A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs vol 1: From Savoy Stompers to Clock Rockers

A wonderful book to accompany the best podcast around.I wait eagerly for every episode.

I am listening to the podcast and have found It useful and interesting. I am a Muzic radio show presenter and blogger. This book is useful for background research.

I listen to the pod cast, now I have something to compliment that and compliment it does plus. A very worthwhile read as well as the companion to the pod cast. So very well researched. a brilliant read. Thank you.

Came across this by chance, at the right moment. It's like having a new , very well informed friend who loves music as much as you do. All the stories about the songs, the personalities, the villains and heroes of the rock, pop and entertainment landscape of the last ..seventy(?) years are here. I love what Andrew does and l hope you will too. I even like his Northern, ever-so-slightly camp delivery. A masterwork.

Excellent book. Well researched great companion to the podcast of the same name

Excelente libro para amantes del rock y todos sus derivados.

Hickey's podcast is one of the joys in our lives these days, as we have been working our way through back episodes. His depth of research and updated take on the material is highly informative and entertaining. I've read books and watched documentaries about rock music since I was a kid in the 80s, and yet I learn at least a few new things about an artist, song, or the genre in general in every episode. Being able to hear how one song influenced (or was directly stolen by) another side-by-side is often eye-opening (ear-opening?) And his ability to weave the myriad personalities into the stories as they wind in and out over decades is remarkable.The book is also an excellent alternative for anyone who can't get past Hickey's speaking voice. My wife and I have grown to really like his somewhat soporific delivery and dry sense of humor, but I can see how some people might find it a bit sleep-inducing.I'll disagree with a previous reviewer on the racism issue: I don't believe Hickey in any way ignores horrible behavior by black musicians and producers only to focus on racist treatment by whites. He in fact goes out of his way to make it clear that many people over the history of rock are simultaneously great artists and absolutely horrific human beings, regardless of their color. (While not all in this particular volume of the books, see for example, his discussions of black artists Chuck Berry, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Jackie Wilson, and every mention of Ike Turner.)Yes, he regularly brings up racism and the racial impact--as well as the effects of class and misogyny--on the music far more than most of the stuff I read back in the day. But that was largely because for decades people seemed pretty happy to ignore those issues in favor of fawning portraits and inoffensive narratives. That said, if you're a person who gets triggered or uncomfortable when someone mentions racism, you'll probably not be happy with the book or the podcast.Note that all of these transcripts are also available on Hickey's site, https://500songs.com/, but they're much easier to read and manage in this collected format. Better still, buying a copy helps support Hickey's efforts to keep producing the podcast, and as of right now, he still has more than 360 songs to go!

Una de las mejores obras sobre el rock jamás escritas. Si no te importa leer en inglés, todo lo que vas a aprender simplemente no tiene precio. Tiene además un podcast donde puedes escuchar ejemplos sonoros de lo que argumenta. A mí me gusta el papel para subrayar y reflexionar. La música ya la pongo o busco yo. Al nivel de Charlie Gillett o Ian McDonald. Y lo dice una persona que se ha leído las 1700 páginas de la edición larga del trabajo de Mark Lewisohn sobre los Beatles en inglés, un grandísimo trabajo de historia cultural. La única pega, inevitable por otra parte, es que al ser 500 canciones, muchas se quedan fuera. Pero el autor se las apaña para cruzar referencias en una red inagotable y hacer que aparezca todo el mundo que debe aparecer. Es la historia viva de un cambio social y cultural que ha marcado el mundo occidental a fuego

Bin auf dem Buch durch den Podcast gestoßen und kann nur jedem empfehlen, der sich für die Geschichte von Rockmusik interessiert