Let It Roll Originals

The original Let It Roll show. Individual episodes about any and every facet of music history, sorted newest to oldest.

Let It Roll Episodes

Season 20

• Grandmaster Flash brought turntablism to Hip-Hop

• Genre, instruments, the meta-history of 20th-century music: Readers’ Mailbag

• The 90s Austin underground scene that produced Spoon, The Cherubs and many more

Season 19

• Eugene S. Robinson's journey from disco and no wave to hardcore and finally post-hardcore

• Lou Reed's Transformer came out in a big way

• The Butthole Surfers, Big Boys, Dicks and Scratch Acid led Texas' crazed punk scene

• The KLF triggered the cosmic when they burned £1 million pounds

• The Neville Brothers took New Orleans R&B to a whole new audience

• Peter Asher scored in the British Invasion and ruled in the Singer-Songwriter era

• Beethoven freed music from the tyranny of patronage

• Mambo hit New York hard in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s

• Chick Webb’s Big Beat Style of Swing Led Directly to Rock ‘n’ Roll

• Beginning the Jazz Age: Vaudeville, Minstrelsy, Spirituals and Louis Armstrong’s Signifying on the Old Songs

• Black Sabbath invented heavy metal with Ozzy Osbourne and perfected it with Ronnie James Dio

• Hipgnosis designed iconic album covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and many more

Season 18

• David Bowie 75 years after his birth

• The Complicated Legacy of Chuck Berry, the Inventor of Rock

• The Beatles vs. James Bond: Two Very Different Versions of Britain

• Living Colour Led the Early ‘90s Alt Metal Charge

• The Great Brill Building Songwriting Teams: Lieber & Stoller, Goffin & King, Pomus & Shuman, Bacharach & David, Sedaka & Greenfield, Mann & Weill and Barry & Greenwich

• Surf Rock, Motown, Girl Groups and a Second Wave of Doo-Wop Were on the Rock and Roll Vanguard in JFK’s America

• Alice Cooper Combined Proto-Punk and Vaudeville to Shock the World

• The Holy Trinity of Texas Gospel and a Devilish Businessman

• Steppenwolf's John Kay Came to Hard Rock from the Toronto Folk Scene

• Sun Records Presided Over the Dawn of Rockabilly With Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis

• Bettye LaVette Took Her Time to Get to the Top

• John Lennon's Political Activism Got Him Targeted By the U.S Government

Season 17

• The Peppermint Lounge Took the Twist to the Top

• Doc Pomus Wrote Classic Songs for Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, The Drifters, Dion & the Belmonts and Many More

• David Crosby, Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman on Founding the Byrds

• Buffalo Springfield Couldn't Contain Neil Young, Steve Stills and Richie Furay

• Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and Creating The California Myth

• Jamaican Ska Evolved Directly From American R&B

• Duran Duran Mastered MTV and Ruled In the 80s

• Trap Music Took Atlanta's Rap Scene Global but Never Escaped Reality

• Pop Had An Entirely Different Meaning Before 1955

• Rick James Took 15 Years to Become an Overnight Success

• Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince Topped a Banner Year for Pop in 1984

• Genres: Pop vs Rock vs R&B vs Hip-Hop vs Dance vs Country vs Punk

Season 16

• Paul Simon's Brill Building Years Laid the Ground for Folk-Rock Success

• George Michael's Brilliant 80's Run Ended With His 90's Rebellion Against His Record Label

• Gene Clark's Songwriting Lifted the Byrds

• Eddie Floyd Epitomized the Stax Records Approach to Soul

• The History of American Pop Music Writing Tells a Story

• The Record Exec Who Signed Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper and Ruled the 1980s

• Vybz Kartel's Career Arc Landed Jamaica's Most Important 21st Century Musician in Prison

• The Velvet Underground Brought the Avant-Garde to Rock and Presaged Punk

• DJ Screw Slowed Hip-Hop Down and Built a Home Grown Empire in Houston

• Swing King Chick Webb Brought Ella Fitzgerald to the World

• The Band That Broke Czechoslovakian Communism: Plastic People of the Universe

• Arthur Lee and Love Ruled LA's Sunset Strip Between The Byrds and The Doors

Season 15

• American Music Developed in the 19th Century NYC Underworld

• BB King's Beginnings in Memphis & the Mississippi Delta

• My Old Kentucky Home's Century of Myth

• Atlantic Records' Jerry Wexler Produced Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and More

• The Evolution of American Ska: The Untouchables, Fishbone & The Toasters Led the Way

• J Dilla Transformed Time for Q-Tip, the Pharcyde, D'Angelo, Erykah Badu & Common

• New Orleans Music from Fats Domino thru the Meters to No Limit and Cash Money

• The Outlaw Country of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings was the Second Wave of Progressive Country to Come out of Austin

• The Wu Tang Clan's Brilliant Business Plan Was Great While It Lasted

• Record Men From Thomas Edison to John Hammond & Chris Blackwell

• The Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead and the Hell's Angels All Faced a Reckoning at Altamont

• 415 Records Brought California Punk & New Wave to the American Market

Season 14

• Sly Stone Embodied the Optimism of Woodstock Nation Until He Didn’t

• What Have We Learned? The Birth & Death of the Cool

• Bad Brains' HR Created a New Template for Hard Rock Then Tore It All Down

• Yoko Ono Brought Classical and Avant-Garde Techniques to Rock

• Smokey Robinson Was Berry Gordy's Right-Hand Man at Motown

• Ralph Peer Brought Blues, Jazz, Country, and Latin Music to Record

• Danger Mouse's Gray Album United Jay-Z and The Beatles and Brought Down the Wrath of the Industry

• John Entwistle's Bass Anchored The Who and His Rockstar Life Dragged Him Down

• Protobilly: The Vaudeville Roots of Country Music

• Future, Young Thug, Migos and Vybz Kartel Have Used Autotune to Create a Vibrant Vocal Psychedelia

• From Jimi Hendrix to R.E.M., Warner Brothers Records Provided Artists a Rock Era Oasis

• The Secrets Behind Elvis Presley's Relationship with Col. Tom Parker

Season 13

• From Louis Armstrong to the White Stripes, 'St James Infirmary’ Connects Folk Traditions to Jazz and Rock

• Cream Combined Heavy Blues Rock With Jazz Improv and Psychedelic Pop

• Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder Invented Electronic Dance Music With “I Feel Love”

• Guns N’ Roses Reigned Over the Late 80's and Fell Hard in the 1990s

• Why Does Some Old Music Still Sound Contemporary and Some Sounds Very Dated?

• Milton Brown Mentored Bob Wills and Invented Western Swing

• Etta James Was a First Wave Rock N Roller and Later Led Chess Records’ Soul Music Charge

• Rod McKuen's Songs Sold Millions of Records but Triggered a Critical Backlash

• Nicky Hopkins' Piano Graced Classic Rock by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, and Many More

• The A Team Created The Nashville Sound Behind Stars Like George Jones, Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan

• The Dixie Cups Were the Girl Group That Brought New Orleans R&B to the Brill Building

• The Cultural Blend That Made New Orleans Music Unique

Season 12

• Aerosmith, KISS, Cheap Trick & Starz Carved Out a Space for Weird Rock in the 1970s

• How Jazz and Rock and Roll Came to Be Seen As Completely Separate Genres

• Rock's Back Pages Makes Historic Rock Writing Available

• The Kinks' Class-Consciousness Made Them Wary of the Promises of Swinging London

• Black Flag Pioneered Hardcore Punk

• The Birth of Jazz in New Orleans: Buddy Bolden & Jellyroll Morton and Others Combined Brass Bands with Ragtime and Blues

• Bert Berns' Songs Were Immortalized by The Beatles, The Isley Brothers, Janis Joplin, Van Morrison and More

• Aretha Franklin Brought Gospel Fervor to the Top of the Charts

• Frank Sinatra Ruled Post-War America, Until He Didn't

• Music as a Magical, Subversive Power: What Have We Learned

• The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Phil Spector, Nancy Sinatra and Kim Fowley Exploded out of Early ‘60s Hollywood

• Joan Jett's Years With the Runaways Laid the Groundwork for Solo Stardom

• Solving the Mysteries Behind Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel”

Season 11

• The Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie' and The Rolling Stones' 'Satisfaction’ were built on Cuban Mambo & Cha-cha-cha

• The Triumphs & Tragedy of Marvin Gaye, Motown's Greatest Male Solo Singer and First Album Artist

• Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart & Ron Wood Nearly Perfected Hard Rock Before Led Zeppelin Even Formed

• From The Supremes to The Four Tops, Holland-Dozier-Holland Made Motown’s Biggest Hits

• Easy Listening Absorbed Psychedelia in the Late 1960's

• The Lost Art of Elevator Music From Mantovani & Jackie Gleason to Brian Eno’s Ambient Music

• Introducing David Bowie to Stardust, Choosing Between Hendrix and The Who

• Ray Charles Combined R&B with Gospel to Invent Soul Music

• Rhythm and Blues Exploded Out of 1940s Los Angeles Led by Nat “King” Cole & Big Jay McNeely

• Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor Took Trangression to a Mass Audience

• From Surf Rock to Folk Rock to Freak Out, the Studio Scene in 1960s Los Angeles Captured the Moment

• Why Discuss Music History? What's the Point of Let It Roll?

Season 10

• How The Memphis That Spawned Elvis & Stax Also Birthed The Box Tops & Big Star

• How Jerry Lee Lewis, Howlin' Wolf, & Col. Tom Parker Helped Peter Guralnick Get Lost

• Young Frank Sinatra Polarized Wartime America

• Megaforce Records Brought Metallica, Anthrax, Manowar to the Masses

• Motown's Power Came From the Funk Brothers

• The Bee Gees Rose, Fell, Rose Again, Fell Again Then Helped Invent Modern Pop

• Freddie Mercury and Queen Earned Rock Immortality

• New Edition & New Kids On The Block Perfected It, *NSYNC & Backstreet Boys Capitalized On It: The Boy Band Formula

• Jimmy Page Before Led Zeppelin: Session Man & Yardbird

• How Willie Nelson, Doug Sahm, Stevie Ray Vaughan, SXSW and ACL Fest Turned Austin into the ATX

• Chess Records Brought Chicago Blues, Rock & Roll and Soul to

• Gram Parsons' Disastrous Career Made Him a Legend

Season 9

• Yo La Tengo Surfed The Indie Rock Wave

• Bing Crosby Ruled The 1940s

• The Beatles' Story Changes With The Teller

• Dolly Parton Had A Vision Of Superstardom Beyond Nashville

• Marley Marl, Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie & The Juice Crew Perfected Hip-Hop In The 1980s

• Elvis Presley: Decline And Fall

• Soundgarden Was The Alpha And Omega Of Grunge

• Glen Campbell, Jimmy Webb And The Greatness Of Wichita Lineman

• London Nurtured Classic Rock, Prog Rock, Blues Rock And Folk

• Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Big Joe Turner: How Kansas City Vice Birthed Kansas City Jazz

• Lieber & Stoller Wrote Songs, Produced Records And Helped Create Rock & Roll

• AC/DC Perfected Hard Rock While Flirting With Punk

from Season 8

• The Beatles As The End Of Rock & Roll: What Have We Learned From Elijah Wald’s “Alternative History of American Popular Music?”

• Robert Johnson Revised: What Have We Learned From Elijah Wald’s “Escaping the Delta?”

Season 7

• How The Beatles Got Signed

• The Subversive Side of Classical Music

• The Women Who Built Berry Gordy's Motown Empire

• Hardcore Punk Ignored Corporate America

• How Elvis Presley Rose To The Top

• The Jim Morrison Biography That Kicked Off The Doors Revival

• Irving Berlin Defined American Music

• Politics Boxed Merle Haggard Out Of Crossover Superstardom

• Bing Crosby's Swing Brought Him Superstardom

• The Devil, Daniel Johnston and Documentary Film

• Buck Owens Conquered the Country Music Business

• Pop Music's Past Is Crowding Out Its Present

Season 6

• The History of Music is Subversive, Not Respectable

• Grunge Exploded Out of Seattle and Fell Back to Earth

• Emperor Moguls of Rap: Dr Dre, Diddy and Jay-Z

• America Awaited the Beatles

• Electronic Music From the Avant Garde to Top of the Pops

• The Tragic Legend of Little Willie John

• The Rise & Fall of Phil Spector

• Rod Stewart & the Faces: A Complicated Alliance

• The Songs Jazz is Built On

• The Rolling Stones Road to Altamont

• The Indie Underground of the 80's from Black Flag to Beat Happening

• The Cool: A 20th Century Phenomenon

Season 5

• Robert Christgau on the Role of the Rock Critic

• Screamin’ Jay Hawkins Put a Spell On the Music Biz

• House of the Rising Sun Before Bob Dylan And After The Animals

• Writing the Life Stories of Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin

• Barney Ales Helped Berry Gordy Build the Motown Empire

• Which One's Pink (Floyd)?

• Time Warner Can't Handle The Ice-T Cop Killer Backlash

• James Brown Hits The One

• John, Paul, George & Ringo Couldn't Escape The Beatles

• The Grateful Dead Builds Psychedelic America

• Dewey Phillips, Elvis Presley, Otis Redding and Memphis music

• CSNY Tried to Have It All

Season 4

• Berry Gordy and the Making of Motown

• Managing Led Zeppelin, the Biggest Band on Earth

• Frank Sinatra, Mitch Miller and the Great American Song

• The Weavers: Folk Music vs the Black List

• Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra and the Swing Era

• Bing Crosby and the Age of the Crooner

• The Entrepreneurs of Early Hip-Hop: Sugar Hill & Def Jam

• Otis Redding: Supernova

• The Rise of Otis Redding

• Stax Records Blows Up in the 1970s

• Stax Records and the Soul Explosion

• Jerry Lee Lewis Starts His Come Back at the Star Club

Season 3

• Muddy Waters: The Life and Times

• How 19th Century American Music Got Hot

• The First Recording Stars: Enrico Caruso, Al Jolson and Bert Williams

• Edison's Phonograph vs. the Gramophone

• The Death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain Changed The Music Biz

• How the Beatles Destroyed Rock and Roll

• Robert Johnson: Escaping the Delta

• Legends Of Memphis Music From Charlie Feathers To Jeff Buckley

• Willie Nelson Superstar

• Willie Nelson: Nashville's Not Enough

• Willie Nelson's Honky Tonk Wilderness Years

• Chasing the Blues Legends John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, & Hubert Sumlin

from Season 2

• The Moby Grape Story Part 2

• The Butthole Surfers & the 80's Underground

• The Moby Grape Story Part 1

• The Fall of Michael Bloomfield

• The Rise of Michael Bloomfield

• David Bowie: Starman

• Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed

• Brian Jones The Making of the Rolling Stones