rock music — Bunk History

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Title card of the article styled like a Tina Turner album cover.

Manhattan in East St. Louis

The Club Manhattan could hold about 250 people. They did not know it at the time, but they were the earliest witnesses to the rise of the Queen of Rock & Roll.

by Maureen Mahon via Oxford American on December 7, 2021

Image of B.B. King on stage playing guitar.

When Young Elvis Met the Legendary B.B. King

King recalled: “I liked his voice, though I had no idea he was getting ready to conquer the world.”

by Daniel de Visé via Literary Hub on November 16, 2021

An astronaut on the moon with the MTV flag planted.

Watch the First Two Hours of MTV’s Inaugural Broadcast

MTV's 1981 broadcast was advertised to be as important as the moon landing.

by Ted Mills via Open Culture on August 6, 2021

Hendrix performing at Woodstock

Rewinding Jimi Hendrix’s National Anthem

His blazing rendition at Woodstock still echoes throughout the years, reminding us of what is worth fighting for in the American experiment.

by Paul Grimstad via The New Yorker on January 26, 2021

Frank Zappa.

How Weird Was Frank Zappa?

Alex Winter’s new documentary about the musician fails to capture his deeply conventional streak.

by John Semley via The New Republic on November 26, 2020

An image of Bob Dylan performing with a spotlight on him.

Tangled Up in Bob Stories: A Dylan Reading List

The author reflects on his own journey with Dylan, and shares some of his favorite pieces of Dylanology.

by Aaron Gilbreath via Longreads on June 24, 2020

Sasha Geffen next to their book

Pop Music Has Always Been Queer

Sasha Geffen’s debut book reveals that the history of pop music is a history of gender rebellion.

by Tal Milovina via The Nation on April 8, 2020

Heavy Metal, Year One: The Inside Story of Black Sabbath's Groundbreaking Debut

A look back on the album that kick-started a worldwide movement, half a century since Ozzy Osbourne first bellowed, “What is this that stands before me?”

by Kory Grow via Rolling Stone on February 11, 2020

Afloat with Static

Jenny Turner reviews "Face It" by Debbie Harry.

by Jenny Turner via London Review of Books on December 14, 2019

Photo of a large crowd at the Altamont Festival, 1969.

What Happened to Rock and Roll After Altamont?

On the Grateful Dead's “New Speedway Boogie,” and the true end of the Sixties.

by Buzz Poole via Literary Hub on December 6, 2019

Fifty Years Ago, Hendrix’s Woodstock Anthem Expressed the Hopes and Fears of a Nation

It also inspired my own scholarship on the national anthem.

by Mark Clague via The Conversation on August 14, 2019

The Scandinavian Christian Music Industry and Transatlantic Pentecostalism

In the post-war era, a wave of American young evangelists flocked to Europe to claim the continent for Christ. And the exchanges went both ways.

by Hilde Løvdal Stephens via Anxious Bench on July 11, 2019

Tom Petty: A Cool, Gray Neo-Confederate?

Michael Washburn explains what we can glean from the failure of Tom Petty's 1985 concept album "Southern Accents."

by Michael Washburn, Connor Goodwin via Los Angeles Review of Books on May 5, 2019

Woman kneeling on stage playing air guitar.

How Air Guitar Became A Serious Sport

Air guitar competitions may seem rather new, but this sport has a long, evolving, and sometimes surprising history.

by Byrd McDaniel via The Conversation on April 29, 2019

How a Small-Town Navy Vet Created Rock’s Most Iconic Surrealist Posters

The story of one of rock's most prolific poster artists.

by Ben Marks via Collectors Weekly on March 28, 2019

The Chaos of Altamont and the Murder of Meredith Hunter

A lot has been written about the notorious concert, but so much of the language around it has been passive and exonerating.

by Sasha Frere-Jones via The New Yorker on March 28, 2019

The Drummer Hal Blaine Provided the Beat for American Music

Blaine was never as recognizable as Elvis or Sinatra. Still, he was key to the creation of some of rock n' roll's biggest hits.

by Amanda Petrusich via The New Yorker on March 13, 2019

The Forgotten Story of Pure Hell, America’s First Black Punk Band

The four-piece lived with the New York Dolls and played with Sid Vicious, but they’ve been largely written out of cultural history.

by Cassidy George via Dazed on August 8, 2018

Going to Graceland

The makers of the documentary “The King” turn to Elvis Presley to understand something about the state of the country.

by Amanda Petrusich via The New Yorker on July 2, 2018

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Inside the Band's Complicated History With the South

The Southern-rock group is much different than the one Ronnie Van Zant led in the Seventies.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine via Rolling Stone on May 15, 2018

Reliving Johnny Cash's 'At Folsom Prison' at 50: An Oral History

Eyewitnesses to the Man in Black's legendary 1968 concerts at the California prison recall Cash's shining moment.

by Michael Streissguth via Rolling Stone on May 7, 2018

Acquitting Elvis of Cultural Appropriation

His groundbreaking rock-n-roll was neither 'thievery' nor 'derivative blackness.'

by David Masciotra via The American Conservative on April 18, 2018

Nazi Punks F**k Off

An oral history of how Black Flag, Bad Brains, and other hardcore acts reclaimed punk from white supremacists.

by Steve Knopper via GQ on January 16, 2018

Frankie Lymon on stage.

Teen Idol Frankie Lymon's Tragic Rise and Fall Tells the Truth About 1950s America

The mirage of the singer's soaring success echoes the mirage of post-war tranquility at home.

by Jeff MacGregor via Smithsonian on January 4, 2018

Wouldn’t You Love to Love Her?

A biography of Stevie Nicks does little to dispel the magic.

by Emily Gould via Bookforum on January 3, 2018

The Kids Of Bowery's Hardcore 'Matinee,' Then And Now

Drew Carolan captured the mien of a subculture centered on midafternoon expressions of anger and community.

by Drew Carolan via NPR on November 16, 2017

“Like Sonny Liston”: An Appreciation of Tom Petty

Patterson Hood argues that Tom Petty achieved perfection in his songwriting... time and time again.

by Patterson Hood via The Bitter Southerner on October 6, 2017

Illustration of Elvis Presley and Big Mama Thornton

The Question of Cultural Appropriation

It’s more helpful to think about exploitation and disrespect than to define cultural “ownership.”

by Briahna Joy Gray via Current Affairs on September 6, 2017

Every Song of the Summer Since 1958

Each year there is one undeniable 'song of summer.'

by MetroLyrics via YouTube on August 24, 2017

Prince's Epic 'Purple Rain' Tour: An Oral History

Members of the Revolution look back on Prince's massive, awe-inspiring 'Purple Rain' tour in our exclusive oral history.

by David Browne via Rolling Stone on June 22, 2017

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