episode 11: Art Rock
    This episode will focus on the expansion of musical resources in the late '60s and '70s that resulted in Art Rock and various experimental movements. We'll start with some of those groups who expanded their pop-rock or psychedelic styles with elements of western "classical" music: the Moody Blues; the Who; the Nice; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; and (perhaps more uniquely) Pink Floyd. For a synthesis of pop-rock and jazz, we'll look to Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago. Finally, we'll offer a brief salute to that rugged individualist of Art Rock, Frank Zappa.
    49 min
  • Episode 10: Psychedelic Rock & Progressive Blues
    The various and diverse manifestations of Psychedelic Rock will be surveyed, beginning with the Doors and moving on to Jefferson Airplane and others. Jimi Hendrix and his unique psychedelic-soul blend will be analyzed, especially the landmark album Are You Experienced? and Cream will be seen as making the transition from more conventional psychedelia to progressive blues, due in large part to its emphasis on Eric Clapton's blues-based guitar virtuosity. We'll also take a look at the Heavy Metal style, starting with pioneer Led Zeppelin and continuing on with a selection of British Heavy Metal rockers up to the mid-'80s.
    55 min
  • Ep 10: Psychedelic Rock & Progressive Blues

    The various and diverse manifestations of Psychedelic Rock will be surveyed, beginning with the Doors and moving on to Jefferson Airplane and others. Jimi Hendrix and his unique psychedelic-soul blend will be analyzed, especially the landmark album Are You Experienced? and Cream will be seen as making the transition from more conventional psychedelia to progressive blues, due in large part to its emphasis on Eric Clapton's blues-based guitar virtuosity. We'll also take a look at the Heavy Metal style, starting with pioneer Led Zeppelin and continuing on with a selection of British Heavy Metal rockers up to the mid-'80s.

    55 min
  • Episode 10: Psychedelic Rock & Progressive Blues
    The various and diverse manifestations of Psychedelic Rock will be surveyed, beginning with the Doors and moving on to Jefferson Airplane and others. Jimi Hendrix and his unique psychedelic-soul blend will be analyzed, especially the landmark album Are You Experienced? and Cream will be seen as making the transition from more conventional psychedelia to progressive blues, due in large part to its emphasis on Eric Clapton's blues-based guitar virtuosity. We'll also take a look at the Heavy Metal style, starting with pioneer Led Zeppelin and continuing on with a selection of British Heavy Metal rockers up to the mid-'80s.
    55 min

About Rock & Roll: From The Beginning

From the publisher's feed

Rock & Roll: From The Beginning explores rock & roll's early decades.