Clem Burke: “A lot of things happened by accident. At the time, you think everything is going according to the pre-ordained vision of success that you have in your head when you’re 20. The New York scene was enigmatic, but also very insular. That whole scene consisted of maybe 100 people, about 85 of whom were in bands. But all of those bands were interesting, and we could see things in one another. We’d cover songs by Television or Ramones before they’d even been recorded.”
Read MoreThe greatest compliment is when people think nobody wrote it; they just think it’s always been there archetypally. So, ‘We Will Rock You’ has become traditional, like it goes back to the stone age, and that makes me happy.” — Brian May, Queen
Read MoreSilly Love Songs by Paul McCartney and Wings from the album Wings at the Speed of Sound. It was the #1 song in America on July 4, 1776. Fitting that one of our favorite British invaders would have the #1 song on that day.
Read MoreDon't let the handshake and the smile fool ya
Take my advice, I'm only tryin' to school ya
— Smiling Faces by The Undisputed Truth
Read MoreAmy cites Professor Laurence Ralph, who said that “Soul Train” showed young African Americans doing things that were “radically ordinary.” Just like American Bandstand.
Read MoreMartha Reeves and the Vandellas recorded “I Should Be Proud,” a clear anti-war song, in 1970. However, she was told that the CIA was following her around and that song was taken off the radio.
Read MoreThe Village People are more important to the gay community than YMCA. Most of the guys who sang and performed YMCA were not even the original band. The fact that a gay fantasy band would sell a million copies of its debut album (which only had four songs) is pretty incredible.
Read More“The ‘girl’ thing seems to be real important for other people but I’m mystified by it. For me, Brass In Pocket was supposed to be real traditional, because tradition in rock is what turns me on. We want our rock singers to be confident and cocky, and Brass In Pocket was an act, my attempt to write a song that sounded like that.” — Chrissie Hynde
Read More…name-checking Nixon was not just taking advantage of an easy target. He invited this criticism by involving himself in the discussion about what was and was not “appropriate” for radio airplay.
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