Let It Roll

Nate Wilcox and Ryan Harkness continue their discussion of “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life - The History of the Disc Jockey” by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton.  In this episode, Nate and Ryan go way way back to the beginnings of the 20th Century and discuss the very first radio DJs -- including Sybil True the first female radio DJ who started in 1913 -- and the first club DJs including the now-i...

Author Mark Blake returns to tell host Nate Wilcox about his books “Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Queen” and "Freddie Mercury: A Kind of Magic." In this episode, Mark and Nate discuss Queen and their brilliant lead vocalist Freddy Mercury, how they conquered the world of classic rock in the 70s, how they fell out of favor in the US in the 1980s, Freddie’s tragic death and more. Let I...

Today hosts Nate Wilcox and Ryan Harkness are joined by producer Stephie Haynes to introduce the series and our main source book “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life - The History of the Disc Jockey” by Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton.  In this episode, Nate, Ryan and Steph discuss their personal history with dance music and the introductory chapter of "Last Night A DJ Saved My Life", the connection i...

Host Nate Wilcox speaks with Maria Sherman author of "Larger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS" for a discussion of the history of Boy Bands from Franz Listz, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles and the Jackson 5 to K-Pop. Most of the conversation focuses on Maurice Starr's 80's groups New Edition and New Kids on the Block and Lou Pearlman's *NSYNC and The Backstreet Boys. Let It Roll is...

By the time he formed Led Zeppelin in 1968, Jimmy Page was a rock and roll veteran with years of touring, gigs as a hired gun session man and a member of The Yardbirds under his belt. He applied the lessons he learned in the trenches to form the mightiest band of the rock era. Host Nate Wilcox discusses Jimmy Page with author Brad Tolinski, who has interviewed Page more than anyone else alive. Let...

Host Nate Wilcox welcomes back author Joe Nick Patoski to tell us how musicians like Doug Sahm, Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan and the Butthole Surfers kicked off the transformation that turned a sleepy college town into ATX, the home of Austin City Limits and South by Southwest. Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Nate Wilcox welcomes Nadine Cohodas author of "Spinning Blues Into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records" to discuss the storied label. They cover the Chicago Blues and Rock and Roll that earned the label much of its fame but focus much of their attention on Etta James, Fontella Bass and other legends of soul music who cut for Chess in the 50s and 60s. Let It Roll is proud...

Host Nate Wilcox welcomes Gram Parsons biographer David N. Meyer to discuss Parsons' tragic life and innovative music. Nate and David discuss Gram's unique family circumstances, his beginnings as a teen rocker, transition to wannabe folkie, the International Submarine Band, the Byrds & Sweetheart of the Rodeo, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Emmylou Harris and Parson's tragic death. Let It Roll is pr...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss season 2, episode 4 of Hip-Hop Evolution "A New York State of Mind" which covers Nas, the Wu-Tang Clan and Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious B.I.G. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final 15 minutes of this ep...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss season 2, episode 3 of Hip Hop Evolution: "Do The Knowledge" which returns to New York to cover The Bridge Wars and Native Tongues groups like De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss the second episode of Hip Hop Evolution’s second season, “Out The Trunk: The Bay" which takes us to Northern California to talk about Too Short, MC Hammer, Digital Underground and a young 2Pac Shakur. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss the first episode of Hip Hop Evolution’s second season, "The Southern Way", which looks at the first Southern rappers to make a national impact: Florida’s 2 Live Crew and Texas’ Geto Boys and Underground Kings. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss the fourth episode of Hip Hop Evolution "The Birth of Gangsta Rap" which takes us from Schooley D in Philly to Ice T, Eazy E and NWA in Los Angeles. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final 15 minutes of this...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss the third episode of Hip Hop Evolution: "The New Guard." The show focuses on the dawn of hip-hop's golden age and the emergence of Run-DMC, Def Jam Records, Public Enemy ,and Eric B. & Rakim. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Host Nate Wilcox and his cohorts Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson discuss the second episode of Hip Hop Evolution "From the Underground to the Mainstream." The episode covers the early New York rap battles caught on bootleg cassettes, Hip-Hop's move from the Bronx to Manhattan and alliance with punk as well as the first hit rap records, The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper’s Delight", and Afrika Bambaat...

Host Nate Wilcox is joined by Alexei Auld and Eugene S. Robinson to talk about the first episode of Netflix' Hip-Hop Evolution: The Foundation. The conversation covers DJ Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash. GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final 15 minutes of this ep...

Host Nate Wilcox and Yo La Tengo biographer Jesse Jarnow discuss the Hoboken band's relentless touring, massive repertoire and how independent radio, record labels and record stores helped them make Indie Rock as big as it ever got. Based on Jarnow's book "Big Day Coming: Yo La Tengo and the Rise of Indie Rock" the conversation focuses on the circumstances that allowed a band this eccentric to att...

Bing Crosby biographer Gary Giddins joins host Nate Wilcox to discuss Bing Crosby’s incredible run during the World War 2 era. The 1940s were a period when Crosby set still-unbroken records for single sales, won an Oscar for his acting, sang for a radio audience in the tens of millions and led Hollywood’s war effort. The conversation focuses on Gary's second book on Crosby, "Bing Crosby: Swinging...

Host Nate Wilcox talks to historian Erin Torkelson Weber about the meta-narrative of Beatles history. Weber is the first to apply the methods of modern historiography to the books about The Beatles in her book "The Beatles and the Historians: An Analysis of Writings about the Fab Four." Join us for a lively discussion of the four major narratives that have dominated Beatles history: The Fab Four M...

Author Alanna Nash joins host Nate Wilcox to talk about her book “Dolly: The Biography.” Nate and Alanna discuss Dolly Parton’s humble origins, almost supernatural talent and precocious drive as well as Nashville’s reaction to the book, one of the first critical biographies written about a country superstar. Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

Author Ben Merlis joins host Nate Wilcox to talk about his book “Goin’ Off: The Story of the Juice Crew and Cold Chillin’ Records.” Ben tells Nate the story of one of the top hip-hop crews of the Golden Age and the record label that assembled and promoted them. They discuss the innovative producer Marley Marl, the great MC Big Daddy Kane, the wildcard genius Biz Markie, MC Shan’s feud with KRS-One...

Today Gurdip Ladhar and Justin Gausman of the TCBCast join host Nate Wilcox to wrap up their discussion of Elvis Presley’s life and career based on Peter Guralnick’s “Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley” and HBO’s “The Searcher.” Nate, Gurdip and Justin discuss the long, slow dissolution of Elvis Presley in the 1970s, the role of Col. Tom Parker and the work and accomplishments of the fal...

Host Nate Wilcox and author Greg Prato discuss how Soundgarden helped build the nascent grunge scene in Seattle, rode it to the top of the charts, broke up, finally reunited and only to endure the tragic death of singer Chris Cornell. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Nate Wilcox and author Dylan Jones discuss how Glenn Campbell and Jimmy Webb, two young men from the Midwest, created one of the world’s classic pop songs. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nate interviews Stephen Tow author of "London, Reign Over Me: How England's Capital Built Classic Rock." They discuss how London suddenly emerged as an incubator of rock music in 1963 and nurtured trends from R&B to Psychedelia to progressive rock. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices