A History of Rock Music in 500 songs

Some of you may know this podcast, but for those who don't and are interested in the subject, it's highly recommended. Andrew Hickey is doing a History of Rock Music in 500 songs, one song per episode. Available on podcast applications and online here:

Benny Goodman Sextet - Flying Home
Big Joe Turner - Roll 'Em Pete
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Ida Red
Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five - Choo Choo Ch'Boogie
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - This Train
The Ink Spots - That's When Your Heartaches Begin
Wynonie Harris - Good Rockin' Tonight
Fats Domino - The Fat Man
Les Paul; Mary Ford - How High The Moon
Johnny Otis; Little Esther & The Robins - Double Crossing Blues
Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats - Rocket 88
Lloyd Price - Lawdy Miss Clawdy
Ruth Brown - Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean
Hank Williams - Jambalaya (On The Bayou)
Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog
Bill Haley & His Comets - Crazy Man, Crazy
The Drifters - Money Honey (with Clyde McPhatter)
The Chords - Sh-Boom
Elvis Presley - That's All Right
Bill Haley & His Comets - (We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock
Lonnie Donegan - Rock Island Line - Mono Version
Etta James - The Wallflower (AKA Roll With Me Henry)
Johnny Ace & Johnny Otis - Pledging My Love
Gene & Eunice - Ko Ko Mo
The Penguins - Earth Angel
Fats Domino - Ain't That A Shame
LaVern Baker - Tweedle Dee
The Moonglows - Sincerely
Chuck Berry - Maybellene
Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
The Platters - Only You (And You Alone)
Ray Charles - I Got a Woman
Elvis Presley - Mystery Train
Little Richard - Tutti Frutti
Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers - Why Do Fools Fall in Love
Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes
Johnny Cash - I Walk the Line
Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel
James Brown & The Famous Flames - Please, Please, Please
Janis Martin - Drugstore Rock'N'Roll
Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps - Be-Bop-A-Lula
Roy Orbison - Ooby Dooby
Wanda Jackson - I Gotta Know
Johnny Burnette & The Rock 'N' Roll Trio - The Train Kept A Rollin'
Fats Domino - Blueberry Hill
Chuck Berry - Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Jesse Belvin - Goodnight My Love
Tommy Steele - Rock With The Caveman
Mickey & Sylvia - Love Is Strange
Bill Doggett - ..... Tonk Pt. 1 & Pt 2
Carl Perkins - Matchbox
Eddie Cochran - Twenty Flight Rock
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - I Put A Spell On You
Little Richard - Keep A Knockin'
The Coasters - Searchin'
The Everly Brothers - Bye Bye Love
Billy Lee Riley - Flying Saucers Rock and Roll
The Bobbettes - Mr. Lee
Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On
Sam Cooke - You Send Me
Buddy Holly - That'll Be The Day
Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock
Dale Hawkins - Susie-Q
Jackie Wilson - Reet Petite
The Chantels - Maybe
Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls Of Fire
Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode
The Coasters - Yakety Yak
Wanda Jackson - Fujiyama Mama
Cliff Richard & The Drifters - Move It
Johnny Otis - Willie and the Hand Jive
Elvis Presley - Trouble
Ritchie Valens - La Bamba
Buddy Holly - It Doesn't Matter Anymore
The Drifters - There Goes My Baby
Lloyd Price - Stagger Lee
Vince Taylor & His Playboys - Brand New Cadillac
Ray Charles - What'd I Say, Pt. 1 & 2
Brenda Lee - Sweet Nothin's
Barrett Strong - Money (That's What I Want)
The Isley Brothers - Shout, Pts. 1 & 2
Elvis Presley - Are You Lonesome Tonight
Roy Orbison - Only the Lonely
Johnny Kidd & The Pirates - Shakin' All Over
Eddie Cochran - Three Steps To Heaven
The Gamblers - LSD-25
The Shadows - Apache
The Everly Brothers - Cathy's Clown
The Shirelles - Will You Love Me Tomorrow
Del Shannon - Runaway
Chubby Checker - The Twist
The Tokens - The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)
The Marvelettes - Please Mr. Postman
Ben E. King - Stand by Me
Arthur Alexander - You Better Move On
Little Eva - The Loco-Motion
Bob Dylan - Song to Woody
Adam Faith - I've Just Fallen for Someone
The Beach Boys - Surfin' Safari
The Beatles - Love Me Do
The Ventures - Telstar - Stereo
The Isley Brothers - Twist And Shout
Marvin Gaye - Hitch Hike
The Beatles - She Loves You
The Crystals - He's a Rebel
Booker T. & the M.G.'s - Green Onions
The Kingsmen - Louie Louie
Jan & Dean - Surf City
The Rolling Stones - I Wanna Be Your Man
Peter, Paul and Mary - Blowin' in the Wind
The Ronettes - Be My Baby
Martha Reeves & The Vandellas - (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave
The Searchers - Needles and Pins
Millie Small - My Boy Lollipop
The Animals - House Of The Rising Sun
The Supremes - Where Did Our Love Go
The Beach Boys - Don't Worry Baby
Manfred Mann - Do Wah Diddy Diddy
The Kinks - You Really Got Me
The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night
The Shangri-Las - Leader Of The Pack
Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come
The Righteous Brothers - You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'
The Impressions - People Get Ready
Them - Here Comes the Night
The Yardbirds - For Your Love
The Beatles - Ticket To Ride
The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man
The Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone
The Supremes - I Hear A Symphony
Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)
The Temptations - My ....
Wilson Pickett - In the Midnight Hour
Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
The Who - My Generation
James Brown - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
The Bobby Fuller Four - I Fought the Law
The Byrds - Eight Miles High
The Mothers Of Invention - Trouble Every Day
Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep - Mountain High
The Beach Boys - God Only Knows
The Lovin' Spoonful - Summer in the City
The Monkees - Last Train to Clarksville
The Beatles - Tomorrow Never Knows
The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations - Mono
Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe
The Doors - Light My Fire
Aretha Franklin - Respect
The Beatles - All You Need Is Love
Scott McKenzie - San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair)
Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth
The Beach Boys - Heroes And Villains
The Turtles - Happy Together
The Kinks - Waterloo Sunset
Stevie Wonder - I Was Made to Love Her
Pink Floyd - See Emily Play
Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit
The Small Faces - Itchycoo Park
The Move - Flowers in The Rain
Love - Alone Again Or
The Monkees - Daydream Believer
Otis Redding - (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay
Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
Grateful Dead - Dark Star
Cream - Crossroads
The Band - The Weight
Aretha Franklin - Say a Little Prayer
Big Brother and the Holding Company - Piece of my Heart
Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
The Beatles - Hey Jude
The Byrds - Hickory Wind

This list doesn't include the Bonus Tracks

He addresses that. But which ones are you thinking about?

delta1 said:

Sh-Boom is the first one that I noticed.

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I just listened to it. It sounds like a typical Rock vocal band of the 1950s.

Peter Graham said:

A very interesting thread.

For clarity, does the list stop in the early '70s or is it just that the podcast hasn't got any further as yet? Hopefully the latter, as rock music has continued to evolve over the last 50 years.

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He predicted it would take him 10 years to complete, with the end goal being Rock songs of 1999. So, yes, it's an ongoing project.

Peter Graham said:

What is the definition of 'rock music' that we are using? Is it a general definition of 'any music inspired by the blues but which isn't pappy pop' or is it 'blues driven guitar music with lots of overdriven fifth chords and spandex'?

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I think it includes all of the above. The Beatles were undeniably a Rock band, and they did pop music. Overdrive, fifth and spandex are most certainly included. Just listen to the first episodes to get an idea of the project.

It covers other themes that are deeply connected, like race in America over the period. E.g. why black music started to be accepted when being played by whites, or why for a long time there were different RnB charts for black artists, and Rock charts for whites, until the two merged.

Yep. He calls this a branch. Doo ... rock. He has a case. Often an artist would do many genres. Check Ritchie Valens. Or Johnny Cash, who did Rock and also Country. Genres are flexible. Folk merges with Rock, etc. This is how all music comes to be. Ragtime and Blues to Jazz, to Swing, to Bebop, to Boogie, to Rockabilly, to Doo ..., to Wall of Sound, to Motown, to Soul, etc.

Friend, what can I say? Maybe listen to the answer of the dude?

I'd say the most interesting episodes were the very first ones, tracing the origins. It's only his angle, but he does repeat that there is no "point of origin" of Rock music. I thought his mention and musical excerpts of syncopated music from the 19th century were very interesting.

About Doo ..., the evolution of Rock Music is not only about the bands and performers, but also about the composers, writers, arrangers, producers and labels. The connections make sense.

It seems the list reaches around 1968 so far, so before he reaches 1999, there's plenty of room for Metallica, Michael Jackson and Prince to be featured in episodes, and no doubt they will be, since he already mentioned all of them. About Jackson, Berry Gordy and Quincy Jones are already major actors mentioned prominently in his history.

Just listened to the episode on All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan. Andrew Hickey makes allegations that the song had a relation with the six-day war, although he has nothing to support it, no document or declaration by Dylan, not even by any contemporary or modern critic. Nothing except it was released the year the six-day war happened. Hickey is entitled to his views on current events, that is honorable, but this episode is really stretching to connect completely unrelated topics.

Actually, the song was written a year before the six-day war. The song is inspired by some verses in the Bible, and Dylan happened to come from a Jewish family from he Midwest. That's enough for Hickey to make the song about the war in Israel. There could be a pattern in the podcast, as in many instances, Hickey seems to have an obsession with Jews. Like obsessing over how much percentage a manager takes, when the manager is Jewish, but not when the same conditions are from non-Jewish managers (say, Col. Parker), or songwriting credits being stolen, etc. I remember vaguely noticing that in the first few episode, then I put it aside, but this is very obvious in the case of All Along the Watchtower, which he introduces dramatically and links to present events, which have literally nothing to do with Dylan's poetry. The anecdotes about the manager, whose name is Grossman, have very little to do with the song.

Dylan was very careful, after his first few years being taken for a standard bearer, to ridicule many people who tried to interpret his lyrics. The Bible, especially the Major Prophets in the Christian old Testament, has been a long-time inspiration for lyrics from Gospel music to U2 and beyond.

Also, Hickey says Dylan is "a songwriter, not a poet", which is a basic logic mistake. As long as there are lyrics, songwriters are poets. Poetry was sung in ancient Greece, and Euterpe was the muse of Music and Lyrical Poetry. Dylan also wrote nonmusical prose poetry, Tarantula. And the Nobel Academy recognized him as a literature giant for all of his lyrical work - whether one likes him or not.