Erinnert ihr euch noch an den Sommer 1979? Überall in der Bundesrepublik lief ein Song im Radio, an dem niemand vorbeikam. In den Diskotheken von München bis Hamburg drängten sich die Menschen auf der Tanzfläche, sobald die ersten Takte von Gloria erklangen. Umberto Tozzi hatte damals einen Welthit gelandet, der nicht nur die Charts stürmte, … Read more
In 1964, the Motown assembly line was running at full speed, but the girls who would soon become global icons were at a breaking point. Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, and Mary Wilson, known collectively as The Supremes, had a string of minor releases that failed to catch fire. They were hungry for a hit, yet … Read more
The year was 1979, and the humid air of the Los Angeles studio felt like a pressure cooker ready to explode. Inside, the members of The Eagles were meticulously crafting what would become their final studio masterpiece, The Long Run. But beneath the polished harmonies and impeccable guitar solos, the band was rotting from the … Read more
In 1971, America was utterly captivated by a group of brothers with matching suits, pearly white teeth, and voices as polished as a brand-new jukebox record. To the millions of families tuning in every week, The Osmonds represented the ultimate American dream. They were the wholesome, squeaky-clean answer to the chaotic, countercultural upheaval of the … Read more
The year 1969 was supposed to be the summer of love, but beneath the flower-power veneer, the cultural foundation of America was beginning to crack. At the center of this seismic shift stood Sly and the Family Stone. They were the architects of a revolutionary, multi-racial funk sound that promised unity and groove. Yet, as … Read more
In the sweltering, neon-lit corridors of 1960s American radio, success was a fickle beast. Thousands of records vanished into the ether, relegated to the dusty bargain bins of forgotten history. Among these casualties was a blistering soul track by Johnny Johnson and the Bandwagon. Back home in the United States, the song barely caused a … Read more
In 1986, a haunting melody crawled out of the past and onto the neon-lit screens of mid-eighties television. As the opening notes of the 1961 classic Runaway played over the opening credits of the gritty crime drama Crime Story, a generation of viewers was stopped in their tracks by its eerie, futuristic falsetto. It was … Read more
The year was 1976. The air in the Sunset Strip was thick with the scent of cheap perfume, stale cigarettes, and the desperate, electric hum of rock and roll dreams. Gene Simmons, the fire-breathing, tongue-wagging bassist of the global juggernaut KISS, walked into the Starwood Club in Hollywood looking for the next big thing. He … Read more
In the smoke-filled, leather-clad clubs of Hamburg, Germany, during the early 1960s, a different version of the Fab Four was taking shape. Before the matching suits and the screaming crowds at Shea Stadium, there was a quiet, brooding artist named Stuart Sutcliffe holding the bass guitar. While the world remembers John, Paul, George, and Ringo, … Read more