Rock History - Page 3
Billy Squier’s ‘The Stroke’ stands as one of the defining hard rock singles of the early 1980s, a song whose pounding groove and sly lyrics helped launch Squier from a respected songwriter into a full-fledged arena rock star. Released in 1981 on his second solo album, Don’t Say No, the track became the breakthrough that […]
Journey’s ‘Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’’ stands as one of the band’s most emotionally powerful and enduring ballads, marking a crucial turning point in their rise to arena-rock superstardom. Released in 1979 on the album Evolution, the song captured Journey in the midst of a major transformation. With the arrival of lead singer Steve Perry, the band […]
Joan Jett’s ‘I Love Rock ’n’ Roll’ is one of the most enduring anthems in the history of popular music, a song that helped define the sound and attitude of early 1980s rock. Although many fans associate it exclusively with Jett, the song’s roots trace back to 1975, when it was written and first recorded […]
Santana’s ‘Evil Ways’ is the song that first introduced Carlos Santana’s groundbreaking blend of Latin rhythms, blues, jazz, and rock to a mass audience. Released in late 1969 and becoming a hit in early 1970, the track was the breakout single from the band’s self-titled debut album, Santana, and it helped establish the group as […]
Bon Jovi’s ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ is one of the defining rock anthems of the 1980s and the song that catapulted the New Jersey band from rising stars to global superstars. Released in 1986 as the lead single from their third album, Slippery When Wet, the track marked a turning point in the […]
On Steve Perry’s birthday, it’s worth stopping and asking a serious, barroom-argument question: is Steve Perry the greatest rock vocalist of all time? 77 years old today, the former Journey front-man doesn’t just blow out candles, he blows away most of the competition that ever dared step up to a microphone. Born January 22, 1949, […]
Creed just pulled off something nobody saw coming: they sold out the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo in record time, faster than you can shout “CAN YOU TAKE ME HIGHER?” Suddenly every 45-year-old guy who swore he was “never really into Creed” is scrambling for resale tickets and pretending this was always the plan. So […]
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo may be rooted in country tradition, but over the years, it’s also turned into one of Texas’ biggest stages for rock music. From guitar-shredding legends to arena-filling hitmakers, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo has welcomed plenty of rock acts ready to turn NRG Stadium into something closer to […]
Opinion
I’ve always had a fascination with how others perceived the music catalogs of the artists I love, which has led me to look up articles with people ranking entire discographies worth of songs. Naturally, with Aerosmith being my favorite band, I googled to see if anyone had ranked every single one of their songs and […]
Few artists wear the blue-collar soul of America as authentically as John Mellencamp. With his gravelly voice and stadium-shaking riffs, he didn’t just make music, he gave a voice to small-town struggles, heartache and the working man’s pride. From the jangly, anthem-ready hits of Jack & Diane to the introspective grit of Cherry Bomb, Mellencamp […]
Let’s be honest: if rock ‘n’ roll had a raspy-voiced deity, it would be Sir Rod Stewart, the Brit whose voice sounds like gravel wrapped in silk. The man lives songs like “Maggie May,” co-wrote classics such as “Every Picture Tells a Story,” “Forever Young,” “You Wear It Well” and more, and has been a […]