Pop / R&B

All Let It Roll episodes covering Pop music and the R&B genre.

Let It Roll Originals

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

• Bettye LaVette Took Her Time to Get to the Top

• 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

• Duran Duran Mastered MTV and Ruled In the 80s

• 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

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

• 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

• 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

• 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

• Motown's Power Came From the Funk Brothers

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

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

• Bing Crosby Ruled The 1940s

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

• The Women Who Built Berry Gordy's Motown Empire

• Irving Berlin Defined American Music

• Bing Crosby's Swing Brought Him Superstardom

• Pop Music's Past Is Crowding Out Its Present

• The Tragic Legend of Little Willie John

• The Rise & Fall of Phil Spector

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

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

• Barney Ales Helped Berry Gordy Build the Motown Empire

• James Brown Hits The One

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

• Berry Gordy and the Making of Motown

• Frank Sinatra, Mitch Miller and the Great American Song

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

• Bing Crosby and the Age of the Crooner

• Stax Records Blows Up in the 1970s

• Stax Records and the Soul Explosion

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

• Legends Of Memphis Music From Charlie Feathers To Jeff Buckley

Let It Roll Nightmares

• Little Willie John's dreams turned to nightmares

Let Motown Roll

• Let Motown Roll 9: Rick James was the last great Motown star

• Let Motown Roll 8: Smokey Robinson fulfilled Berry Gordy’s vision

• Let Motown Roll 7: The epic tragedy of Marvin Gaye

• Let Motown Roll 6: Holland-Dozier-Holland perfected the Motown approach

• Let Motown Roll 5: The Funk Brothers rocked in the shadows of Motown

• Let Motown Roll 4: The women of Motown

• Let Motown Roll 3: The man who sold Motown's records

• Let Motown Roll 2: Berry Gordy's mastery at Motown

• Let Motown Roll 1: Florence Ballard formed the Supremes and paid the ultimate price

‘80s Roll

• 80s Roll 20: Queen, Bowie & Jagger and other highs and lows of Live Aid

• 80s Roll 19: Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones led “We Are The World”

• 80s Roll 18: British stars came together wrap up a huge 1984 with “Do They Know It’s Christmas”

• 80s Roll 15: Tina Turner, ZZ Top, Cyndi Lauper & Madonna at the First Ever MTV Awards

• 80s Roll 14: The Olympics, Lionel Richie, Etta James, Marvin Gaye and R&B Radio

• 80s Roll 11: Prince's Purple Reign

• 80s Roll 10: The Jackson's Victory Tour was anything but

• 80s Roll 5: Michael Jackson, Annie Lennox, Boy George and Cyndi Lauper at the Grammy Awards

• 80s Roll 2: How the Late 70s Disco Implosion and Early 80's Stagnation of AOR Radio Made 1984 Possible

• 80s Roll 1: How Great a Year Was 1984 for Pop Music?

3 Kings of American Pop

• The Unmaking of Elvis Presley

• The Making of Elvis Presley

• Frank Sinatra, the Chicago Outfit and the President of the USA

• Frank Sinatra Made the Bobby Soxers Swoon and Made the GI’s Boiling Mad

• Bing Crosby's Incredible Influence

• The Young Bing Crosby Reinvented Singing for the Microphone Age

Ed Ward’s “History of Rock & Roll”

• Rhythm & Blues from Bessie Smith to Louis Jordan

• 1963 Brill Building pop is perfected

• 1961-1962 The Quiet Years

• 1960 The Fire of Rebellion Has Been Snuffed