Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchThe Def Jams Edition
Watching this year’s Grammy Awards, it’s clear hip-hop is the dominant genre in popular music. But back in the ’80s, it was an influential but still underground style looking fora place on the charts…
Published on 7 years, 8 months ago
The B-Sides Edition
Sometimes record executives and even the musicians themselves get it totally, completely wrong: thinking that throwaway, wacky song was destined for a single’s B-side, only to find it’s actually the …
Published on 7 years, 9 months ago
The Silver Medalists Edition
On the Billboard Hot 100, two can be the loneliest number. While having a No. 1 song can define an artist’s career, there’s far less glory in finishing one spot shy of the top slot. Yet some No. 2 …
Published on 7 years, 10 months ago
The Queen of Disco Edition
Donna Summer was a hitmaker for two decades and a dancefloor deity for more than three. Her collaborations with Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte were formative in dance, electronic and rock music, i…
Published on 7 years, 11 months ago
Le Petty Prince Edition
In 2004, Prince joined Tom Petty onstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony for what is now regarded as the institution’s greatest live performance. They were both first-ballot indu…
Published on 8 years ago
The Great War Against the Single
Ever since the ’60s, the recording industry emphasized the album over the single. By the ’80s, they were milking as many hits as possible from an album to convince you to buy it—from Thriller to Hyst…
Published on 8 years, 1 month ago
Hit Parade: The Charity Megasingle Edition
In the mid-1980s, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and “We Are the World” gathered dozens of the biggest stars in music to put on a show for a good cause. The two songs spawned imitators, but today, th…
Published on 8 years, 3 months ago
Hit Parade: The Imperial Elton and George Edition
When Elton John came out as bisexual in 1976, it was a really big deal. It was covered on the evening news. There were angry letters and a decline in sales. And for a generation of queer musicians, l…
Published on 8 years, 4 months ago
Hit Parade: The Fab Four Sweep Edition
In episode two, Chris Molanphy takes a look at the historic week the Beatles swept the entire Billboard Top Five. You can see that chart right here. It’s a feat that’s never been repeated. But the Fa…
Published on 8 years, 5 months ago
Hit Parade: Red, Red Wine Edition
In this debut episode, Chris Molanphy tells the story of “Red, Red Wine”: a song written in the 1960s by a certain journeyman singer-songwriter who loves a Hot August Night. Improbably, it became a r…
Published on 8 years, 6 months ago