Music
Barry Manilow's 'Mandy' Was Originally 'Brandy.' But Wa...
January 18, 2020
Barry Manilow performing on Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell, airdate: October 11, 1975. Photo by Ann Limongello/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images P...
The Muppets' 'Mah Na Mah Na (Doot Doo-Doo Doot Doo)' Ca...
January 17, 2020
"Mah Na Mah Na" is one of the best-known gibberish songs in entertainment -- and not because of its original appearance in a smutty Swedish movie. "Mah Na Ma...
Ronnie Van Zant Of Lynyrd Skynyrd Predicted His Own Dea...
January 15, 2020
Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd in a recording studio, August 12, 1977. Photo by Tom Hill/WireImage When Lynyrd Skynyrd's Ronnie Van Zant died in a plane cr...
Carly Simon: A Young And Sexy '70s Songbird, Then And N...
January 13, 2020
Left: Carly Simon poses for a portrait on March 15, 1971 in London, England. Right: Simon in a publicity photo, circa 1977. Sources: Ed Caraeff/Getty Images; Wi...
Crystal Gayle, The 'Brown Eyes Blue' Country Star, Then...
January 9, 2020
Crystal Gayle performs onstage at the Volunteer Jam , Nashville, Tennessee, January 30, 1982. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images) Whether you know Crystal Gay...
The Truth About 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds:' Is It ...
January 4, 2020
Picture yourself in a boat on a river, using your kaleidoscope eyes to read about the writing and recording of “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds,” the seminal B...
'Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head:' Song Meaning, Hist...
January 3, 2020
Paul Newman (1925 - 2008), as Butch Cassidy, and Katharine Ross as Etta Place, in a promotional still for 'Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid', directed by Geor...
Did Sid Vicious Kill Nancy Spungen? Everything We Know....
January 2, 2020
In January 1978, the Sex Pistols called it quits. Bass player Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen were nursing serious heroin habits, so what better...
Why Did The Beatles Break Up? A Long And Winding Story
December 30, 2019
Yoko Ono, John Lennon, Paul McCartney in the audience at the London Pavillion for premiere of 'Yellow Submarine,' July 17, 1968. (Photo by Cummings Archives/Redfern...
Soul Tragedy: Marvin Gaye Was Fatally Shot By His Fathe...
December 21, 2019
CIRCA 1974: Soul singer Marvin Gaye plays piano as he records in a studio in circa 1974. (Photo by Jim Britt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Marvin Gaye's...
1970: Jim Morrison's Final Concert With The Doors
December 12, 2019
Jim Morrison circa 1970. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images On December 12, 1970, the Doors and Jim Morrison took the stage at the Warehouse, a drafty waterfr...
Where Is Nikki Sixx Now? Stories And Facts About Motley...
December 11, 2019
As the bassist and songwriter behind Mötley Crüe’s biggest hits Nikki Sixx been able to shout at the devil and run into a lot of girls, girls, girls. He also...
Harry Chapin's 'Cat's In The Cradle:' Song Lyrics & His...
December 7, 2019
In December 1974, Harry Chapin's "Cat's In The Cradle" was a Billboard #1 hit -- and it's fair to say, an unlikely one. This earnest folk-rock meditation on ...
Who Wrote 'Rudolph?' Meet Johnny Marks, A 'Holly Jolly'...
December 2, 2019
Left: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, from the hugely popular Rankin-Bass TV special. Right: Johnny Marks in 1977. Sources: IMDB; William N. Jacobellis / (c) NY...
Mr. Blue Sky Is The Happiest Song On Earth, According T...
November 29, 2019
1973: Electric Light Orchestra film US TV show in London's Trafalgar Square © Chris Walter (Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage) "Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light ...
Randy Newman: Stories, Facts & Trivia About The Movie M...
November 28, 2019
Randy Newman circa 1970. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images It’s a jungle out there for Randy Newman, the movie-soundtrack songwriter famous for dram...
'Alice's Restaurant:' Arlo Guthrie's Arrest Spawned Ant...
November 26, 2019
Arlo Guthrie in October 1968. Source: Bettmann / Contributor, via Getty Images Riding the folk-music wave, singer-songwriter Arlo Guthrie found his moment of ...
In 1976, Jerry Lee Lewis Was Arrested Drunk, Waving Gun...
November 23, 2019
Jerry Lee Lewis relaxing in his hotel suite in London, 25th April 1972. (Photo by Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images) Outlaw, piano player, gun...
Cow Palace, 1973: The Who's Keith Moon Passes Out From ...
November 20, 2019
Drummer Keith Moon (1947 - 1978) of English rock group The Who, 24th April 1973. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images) November 20, 1973 was an unforgettabl...
Joni Mitchell's Unseen Art: Friends, Lovers, And A Rock...
November 9, 2019
Left: Joni Mitchell in Amsterdam, 1972. Right: A detail of Mitchell's portrait of of Neil Young in 'Morning Glory On The Vine.' Sources: Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redf...
Ben E. King's 'Stand By Me:' A '60s Classic That Keeps ...
November 4, 2019
R&B singer Ben E. King poses for a portrait in circa 1975. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Ben E. King wrote “Stand by Me” in 1960, and over tim...
Marijuana Plants Sprouted In Anaheim Stadium After The ...
November 1, 2019
Roger Daltrey of The Who performing on tour in 1976. Photo by Richard Reed/Mirrorpix/Getty Images You know it was a good Who show when marijuana plants pop up...
'The Devil Went Down To Georgia' Song: Meaning And Triv...
October 28, 2019
Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is one of the great story songs, with lyrics that tell of a fiddler's confrontation with Satan. The tune wa...
Behind The 'Monster Swim' and Other Halloween Tracks Yo...
October 16, 2019
When Bobby “Boris” Pickett and his group of Halloween-mad studio musicians laid down the “Monster Mash” in 1962 they were just trying to cash in on teen danc...
The Wrecking Crew: The Most Famous Band You Didn't Know...
October 1, 2019
You've heard, and probably love, the music of The Wrecking Crew. The studio musicians whose chops bolstered hits by The Beach Boys, The Mamas And The Papas, ...
Sandy Warner: Exotica King Martin Denny's Cover Girl
September 27, 2019
You’ve seen Sandra "Sandy" Warner on Martin Denny's album covers, even if you're not sure who Martin Denny is. The albums had titles like Exotica, Primitiva, Quiet...
Was Ted Nugent A Draft Dodger During The Vietnam War?
September 23, 2019
Left: Ted Nugent in 1975. Right: a document showing Ted Nugent's draft history obtained by The Snoking Gun. Sources: GAB Archive/Redferns; thesmokinggun.com It's a...
Simon & Garfunkel's Concert In Central Park Couldn't Ma...
September 21, 2019
Charles Ruppmann/NY Daily News via Getty Images On September 19, 1981, Simon and Garfunkel reunited for the Concert in Central Park after years of acrimony. H...
Was There Really A Feud Between Neil Young And Lynyrd S...
September 11, 2019
Left: Gary Rossington, Steve Gaines and Ronnie Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd,on the field before the 1977 Season Opening Atlanta Braves Game. Right: Neil Young on ...
Why Did Joe Strummer Of The Clash Disappear For 3 Weeks...
August 26, 2019
Joe Strummer of The Clash performs on stage at the Brixton Academy on March 8th, 1984 in London, England. (Photo by Pete Still/Redferns) Just as the band was ...
With 'The Harder They Come,' Jimmy Cliff Brought Reggae...
August 22, 2019
In 1973, reggae music came to America thanks to... Jimmy Cliff? Bob Marley fans might beg to differ, but The Harder They Come, a surprise hit movie starring ...
Is Elvis Alive? Sightings, Stories & King-Sized Conspir...
August 16, 2019
Left: Elvis Presley in concert circa 1977. Right: Detail of an image purported to be a high-resolution scan of the 'pool house photo' from 1977. Soures: R.D/Ima...
Remember Frank Sinatra's Weird Science Fiction Record?
August 10, 2019
In 1980, Frank Sinatra released Trilogy: Past Present Future, a triple album that got weird. On the third LP, "The Future," Sinatra took us on a nutty trip arou...
Joni Mitchell: The Young Folk Icon, Then And Now
August 8, 2019
Portrait of Canadian musician Joni Mitchell, November 1968, from a shoot for the fashion magazine Vogue. Photo by Jack Robinson/Getty Images Canadian singer-songwriter ...
Neil Young's 'Rust Never Sleeps:' A '60s Rocker Kicks A...
August 3, 2019
Left: Cover art for Neil Young's 1979 album 'Rust Never Sleeps.' Right: Young with Dennis Hopper on the set of 'Human Highway,' directed by Dean Stockwell and N...
There'll Never Be Another Woodstock: 50th Anniversary F...
August 2, 2019
Left: Poster art for the doomed Woodstock 50 festival. Right: John Fogerty performs on stage at the announcement of the Woodstock 50 Festival Line-Up on March 1...
That One Time Queen Met The Queen In 1974 (And Everyone...
July 30, 2019
British rock band Queen posing with a woman, September 1974. Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images Queen, the group that would give us "Bohemian Rhapsody" and...
Deadheads Forever: How The Grateful Dead Live On
July 26, 2019
Left: Original lineup of The Grateful Dead featuring (l-r) Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and Ron 'Pigpen' McKernan. Right: A Deadhead holds a sign i...
Who Is Austin Butler, And Can He Play Elvis In A Movie?
July 25, 2019
Left: Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler attend Sony Pictures' 'Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood' Los Angeles Premiere on July 22, 2019. Right: Elvis Presley. Sour...
Linda Ronstadt, 1975: When The Rock Sweetheart Went Cou...
July 20, 2019
Linda Ronstadt with country star George Jones backstage at the Bottom Line in September 1980 in New York City, New York. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty I...
1968: Van Morrison Risks His Life & Career For 'Astral ...
July 10, 2019
Singer/songwriter Van Morrison performs with flutist Artie Kaplan and his upright bass player at a Warner Brothers party at Steve Paul's The Scene nightclub on ...
Fleetwood Mac's 'Tusk,' 40 Years Later: What The Hell W...
July 9, 2019
Fleetwood Mac’s 1979 double LP Tusk was called ambitious, ragged, “gleeful and elusive,” fragmented, sprawling, “over-egged pudding,” and worse. Conceived as...
1976: 'Frampton Comes Alive' Makes Peter Frampton A One...
July 6, 2019
Peter Frampton performs at Oakland Stadium on July 2, 1977 in Oakland, California. Source: (Photo by Ed Perlstein/Redferns/Getty Images) Certain things in lif...
The David Lee Roth Fetish Photo Shoot That Almost Sank ...
July 2, 2019
Left: Michael Anthony, Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen at the Cobo Hall on July 4, 1980. (Photo by Michael Marks/Getty Images) Right: Detail ...
How 'Light My Fire' Got The Doors Banned From Ed Sulliv...
June 26, 2019
Left: Jim Morrison in an undated photo. Right: Morrison on The Ed Sullivan Show. Sources: Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Vimeo.com The Doors wer...
I'm With The Band: GTOs And Groupies According To Pamel...
June 12, 2019
Left: Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page accompanied by his girlfriend Miss Pamela (Pamela Des Barres) on June 3, 1973 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rich...
ABBA Conquers The World In The 1970s: How Swede It Was
June 6, 2019
1979: Swedish musical group ABBA performing on stage, (L-R:) Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad sing while Benny Andersson plays the accordion....
'Ballad Of The Green Berets' Singer Barry Sadler's Rise...
June 3, 2019
Left: Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler in 1966. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images). Right: Sadler's mug shot from 1979. Courtesy Nashville Metropolitan Po...
1966: Buffalo Springfield Warns Us To 'Stop, Children.....
May 31, 2019
"There's something happening here / What it is ain't exactly clear..."The ominous words and high, lonely guitar notes of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's...
With 'Live At The Apollo,' James Brown Invented The Liv...
May 29, 2019
Left: The 'Godfather of Soul' James Brown relaxes backstage with his shirt off wearing slippers and a cross at the Apollo Theatre in 1964 in New York, New York....
Was Woodstock A Teenage Wasteland? The Who's 'Baba O'Ri...
May 27, 2019
It's one of the riddles of classic rock: who is 'Baba O'Riley' and what is this "teenage wasteland" we keep hearing about? For Pete Townshend, songwriter of ...
It Ain't Me: CCR's 'Fortunate Son' And Vietnam War Hypo...
May 24, 2019
Left: In a photo from 1967, helmets, rifles and jungle boots tell a grim tale of the action fought by the 1st Brigade, 101st airborne paratroopers in Operation ...
When The Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie' Topped FBI's Most Dan...
May 20, 2019
Left: Rock and roll band "The Kingsmen" pose for a portrait in circa 1965. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images). Right: Text from the letter to Robert ...
Ground Control To Major Tom: David Bowie's 'Space Oddit...
May 15, 2019
"Ground control to Major Tom..."David Bowie's 1969 single "Space Oddity" has a more memorable opening line than its actual title (which appears nowhere in th...
George Clinton And Parliament-Funkadelic: One Nation Un...
May 12, 2019
The groovy, trippy late '60s sure did a number on rock 'n roll, but that's not the only musical genre that had its mind blown. The psychedelic descendant of ...
'Every Little Thing's Gonna Be Alright,' Bob Marley’s S...
May 11, 2019
Bob Marley, 1980. Source: (Photo by Sigfrid Casals/Cover/Getty Images) You know the famous reggae song -- the one where Bob Marley assures us that "Every li...
When Bowie Moved To Berlin: Killing The Duke To Save Th...
May 5, 2019
David Bowie performing in Tokyo's NHK HALL on the Low & Heroes Tour, December 1978. Source: (Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images) The "Berlin Trilog...
The Ramones Vs. Phil Spector: The Story Of 'End Of The ...
May 2, 2019
Portrait of the Ramones from the back cover of 'End Of The Century;' Phil Spector at a press conference at the Magic Castle circa 1978 in Los Angeles, Californi...
What We Loved About Record Stores Back In The Day
April 24, 2019
Left: Shop founder Geoff Travis in the Rough Trade Shop, London, circa 1977. Source: (Photo by Estate Of Keith Morris/Redferns/Getty Images) Right: browsing in a record ...
Outlaw Country: How Willie, Waylon And Others Broke Fre...
April 11, 2019
Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings enjoy a drink together in New York in 1978 (Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns) Today, they don't seem like outlaws: Willie ...
The Other Singing Jacksons: Where Are They Now?
April 10, 2019
In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, the nine siblings of the Jackson family -- in their Jackson 5 incarnation and as solo artists -- were some of the most popular musician...
Santana's 'Abraxas:' The Sexy Album Cover That Was A Re...
April 6, 2019
A detail of 'Annunciation' (see the full version below); Carlos Santana circa 1970. Source: Pinterest; BMI/Michael Ochs Archives/GettyImages What comes to min...
Don't Call Her Blondie: Debbie Harry, Then And Now
March 31, 2019
Debbie Harry of Blondie performing at Jazz Bilzen Festival, Bilzen, Belgium, 12th August 1978; Debbie Harry photo shoot circa 1978. Sources: Gie Knaeps/Getty Images; MP...
True Stories Of Big Hair And Bad Judgment: The Dirt On ...
March 29, 2019
Nikki Sixx and Vince Neil of Motley Crue on May 11, 1984 in Chicago, Il. (Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage) For the hair metal band Mötley Crüe, The Dirt was a ...
Stevie Nicks Has A Shawl Vault And Harry Styles Is Her ...
March 20, 2019
Stevie Nicks performing live onstage in 1978. (Photo by Richard E. Aaron/Redferns) Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac is 70 years old and, as shown in a recent Rol...
'Big Chill' Soundtrack: A Baby-Boomer Nostalgia Overdos...
March 12, 2019
What's more memorable for you -- The Big Chill, or the Big Chill soundtrack? In 1983, several famous (or now-famous) movie stars got together for an ensemble...
The 24 Songs Elton John Will Play On His Farewell Tour
March 11, 2019
Elton John performs in concert circa 1975 in London, England. (Photo by Anwar Hussein/Getty Images) When he announced that he was retiring from music, Elton John'...
Bon Scott: The AC/DC Frontman's Real-Life Highway To He...
March 8, 2019
Singer Bon Scott from Australian rock band AC/DC posed in a studio in London in August 1979. (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns) Think of the great frontmen of r...
Ringo Starr's $2M Drum And 10 Other Bank-Breaking '60s ...
March 4, 2019
The most expensive rock 'n roll memorabilia from the '60s is a moving target -- it seems with each passing year, something new (well, 50 years old, actually)...
100 Top Male Singers Of The '50s, '60s, And '70s Who Ch...
February 13, 2019
Musical tastes change, but influence lasts forever. A list of the top 100 male singers of the '50s, '60s and '70s that shaped music history pulls in artists ...
The 'Grease' Gal Who Got Physical: Olivia Newton-John, ...
February 7, 2019
We'll always remember Olivia Newton-John for Grease, the 1978 musical film in which she played the wholesome Sandy (well, wholesome until the end) opposite J...
Why Karen Carpenter's Death Still Haunts Us
February 4, 2019
American singer and musician Karen Carpenter (1950 - 1983) of the soft rock duo The Carpenters, plays the drums while singing. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Karen Carpenter ...
Johnny Cash: True Stories Of The Wildman In Black
February 1, 2019
Johnny Cash at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, 1966. (Getty/Photo by Jan Olofsson/Redferns) Even among rough-and-tumble country singers, few lived a life as eventful...
How Laurel Canyon Became Rock Star Central In The 1960s...
January 30, 2019
'The Hollywood Vampires' (L-R -- John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Alice Cooper and Micky Dolenz) and Anne Murray celebrate an early Thanksgiving at the Troubadour...
When Rod Stewart Was 'Rod The Mod'
January 6, 2019
Rod Stewart and Faces. Concert in USA. April 1975. Source: (Photo by WATFORD/Mirrorpix/Mirrorpix via Getty Images) During the groovy era, countless, hip music artists were front and ...
The Mysterious Captain of Captain And Tennille: Who Was...
January 3, 2019
Left: Captain & Tennille on the cover of their 1980 album 'Keeping Our Love Warm.' Right: Daryl Dragon, a.k.a. Captain, on 25th August 1975. Source: IMDB; Ph...
Silver Convention – “Fly Robin Fly”
January 2, 2019
Silver Convention West German disco vocal group Silver Convention perform live on stage circa 1976. The group are, from left: Penny McLean, Ramona Wulf and Linda G. Thompson. So...
Groovy Female Music Artists From The ‘60s And ‘70s
December 30, 2018
A lot of groovy things happened in the ‘60s and ‘70s; not the least of which was an awesome shift in the music scene! Sylvie Vartan (pictured above) was just one...
Exile - A Seemingly One-Hit Wonder Group From The Groov...
December 28, 2018
The Exiles at the Granada Theater in Emporia, Kansas 9-7-2014. Originally known as 'The Exile’s, is an American band founded in Richmond, Kentucky. Source: (...
'Seasons In The Sun' By Terry Jacks: A Melancholy, Catc...
December 17, 2018
Photo of Terry Jacks - CIRCA 1970: Photo of Terry Jacks Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images In 1973, Canadian musicians hadn't had much luck penetrati...
