Tag "best classic bands"

Tom Petty, American Rock Giant, 1950-2017

One of our country’s greatest rockers for more than 40 years, the Floridian never backed down, creating solid music that didn’t need to bow to trends.

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Cat Stevens’ ‘Teaser And the Firecat’: A Singer-Songwriter Classic—Review

With hit songs like “Moonshadow,” “Peace Train” and “Morning Has Broken,” the singer-songwriter became a star, lighting up pop radio.

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When Donald Fagen Lightened Up With ‘The Nightfly’

On his debut solo album, cut during Steely Dan’s ’80s hiatus, Fagen trades cynicism for nostalgia in a song cycle.

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Shocking Blue’s ‘Venus’: An Out-of-This-World Hit

When the Dutch rock band replaced its male lead vocalist with a striking 21-year-old female, they scored with a shock heard ’round the world

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‘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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‘Who’s Next’ Expanded Edition Reveals ‘Life House’ Opus As Pete Townshend Intended

In the roughly five years encompassing Tommy and Quadrophenia, he amassed a mind-boggling song catalog that rivals that of any of his musical peers

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The Byrds’ ‘Younger Than Yesterday’—An Ambitious Studio Flight

Expanding beyond their trademark jingle-jangle folk-rock, the band created their most diverse, experimental recording to date.

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Billy Joel’s ‘The Stranger’: The Breakthrough

The album could be considered a greatest hits, given the fact that several of the songs are still considered essential Joel standards.

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Mark Farner on Grand Funk Railroad’s Legacy

What was it like to be in a band popular enough to sell out Shea Stadium, even while rock critics despised you? We asked Mark Farner.

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