222 episodes

Andrew Hickey presents a history of rock music from 1938 to 1999, looking at five hundred songs that shaped the genre.

A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs Andrew Hickey

    • Music
    • 5.0 • 21 Ratings

Andrew Hickey presents a history of rock music from 1938 to 1999, looking at five hundred songs that shaped the genre.

    Song 173: “All Along the Watchtower” Part Two, The Hour is Getting Late

    Song 173: “All Along the Watchtower” Part Two, The Hour is Getting Late

    For those who haven’t heard the announcement I posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a two-episode look at the song “All Along the Watchtower”. Part one was on the original version by Bob Dylan, while this part is on Jimi Hendrix’s cover version.
    Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.
    Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode, on “Games People Play” by Joe South.
    Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

    Errata: I mispronounce Ed Chalpin’s name as Halpin for most of the episode. And towards the end I say “January the 28th 1969” when I meant 1970
    (more…)

    Song 173: “All Along the Watchtower”, Part One: “He’s Not the Messiah”

    Song 173: “All Along the Watchtower”, Part One: “He’s Not the Messiah”

    For those who haven’t heard the announcement I posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the first of a two-episode look at the song “All Along the Watchtower”. This one is on the original version by Bob Dylan, while part two will be on Jimi Hendrix’s cover version.
    Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.
    Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode, on “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” by Arlo Guthrie.
    Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

    (more…)

    Song 172, Hickory Wind by the Byrds: Part 4, Hour of Darkness

    Song 172, Hickory Wind by the Byrds: Part 4, Hour of Darkness

    For those who haven’t heard the announcement I just posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the fourth and final part of a four-episode look at the Byrds in 1966-69 and the birth of country rock, this time mostly focused on what Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman did after leaving the band.
    Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.
    Patreon backers also have a twenty-minute bonus episode, on “The Dark End of the Street” by James Carr.
    Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

    (more…)

    Song 172, Hickory Wind by the Byrds: Part 3, The Parsons Tale

    Song 172, Hickory Wind by the Byrds: Part 3, The Parsons Tale

    For those who haven’t heard the announcement I just posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the third part of a four-episode look at the Byrds in 1966-69 and the birth of country rock.
    Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.
    Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode, on “Fire” by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
    Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

    (more…)

    Song 172, “Hickory Wind” by the Byrds: Part Two, Of Submarines and Second Generations

    Song 172, “Hickory Wind” by the Byrds: Part Two, Of Submarines and Second Generations

    For those who haven’t heard the announcement I just posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the second part of a multi-episode look at the Byrds in 1966-69 and the birth of country rock.
    Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.
    Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode, on “With a Little Help From My Friends” by Joe Cocker.
    Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/

    (more…)

    Song 172, “Hickory Wind” by the Byrds: Part One, Ushering in a New Dimension

    Song 172, “Hickory Wind” by the Byrds: Part One, Ushering in a New Dimension

    For those who haven’t heard the announcement I just posted , songs from this point on will sometimes be split among multiple episodes, so this is the first part of a multi-episode look at the Byrds in 1966-69 and the birth of country rock.
    Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode.
    Patreon backers also have a half-hour bonus episode on “My World Fell Down” by Sagittarius.
    Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt’s irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/
    (more…)

Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5
21 Ratings

21 Ratings

Commuter 365 ,

Brilliant Podcast Series

A must for music fans . Incredible insight into the history of rock music. Andrew has nailed it .

Just another music nerd ,

Excellent music podcast

This is an excellent podcast that I would recommend to anyone interested in the history of rock music. It is well researched and presented, and goes into an admirable level of detail. I would consider myself a lifelong rock-music nerd and I am completely hooked.

Bro_Rock ,

Monumental project

If you have any interest in late 20th century pop music, this is the series for you. And if you think you already know something about it, Andrew Hickey will probably make you think again. Every time a story comes round that I think I know, it turns out there’s a fascinating angle that I hadn’t considered, or that the received account doesn’t do justice to the facts. I’m not even a particular fan of 50s music (which is as far as we’ve got at time of writing) and still every episode is riveting.

Hickey has a keen eye for cultural context and a nice line in finely-judged irony (“in the future, everyone will have been lead singer in The Drifters for fifteen minutes”; a particular song “wasn’t even the best song Tommy Steele recorded that afternoon, and the bar doesn’t get any lower than that”). It takes the journey nice and slowly, and you’ll feel you’re getting to know the landscape intimately as you go. And you will definitely find your ears opened to music you disregarded or dismissed, even to music practically lost to posterity. This is a labour of love but also of deep, lifelong research, and it’s monumental in ambition and execution. Outstanding.

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