Deep Dive: An AllMusicBooks Podcast

In Case You Missed It: ”YACHT ROCK” with Greg Prato

Summer = Yacht Rock.

That's a fact. Just what is "yacht rock," you ask? Is it AM gold? Soft, smooth 70s hits, come back to life? We're winding the clock back to Episode 19 so Greg Prato, author "The Yacht Rock Book" can lay it all out for you. Put your sunscreen and Ray Bans on, pop a Corona, and lie back and enjoy!

In Case You Missed It: ”“Selling BEATLES Merchandise in the U.S.: 1964-1966” with Terry Crain

Boy, has the music industry changed! It's almost irrelevant: no radio, no physical product, no sales. But has it?

The Beatles were not only pioneers in music and popular culture, they were also the progenitors of the music merchandise phenomenon, which earned over $50 million in 1965! Author Terry Crain joined us early on to talk Beatles merch and other interesting side treks surrounding this nostalgic and trendsetting era.

”The Ballad of MOTT THE HOOPLE” with Chris Hall

Mott the Hoople was of the most important bands of the late '60s and early ‘70s — the rock act that made a stray Bowie song into an anthem for a generation and beyond, and a singer with recognizable hair and ever-present shades. And Mott The Hoople may be one of the UK’s greatest and most cherished bands, but what of their story?

We speak with Chris Hall, the director of The Ballad of Mott the Hoople, about the feature length documentary that tells the bruised and battered, but triumphant, tale of glam rock ‘n’ rollers Mott The Hoople. The film brings the band's story to life through a stunning combination of rare and unseen archive footage, their magnificent music and the testimony of band members Ian Hunter, Mick Ralphs, and the rest of the crew, plus other associates 'and witnesses, including The Clash's Mick Jones, Queen's Roger Taylor and Mott fan club president and author Kris Needs.

In Case You Missed It: NEW BARBARIANS with Rob Chapman

Equal parts myth and legend, the New Barbarians are one of the greatest bands many people have never heard — or heard of! Put together by Ron Wood, the band featured fellow Stone Keith Richards, the Faces’ Ian MacLagan, sax player Bobby Keys, and a legendary rhythm section of the Meters Ziggy Modeleste and jazz great Stanley Clarke.

If you missed this the first time around, tune in to hear Rob Chapman tell wild and rollicking stories featuring behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the band members, dirt on its famous tour, and background on the widespread influence of the band's music.

”FANNY: The Right To Rock” with Bobbi Jo Hart

Fanny might be one of the most influential bands ever that many people have never heard of. David Bowie called them “one of the most important female bands in American rock,” adding they had been buried without a trace. So who was Fanny?

Bobbi Jo Hart’s documentary Fanny: The Right To Rock examines the first all-female rock band to release an album on a major label. Formed by two Filipina sisters, the Millington’s experienced racism and sexism at an early age, and found a band to be their doorway out. On five albums released by Reprise Records between 1970 and 1974, they rocked as hard as any of their male rock and roll peers. Their story, and Hart’s documentary on Fanny is a truly inspirational and overdue celebration of this hugely influential band.

In Case You Missed It: ”ALICE IN CHAINS: The Untold Story” with David De Sola

Alice In Chains were major players within the burgeoning Seattle scene that would forever change alternative and rock music. They were also one of the most self-destructive. In this early episode, acclaimed journalist David de Sola tells us how drugs nearly destroyed them and claimed the lives of frontman Layne Staley and founding bassist Mike Starr, and the incredible resurrection of the band nearly fifteen years later.

REGGAE COVER ART: ”Stir It Up: Reggae Album Cover Art” and ”The Cover Art of Studio One Records”

"Stir It Up: Reggae Album Cover Art" and "The Album Cover Art of Studio One Records" discuss the evolution, look and style of the the visuals and branding of reggae music. From Calypso, to bluebell rocksteady to roots reggae, and dub to dancehall, the music and visual output of this tiny island is enormous. SteveJ take a look at these two books that deal with two of his all-time favorite topics. Other Steve offers up his wisdom, humor and perhaps some guidance along the way.

Like any genre, there is the good…the bad… and, of course, the ugly. But ultimately, writing about album covers is a bit like dancing about architecture, to steal a phrase. Sometimes you just have to see it to believe it. We cover it all in our latest podcast featuring these two books. 

In Case You Missed It: ELLINGTON & SINATRA IN THE WHITE HOUSE with Edward Faine

Let's go back and take a look at jazz at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Edward Allan Faine pulls back the curtain on the Nixon White House. Was Tricky Dick a jazz fan? After all, he did give Duke Ellington the Medal of Freedom in 1969. Who was in the band and who jammed at the “after-party”? Why did Sinatra almost get canceled, and just who that was playing piano behind some of Pearl Bailey’s set? We’ll touch on some of the more recent President’s and their bands of choice for “the best gig in town!”

JOHNNY THUNDERS: ”Looking For Johnny” with Danny Garcia

Johnny Thunders was the legendary hard-living rock'n'roll guitarist who inspired glam-metal, punk and the New York and London music scene's in general.

Danny Garcia’s documentary film Looking For Johnny examines Johnny Thunders' career from the early 70's as a founding member of the influential New York Dolls; the birth of the punk scene with The Heartbreakers in New York City and London; Gang War and The Oddballs. It also explores Johnny's unique musical style, his personal battle with drugs, and the theories on his death in a New Orleans hotel in 1991 at age 38. 

RECORD STORE DAY: Stereo Jack’s Records with Chris Anzalone

Vinyl is back in a big way. According to Billboard magazine, over 43 million albums were sold in 2022, the 17th consecutive year vinyl album sales grew in the U.S., and the largest year for vinyl album sales since tracking data began in 1991.

"Record Store Day" celebrates independently-owned brick-and-mortar record stores around the world and, this year it will be on April 22. We speak with Chris Anzalone, the owner of Stereo Jack’s Records in Ball Square, Somerville, Ma. about a day for the people who make up the world of the record store —the staff, the customers, and the artists — to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role they play in their communities.