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The Week In Music: GRAMMY Aftermath

Double-platinum follow-ups, Twitter hoaxes, eggs, and hooligans in wonderland lead the high-octane post-GRAMMY installment of The Week In Music

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

After winning big at Sunday's 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards, Lady Antebellum is already looking forward. The group's first thought after winning the coveted Record Of The Year? "We got a lot of work to do!" Charles Kelley told ABC News Radio. Lady A has already been hard at work on their follow-up to the double-platinum smash Need You Now, which also spawned wins for Song Of The Year, Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, Best Country Song, and Best Country Album. "We're about halfway done, and we feel really great about what we've done so far," Kelley said regarding the new album. "[The GRAMMYs] inspired us and did put a little extra pressure in a good way of like, 'OK, this is our moment to really take this thing and make a great record." Will the new album tell us what happens at half past 2 a.m.? Stay tuned. And until then, you can catch Lady A on the road in a town near you.

Blues legend Pinetop Perkins added another award to his mantle in picking up Best Traditional Blues Album honors with Willie "Big Eyes" Smith for Joined At The Hip. He also made a little history in the process. At 97 years old, Perkins, who won a GRAMMY in the same category in 2007 and received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005, became the oldest person to ever win a GRAMMY, edging out comedian George Burns. How did Pinetop celebrate? By sleeping in. "He was very excited about winning. I think it all came crashing down. We had to tuck him in last night," said Patricia Morgan, Perkins' manager.

Though comedian Kathy Griffin didn't pick up the GRAMMY for Best Comedy Album this past Sunday, she already has her sights set somewhere else: Broadway. "While I have been asked to understudy for 'Spider-Man' and take over for Al [Pacino] when he has finished his run in 'The Merchant Of Venice,' instead I have decided to take my very own show to Broadway," joked Griffin. "Kathy Griffin Wants A Tony" is scheduled to run at the Belasco Theater in New York in March and will feature "fresh material due to the revolving door of pop culture, political and celebrity missteps." Griffin, who is a two-time Emmy winner, has received two prior GRAMMY nominations for Best Comedy Album. Those looking to get a pre-Broadway Griffin fix can watch her on the "f***ing high-octane" GRAMMY Pre-Telecast Ceremony, where she presented 13 awards and plenty of fresh material to boot.

Fresh off a trance-inducing performance and three GRAMMY wins, Lady Gaga is taking her monster act to HBO. The cable network announced that two of Gaga's upcoming concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden will be taped for a concert special to air May 7. Will the GRAMMY red-carpet egg make an appearance? HBO says the Lady will showcase some brand-new moves for the special, maybe she'll perform rolled in an omelet. In related Gaga news, her new single "Born This Way" cracked the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the 1000th No. 1 single in the chart's 52-year history. Now that's not something to yolk about.

Justin Bieber may have just missed taking home GRAMMY gold for Best New Artist, but the enthusiasm and dedication of his fans is still unfailing. Following Sunday's GRAMMY telecast, which saw the coveted trophy go to jazz artist Esperanza Spalding, Bieber fans came out in droves to express their disappointment, namely via such sites as Wikipedia and YouTube. One group of individuals, no doubt conflicted with a severe case of Bieber Fever, took to Spalding's Wikipedia page to make a few alterations, changing her middle name to "Justin," then to "Quesedilla," and adding lines such as, "She now has the 2011 GRAMMY for being the Best New Artist! Even though no one has ever heard of her! Yay!" What does the Bieb think? Appearing on "Chelsea Lately" on Monday, the young gun admitted he's disappointed over his loss, but really excited for Spalding. "She's worked hard," said Bieber. Bieber also had a few thoughts on his fellow GRAMMY performers' red-carpet attire, namely Lady Gaga. "People say it's artistic and stuff," said Bieber. "I'm just like, 'You're an egg.'"

Following his spirited GRAMMY performance in an In Memoriam tribute to the late Solomon Burke, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger became the latest victim of a Twitter hoax. On Wednesday "RIP Mick Jagger" became a top trending topic, which was started following a tweet by radio DJ Peter Rosenberg: "wait i thought this was for actual dead people...not the living dead RIP Mick Jagger ..." Jagger joins the illustrious company of Bieber, Aretha Franklin and Charlie Sheen, who have also been subjected to similar Twitter tomfoolery. Thankfully, judging by his energy and the speed at which he whipped off his cloak this past Sunday, Mick is very much alive.

Know any hooligans looking to visit wondaland? We thought so. GRAMMY winner Bruno Mars and GRAMMY nominee Janelle Monáe are teaming for a U.S. run this summer, dubbed the Hooligans In Wondaland tour. Judging by their memorable performance this past Sunday, in which Mars led a retro remix of "Grenade" and Monáe crowd-surfed through her "Cold War," there will be plenty of doo-wop, soul and R&B to go around. Before the duo kicks off the Mars/ Monáe madness, each artist will stage their own respective European tours in the coming weeks, with Monáe starting in Brussels Feb. 20 and Mars beginning in Berlin on Mar. 3.

The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary down on the farm in style June 9–12 in Manchester, Tenn. The bill will feature approximately 50 acts, including a reunited Buffalo Springfield featuring Neil Young, who won the second GRAMMY of his career for Best Rock Song for "Angry World" this past Sunday. Fellow 53rd GRAMMY winners Arcade Fire, Ryan Bingham (this time paired with his band the Dead Horses), the Black Keys, Eminem, and Mavis Staples are also scheduled to perform. The bill will also feature past GRAMMY winners Big Boi, Alison Krauss & Union Station and Loretta Lynn.

Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" is No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and iTunes singles chart.

Any news we've missed? Comment below.

For the latest GRAMMY news, visit us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Need more GRAMMY content? View photos, videos, blogs, and news from GRAMMY Week.

Two Weeks Ago In Music
 

4 Reasons Why Eminem's 'The Slim Shady LP' Is One Of The Most Influential Rap Records
Eminem

Photo: Sal Idriss/Redferns/GettyImages

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4 Reasons Why Eminem's 'The Slim Shady LP' Is One Of The Most Influential Rap Records

Eminem’s major label debut, 'The Slim Shady LP,' turns 25 on Feb. 23. The album left an indelible imprint on hip-hop, and introduced the man who would go on to be the biggest-selling artist of any genre in the ensuing decade.

GRAMMYs/Feb 23, 2024 - 03:44 pm

A quarter century has passed since the mainstream music world was first introduced to a bottle-blonde enfant terrible virtuoso who grabbed everyone’s attention and wouldn’t let go

But enough about Christina Aguilera.

Just kidding. Another artist also exploded into stardom in 1999 — one who would become a big enough pop star, despite not singing a note, that he would soon be feuding with Xtina. Eminem’s biting major label debut The Slim Shady LP turns 25 on Feb. 23. While it was Eminem's second release, the album was the first taste most rap fans got of the man who would go on to be the biggest-selling artist in any genre during the ensuing decade. It also left an indelible imprint on hip-hop.

The Slim Shady LP is a record of a rapper who was white (still a comparative novelty back in 1999), working class and thus seemingly from a different universe than many mainstream rappers in the "shiny suit era." And where many of those contemporaries were braggadocious, Eminem was the loser in his rhymes more often than he was the winner. In fact, he talked so much about his real-life childhood bully on the album that the bully ended up suing him.  

It was also a record that played with truth and identity in ways that would become much more difficult once Em became world famous. Did he mean the outrageous things he was saying? Where were the knowing winks, and where were they absent? The guessing games that the album forced listeners to play were thrilling — and made all the more intense by his use of three personas (Marshall Mathers the person; Eminem the battle rapper; and Slim Shady the unhinged alter ego) that bled into each other.

And, of course, there was the rhyming. Eminem created a dizzying array of complicated compound rhymes and assonances, even finding time to rhyme "orange" — twice. (If you’re playing at home, he paired "foreign tools" with "orange juice" and "ignoring skill" with "orange bill.")

While the above are reason enough to revisit this classic album, pinpointing The Slim Shady LP's influence is a more complicated task. Other records from that year — releases from Jay-Z, Nas, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, and even the Ruff Ryders compilation Ryde or Die Vol. 1 — have a more direct throughline to the state of mainstream rap music today. So much of SSLP, on the other hand, is tied into Eminem’s particular personality and position. This makes Slim Shady inimitable; there aren’t many mainstream rappers complaining about their precarious minimum wage job, as Em does on "If I Had." (By the time of his next LP, Em had gone triple-platinum and couldn’t complain about that again himself.)

But there are aspects of SSLP that went on to have a major impact. Here are a few of the most important ones.

It Made Space For Different Narratives In Hip-Hop

Before Kanye rapped about working at The Gap, Eminem rapped about working at a burger joint. The Slim Shady LP opened up space for different narratives in mainstream rap music. 

The Slim Shady LP didn't feature typical rags-to-riches stories, tales of living the high life or stories from the street. Instead, there were bizarre trailer-park narratives (in fact, Eminem was living in a trailer months after the record was released), admissions of suicidal ideation ("That’s why I write songs where I die at the end," he explained on "Cum on Everybody"), memories of a neglectful mother, and even a disturbing story-song about dumping the corpse of his baby’s mother, rapped to his actual child (who cameos on the song). 

Marshall Mathers’ life experience was specific, of course, but every rapper has a story of their own. The fact that this one found such a wide audience demonstrated that audiences would accept tales with unique perspectives. Soon enough, popular rappers would be everything from middle-class college dropouts to theater kids and teen drama TV stars.

The Album Explored The Double-Edged Sword Of The White Rapper

Even as late in the game as 1999, being a white rapper was still a comparative novelty. There’s a reason that Em felt compelled to diss pretty much every white rapper he could think of on "Just Don’t Give a F—," and threatened to rip out Vanilla Ice’s dreadlocks on "Role Model": he didn’t want to be thought of like those guys. 

"People don't have a problem with white rappers now because Eminem ended up being the greatest artist," Kanye West said in 2015. You can take the "greatest artist" designation however you like, but it’s very true that Eminem’s success meant a categorical change in the status of white rappers in the mainstream.

This turned out to be a mixed blessing. While the genre has not, as some feared, turned into a mostly-white phenomenon, America’s racial disparities are often played out in the way white rappers are treated. Sales aside, they have more room to maneuver artistically — playing with different genres while insulting rap a la Post Malone,  or even changing styles completely like Machine Gun Kelly — to commercial approbation. Black artists who attempt similar moves are frequently met with skepticism or disinterest (see André 3000’s New Blue Sun rollout, which was largely spent explaining why the album features no rapping). 

Sales are worth speaking about, too. As Eminem has repeatedly said in song, no small amount of his popularity comes from his race — from the fact that white audiences could finally buy music from a rapper who looked like them. This was, as he has also bemusedly noted, the exact opposite of how his whiteness worked for him before his fame, when it was a barrier to being taken seriously as a rapper. 

For better, worse, or somewhere in between, the sheer volume of white rappers who are currently in the mainstream is largely traceable to the world-beating success of The Slim Shady LP.

It Was Headed Towards An Odd Future

SSLP laid groundwork for the next generation of unconventional rappers, including Tyler, the Creator.

Tyler is a huge Eminem fan. He’s said that listening to Em’s SSLP follow-up The Marshall Mathers LP was "how I learned to rap." And he’s noted that Em’s Relapse was "one of the greatest albums to me." 

"I just wanted to rap like Eminem on my first two albums," he once told GQ. More than flow, the idea of shocking people, being alternately angry and vulnerable, and playing with audience reaction is reflected heavily on Tyler’s first two albums, Goblin and Wolf. That is the template The Slim Shady LP set up. While Tyler may have graduated out of that world and moved on to more mature things, it was following Em’s template that first gained him wide notice. 

Eminem Brought Heat To Cold Detroit

The only guest artist to spit a verse on The Slim Shady LP is Royce da 5’9". This set the template for the next few years of Eminem’s career: Detroit, and especially his pre-fame crew from that city, would be his focus. There was his duo with Royce, Bad Meets Evil, whose pre-SSLP single of "Nuttin’ to Do"/"Scary Movies" would get renewed attention once those same two rappers had a duet, smartly titled "Bad Meets Evil," appear on a triple-platinum album. And of course there was the group D12, five Detroit rappers including his best friend Proof, with whom Eminem would release a whole album at the height of his fame.

This was not the only mainstream rap attention Detroit received in the late 1990s. For one thing, legendary producer James "J Dilla" Yancey, was a native of the city. But Eminem’s explosion helped make way for rappers in the city, even ones he didn’t know personally, to get attention. 

The after-effects of the Eminem tsunami can still be seen. Just look at the rise of so-called "scam rap" over the past few years. Or the success of artists like Babyface Ray, Kash Doll, 42 Dugg, and Veeze. They may owe little to Em artistically, but they admit that he’s done great things for the city — even if they may wish he was a little less reclusive these days

Is Eminem's "Stan" Based On A True Story? 10 Facts You Didn't Know About The GRAMMY-Winning Rapper

17 Love Songs That Have Won GRAMMYs: "I Will Always Love You," "Drunk In Love" & More
(L-R) Usher and Alicia Keys during the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show.

Photo: L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

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17 Love Songs That Have Won GRAMMYs: "I Will Always Love You," "Drunk In Love" & More

Over the GRAMMYs' 66-year history, artists from Frank Sinatra to Ed Sheeran have taken home golden gramophones for their heartfelt tunes. Take a look at some of the love songs that have won GRAMMYs.

GRAMMYs/Feb 14, 2024 - 09:42 pm

Editor's Note: This is an update to a story from 2017.

Without heart-bursting, world-shifting love songs, music wouldn't be the same. There are countless classic and chart-topping hits dedicated to love, and several of them have won GRAMMYs.

We're not looking at tunes that merely deal with shades of love or dwell in heartbreak. We're talking out-and-out, no-holds-barred musical expressions of affection — the kind of love that leaves you wobbly at the knees.

No matter how you're celebrating Valentine's Day (or not), take a look at 18 odes to that feel-good, mushy-gushy love that have taken home golden gramophones over the years.

Frank Sinatra, "Strangers In The Night"

Record Of The Year / Best Vocal Performance, Male, 1967

Ol' Blue Eyes offers but a glimmer of hope for the single crowd on Valentine's Day, gently ruminating about exchanging glances with a stranger and sharing love before the night is through.

Willie Nelson, "Always On My Mind"

Best Country Vocal Performance, Male, 1983

In this cover, Nelson sings to the woman in his life, lamenting over those small things he should have said and done, but never took the time. Don't find yourself in the same position this Valentine's Day.

Lionel Richie, "Truly"

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, 1983

"Truly" embodies true dedication to a loved one, and it's delivered with sincerity from the king of '80s romantic pop — who gave life to the timeless love-song classics "Endless Love," "Still" and "Three Times A Lady."

Roy Orbison, "Oh, Pretty Woman"

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, 1991

Orbison captures the essence of encountering a lovely woman for the first time, and offers helpful one-liners such as "No one could look as good as you" and "I couldn't help but see … you look as lovely as can be." Single men, take notes.

Whitney Houston, "I Will Always Love You"

Record Of The Year, Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, 1994

Houston passionately delivers a message of love, remembrance and forgiveness on her version of this song, which was written by country sweetheart Dolly Parton and first nominated for a GRAMMY in 1982.

Celine Dion, "My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme From Titanic)"  

Record Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, 1999

This omnipresent theme song from the 1997 film Titanic was propelled to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 as the story of Jack and Rose (played by Leonardo DiCaprio and GRAMMY winner Kate Winslet) swept the country.

Shania Twain, "You're Still The One"

Best Female Country Vocal Performance, Best Country Song, 1999

Co-written with producer and then-husband Mutt Lange, Twain speaks of beating the odds with love and perseverance in lyrics such as, "I'm so glad we made it/Look how far we've come my baby," offering a fresh coat of optimism for couples of all ages.

Usher & Alicia Keys, "My Boo"

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals, 2005

"There's always that one person that will always have your heart," sings Usher in this duet with Keys, taking the listener back to that special first love. The chemistry between the longtime friends makes this ode to “My Boo” even more heartfelt, and the love was still palpable even 20 years later when they performed it on the Super Bowl halftime show stage.

Bruno Mars, "Just The Way You Are"

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, 2011

Dating advice from Bruno Mars: If you think someone is beautiful, you should tell them every day. Whether or not it got Mars a date for Valentine's Day, it did get him a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona, "Fool For You" 

Best Traditional R&B Performance, 2012

It's a far cry from his previous GRAMMY-winning song, "F*** You," but "Fool For You" had us yearning for "that deep, that burning/ That amazing unconditional, inseparable love."

Justin Timberlake, "Pusher Love Girl" 

Best R&B Song, 2014

Timberlake is so high on the love drug he's "on the ceiling, baby." Timberlake co-wrote the track with James Fauntleroy, Jerome Harmon and Timbaland, and it's featured on his 2013 album The 20/20 Experience, which flew high to No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Beyoncé & Jay-Z, "Drunk In Love"

Best R&B Performance / Best R&B Song, 2015

While "Drunk In Love" wasn't the first love song that won Beyoncé and Jay-Z a GRAMMY — they won two GRAMMYs for "Crazy In Love" in 2004 — it is certainly the sexiest. This quintessential 2010s bop from one of music's most formidable couples captures why their alliance set the world's hearts aflame (and so did their steamy GRAMMYs performance of it).

Ed Sheeran, "Thinking Out Loud"

Song Of The Year / Best Pop Solo Performance, 2016

Along with his abundant talent, Sheeran's boy-next-door charm is what rocketed him to the top of the pop ranks. And with swooning lyrics and a waltzing melody, "Thinking Out Loud" is proof that he's a modern-day monarch of the love song.

Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper, "Shallow"

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance / Best Song Written For Visual Media, 2019

A Star is Born's cachet has gone up and down with its various remakes, but the 2018 iteration was a smash hit. Not only is that thanks to moving performances from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, but particularly thanks to their impassioned, belt-along duet "Shallow."

H.E.R. & Daniel Caesar, "Best Part"

Best R&B Performance, 2019

"If life is a movie/ Know you're the best part." Who among us besotted hasn't felt their emotions so widescreen, so thunderous? Clearly, H.E.R. and Daniel Caesar have — and they poured that feeling into the GRAMMY-winning ballad "Best Part."

Kacey Musgraves, "Butterflies"

Best Country Solo Performance, 2019

As Musgraves' Album Of The Year-winning LP Golden Hour shows, the country-pop star can zoom in or out at will, capturing numberless truths about the human experience. With its starry-eyed lyrics and swirling production, "Butterflies" perfectly encapsulates the flutter in your stomach that love can often spark.

Dan + Shay & Justin Bieber, "10,000 Hours"

Best Country Duo/Group Performance, 2021

When country hook-meisters Dan + Shay teamed up with pop phenom Justin Bieber, their love song powers were unstoppable. With more than 1 billion Spotify streams alone, "10,000 Hours" has become far more than an ode to just their respective wives; it's an anthem for any lover.

Lovesick Or Sick Of Love: Listen To GRAMMY.com's Valentine's Day Playlist Featuring Taylor Swift, Doja Cat, Playboi Carti, Olivia Rodrigo, FKA Twigs & More

21 Albums Turning 50 In 2024: 'Diamond Dogs,' 'Jolene,' 'Natty Dread' & More

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21 Albums Turning 50 In 2024: 'Diamond Dogs,' 'Jolene,' 'Natty Dread' & More

Dozens of albums were released in 1974 and, 50 years later, continue to stand the test of time. GRAMMY.com reflects on 21 records that demand another look and are guaranteed to hook first-time listeners.

GRAMMYs/Jan 5, 2024 - 04:08 pm

Despite claims by surveyed CNN readers, 1974 was not a year marked by bad music. The Ramones played their first gig. ABBA won Eurovision with the earworm "Waterloo," which became an international hit and launched the Swedes to stardom. Those 365 days were marked by chart-topping debuts, British bangers and prog-rock dystopian masterpieces. Disenchantment, southern pride, pencil thin mustaches and tongue-in-cheek warnings to "not eat yellow snow" filled the soundwaves.  

1974 was defined by uncertainty and chaos following a prolonged period of crisis. The ongoing OPEC oil embargo and the resulting energy shortage caused skyrocketing inflation, exacerbating the national turmoil that preceded President Nixon’s resignation following the Watergate scandal. Other major events also shaped the zeitgeist: Stephen King published his first novel, Carrie, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman slugged it out for the heavyweight title at "The Rumble in the Jungle," and People Magazine published its first issue. 

Musicians reflected a general malaise. Themes of imprisonment, disillusionment and depression — delivered with sardonic wit and sarcasm — found their way on many of the records released that year. The mood reflects a few of the many reasons these artistic works still resonate.  

From reggae to rock, cosmic country to folk fused with jazz, to the introduction of a new Afro-Trinidadian music style, take a trip back 18,262 days to recall 20 albums celebrating their 50th anniversaries in 2024. 

Joni Mitchell - Court & Spark

Joni Mitchell’s Court & Spark is often hailed as the pinnacle of her artistic career and highlights the singer/songwriter’s growing interest in jazz, backed by a who’s who of West Coast session musicians including members of the Crusaders and L.A. Express. 

As her most commercially successful record, the nine-time GRAMMY winner presents a mix of playful and somber songs. In an introspective tone, Mitchell searches for freedom from the shackles of big-city life and grapples with the complexities of love lost and found. The record went platinum — it hit No.1 on the Billboard charts in her native Canada and No. 2 in the U.S., received three GRAMMY nominations and featured a pair of hits: "Help Me" (her only career Top 10) and "Free Man in Paris," an autobiographical song about music mogul David Geffen.

Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown

In 2023 we lost legendary songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. He left behind a treasure trove of country-folk classics, several featured on his album Sundown. These songs resonated deeply with teenagers who came of age in the early to mid-1970s — many sang along in their bedrooms and learned to strum these storied songs on acoustic guitars. 

Recorded in Toronto, at Eastern Sound Studios, the album includes the only No.1 Billboard topper of the singer/songwriter’s career. The title cut, "Sundown," speaks of "a hard-loving woman, got me feeling mean" and hit No. 1 on both the pop and the adult contemporary charts. 

In Canada, the album hit No.1 on the RPM Top 100 in and stayed there for five consecutive weeks. A second single, "Carefree Highway," peaked at the tenth spot on the Billboard Hot 100, but hit No.1 on the Easy Listening charts.

Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Boulevard

Eric Clapton’s 461 Ocean Boulevard sold more than two million copies worldwide. His second solo studio record followed a three-year absence while Clapton battled heroin addiction. The record’s title is the address where "Slowhand" stayed in the Sunshine State while recording this record at Miami’s Criteria Studios. 

A mix of blues, funk and soulful rock, only two of the 10 songs were penned by the Englishman. Clapton’s cover of Bob Marley’s "I Shot the Sheriff," was a massive hit for the 17-time GRAMMY winner and the only No.1 of his career, eclipsing the Top 10 in nine countries. In 2003, the guitar virtuoso’s version of the reggae song was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping

No sophomore slump here. This "second helping" from these good ole boys is a serious serving of classic southern rock ‘n’ roll with cupfuls of soul. Following the commercial success of their debut the previous year, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s second studio album featured the band’s biggest hit: "Sweet Home Alabama." 

The anthem is a celebration of Southern pride; it was written in response to two Neil Young songs ("Alabama" and "Southern Man") that critiqued the land below the Mason-Dixon line. The song was the band’s only Top 10, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Top 100. Recorded primarily at the Record Plant in Los Angeles, other songs worth a second listen here include: the swampy cover of J.J. Cale's "Call Me The Breeze," the boogie-woogie foot-stomper "Don’t Ask Me No Questions" and the country-rocker "The Ballad of Curtis Loew." 

Bad Company - Bad Company

A little bit of blues, a token ballad, and plenty of hard-edged rock, Bad Company released a dazzling self-titled debut album. The English band formed from the crumbs left behind by a few other British groups: ex-Free band members including singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke, former King Crimson member bassist Boz Burrel, and guitarist Mick Ralphs from Mott the Hoople. 

Certified five-times platinum, Bad Company hit No.1 on the Billboard 200 and No. 3 in the UK, where it spent 25 weeks. Recorded at Ronnie Lane’s Mobile Studio, the album was the first record released on Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label. Five of the eight tracks were in regular FM rotation throughout 1974; "Bad Company," "Can’t Get Enough" and "Ready for Love" remain staples of classic rock radio a half century later. 

Supertramp - Crime of the Century

"Dreamer, you know you are a dreamer …" sings Supertramp’s lead singer Roger Hodgson on the first single from their third studio album. The infectious B-side track "Bloody Well Right," became even more popular than fan favorite, "Dreamer." 

The British rockers' dreams of stardom beyond England materialized with Crime of the Century. The album fused prog-rock with pop and hit all the right notes leading to the band’s breakthrough in several countries — a Top 5 spot in the U.S. and a No.1 spot in Canada where it stayed for more than two years and sold more than two million copies. A live version of "Dreamer," released six years later, was a Top 20 hit in the U.S. 

Big Star - Radio City

As one of the year’s first releases, the reception for this sophomore effort from American band Big Star was praised by critics despite initial lukewarm sales (which were due largely to distribution problems). Today, the riveting record by these Memphis musicians is considered a touchstone of power pop; its melodic stylings influenced many indie rock bands in the 1980s and 1990s, including R.E.M. and the Replacements. One of Big Star’s biggest songs, "September Gurls," appears here and was later covered by The Bangles. 

In a review, American rock critic Robert Christgau, called the record "brilliant and addictive." He wrote: "The harmonies sound like the lead sheets are upside down and backwards, the guitar solos sound like screwball readymade pastiches, and the lyrics sound like love is strange, though maybe that's just the context." 

The Eagles - On the Border

The third studio record from California harmonizers, the Eagles, shows the band at a crossroads — evolving ever so slightly from acoustically-inclined country-folk to a more distinct rock ‘n’ roll sound. On the Border marks the studio debut for band member Don Felder. His contributions and influence are seen through his blistering guitar solos, especially in the chart-toppers "Already Gone" and "James Dean." 

On the Border sold two million copies, driven by the chart topping ballad "Best of My Love" — the Eagles first No.1 hit song. The irony: the song was one of only two singles Glyn Johns produced at Olympic Studios in London. Searching for that harder-edged sound, the band hired Bill Szymczyk to produce the rest of the record at the Record Plant in L.A. 

Jimmy Buffett - Livin’ and Dyin in ¾ Time & A1A

Back in 1974, 28-year-old Jimmy Buffett was just hitting his stride. Embracing the good life, Buffett released not just one, but two records that year. Don Grant produced both albums that were the final pair in what is dubbed Buffett’s "Key West phase" for the Florida island city where the artist hung his hat during these years.

The first album, Livin’ and Dyin’ in ¾ Time, was released in February and recorded at Woodland Sound Studio in Nashville, Tennessee. It featured the ballad "Come Monday," which hit No. 30 on the Hot 100 and "Pencil Thin Mustache," a concert staple and Parrothead favorite. A1A arrived in December and hit No. 25 on the Billboard 200 charts. The most beloved songs here are "A Pirate Looks at Forty" and "Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season." 

Buffett embarked on a tour and landed some plume gigs, including opening slots for two other artists on this list: Frank Zappa and Lynyrd Skynyrd. 

Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

Following a successful tour of Europe and North America for their 1973 album, Selling England by the Pound, Genesis booked a three-month stay at the historic Headley Grange in Hampshire, a former workhouse. In this bucolic setting, the band led by frontman Peter Gabriel, embarked on a spiritual journey of self discovery that evolved organically through improvisational jams and lyric-writing sessions. 

This period culminated in a rock opera and English prog-rockers’s magnum opus, a double concept album that follows the surreal story of a Puerto Rican con man named Rael. Songs are rich with American imagery, purposely placed to appeal to this growing and influential fan base across the pond. 

This album marked the final Genesis record with Gabriel at the helm. The divisiveness between the lyricist, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks came to a head during tense recording sessions and led to Gabriel’s departure from the band to pursue a solo career, following a 102-date tour to promote the record. The album reached tenth spot on the UK album charts and hit 41 in the U.S. 

David Bowie - Diamond Dogs

Is Ziggy Stardust truly gone? With David Bowie, the direction of his creative muse was always a mystery, as illustrated by his diverse musical legacy. What is clear is that Bowie’s biographers agree that this self-produced album is one of his finest works. 

At the point of producing Diamond Dogs, the musical chameleon and art-rock outsider had disbanded the band Spiders from Mars and was at a crossroads. His plans for a musical based on the Ziggy character and TV adaptation of George Orwell’s "1984" both fell through. In a place of uncertainty and disenchantment, Bowie creates a new persona: Halloween Jack. The record is lyrically bleak and evokes hopelessness. It marks the final chapter in his glam-rock period — "Rebel Rebel" is the swaggering single that hints at the coming punk-rock movement. 

Bob Marley - Natty Dread

Bob Marley’s album "Natty Dread," released first in Jamaica in October 1974 later globally in 1975, marked his first record without his Rastafari brethren in song Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. It also introduced the back-up vocal stylings of the I Threes (Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths.) 

The poet and the prophet Marley waxes on spiritual themes with songs like "So Jah Seh/Natty Dread'' and political commentary with tracks,"Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)" and "Rebel Music (3 O’clock Road Block)." The album also Includes one of the reggae legend’s best-loved songs, the ballad "No Woman No Cry," which paints a picture of "government yards in Trenchtown" where Marley’s feet are his "only carriage." 

Queen - Sheer Heart Attack

The third studio album released by the British rockers, Queen, is a killer. The first single, "Killer Queen," reached No. 2 on the British charts — and was the band’s first U.S. charting single. The record also peaked at No.12 in the U.S. Billboard albums charts. 

This record shows the four-time GRAMMY nominees evolving and shifting from progressive to glam rock. The album features one of the most legendary guitar solos and riffs in modern rock by Brian May on "Brighton Rock." Clocking in at three minutes, the noodling showcases the musician’s talent via his use of multi-tracking and delays to great effect. 

Randy Newman - Good Old Boys

Most recognize seven-time GRAMMY winner Randy Newman for his work on Hollywood blockbuster scores. But, in the decade before composing and scoring movie soundtracks, the songwriter wrote and recorded several albums. Good Old Boys was Newman’s fourth studio effort and his first commercial breakthrough, peaking at No. 36 on the Billboard charts. 

The concept record, rich in sarcasm and wit, requires a focused listen to grasp the nuances of Newman’s savvy political and social commentary. The album relies on a fictitious narrator, Johnny Cutler, to aid the songwriter in exploring themes like "Rednecks" and ingrained generational racism in the South. "Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)" is as relevant today as when Newman penned it as a direct letter to Richard Nixon. Malcolm Gladwell described this record as "unsettling" and a "perplexing work of music." 

Frank Zappa - Apostrophe

Rolling Stone once hailed Frank Zappa’s Apostrophe as "truly a mother of an album." The album cover itself, featuring Zappa’s portrait, seems to challenge listeners to delve into his eccentric musical universe. Apostrophe was the sixth solo album and the 19th record of the musician’s prolific career. The album showcases Zappa’s tight and talented band, his trademark absurdist humor and what Hunter S. Thompson described as "bad craziness."  

Apostrophe was the biggest commercial success of Zappa’s career. The record peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Top 200. The A-side leads off with a four-part suite of songs that begins with "Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow" and ends with "Father Oblivion," a tale of an Eskimo named Nanook. The track "Uncle Remus," tackles systemic racism in the U.S. with dripping irony. In less than three minutes, Zappa captures what many politicians can’t even begin to explain. Musically, Apostrophe is rich in riffs from the two-time GRAMMY winner that showcases his exceptional guitar skills in the title track that features nearly six minutes of noodling.

Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel

Grievous Angel can be summed up in one word: haunting. Recorded in 1973 during substance-fueled summer sessions in Hollywood, the album was released posthumously after Gram Parsons died of a drug overdose at 26. Grievous Angel featured only two new songs that Parsons’ penned hastily in the studio "In My Hour of Darkness" and "Return of the Grievous Angel." 

This final work by the cosmic cowboy comprises nine songs that have since come to define Parson’s short-lived legacy to the Americana canon. The angelic voice of Emmylou Harris looms large — the 13-time GRAMMY winner sings harmony and backup vocals throughout. Other guests include: guitarists James Burton and Bernie Leadon, along with Linda Ronstadt’s vocals on "In My Hour of Darkness." 

Neil Young - On The Beach

On the Beach, along with Tonight’s the Night (recorded in 1973, but not released until 1975) rank as Neil Young’s darkest records. Gone are the sunny sounds of Harvest, replaced with the singer/songwriter’s bleak and mellow meditations on being alone and alienated. 

"Ambulance Blues" is the centerpiece. The nine-minute track takes listeners on a journey back to Young’s "old folkie days" when the "Riverboat was rockin’ in the rain '' referencing lament and pining for time and things lost. The heaviness and gloom are palpable throughout the album, with the beach serving as an extended metaphor for Young’s malaise. 

Dolly Parton - Jolene

Imagine writing not just one, but two iconic classics in the same day. That’s exactly what Dolly Parton did with two tracks featured on this album. The first is the titular song, "Jolene," recorded  at RCA Studio B in Nashville. The song has been covered by more than a dozen artists. 

Released as the first single the previous fall, "Jolene," rocketed to No.1 on the U.S. country charts and garnered the 10-time GRAMMY winner her first Top 10 in the U.K. The song was nominated for a GRAMMY in 1975 and again in 1976 for Best Country Vocal Performance. However, it didn’t take home the golden gramophone until 2017, when a cover by the Pentatonix featuring Parton won a GRAMMY for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. 

Also included on this album is "I Will Always Love You," a song that Whitney Houston famously covered in 1992 for the soundtrack of the romantic thriller, The Bodyguard, earning Parton significant royalties. 

Barry White - Can’t Get Enough

The distinctive bass-baritone of two-time GRAMMY winner Barry White, is unmistakable. The singer/songwriter's sensual, deep vocal delivery is as loved today as it was then. On this record, White is backed by the 40-member strong Love Unlimited Orchestra, one of the best-selling artists of all-time. 

White wrote "Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe," about his wife during a sleepless night. This song is still played everywhere — from bedrooms to bar rooms, even 50 years on. In the U.S., the record hit the top of the R&B pop charts and No.1 on the Billboard 200. Although the album features only seven songs, two of them, including "You’re the First, the Last, My Everything" reached the top spot on the R&B charts. 

Lord Shorty - Endless Vibrations

Lord Shorty, born Garfield Blackman, is considered the godfather and inventor of soca music. This Trindadian musician revolutionized his nation’s Calypso rhythms, creating a vibrant up-tempo style that became synonymous with their world-renowned Carnival. 

Fusing Indian percussion instrumentation with well-established African calypso rhythms, Lord Shorty created what he originally dubbed "sokah," meaning, "calypso soul." The term soca, as it’s known today, emerged because of a journalist’s altered writing of the word, which stuck. The success of this crossover hit made waves across North America and made the island vibrations more accessible outside the island nation. 

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Songbook: The Rolling Stones' Seven-Decade Journey To 'Hackney Diamonds'
The Rolling Stones

Photos (L-R): Mark Seliger, Kevin Mazur/WireImage, Tom Hill/WireImage, Mark and Colleen Hayward/Redferns

Songbook: The Rolling Stones' Seven-Decade Journey To 'Hackney Diamonds'

Artistically, the Rolling Stones are back in business, with their first album of original material in 18 years — including a GRAMMY-nominated single. If you've gotten the bug for the first time in a while, here's a crash course on their recorded history.

GRAMMYs/Jan 5, 2024 - 02:40 pm

What is it like to listen to new Rolling Stones music in 2024? You might think of overabundant slickness ,everything-to-everyone commerciality, a sense of rock-by-committee. But if your immediate association with the band is their status as an industry unto themselves — with the music as an afterthought — then you may not know the Rolling Stones.

"This is a performance-based record; this is live. That's why it speeds up and slows down and pushes and pulls — the only way the Stones should be." That's what GRAMMY-winning producer Andrew Watt — the "sprightly young fellow" that Paul McCartney recommended to the band — told Rolling Stone of the Stones' new album, Hackney Diamonds.

But it goes deeper than that. In a scathing review of Hackney Diamonds, Pitchfork declared the Stones to "gleam like sickly wax figures. Jagger, terrifyingly, has never sounded so youthful." Has Jagger been rendered animatronic? A resounding no — at 80, he simply remains a force of nature — as do his fellow surviving Stones, guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood.

"I've never seen anybody push themselves to the level that this guy pushed himself to in the studio," Watt continued to Rolling Stone. "He never left a vocal without a full deep sweat, putting every single thing he had into it every time." Best of all, this wasn't in the pursuit of perfection, but a beautiful racket.

"What's so f—ing cool," Watt continued, "is sometimes he'd do a take and he'd be like, 'I'm singing too good. I need to do that again and throw that away more… give it more feeling.'"

Across seven decades, the Stones have more than earned their stripes as the self-dubbed "World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band" — and so much of it has to do with that feeling.

That's why they're in the upper echelon, toe-to-toe with the Beatles in that tired binary, despite never pursuing a fraction of their innovation or ambition. Because when it comes to bluesy yearning, broiling salaciousness and that guitar weave, no guitar band has ever come close.

As veteran music journalist Rob Sheffield once put it, "Part of Mick's vast intelligence was to understand that he didn't have that kind of sincerity in his empty heart, and he was too crafty to make a clown of himself trying to fake it. He knew he couldn't out-Beatle the Beatles. So the Stones chose different turf to conquer. The Stones are Stonesier. The Beatles are merely better."

There's no way that a single article can contain all the facets of the Stones. But if you saw the news of Hackney Diamonds — their first album of original material in 18 years — and find yourself catching the bug again, here's a brief breakdown of their vast catalog.

The Brian Jones Era (1962-1969)

The thing about the greatest rock 'n' roll bands is that they tend to have ghosts following them around — e.g. integral, original members who lost their way, or their life, early on.

The Beatles did, in the incorporeal form of Stu Sutciffe. So did Pink Floyd, in Syd Barrett. Today, the spirits of Dennis and Carl Wilson silently observe the Beach Boys. The list goes on and on.

The Stones might have the ultimate band ghost in Brian Jones — their bowl-cutted, blonde angel who actually started the group, back in 1962.

Many decades on, Paul McCartney got flak for calling the Stones a "blues cover band," which obviously didn't take into account the Glimmer Twins' numberless, unforgettable originals. But that was what they were, from the jump.

If you haven't heard their 1964, self-titled debut, subtitled England's Newest Hit Makers, it's a proto-punk banger — with revved-up takes on "Route 66" and Chuck Berry's "Carol," among other selections from across the garage R&B canon.

Very soon after, the Stones began writing inspired originals, like "As Tears Go By" and "Get Off of My Cloud." (Not to mention, er, one you may have heard about "girl reaction.") Around the time of 1966's Aftermath — their first masterpiece — Jones was decorating their tunes with outré instrumentation, like the ominous sitar on "Paint It, Black."

Jones continued to make inspired contributions to the Stones' palette, including in their still-underrated 1967 goof on Sgt. Pepper's, Their Satanic Majesties Request.

As he became eclipsed  by Jagger and Richards, Jones became more and more unmanageable, culminating in his ousting and drowning in a pool in 1969.

This earliest incarnation of the Stones has its partisans: it's arguable that they never went on to write a song as lovely as the acoustic "Back Street Girl," for example. But with the passing of the torch to Mick Taylor, the stadium-sized version we all know and love was rapidly approaching.

The Mick Taylor Era (and after) (1969-1976)

While Taylor's tenure as Stones axeman lasted only five years, the former Bluesbreaker might be the greatest guitarist the band ever enjoyed.

After a couple of cameos on 1969's epochal Let it Bleed — the one with "Gimme Shelter" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" on it — Taylor joined the band proper for 1971's Sticky Fingers, one of their most beloved albums by far.

Therein, that aforementioned weave is on full display, between Richards and Taylor: they should teach the rhythmic underpinning of "Brown Sugar" and "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" in school. 

Plus, the immortal, still soul-inflaming ballad "Wild Horses" contains perhaps their most elliptical, haunting lyric: "Let's do some living after we die."

Despite Jagger's vocal dislike of the album, the double-disc Exile on Main St. is considered their masterpiece for very good reasons: Despite the brilliance of albums like Aftermath onward, they hadn't quite made an album that hung together cohesively, with a clear arc.

But Exile on Main St. — famously recorded grungy, topless and stoned in a rented French villa, as tax exiles — is worth many, many listens, front to back. It begins gakked out and flying high, as on "Rocks Off," then ends clear-eyed, hungover and grappling for salvation, as on "Shine a Light."

The Stones never quite revisited the heights of Exile on Main St. — although its lumpy, potent follow-up, 1973's Goats Head Soup, deserves more flowers.

After 1974's It's Only Rock n' Roll — chiefly known for the oldies favorite of a title track — Taylor left on short notice, following personality differences and rancor over credits.

He was replaced by the Faces' Ron Wood — essentially the Stones' version of Ringo, in that he was never considered a technical whiz, but the glue that continues to hold colorful, volatile personalities together.

Forging On With Ron (1976-present)

Jagger, Richards, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts' first album with Wood was 1976's Black and Blue, their most exhausted album by some margin. (Which doesn't mean it's bad at all: bone-weary Stones has a patina all its own, and "Memory Motel" belongs in the time capsule.)

But this rudderlessness proved to be a fluke: they followed it with 1978's Some Girls, at the height of punk and disco. That album's highlights, like "Miss You," "Beast of Burden" and "Shattered," restored the band to their debaucherous glory.

The follow-up, 1980's Emotional Rescue, was fine, but a bit of a bunt. Especially compared to the following year's Tattoo You, a terrifically echoey and plasticine document of their stadium prowess with a lead single implanted in our heads from birth: "Start Me Up."

Unfortunately, the ensuing '80s were as unkind to the Stones as they were to 95 percent of their contemporaries — although 1989's rewarding Steel Wheels is an ugly duckling worth hearing at least once. That year, their inimitable bassist Wyman left the group, never to fully return.

The Stones released a grand total of two albums in the '90s, mostly raking it in as titans of the live circuit. In 2005, they released A Bigger Bang, which would turn out to be their final album until 2016, in the back-to-basics blues-covers release Blue & Lonesome.

Tragically, in 2021, Watts — their steely, enigmatic engine driver, and a reluctant rock star if there ever was one — passed away of cancer.

Before his death, they'd fitfully hit the studio. But this time, they set a hard deadline, with a plucky, 30-something producer — and the result was the Stones' most acclaimed album in many decades.

Watts: A Light Goes Out (2021-present)

It's hard to put into words how bone-snappingly vital the Stones sound on 2023's Hackney Diamonds, deep into the AARP demographic.

The lead single, "Angry" — nominated for Best Rock Song at the 2024 GRAMMYs — finds Watts' appointed heir, Steve Jordan, leading the charge, with the three soul survivors powered by that old piss and vinegar.

From there, all the way to the Muddy Waters coda ("Rolling Stone Blues") that gave the band their name, Hackney Diamonds is a triumph.

The ridiculously high-profile guests throughout, like Elton John ("Get Close"), McCartney ("Bite My Head Off") and Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder ("Sweet Sounds of Heaven"), never feel like they're buoying the proceedings; they sound like the Stones' most voracious fans, living the dream. (As McCartney put it after tracking his viciously fuzzy bass part: "I just played f—ing bass with the Stones — and I'm a f—ing Beatle."

Jagger and Richards are adamant this isn't the end: half an album's already in the can. Who knows where it'll go — but one thing is certain, they'll never dilute or compromise this stew. That feeling — the one they've been chasing since they were flop-haired teenagers — is much too important.

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