Underdog Musik Podcast - Between the Hits: Pop Music Stories 1960-1990

'It took me 10 years to recover from being a one-hit wonder’, says Eddie Chacon, the surviving member of 90s soul duo Charles and Eddie. The love for his work with Charles Pettigrew from the early 90s has only grown and grown.

The duo went back in time to the 70s soul scene of Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and The Spinners with a dash of the vibes from Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five.

All song samples are kept extremely short to avoid copyright claims

Only two more episodes to go before the end of season 1.

Loose © 2026 RolloGuitar/RJ Tosha

Apologies, this took a little longer than usual. A lot of information only emerged right at the end of the research stage and we had to make a couple of corrections.

A 1991 milestone album of a kind was Dramarama’s Vinyl. Their route to national attention in America peaked that year, having had vital exposure through alternative radio.

Dramarama's good fortunes had started in the mid 80s, set off by LA radio station KROQ-FM.

However, just before the recording of Vinyl started, Dramarama’s American record company Chameleon went bust. Their fortunes seemed to change at this point.

After a decade together they hadn’t had a bona fide chart hit, even though they’d capitalised on opportunities and were on the radar of major critics such as Robert Christgau. Could Vinyl get them over to a wider audience?

The essay with videos of rare live performances by Dramarama is available on our Patreon page.

Three more episodes to go in this season before we take a break until the spring of next year.

Loose © 2026 RolloGuitar/RJ Tosha

How Robert Plant reclaimed his voice and saved his band, while meeting Lester Bangs' challenge that they add more humanness to their work.

Discover how in 1970 Britain's finest rock musicians stripped their sound back to its roots to make heartfelt music after the excesses of the late 60s.

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Like many of their peers in 1966 the Stones cautiously believed that things were about to change socially, politically and otherwise. They tried to contribute to that change by making music that was transgressive and transformative, different from what they’d done before and yet within the spectrum of their existing sound.

We focus on the cultural trends and changes in the London music scene that the Stones embraced for their daring album.

(Lyrics edited for clarity)

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Trailer for episode 10: A clip of the upcoming podcast filling out a picture of the era the album was recorded in while understanding the influences that made the period 1966 to 1969 so pivotal in pop music.

Take a peek into the sources I used for the Mick Taylor podcast 'Why Talent Alone Fails' through a fascinating look at the life and work of Nick Kent.

This podcast highlights Nick's writing and the impact it had on me while sourcing material for the review of British rock music through the 70s. The cast of characters Nick Kent came into contact with was inexhaustible, but non more mind-boggling than Sid Vicious. I have a look at how the NME journalist covered Sid's last weeks and his final descent in the late 70s.

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Joan Jett like Philip Marlowe shouldn’t exist in her time. Both are out of sorts in their era. They are outside of their time, timeless heroes.

“She brought menace and I bought a lot of pop sensibility,” producer Kenny Laguna said about her album debut.

Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna’s take on Joan and Kenny’s unlikely musical partnership is, “You mix that together and you've got a Molotov cocktail that's gonna totally do some damage.”

Loose © 2026 RolloGuitar/RJ Tosha

Members have recently enjoyed exclusive access to part 2 of my Mick Taylor album review, here is a taste. For anyone who is interested in free or full membership check out our channel on Patreon.

In Part 2 we look at how Mick Taylor could have produced a very good debut album to launch his solo career. I've done as much coulda, shoulda, woulda as anyone else when I wanted a favourite artist to knock it out of the park when they actually didn't.

Was he oversteered by Columbia Records to make an album that would have more popular appeal without relying on his time-tested skills?

The band's unique ability to blend intellectual depth with compelling musical innovation was central to their enduring appeal and mystique.

Letter Never Sent is the eighth song on REM’s second album Reckoning. It's a typical REM song with its faint air of melancholy. While it has a brash post-punk riff driving it in the verses, it goes into a wistful and mysterious chorus.

How did the Georgia quartet gain such a massive following on college radio and inspire grunge bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam? We give a few clues here.

Loose © 2026 RolloGuitar/RJ Tosha

When Mick Taylor joined the Stones in 1969 he unwittingly entered into a psychodrama that would define his time in the band. He was the anti Brian Jones.

Taylor is not a casualty of the sinister allure of the Rolling Stones. He got out just in time, but had to come terms with his own musical journey.

The next episode, Mick Taylor: Why Talent Alone Fails, Pt.2 will be available to free and paying members on Patreon.

Loose © 2026 RolloGuitar/RJ Tosha