Prisoners of Rock and Roll

In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re stage-diving into the sweaty, dusty madness of Lollapalooza—a festival that started as a punk-rock farewell tour and turned into a genre-crushing, culture-shaping juggernaut with more lives than Keith Richards. Lollapalooza launched in 1991 as a sendoff for Jane’s Addiction—but it hit the road just as grunge was blowing up and quickly turned int...

On this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re stepping into the grimy, graffiti-smeared chaos of CBGB—the legendary Bowery dive that became punk’s ground zero. A Cathedral of Misfits. Picture this: December 1973, Hilly Kristal, a former Marine, opens a bar at 315 Bowery, dreaming of country, bluegrass, and blues. Instead, the junkies and misfits of New York’s underbelly gave him something e...

On this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re jumping in our musical memory machine and going back 30 years to 1995. Rock and roll still ruled the charts and alternative music was still a thing. We got great albums from Alice in Chains, No Doubt, Mad Season, Oasis, Ozzy, and White Zombie.  SIlverchair, the Foo Fighters, the Deftones, Jewel, Radiohead, Alanis Morissette, and Garbage all rele...

Michael Jackson is one of the most influential artists in music history. His talent was undeniable, his impact was massive, and his life… well, it was complicated. On this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re talking about the King of Pop and how he impacted music, music videos, fashion, dance, and culture. But there are also controversies, his personal eccentricities, and the allegations....

We’re back! On this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re flipping on the tube and talking about television theme songs! These are the tracks that play during the opening credits and get stuck in your head for the rest of the week. From classics like Cheers and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to rock-driven intros like The Sopranos or Friends, TV theme songs are often as iconic as the shows the...

Our fourth annual Christmas episode! The holidays are supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but let’s face it – some of us are feeling less holly jolly. In our 4th annual Prisoners of Rock and Roll Christmas episode, we’re celebrating having a blue Christmas by talking about the blues.  You don’t hear a lot of blues Christmas music on the radio or in the mall these days, but there are some...

In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re taking a walk on the dark side and diving deep into one of the most provocative and iconic songs in rock history: Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones. This isn’t just a song; it’s a masterclass in storytelling, where Mick Jagger steps into the shoes of the devil himself to walk us through some of humanity’s darkest moments. It's got con...

Live was one of the most popular bands of the post grunge era. After entering the alternative music scene in 1991 with a spiritual album called Mental Jewelry, they became one of the biggest bands of the mid 90s on the backs of Throwing Copper and Secret Samahdi.  They had made it! Four friends from high school who became wealthy rock stars who sold millions of albums and landed on the cover of Ro...

We’re shining a spotlight on one of the last bands standing from the grunge era: Pearl Jam. While so many of their Seattle peers have either burned out or faded away, Pearl Jam’s still out there, rocking stadiums, dropping albums, and staying true to their roots in a world where rock and roll isn’t exactly topping the charts anymore. We’re going to dig into how Pearl Jam has managed to outlast so...

On this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we're heading into the dark, twisted world of Ozzy Osbourne and diving deep into two of the most legendary heavy metal albums of all time: Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. Make no mistake: these albums kick ass. But, like anything involving the Prince of Darkness, there's more to the story than meets the eye. Sure, these records gave us unforget...

In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re cranking up the volume on some of the greatest fictional bands from movies and television shows. Groups that were born on the screen and sometimes even crossed over on the real music charts.  From the pop sound of Monkees and the Partridge Family, the wild and funky vibes of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, and the turned up to 11 metal of Spi...

In 1985, a group of musicians came together to raise awareness about the oppressive, racist government in South Africa.  Organized by Steven Van Zandt, the group calling themselves Artists United Against Apartheid was, according to music critic Dave Marsh, “the most diverse line up of popular musicians ever assembled for a single session” and the list is pretty amazing.”  Just some of the names in...

Bob Marley is one of the most famous figures in reggae music. On December 3, 1976, seven gunmen stormed into Bob Marley’s home in Kingstown, Jamaica and opened fire, wounding the singer, his wife, and members of his inner circle. The assassination attempt came just days before Marley was scheduled to perform at a concert in Jamaica that was supposed to calm political violence in the country.  Shot...

Rock and roll got really big in the 1970s. We don’t mean in terms of popularity, although it had that going for it too. We mean the sounds got big. The audiences got big. The performances got big. Arena rock was loose definition for commercial, radio-friendly music designed to be played in big stadiums to tens of thousands of people with singalong choruses and huge stage productions.  The Rock and...

There are few rock and rollers in the last 40 years more synonymous with the piano than Elton John and Billy Joel. These iconic singer songwriters have sold over 450 million albums, had 90 top 40 hits between the two of them, and played tons of shows together during their Face to Face tours from 1994 to 2010.  While they are both known for their piano playing, each of them have their own signature...

The Moscow Music Peace Festival was a two-day rock concert held in August 1989.  Held during Mikhail Gorbachev’s period of Glastnost, Russia allowed a handful of western rock and roll acts to perform for the first time in Moscow, and over 100,000 people living in Cold War Soviet Union packed into Central Lenin Station to witness the forbidden fruit of late 80s rock and roll in all of its excess. ...

Get ready to step into the ring as we explore the electrifying tag team of professional wrestling and rock and roll in this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll.  We’re going to take a look at the iconic rock and wrestling era of the late 80s, when the WWF superstars climbed out of the ring and picked up the mic to record TWO albums of them singing: 1985’s The Wrestling Album and 1987s Piledriver...

Chess Records was an independent record label created on the South Side of Chicago in 1950 by two Polish immigrants named Leonard and Phil Chess. As one of the most important blues labels of all time, Chess Records captured the electric sound of the American South and had a huge influence on the early days of rock and roll.  Chess Records helped introduce America to Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Bo D...

Lights, camera…rock and roll! Music plays a huge role in film, and in this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re taking another look at movie soundtracks. Soundtracks have given us some incredibly iconic songs over the last 80 years.  Purple Rain, The Bodyguard, Titanic, Saturday Night Fever, Purple Rain, 8 Mile, Ghostbusters, Footloose, Robin Hood, Judgment Night, Guardians of the Galaxy,...

Get ready to climb into the musical memory machine and take a trip back to 1994 as we revisit the music that came out 30 years ago.  It was a year that defined our generation when Kurt Cobain took his own life. We got important albums like Purple from Stone Temple Pilots, Superunknown by Soundgarden, Sixteen Stone from Bush, Jar of Flies from Alice in Chains, Throwing Copper from Live, and Vitolog...

The Doors were one of the most influential and iconic bands of the 1960s – they built a dark counterculture sound on a foundation of Ray Manzarek’s organ playing that combined elements of poetry, blues, rock and roll, jazz, and psychedelic music.  At the front of it all was their charismatic, volatile, and enigmatic lead singer Jim Morrison. There’s no doubt that he was the embodiment of the whole...

Rock and roll and cars are a classic combination. In fact, the very first rock and roll song, Rocket 88, was about a car.  So get ready to rev your engines and hit the open road because on our next episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we're shifting into high gear and exploring of music about cars. From the rhythmic hum of the engine to the wind in your hair, these tunes capture the essence of t...

We’re rock and rollers at heart here at the Prisoners of Rock and Roll, but we both have a soft spot for Christmas music. In our annual Christmas episode, we decided to hope in a one horse open sleigh and take a trip down memory lane to the classic Christmas songs of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. These are the songs we opened our presents to as kids – and many of them are from artists who were enormously...

Bruce Springsteen has released more than 20 studio albums over the course of his 50-year career, including some of the most iconic rock and roll albums in history.  We’re both huge fans of the Boss here at Prisoners of Rock and Roll, and we unfortunately didn’t get to see him this summer after he canceled part of his tour due to illness.  So in this episode we are taking a close look at we think a...

There were several ambitious projects in the 1980s where the music industry tried to make a difference by raising money to make a difference. One of those projects happened in 1985, when dozens of musicians formed a supergroup called USA for Africa and recorded We Are the World.  Written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and produced by the legendary Quincy Jones, We Are the World included doze...