Let It Roll

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

Today Chuck Haddix joins Nate to discuss his book “Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop--A History.” Nate and Chuck talk about the corrupt Kansas City machine and how the vice it fostered produced great American music from Ragtime to Bebop, Count Basie to Charlie Parker. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Josh Alan Friedman joins Nate to discuss his book “Tell the Truth Until They Bleed: Coming Clean in the Dirty World of Blues and Rock 'n' Roll”. Nate and Josh talk about Jerry Lieber and his incredible song-writing partnership with Mike Stoller, their work with Elvis Presley, Atlantic Records, the Coasters and much more. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...

Author Joe Bonomo returns to discuss his 33 ⅓ book on AC/DC’s Highway To Hell with Nate Wilcox. Nate and Joe talk about the Aussie band’s mastery of the hard rock format, the tragic death of Bon Scott, the band’s early association with punk rock and how and why they chose to distance themselves from that movement, producer Mutt Lange and much more. This show is part of Pantheon Podcasts. Learn mor...

Today special guest scholar and musician Yuri Campbell returns to review the key lessons we learned from Nate’s discussions with Ed Ward about his book “The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964-1977 The Beatles, The Stones and the Rise of Classic Rock” and the Let It Roll series covering it. We talk about Ward's cultural scholarship and what lessons we can learn from his method of studying music...

Special guest scholar and musician Yuri Campbell returns to review the key lessons we learned from Nate’s discussion with Elijah Wald about his book “How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'n' Roll: An Alternative History of American Popular Music” Nate and Yuri evaluate Wald’s revisionist history of the evolution of popular music in the 20th century and his claim that Paul Whiteman was the Beatles of the...

Today special guest scholar and musician Yuri Campbell returns, to review the key lessons we learned from Nate’s discussion with Elijah Wald about his book Escaping The Delta: Robert Johnson & the Invention of the Blues.” Nate and Yuri evaluate Wald’s boldly revisionist take on Robert Johnson and debate whether or not Wald succeeded in re-assessing Johnson from the perspective of his peers and con...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "⁠The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock⁠" with a look at the bloating of the music biz in the early 70s and the feeling that everyone was waiting on something to happen, Bob Dylan vs David Geffen, the New York Dolls at the Mercer Arts Center and the collapse of Stax Recor...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "⁠The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock⁠" with a look at the splits between AM and FM, hard rock and soft rock and John, Paul, George and Ringo. ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "⁠The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock⁠" with a look at the origins of reggae in Jamaica and a survey of the funk scene as it stood when James Brown was king and Sly Stone was emerging as his biggest rival. ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "⁠The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock⁠" with a look at 1969, Woodstock, and the invention of “the sixties.” ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -- The final 15...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "⁠The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock⁠" with a look at 1968: the year of riots and revolution, the year of newcomers like Led Zeppelin and Sly & the Family Stone and The Band who led a musical counter-revolution. ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock" with a look at 1967, the year of Monterey Pop, when the Beatles lost Brian Epstein and gained the Maharishi, Brian Wilson blew it and Otis Redding died. ⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock" with a look at rock & roll's second miracle year when America responded to the Beatles by blending folk and blues with rock & roll. They discuss how Michael Bloomfield electrified Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys making Pet Sounds, Stax hi...

Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox kick off their discussion of Ed's book "The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock" with a look at The Beatles' conquest of America, the other British bands that followed in their wake and the American response headed up by Motown and James Brown. ⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Nate Wilcox and guest Yuri Campbell look back on Ed Ward's book "History of Rock & Roll 1920-1963⁠⁠⁠⁠ "⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and the Let It Roll series covering it. We talk about Ward's cultural scholarship and what lessons we can learn from his method of studying music history. ⁠⁠GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Nate welcomes world Beatles authority Mark Lewisohn to discuss his epic biography of the Beatles “All These Years Volume One - Tune In.” Mark and Nate dive deep into the Beatles signing to Parlophone records, debunking much received wisdom about George Martin, Brian Epstein and the Beatles, and revealing many never before known facts about “Love Me Do” and “How Do You Do It” as well as the battle...

Host Nate Wilcox welcomes back Ted Gioia to continue their discussion of his book “Music: A Subversive History.” Nate and Ted talk about the less than perfect realities of the lives of the great composers. From the murderous makers of madrigals to the sometimes sordid antics of J.S. Bach to the very problematic Richard Wagner, Ted brings a very different perspective to the men we see as paragons o...

Host Nate Wilcox welcomes back Susan Whitall to discuss her book “Women of Motown: An Oral History.” Nate and Susan talk about the competitive yet familial atmosphere nurtured by Motown patriarch Berry Gordy, the backstage rivalry between Diana Ross and virtually every other woman at Motown and much more. Visit our sponsor Adam & Eve for 50% off almost any item, get tons of free gifts AND receive...