The history of recorded jazz is hard to pin down. So many conflicting stories make up a rich patchwork that guides us towards the truth of how jazz began.
Love makes the world go round, but love also goes round itself, in the grooves of the majority of the greatest pop songs ever made.
From the first flushes of romance, to heartbreak, loss and lust, the love song puts emotions to words – and music – remaining a core part of our lives.
The love song: some of these songs celebrate love and some dump on it, but they all have one thing in common... that love is the highest of human emotions.
From doorknobs to ‘Nessun Dorma’, Decca Records’ story is one of innovation, revolutionising the way sound has been recorded, sold and enjoyed.
Some songwriters have a greater ability to pluck classic songs from the ether than others, so what sets the great ones apart from the rest?
Film musicals, a true American art form, have celebrated freedom in the cinema, self-expression and the pursuit of dreams down life’s yellow brick road.
Artists have always tried to go one better than Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, the song that arguably defines the holiday season like no other.
Family bands have provided some of the greatest popular music of the past 100 years. As Sister Sledge once sang: “We are family. Get up everybody and sing.”
A song doesn’t have to have a message in order to change society. Race relations, gender equality and identity politics have all been shaped by music.
The subject of evil will remain one of interest to songwriters, no matter how controversial & unsettling. The Devil does indeed get some of the best songs.
Heavy metal and horror have co-existed with one another since the music’s inception. One could say that metal has been macabre since its very first notes.
Glam rock added a splash of colour and sparked a different kind of cultural evolution - thrilling music, the spectacle of identity, dressed up in spectacular costume, and a frisson of provocative sexual tension.
Despite the claims of many in a streaming world, the album isn’t dead. Taylor Swift and Sam Smith are just a few artists keeping it alive.
Every year, critics and so-called experts ask: is rock music dead? Not with a new breed of young talents aiming for legendary status.
