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.  Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row, Bon Jovi, and the Scorpions shared the stage with some...

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: The Wrestling Album II. And we’re going to talk about how Cyndi Lauper helped bring wrestling...

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 Diddley, Howlin’ Wolf, and Etta James. And when these albums made their way across the Atlantic,...

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, Pulp Fiction, Singles, Grosse Point Blank, the Lion King. I could keep going but we have a show...

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 Vitology from Pearl Jam. REM tried to plug in with Monster while Nirvana went unplugged on MTV. Mariah...

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 sex, drugs, and rock and roll thing. The good looking frontman who helped forge his legacy by...

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 the open highway and the freedom that comes with it. We'll be diving into the classics and...

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 popular at the time but we really only hear around the holidays this year.  So grab some punch...

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 are his top five albums. We’re going to explain how we came up with the list, talk about the songs...

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 dozens of performers in a star-studded ensemble cast made up of some of the biggest names in music at...

There were a lot of things about the 1980s that we’d like to forget but one of the most memorable parts of the decade was the music. While artists like Madonna, the Police, Def Leppard, and Michael Jackson were popular for huge parts of the decade, the music scene of the 1980s is filled with artists who had one, and only one, hit song.  In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re talking about the one hit wonders of the 1980s. We’ve got a list of songs that includes some that we...

In today’s episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re digging into some of the most scandalous moments in music history. We’ve put together a list of scandals that span nearly 70 years and cover controversies, deaths, scams, crime, and outrageous behavior that drew media attention around the world.  From John Lennon saying the Beatles were bigger than Jesus to Sinead O’Connor tearing up a page of the Pope on SNL. The shocking trail of abuse left by total piece of garbage R. Kelly to Ozzy...

In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re taking a look at celebrities who make music. Now, a lot of famous people have decided to make albums over the years. Some of them dabble in rock and roll on the side like a lot of us and use their celebrity status to get an album recorded.  Others might have had gotten some misguided advice from someone in their inner circle telling them that releasing an album is a great way to increase their profile or make a quick buck.  We spent a lot...

If you’re one of the thousands of people who listen to Prisoners of Rock and Roll – and shame on you if you aren’t – you know we do a segment in every episode called The Electric Chair where we kill a song for being terrible.  Now, there’s a lot of awesome music out there. But let’s face it: there’s a lot of bad music too.  So much bad music that this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll is volume 2 of a show totally dedicated to talking about music that sucks. We have spent hours plumbing...

Alright, folks, it's time to dust off those platform shoes, grab your shiniest disco ball, and get ready to debate the ultimate question: Does Disco Suck?  That's right, on this electrifying episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we're diving headfirst into the glittery, dance-filled world of disco music. Now, disco, oh disco, you've been the life of countless parties, the soundtrack of Saturday nights, and the rhythm that had everyone hustling on the dance floor. But let's face it, you've...

The Beatles were one of the most successful bands of all time, and critics loved them as much as their fans. Lucky for music fans, they also kept tons of recordings in their archives. The Beatles Anthology was a multimedia project that included a television documentary series, a book, and three double albums that includes outtakes, rarities, demos, and even a couple of new tracks that Paul, George, and Ringo recorded with some unfinished work by John Lennon.  In this episode of Prisoners of...

Let’s face it. Rock and roll has always been dominated by dudes, but music is full of female trailblazers and trendsetters who rocked our world and left their mark on the industry.  We’re talking about the soulful blues of Janis Joplin to Joan Jett’s punk guitar riffs. Debbie Harry embraced her hotness while leading a band that dipped into as many different types of music as the Clash, while Annie Lennox’s androgyny helped make her an advocate for gay people around the world. Tina Turner was...

Jazz was the soundtrack of America for decades – through prohibition, two World Wars, the Harlem renaissance, and more.  From the soulful trumpet of Louis Armstrong to the haunting vocals of Billie Holiday, from the trailblazing talents of Dizzy Gillespie to the cool sounds of Miles Davis, these musicians shaped the landscape of jazz and inspired countless generations of musicians. In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we're taking a look at the melodies, rhythms, and improvisational...

Are you ready to crank up the volume, tease your hair to new heights, and rock out like it's the 1980s? We're diving into the glitz, the glam, and the power chords of hair metal on the next episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll. Now, let's address the elephant in the room. Hair metal often gets a bad rap, dismissed as nothing more than cheesy anthems and over-the-top fashion. But hold on as tight as a pair of spandex pants because we’re going to give hair metal the respect it deserves. Sure,...

Doo wop music. It’s the harmonized sound of street corner serenades and teenage romance. The irresistible sound that makes you wanna snap your fingers, sway your hips, and sing along with those timeless harmonies. This music broke down racial barriers years before the civil rights movement, as millions of kids across the country just cared about listening to great music.  Some of the most popular groups of the era were Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, The Drifters, the Platters, Dion &...

Kid Rock. Some love him, some hate him, but everyone has an opinion. He’s been around for nearly 25 years and has sold tens of millions of albums as his sound has evolved from hip hop to nu metal to country. But does he suck? That's the question we're going to argue today on Prisoners of Rock and Roll. On one hand, he sings, he raps, he plays multiple instruments. He likes soul, country, rock and roll, and blues music.  On the other hand, he’s become a caricature of himself. He's embraced a...

If you’ve ever watched a movie, you’ve heard music from John Williams. He’s one of the greatest classical music composers of the last 100 years and one of America’s most accomplished musicians. His music has won 5 Oscars, 25 Grammys, and four Golden Globes. The only person with more Academy Award nominations is Walt Disney himself.  The list of movies he’s written to the music to is practically a guide to American cinema: ET, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Home Alone, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close...

Released seven years after Aerosmith and Run DMC brought rap and rock together on Walk This Way, the soundtrack to the 1993 film Judgment Night was a groundbreaking moment in the crossover between the two music genres. Every song on the album was a collaboration between an artist from each genre and it featured some of the biggest names in music at the time.  Helmet, Faith No More, Sonic Youth, Pearl Jam and Slayer worked with Ice-T, House of Pain, Cypress Hill, Onyx, and De La Soul. 30 years...

It’s pretty easy to complain about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees every year – heck, we’ve done it ourselves more than once. But the nominees for the class of 2023 are out and it’s a pretty solid list. There’s a mix of artists from different eras and different genres. Some first timers and some artists that made us go “yeah, why AREN’T they in the hall of fame yet?” Still no Motorhead, Funk Brothers, or Motley Crue though.  In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re talking...