Presley never wrote a memoir. Nor did he keep a diary. His music could have been a window into his inner life, but he didn’t even write his songs.
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Articles on Music history
Displaying 21 - 40 of 58 articles
Rising to prominence in The Exorcist soundtrack and the first album from Richard Branson’s Virgin Records, the layered sounds of Tubular Bells became a template for further innovation.
Cassette tapes are in again – and this time, it’s smaller artists who look likely to gain.
Eddie Van Halen has died aged 65. He will be remembered for his virtuoso playing, particularly his groundbreaking, two-handed, finger-tapping technique.
During a tour to Australia, Little Richard feared the nuclear apocalypse and – on stage – annonced he was giving up music.
A rare set of photographs of South Africa’s most famous jazz ensemble, the Blue Notes, has added valuable insights to the music archive
Some covers are recorded as a nod to the legacy of the original, only to end up becoming the definitive version of the song.
Song by song streaming services may be hurting the album commercially, but its place in our cultural lexicon will be harder to shake.
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A podcast on what music does to our brains, and why it moves us.
Banned from the BBC, denied its rightful place on the charts, ‘God Save the Queen’ – released 40 years ago this month – remains one of the most controversial protest songs of all time.
The 29-year old Johannes Brahms had his first major public success with his piano quartet in G minor, but not everyone gave it glowing praise.
For those on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Artists, their life expectancy is on par with the people of Chad, the nation with the lowest life expectancy in the world.
In the internet era, musical artists freely distribute their songs and encourage fans to attend live shows. The Dead did this for 40 years.
Fifty years ago, in the first half of 1965, the British invasion was officially under way – at least, in music. It seemed like all the biggest hits on the American pop charts came from British bands. Ever…
Fifty years ago, the Rolling Stones released their breakthrough single (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, which debuted in the US during the first week of June 1965. The band’s previous singles had done well…
Before being crowned the “King of the Blues,” a young Riley King honed his on-stage persona and made crucial contacts as a radio DJ.
When bands “return to their roots,” is it a genuine search, or a way to court critics and sell records?
Songs no longer relay party platforms. Instead, they’re used to promote “celebrity” candidates.
It’s important not to conflate and confuse Cobain’s varying personas.
As Record Store Day shows, there’s a lot more to the vinyl revival than simple nostalgia.
Top contributors
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Director, Institute for Popular Music, University of Rochester
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Senior Lecturer in Music, Southern Cross University
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Professor of American Studies and English, Middlebury
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Adjunct Lecturer of American Studies, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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Associate Professor in Guitar, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer in Music, Newcastle University
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Head, Interactive Composition , Faculty of the Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, The University of Melbourne
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Associate Professor of Musicology and Director of Academic Program, Music, Western Sydney University
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Lecturer in the Sociology of Gender, Macquarie University
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne
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Associate Professor and Head of Composition, The University of Melbourne
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Senior Lecturer in Music, Edinburgh Napier University
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Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney
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Professor in Film, University of Southampton
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Lecturer in Music Industry, RMIT University
