history
Iconic moments in music history.
14 Songs I Found on a Burned CD from 2007
Before streaming took over, you had a few options for listening to your favorite songs: waiting for the song to play on the radio, trying to catch the music video on TV or paying $15 for a CD that might have only one good track. As a child, I fantasized about owning a CD that magically played all my favorite songs. Unfortunately, this seemed like a fairy tale until Napster and Limewire disrupted the music industry, allowing users to download virtually any song for free--albeit illegally.
By Kaitlin Shanks5 days ago in Beat
September Blues
I’ve always said that music isn’t just a harmonic tune that you love listening to for your enjoyment. Music is the very soundtrack to life itself. Music speaks not only to every person, but to every major point in history. With the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks tomorrow, these are some of the best songs that captured the very meaning of that fateful September morning that changed the world.
By Joe Patterson7 days ago in Beat
1983 ... A Merman I Shall Turn To Be
Introduction I am a member of many Facebook groups and I see many about how did progressive rock start. Very often concept albums are mooted, but one of the first concept albums is Frank Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours" but that while it is musical progress it is not what we are talking about.
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 10 days ago in Beat
Gladys Knight Announced She Is Stepping Back From Performing
Gladys Knight announced to her fans that she will be taking a step back from performing and will be winding down her concert and touring schedule. On Thursday, August 27, 2026, the Motown legend posted her decision on Instagram .
By Margaret Minnicks19 days ago in Beat
My Tribute to Honor Dolly Parton
When Richmond’s local news stations invited Virginians to share photos and memories in honor of Dolly Parton, I was inspired to do so. It wasn’t just nostalgia I felt. It was recognition — the kind that rose from deep places within me. Dolly touched the lives of millions, including mine. That's why I offer a tribute stitched together with the very threads she gave us: her songs, her stories, and her unmistakable spirit.
By Margaret Minnicks22 days ago in Beat
History of Rock Music
Following World War II, many soldiers, sailers, and airmen made use of the GI bill to further their education, and many started families. Like many generations, America's youth had questions about authority and society. The young adults of the era were no longer interested in listening to the crooners their parents favored, like Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, and Judy Garland. Instead, they listened to black rhythm and blues artists, like Muddy Waters...
By Julie Lacksonen26 days ago in Beat
Six of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Most Indefensible '80s Blind Spots
Because apparently "shaped an entire generation of music" isn't a strong enough résumé... Credit where it's due — the Hall has actually been doing a little cleanup work lately. The 2026 class alone is inducting Iron Maiden, Billy Idol, Oasis, Joy Division/New Order, Sade, Luther Vandross, Wu-Tang Clan, and Phil Collins as a solo artist on top of his existing Genesis induction. That's a genuinely stacked class. Somebody in Cleveland is clearly trying.
By Elton Reads A Book A Week (Elton Edgar)29 days ago in Beat
Six '90s Bands the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Keeps 'Forgetting' Exist
Because "rock's highest honor" apparently runs on a decades-long delay and a guilty conscience... Let's get the good news out of the way first: the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame occasionally remembers to do its job. Radiohead got in back in 2019. Nine Inch Nails followed in 2020. And after three separate nomination attempts and eight years of grieving Chris Cornell, Soundgarden finally walked the red carpet in 2025, with Jim Carrey — yes, that Jim Carrey — delivering the induction speech in a Fender-signed haze of nostalgia. So credit where it's due: the Hall can, on occasion, be shamed into fixing its mistakes.
By Elton Reads A Book A Week (Elton Edgar)29 days ago in Beat
Fiddle Firsts: Which Came First, the Fiddle or the Violin?
Before there was a violin, there was a fiddle. Well... sort of. The history of bowed string instruments is much older and more complicated than just that. But as a violinist with over 20 years of playing experience, I recently stumbled on a fact that I found a little surprising.
By Cate Calvertabout a month ago in Beat
