Let It Roll

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Ed Legge continue their discussion of Michaelangelo Matos' "Can't Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year" with a look at the pair of music biz downturns that created the space for the new pop of 1984 to triumph: the early 80's record biz recession that followed the implosion of disco and the deeply moribund state of AOR Rock radio in the early 1980s. Buy the book a...

Host Nate Wilcox welcomes Ken Emerson, author of "Always Magic in the Air: The Bomp and Brilliance of the Brill Building Era." Buy the book and support the show. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. SAVE THE LET IT ROLL PODCAST We're $100 from our goal to fund a year's worth of pro...

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Ed Legge open their discussion of Michaelangelo Matos' book "Can't Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year" with an overview of what made 1984 so special for pop music: Thriller, Purple Rain, Born in the USA, Like a Virgin, She's So Unusual and many many more beloved classics that all hit the radio at once and reinvigorated a moribund early 80's music scene. Buy the...

Host Nate Wilcox talks to Richard Aquila, author of "Rock & Roll in Kennedy's America: A Cultural History of the Early 1960s," about the four cutting edge trends in rock n' roll in the early 1960s. Buy the book and support the show. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. SAVE THE LET...

Host Nate Wilcox and Cooper biographer Gary Graff discuss his new book "Alice Cooper @75", the cloud of rumor and myth that swirled around the band in the early 70s, and draw distinctions between the man Vincent Furnier, the band Alice Cooper and the solo artist of the same name. Buy the book and support the show. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email l...

Host Nate Wilcox asks Michael Corcoran to share the stories of Texas gospel greats Arizona Dranes, Blind Willie Johnson and Washington Phillips as well as the notorious Don Robey, owner of the Duke and Peacock labels. Buy the book and support the show. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Fa...

Host Nate Wilcox asks John Einarson about John Kay, Steppenwolf and how the group came together out of the Toronto folk and R&B scene but had to move to California to make it in the record business. Buy the book and support the show. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. SAVE THE LE...

Host Nate Wilcox asks Peter Guralnick to tell the story of Sam Phillips and Sun Records. From the early days as a blues studio recording Ike Turner, B.B. King, and Howlin' Wolf to the bright yellow record label that brought Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis to the world. Buy the book and support the show. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to...

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Brooks Long discuss the unlikely career path of Bettye LaVette from having a top 10 R&B hit at age 16 on Atlantic Records to recording with the Memphis Fliers and the Muscle Shoals Swampers before finally breaking through in the 21st Century. SAVE THE LET IT ROLL PODCAST We're less than $600 from our goal to fund a year's worth of production on the Let It Roll podcast (that's...

Host Nate Wilcox interviews David Leaf, co-writer & director of "The U.S. Vs. John Lennon" which tells the tale of a rock star targeted for deportation by the FBI, the INS and the White House. SAVE THE LET IT ROLL PODCAST We're less than $600 from our goal to fund a year's worth of production on the Let It Roll podcast (that's 104 episodes)! The outpouring of support for the show has been really e...

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Chris Duncan discuss the documentaries "The Colossus of Destiny: A Melvins Tale" and "Tad: Busted Circuits and Ringing Ears" and try to parse out the relationship of grunge to the thrash and alt.metal scenes, the punk/noise rock scene and the pop/glam scene. SAVE THE LET IT ROLL PODCAST We're less than $800 from our goal to fund a year's worth of production on the Let It Roll...

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Chris Duncan discuss the documentary "Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal." SAVE THE LET IT ROLL PODCAST We're over 5/6th to our goal to fund a year's worth of production on the Let It Roll podcast (that's 104 episodes)! The outpouring of support for the show has been really exciting to see. If you already gave, thanks so much! If you don't have the funds to give anything...

An interview with Joel Selvin and John Johnson, Jr. co-authors of "Peppermint Twist: The Mob, the Music, and the Most Famous Dance Club of the '60s." Host Nate Wilcox asks them about the connections between music and organized crime, the beginnings of the Ronettes, The Beatles visit, and the launch of the Twist on the adult world of the early 1960s. SAVE THE LET IT ROLL PODCAST We're almost 5/6th...

Host Nate Wilcox and Anthony Tusler of AboutDisability discuss the life and accomplishment's of America's foremost disabled songwriter. The discussion draws on the book Lonely Avenue: The Unlikely Life and Times of Doc Pomus by Alex Halberstadt and the film AKA Doc Pomus directed by Peter Miller and William Hechter. SAVE THE LET IT ROLL PODCAST We're over half-way to our goal to fund a year's wort...

An interview with Scott B. Bomar co-author of "The Byrds 1964-1967" with Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and Chris Hillman. Host Nate Wilcox asks Scott about the book, the formation and amazing run of the band, their management and more. SAVE THE LET IT ROLL PODCAST Nate got laid off from his dayjob on Friday with 15 minutes notice. We're running a GoFundMe to pay for a year of Steph's work producing,...

Host Nate Wilcox asks John to untangle the web of frustration, competing egos and music-biz shenanigans that undid the Buffalo Springfield. Buy the book and support the show. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about...

Host Nate Wilcox asks David about the new edition of his classic book and his role in the recovery and revival of Brian Wilson. Order the book and support the show! Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad c...

Hosts Nate Wilcox & Kit Mackintosh discuss the CD sets Roots of Ska 1942-1962 and Jamaica - Rhythm & Blues 1956-1961. Order Roots of Ska 1942-1962 and support the show. Order Jamaica - Rhythm & Blues 1956-1961 and support the show. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll i...

An interview with Annie Zaleski, author of the 33 1/3 book on Duran Duran's Rio. Host Nate Wilcox asks Annie how Duran Duran rose so high and what happened after the peak. Buy the brand new limited expanded edition of the book. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll is pr...

Host Nate Wilcox and A.R. discuss the origins of Trap music in Atlanta, its rise to global preeminence and it's failure to transcend the gritty realities of its origin. Buy the book and support the show. Download this episode. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll is pro...

Host Nate Wilcox asks Bob about the beginnings of the music industry in the first half of the 20th Century. Buy the book and support the show. Download this episode. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad...

Hosts Nate Wilcox and Brooks Long discuss the career of Rick James with an emphasis on his early years in Toronto, Detroit and Los Angeles, working with the likes of Neil Young and trying his hand at folk-rock, jazz fusion and finally funk. Buy the book and support the show. Download this episode. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@g...

Host Nate Wilcox asks Matos what made 1984 such a big year for pop music. Buy the book and support the show. Download this episode. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook. Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoi...

An interview with Kelefa Sanneh, author of "Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres." Kelefa and host Nate Wilcox discuss the last 50 years of music history through a lens of the 7 major genres of modern popular music.  Buy the book and support the show. Download this episode. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail...

An interview with Peter Ames Carlin, author of "Homeward Bound: The Life of Paul Simon." Peter and host Nate Wilcox discuss the early years of Paul Simon and his partnership with Art Garfunkel.  Buy the book and support the show. Download this episode. Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter. Follow us on Fa...