‘200 Greatest 70s Rock Songs’ Book Excerpt Frank Mastropolo Universal Music Group / EMI “Bohemian Rhapsody” was a №9 hit in 1976 and reached №2 in 1992 when it was re-released after Freddie Mercury’s death and appeared in the film Wayne’s World. Clocking in at almost six minutes, the song is a mix of a cappella, opera, and rock anthem elements. “I always wanted to do something operatic,” Mercury said in Rolling Stone. “I wanted something with a mood setter at the start, going

In 1967, Procol Harum released one of the few singles to sell 10 million copies worldwide: “A Whiter Shade of Pale.” The members who recorded the №5 hit — Gary Brooker (vocals and piano), Matthew Fisher (Hammond M-102 organ), David Knights (bass), Ray Royer (guitar), and session drummer Bill Eyden (later replaced by Bobby Harrison) — had an important “sixth member”: lyricist Keith Reid.

It is sad to note the passing of Dash Crofts, 78, who scored a number of hits in the 1970s with bandmate Jim Seals, who died in 2022. Crofts was a singer, songwriter, and played guitar and mandolin. Seals and Crofts earned Grammy nominations for “Diamond Girl” and “Summer Breeze.”

Palisades Park was a popular New Jersey amusement park that was open from 1898 to 1971. The park was located atop the New Jersey Palisades overlooking Manhattan. Game show creator Chuck Barris, the host and producer of The Gong Show, wrote “Palisades Park.” Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, a Massachusetts native, had a №3 hit with the tune in 1962.

‘100 Greatest Soul Songs’ Book Excerpt Frank Mastropolo Warner Special Markets UK “Respect” was written and first recorded by Otis Redding in 1965, when it reached №4 on the R&B chart. Aretha Franklin’s reworking of the song from a woman’s viewpoint became a №1 pop and R&B hit — and feminist anthem — in 1967. A ballad with the title “Respect” was brought to Redding by Earl “Speedo” Sims, who intended to record it with his group, the Singing Demons. It is unclear who wrote thi

In the mid-1980s, John Fogerty found himself at a creative dead end. His most productive period had been from 1968–1972, when he and his band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, charted nine Top 10 singles.

“When the tides of life turn against you, and the current upsets your boat, don’t waste those tears on what might have been, just lay on your back and float.” — Ed Norton

One of the sweetest ballads recorded by the Turtles was the 1968 hit “You Showed Me.” The track was part of The Turtles Present the Battle of the Bands, a concept album on which the group poked fun at musical genres by pretending to be different bands for each track. “Nature’s Children” was the “band” that contributed “You Showed Me.”

With little input from the Beatles other than the use of their music, ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road: A Rock Spectacle’ debuted off-Broadway at New York’s Beacon Theater on Nov. 17, 1974. Produced by Robert Stigwood and directed by Tom O’Horgan, the musical included 29 songs, primarily from the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road albums.

When San Francisco’s Big Brother & the Holding Company released “Piece of My Heart” in 1967, the song’s highlights were Sam Andrew’s wailing, distorted guitar solos, which would help define acid rock, and blues belter Janis Joplin’s spinechilling wail.

Comedian and comedy writer Paul Mooney worked for years as the behind-the-scenes partner with Richard Pryor. Mooney also was a writer and performer on Chappelle’s Show. Mooney continued his stand-up career after Pryor died in 2005.

The raw sound of Dave Davies’ lead guitar on “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks has been called the blueprint for the power chords of heavy metal and punk rock. Written by Ray Davies, the song topped the British charts and introduced the Kinks to America, where it was a №7 hit. But the song that revolutionized rock was recorded in a variety of styles before the raucous single was released in September 1964.

The Bottom Line was an intimate Greenwich Village club that hosted major rock, jazz, and blues artists. The 400-seat club was a launch pad for young musicians like Bruce Springsteen, who appeared in 1975. Lou Reed, Johnny Winter, Billy Joel, Carly Simon, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, and Van Morrison performed here.

“People Got to Be Free” was released by the Rascals in the summer of 1968 during Civil Rights Movement protests. Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati were inspired to write what became an anthem for racial tolerance after they were threatened during a tour of the South.

“All Things Must Pass,” the title song of George Harrison’s 1970 triple album, was inspired by Timothy Leary’s poem All Things Pass, an adaptation of the Tao Te Ching. The Beatles rehearsed the song in January 1969 but did not include it on the Let It Be album. Billy Preston was the first to release the song, as “All Things (Must) Pass,” in 1970.

Rock Quiz: 1000 Questions Classic Rock Challenge! Book Excerpt

Lou Reed was a member of the Velvet Underground until the downtown band broke up in 1970. “Walk on the Wild Side” was included on Reed’s second solo album, 1972’s Transformer.

'New York Rock & Roll History: The 1960s' Book Excerpt Frank Mastropolo Geffen A stop at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral helped inspire John and Michelle Phillips to write “California Dreamin’,” the 1966 Top 10 hit for the Mamas & the Papas. “We were at the Hotel Earle in New York and Michelle was asleep,” John Phillips told filmmaker Larry “L.A.” Johnson. Hotel Earle, renamed the Washington Square Hotel, 2021. © Frank Mastropolo “I was playing the guitar. We’d been out fo

Beatlemania in Australia reached its peak in June 1964 when the Fab Four staged a three-week tour of the country. Hundreds of rock groups sprouted as a result, formed by teens who hoped to emulate their heroes from Liverpool.

In the early 1960s, Archie Bell & the Drells were a struggling Houston vocal group performing their brand of Texas funk at local talent shows. In 1964, the group recorded a demo of a song called “Tighten Up.” Although they often performed the song live, the demo was soon forgotten.