Featured Artist: The Cleftones
Chart debut year: 1956

The Beatles Rock Band: "Hey Bulldog"
The latest in a series of song histories based on the classic tunes in the video game The Beatles: Rock Band! This throwaway track, a vague idea of John's, was finished in one day, features no stylistic innovations to speak of, and was buried in the middle of an album that was barely a Beatles album at all. So why has its stature only grown with each passing year? Read a detailed breakdown of "Hey Bulldog" in my latest Beatles fact sheet.The Beatles Rock Band: "Hey Bulldog" originally appeared on About.com Oldies Music on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 01:28:29.Permalink | Comment | Email this

The Oldies Encyclopedia: Psych-pop
The respectable (and commercial) side of psychedelic music could be seen as lightweight by the truly turned on, but psych-pop's best hits carry a message just as revolutionary as their rock counterparts... and often with every bit as much musical innovation. Read more about Psychedelic Pop and its relation to other oldies music styles in my latest encyclopedia entry.The Oldies Encyclopedia: Psych-pop originally appeared on About.com Oldies Music on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 01:23:21.Permalink | Comment | Email this

The Elvis Years: 1958
Now updated! The year 1958 was perhaps the most important of Elvis Presley's life -- not because the Memphis Draft Board forced him to have hassenpfeffer and black pumpernickel for chow, but because of his mother's untimely passing. Could any one person, even his mother, have affected his The King so deeply? Yes, and as this latest in a series of Elvis histories shows, her passing accomplished what the rest of the world could not. Read more about the year 1958 in Elvis Presley's personal and professional life here.The Elvis Years: 1958 originally appeared on About.com Oldies Music on Saturday, March 6th, 2010 at 22:12:21.Permalink | Comment | Email this

The Elvis Years: 1957
Now updated! 1957 saw Elvis Presley move quickly from American superstar to international phenomenon -- yet forces were already at work to neutralize and control the King. The year of "Jailhouse Rock," Graceland, and "Ed Sullivan" from the waist up proved also to sow the seeds of personal tragedy and professional crises. Read more about the year 1957 in Elvis Presley's personal and professional life here. The Elvis Years: 1957 originally appeared on About.com Oldies Music on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 11:35:19.Permalink | Comment | Email this

The Beatles Rock Band: "Good Morning Good Morning"
The latest in a series of song histories based on the classic tunes in the video game The Beatles: Rock Band! John hated it, considered it a rush job only done to make Sgt. Pepper. But lost of critics (and fans) love the offbeat time signatures, the strange horns, the barnyard freakout, and the sly skewering of suburban life that is this classic. Read a detailed breakdown of "Good Morning Good Morning" in my latest Beatles fact sheet. The Beatles Rock Band: "Good Morning Good Morning" originally appeared on About.com Oldies Music on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 10:50:03.Permalink | Comment | Email this