THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «Come As You Are» by Nirvana
Can anything be said about Nirvana and their Nevermind album that hasn’t been said before? The album came out of nowhere in 1991, and its […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?» by R.E.M.
The beginning of this story takes us back to 4 October 1986. CBS news anchor Dan Rather was walking along Park Avenue in New York […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)» by AC/DC
For AC/DC, 1980 would become a year of incredible highs and lows. It started horribly, with the death of their charismatic frontman Bon Scott on […]
CLASSIC ALBUM COVERS: «Yesterday And Today» (a.k.a. the «butcher cover») by The Beatles
Yesterday And Today is the title of the ninth album by The Beatles released by Capitol Records in the United States and Canada in June […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «Life On Mars?» by David Bowie
In 1968, David Bowie was in a transitional and exploratory phase as an artist. He was still largely unknown to the mainstream, but had laid […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «Kick Out the Jams» by MC5
It was late October 1968. Local heroes MC5 were playing live at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit on the 30th and 31st, recording their first […]
When an intoxicated Jerome Aniton introduced Steely Dan on stage
Bodhisattva is the first track of Steely Dan’s second album Countdown To Ecstasy, released in July 1973. The studio version was never released as a […]
When Iron Maiden asked Patrick McGoohan if they could use audio from The Prisoner TV show
Iron Maiden may not have been sure of this themselves at the time, but they were going from strength to strength for the first half […]
When AC/DC were told by Atlantic Records to write a ballad
Work on AC/DC’s fourth internationally-released studio album Powerage began in earnest at Sydney’s Albert Studios in January 1978. The sessions, with long-time collaborators Harry Vanda […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «The Passenger» by Iggy Pop
The 1970s would prove to be extremely unpredictable for Iggy Pop. The Stooges broke up in 1970, got back together with a revamped line-up as […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «Back Seat of My Car» by Paul and Linda McCartney
THE STORY ABOUT THE SONG: «The Back Seat of My Car» by Paul and Linda McCartney The Back Seat of My Car is the closing […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «The Pack Is Back» by Raven
Some songs are timeless. The classic rock band format of vocals, guitars, bass, and drums has been fashionable since the late 1950s, and found an […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «Going To California» by Led Zeppelin
When Led Zeppelin reconvened to create material for their fourth untitled album, they returned to the country house Bron-Yr-Air in Snowdonia, Wales for initial writing […]
THE STORY BEHIND THE SONG: «The Show Must Go On» by Queen
As the 1980s turned into the 1990s, Queen were working on their final recording sessions with singer Freddie Mercury. These sessions would yield their fourteenth […]
When The Cure’s Robert Smith sang the wrong song in his vocalist debut
Robert Smith is known the world over as the frontman of The Cure. He was not always the group’s singer, though. He started out as […]