Sam Cooke’s Swan Song of Protest
Though only a modest hit by his standards, Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” became an anthem of the 1960s civil rights movement, and would come to be heralded […]
Though only a modest hit by his standards, Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” became an anthem of the 1960s civil rights movement, and would come to be heralded […]
In 1973, a reggae group on the verge of breaking up released an album — its second that year — filled with militant anthems inspired by life in the Jamaican […]
The 1938 boxing rematch between American Joe Louis and German Max Schmeling is believed to have had the largest audience in history for a single radio broadcast. In 2005, the […]
When Jimi Hendrix’s debut album, Are You Experienced? was released in 1967, it turned the music world upside down. With its crackling feedback and ground-breaking guitar playing, Are You Experienced?fused […]
Mamie Smith was the first black vocalist to record the blues. The song was “Crazy Blues,” and it became a hit. But it happened almost by accident. “In a sense […]
In November 1938, conductor Arturo Toscanini led the NBC Symphony Orchestra in the premiere performance of Samuel Barber‘s “Adagio for Strings.” The concert was broadcast from New York to a […]
After 50 years of igniting keyboards, audiences and scandals, you’d think Jerry Lee Lewis might want to take a break. But “the Killer” is still rocking. Lewis, who turned 71 […]