BEST CLASSIC BANDS – CELEBRATING THE ARTISTS, MUSIC AND POP CULTURE OF THE CLASSIC ROCK ERA
September Gurls and a Harvest Moon: A Soundtrack to Fall In 12 Songs
It’s that time of year again: when we start breaking out sweaters, enjoying the foliage and maybe indulging in cider and donuts.
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Todd Rundgren’s ‘Hello, It’s Me’: Wild Success Story
The musician has a long list of credits as a producer (Bat Out of Hell) and engineer. Here’s the inside story of how one song took off to become his biggest solo hit
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Huey Lewis’ Last Known Performance After Hearing Loss
He canceled his tour earlier that year, telling The Today Show, “I can’t hear music.” Six months later, he sang a favorite for the first time in 8 months.
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Graham Parker & the Rumour’s ‘Heat Treatment’: When Pub-Rock Met New Wave
When the Village Voice unveiled its 1976 Pazz & Jop Poll winners, an unknown English musician commanded two of the top five entries from the influential poll’s panel of music critics.
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1973: The Year in 50 Classic Rock Albums
We looked back at hundreds of albums released in ’73 and whittled the list down to the 50 that we think represent the cream of the year’s crop.
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Rock Radio Promotion: From Dead Rats to Live Aid
How a highly original record label promotional stunt helped introduce Bob Geldof and the Boomtown Rats to America. “Playboy called me a promotional genius”…
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September Gurls and a Harvest Moon: A Soundtrack to Fall In 12 Songs
It’s that time of year again: when we start breaking out sweaters, enjoying the foliage and maybe indulging in cider and donuts.
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Focus Performs Magic on ‘Hocus Pocus,’ From TV’s ‘The Midnight Special’
The ground-breaking Dutch progressive rock band formed in 1970 and earned a surprising international hit in 1972-1973.
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Elvis Costello’s Debut Album, ‘My Aim is True,’ Gets Expanded 5-CD Set
The collection spans 104 tracks, demos, masters, outtakes, live performances, and other rare recordings (52 of them prev. unreleased), plus a 2026 remaster of the 1977 original.
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Crossroads: 15 Covers of Classic Robert Johnson Blues Songs
With each reissue of his material, another generation discovered—and was inspired to record—his songs.
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Radio Hits in October 1974: The ‘New Math’
The Best Classic Bands chart nerds noticed that this week featured 3 hits at the top with the word “Nothing” in the title: great songs by BTO, Stevie Wonder and Billy Preston.
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Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris’ ‘All the Roadrunning’: Two Unique Voices
The album took seven years to complete, due to the duo’s hectic schedules.
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15 Essential Songs From the Mamas & the Papas (and Mama Cass Solo)
The group reeled off six Top 10 hits between 1966 and 1967 alone, inventing a sun-drenched aesthetic that masked an intoxicating, bohemian reality.
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20 Beatles Songs with Mean, Violent or Just Plain Pissed-Off Lyrics
We’re not saying this is a bad thing. In many cases, these barbs make for a better song.
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