The Prodigy Who Fooled the World: Steve Winwood’s 1965 Soul Explosion

In 1965, the airwaves were dominated by the polished harmonies of the British Invasion, but then a voice emerged that shattered the polite facade of pop. It was a raw, gravel-throated, and impossibly deep R&B vocal that sounded like it had been tempered by decades of heartache and midnight club sessions. When listeners first heard … Read more

Cliff Richard and the 1959 Abbey Road Session That Changed Rock History

The year was 1959, and the hallowed halls of Abbey Road Studios were accustomed to the polite polish of orchestral arrangements and refined pop crooners. Then, a young firebrand named Cliff Richard stepped up to the microphone, bringing with him a raw, unbridled energy that felt less like a British recording session and more like … Read more

Why Chuck Berry Was Chosen to Represent Earth to Alien Civilizations

In 1977, as the Voyager space probes prepared to pierce the veil of our solar system, NASA faced an impossible task. They were tasked with selecting a single, definitive sound to represent the entirety of human history, culture, and spirit to any extraterrestrial civilization that might intercept the craft in the distant future. Out of … Read more