The Scene:

The Scene features a variety of articles that explore a wide range of subjects, all of then delving into the many aspects of rock ‘n’ roll music, its artists and players, the music business and classic rock culture

‘MacArthur Park’: Jimmy Webb’s Recipe for a Hit

“Someone left the cake out in the rain/I don’t think that I can take it ’cause it took too long to bake it.” Love it or hate it, here’s the story

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Gotta Bludgeon: The Delightfully Punishing, Hell-for-Leather Second Take of The Beatles’ ‘Helter Skelter’

Close your eyes and it’s not hard to picture George Martin in the control booth, thinking, “What on earth are we doing tonight?”

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72 From ’72: The Albums That Rocked Our World

What a year for classic rock music! We listened to dozens of new albums that would still sound great decades later. Here are the best.

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The Ed Sullivan Show: Sixties Pop Music Showcase

The Sunday night variety show presented scores of up-and-coming pop stars during the ’60s. Here are some favorites and some unique anecdotes about each one

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‘The Big Chill’: Friends to Keep You Warm

It was one of the most successful films of 1983 and featured a big soundtrack of mostly Motown classics. Does the reunion movie of thirty-somethings hold up?

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Remembering Marty Balin, Jefferson Airplane/Starship Singer

The singer, who co-founded the Airplane in 1965, and later joined the offshoot band Jefferson Starship and went on to a solo career, died in 2018 at 76

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When Hugh Hefner Championed Rock Music

For more than a year, 1969-70, Hef invited the top rock and soul acts of the day to perform on national TV. Here are more than a dozen of those clips.

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Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers’ Final Concert

We didn’t know that he soldiered on throughout the big 2017 tour with a fractured hip. Who could have known that their September 25 performance would be their last?

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Steam: ‘Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye’

The band didn’t even exist. When one of its songwriters needed a B-side in 1969, they recorded it and the song became a surprise hit. Now, of course, it’s a sports staple

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Eagles’ ‘The Long Run’: The Making of a Classic

“’The Long Run’ was a pretty painful birth because we were like, ‘How the f*** are we going to top “Hotel California”‘?”–Joe Walsh

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