1. “Smoke on the Water” – Deep Purple (1972)It’s the riff every teenage guitarist learns first and for good reason. Four simple notes, played with raw power and changed rock history. In December 1971, Deep Purple were in Montreux, Switzerland, to record Machine Head when a fan fired a flare gun inside a Frank Zappa […]
Come on, it’s a killer riff that separates rock gods from roadies. You’ve heard it once and you’re air-guitaring down the highway in your car like it’s 1985 and your mullet still grew itself. These riffs weren’t songs, they were revolutions and they rewrote your DNA. Here is the list of the 10 most iconic […]
October has played host to some of rock’s most defining moments. It’s the month The Who released Tommy, Elton John dropped Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Def Leppard made their live U.S. debut. Rock legends like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lindsey Buckingham and Tommy Lee all celebrate birthdays this month, while fans remember the losses of Tom Petty and […]
‘Ramble On,’ one of the standout tracks from Led Zeppelin’s 1969 album Led Zeppelin II, is a song that perfectly captures the band’s blend of hard rock, blues, and mythological storytelling. Written primarily by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, the track is remembered for its lyrical depth, acoustic-to-electric dynamics, and subtle references to J.R.R. Tolkien’s […]
You’ve blasted them on album, cassette and CD. However, did you really hear what those classic rock anthems were saying? Beneath the guitar solos, leather pants and smoke machines, a deeper game was being played. Now, 40+ years on, the truth is crawling out from under the Marshall stacks. Let’s start with the big one; Led Zeppelin. Yeah, Stairway […]
The Rock Gods Behind The Curtains You’ve been blasting these tracks since high school. Screaming the lyrics on road trips, in bars and maybe even in the shower. What if we told you some of your favorite rock anthems weren’t even written by the artists singing them? Welcome to the shadowy world of rock’s secret […]
Led Zeppelin in my mind is indisputably one of the greatest rock bands of all time. They changed the way rock could sound, giving it a much harder edge that blew people away, paving the road for hundreds of bands to adopt heavier tunes. While they infused their hard-rock sound perfectly with American blues music, […]
In early 1971, Led Zeppelin was deep into the recording sessions for what would become their iconic fourth album, often referred to as Led Zeppelin IV. While holed up at Headley Grange, a remote country house in Hampshire, England, the band had been working through some new material. The atmosphere was casual—Jimmy Page often described […]
While both Live Aid (July 1985) and Woodstock (August 1969) are monumental in rock history, Live Aid arguably had a greater impact on rock ‘n’ roll’s global influence and legacy. Woodstock was a cultural watershed a symbol of the counterculture movement, peace and musical revolution. It defined an era and solidified the careers of acts […]
Music and movies have gone hand-in-hand since before the movies themselves had any audio. A soundtrack can make or break a movie, and a great song can immortalize an entire scene or even the movie itself forever, if it’s used just right. RELATED STORY: 25 Forgotten Hair Metal Songs That are Awesome RELATED STORY: 25 Rock Songs […]
We’re midway through May, meaning summer is just around the corner in the U.S. – unless you’re living in Houston, as the hot weather has been around for quite awhile. Daily highs are in the 90s, which will likely have you heading for the coast or chilling by a pool at some point in the […]
1943 Scottish musician Jack Bruce, lead vocalist and bassist of Cream, was born in Bishopbriggs, Scotland. He died of liver cancer at the age of 71 on Oct. 25, 2014, in Sudbury, England. 1944 Canadian-American musician Gene Cornish, original member of the Young Rascals, was born in Ottawa, ON. He moved to Rochester, NY as […]