Category The Ten Best Songs By…

The late Tom Petty was a great singles artist – tracks like ‘The Waiting’, ‘Refugee’, and ‘Free Fallin” sound terrific blasting from cars and on classic rock radio. Petty had so many enjoyable hits through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s…

Genesis formed in the 1960s, when Peter Gabriel, Tony Bank, and Mike Rutherford met at Charterhouse School. By 1971, they’d found their classic quintet of vocalist Peter Gabriel, drummer Phil Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist Mike Rutherford, and guitarist Steve…

As I’ve noted on this site before, it’s remarkable how Genesis transformed from a smalltime band to commercial heavyweights. By 1971, they’d found their classic quintet of vocalist Peter Gabriel, drummer Phil Collins, keyboardist Tony Banks, bassist Mike Rutherford, and…

Harry Hosono recruited keyboardist Ryuichi Sakamoto and drummer Yukihiro Takahashi to record a quickie cover of the 1950s exotica tune ‘Firecracker’. The trio quickly became superstars in Japan, and influential elsewhere. The austere electronica of Kraftwerk was a major influence,…

The late Scott Walker was one of the most fascinating artists of the rock era, successful as both a crooner and as an avant-garde composer. Accordingly, this list of Walker favourites is scattershot, ranging from easy listening covers to his…

Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe met in a hi-fi shop in Chelsea in 1981. Tennant had bought a Korg synthesizer and the pair bonded over their shared love of electro-pop singles like ‘Souvenir’ by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and…

James Marshall Hendrix was born in Seattle. After his discharge from the army he became a musician, spending years gigging with acts like Little Richard, Sam Cooke, and Ike & Tina Turner. Despite his immense talent, it wasn’t until he…

The band Television emerged from the same CBGB scene that produced Talking Heads, The Ramones, Blondie, and Patti Smith. The group was started by Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, and drummer Billy Ficca. Verlaine and Ficca were childhood friends, while Hell…

After Hüsker Dü broke up, singer-guitarist Bob Mould dabbled with a solo career. In the wake of Nirvana’s success, he formed a new power trio with bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis. Needing to come up with a band…

Of the indie guitar bands proffered by Dunedin’s Flying Nun label in the 1980s, Straitjacket Fits were the most likely to break through to a mass audience. The Fits were based around two vocalists and songwriters who were an unlikely…

New Jersey’s James Murphy obviously has a terrific record collection – his favourite artists include The Fall, Yes, The B-52’s, David Bowie, and Can. LCD Soundsystem’s music echoes these influences, along with electronic pioneers like New Order and Kraftwerk. Murphy…

With the passing of Judith Durham last week, it felt fitting to look back on the ten best songs from Australian folk band The Seekers. The Melbourne quartet sold more than 50 million records with 1960s hits like ‘I’ll Never…

Manchester post-punk band Joy Division appeared so ordinary – in their music videos they look like four young civil servants playing music in their work clothes. But the music that they created was unique and deeply unsettling. Steven Morris’ drumming…

Don McGlashan had already made an impact on the New Zealand music scene before he formed The Mutton Birds. He was the drummer for the punk-influenced band Blam Blam Blam, remembered for fabulously titled songs ‘There Is No Depression in…

Bassist Ashley Hutchings and rhythm guitarist Simon Nicol formed Fairport Convention in 1967. They named the band after Nicol’s father’s medical practice, above which they rehearsed, on the same Muswell street as the Davies brothers of The Kinks grew up. Lead guitarist…

Judee Sill was a 1970s singer-songwriter from California. Her gentle songs were at odds with her tumultuous lifestyle. She spent time in prison for armed robbery and learnt music while serving as a Church organist at a reform school. She…

Canadian pop treasure Carly Rae Jepsen achieved peak cultural saturation in 2012 with the inescapable hit ‘Call Me Maybe’. ‘Call Me Maybe’ started as an acoustic song, but dressed up with some synth strings and endorsed by Justin Bieber, it was…

Sandy Denny is best-known to rock fans for her guest vocal on Led Zeppelin’s ‘Battle of Evermore’, and her contribution to acclaimed Fairport Convention records like Liege & Lief. But she also carved out a solo career as a singer-songwriter…

Canadian power pop band The New Pornographers are often described as a supergroup. Leader A.C. Newman disputes this, pointing out that neither Dan Bejar’s Destroyer, alt-country vocalist Neko Case, nor his former band Zumpano were famous when the New Pornographers…

The Band started their career backing blues belter Ronnie Hawkins, known as The Hawks. They then backed Bob Dylan on his controversial 1966 tour. Recording The Basement Tapes with Dylan at Woodstock, The Band started writing their own material. Their…

Hertfordshire band The Zombies endured a somewhat erratic career in the 1960s. They enjoyed early hits with ‘She’s Not There’ and ‘Tell Her No’. It took, however, three years to record another album after 1965’s debut Begin Here. Discouraged by…

The four original Eagles played their first gig together at Disneyland, supporting Linda Ronstadt. Starting as a country-rock outfit, they became one of the most commercially successful bands of the 1970s – their 1976 compilation Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) is…

Detroit’s Marshall Crenshaw started playing the guitar at age ten. At high school he started the band Astigfa – an acronym for “a splendid time is guaranteed for all”, a lyric from The Beatles’ /Being For The Benefit of Mr…