To kick off the New Year, we're sharing a podcast that we think Hit Parade listeners are going to love: Broken Record. Check out this episode with singer/songwriter Norah Jones, co-hosted by Blue Note Records President Don Was. Norah has been with Blue Note Records since releasing her juggernaut 2002 debut album, Come Away With Me. In this conversation, Norah details her musical upbringing and what it was like striking it big with her debut album. She also performs for us, and talks about the musical freedom she's found as part of the Blue Note family. Blue Note is one of the first and longest standing institutions of jazz music. Since its formation in 1939 the label has put out albums by Robert Glasper, Lee Morgan, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Gergory Porter, Bobby McFerrin, and many more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Slate Music Club is back, in a special edition of Hit Parade ? ?The Bridge?! Our year-end panel of critics?NPR Music?s Ann Powers, Hearing Things? Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Slate?s own Carl Wilson and Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy?discuss their favorite albums and singles and the trends that shaped the year in pop, rap, country, Latin and global music.  Among the questions the roundtable tackles: Have we reached peak Taylor Swift? Did the Kendrick Lamar?v.-Drake beef overshadow hip-hop?s next generation? How much further will country cross over to pop audiences?and how does Latin music fit in? How did music from diverse artists stand in for protest music in 2024? And what will become of music criticism itself? Note: Slate Plus members can hear this special episode in full. Ad-supported listeners will hear the first half. Want to hear the whole discussion? Sign up for Slate Plus! Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That damned jingle! In that infernal commercial trying to sell you cars, sneakers, soda, gum! Can?t get it out of your head? Well, what if we made it longer, had a famous singer perform it, and put it on the radio? How would you like it then? A surprising number of hits across chart history got their start in advertisements: the Carpenters song that was originally a promo for a California bank. The ?70s country-pop smash by a character who didn?t exist, and was selling you sliced bread. The Sting song that began as a Japanese beer jingle. The Chris Brown song that sneaked a chewing-gum slogan into the chorus. And that?s beyond all the songs and artists whose trajectories were changed by an ad placement?whether it was the R&B classics licensed to sell you Levi?s jeans or the indie-rock songs anointed by Apple to make iPod-wearing silhouettes bop. Join Chris Molanphy as he explains how Madison Avenue finds its way into the Hot 100?s penthouse. We may think we don?t want the hard sell?but an army of Don Drapers are working day and night to buy the world a Coke and keep it company. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond?s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond?s YTW is not ?locked in? until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The ?locked in? YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That damned jingle! In that infernal commercial trying to sell you cars, sneakers, soda, gum! Can?t get it out of your head? Well, what if we made it longer, had a famous singer perform it, and put it on the radio? How would you like it then? A surprising number of hits across chart history got their start in advertisements: the Carpenters song that was originally a promo for a California bank. The ?70s country-pop smash by a character who didn?t exist, and was selling you sliced bread. The Sting song that began as a Japanese beer jingle. The Chris Brown song that sneaked a chewing-gum slogan into the chorus. And that?s beyond all the songs and artists whose trajectories were changed by an ad placement?whether it was the R&B classics licensed to sell you Levi?s jeans or the indie-rock songs anointed by Apple to make iPod-wearing silhouettes bop. Join Chris Molanphy as he explains how Madison Avenue finds its way into the Hot 100?s penthouse. We may think we don?t want the hard sell?but an army of Don Drapers are working day and night to buy the world a Coke and keep it company. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond?s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond?s YTW is not ?locked in? until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The ?locked in? YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know her honorific: Queen of Soul. And heavy is the head that wears the crown. In her lifetime, Aretha Franklin didn?t just want to be revered. She wanted hits. But Franklin made pop come to her, not the other way around. When showtunes and standards didn?t work in the ?60s, Aretha switched to gritty R&B and gospel harmonies?and started topping the charts. When she recorded a live album in a church in the ?70s, it became her best-seller. When the MTV era changed the game in the ?80s, she did New Wave synthpop her way?and topped the charts again. In the ?90s, she tried house, hip-hop and New Jack Swing, scoring hits deep into her fifties. Join Chris Molanphy as he explains how Aretha Franklin earned her regal title, one hit at a time. She won our respect by infusing the charts with a holy spirit and amazing grace?and she always remained a natural woman. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond?s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond?s YTW is not ?locked in? until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The ?locked in? YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know her honorific: Queen of Soul. And heavy is the head that wears the crown. In her lifetime, Aretha Franklin didn?t just want to be revered. She wanted hits. But Franklin made pop come to her, not the other way around. When showtunes and standards didn?t work in the ?60s, Aretha switched to gritty R&B and gospel harmonies?and started topping the charts. When she recorded a live album in a church in the ?70s, it became her best-seller. When the MTV era changed the game in the ?80s, she did New Wave synthpop her way?and topped the charts again. In the ?90s, she tried house, hip-hop and New Jack Swing, scoring hits deep into her fifties. Join Chris Molanphy as he explains how Aretha Franklin earned her regal title, one hit at a time. She won our respect by infusing the charts with a holy spirit and amazing grace?and she always remained a natural woman. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond?s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond?s YTW is not ?locked in? until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The ?locked in? YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U2 have millions of admirers?and haters: from the fans who regard them as rock?s conscience, to the cynics who blanch at lead singer Bono?s self-importance. Here?s the thing: U2 want to play to both crowds. They know why the haters can?t stand them. After a decade of earnestness in the ?80s, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen called BS on themselves, rebooting their sound and image for the ?90s age of irony. This shouldn?t have worked. Instead, U2 became as big as ever, and kept scoring hits. Then, when the whole sardonic thing stopped working for them, at the turn of the millennium, they went back to anthemic U2?and the hits kept coming. Their ability to pivot so many times and keep scoring hits over multiple decades is rare in pop history. Join Chris Molanphy as he explains how U2 pulled this off. How did they balance cool and cringe? How did they outlast new wave, college rock, hair metal and grunge to remain chart-toppers into the era of teenpop and hip-hop? And?what exactly were they thinking when they forced an album onto your iPhone? They don?t mean to bug ya, but?why can?t we live with or without U2? Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond?s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond?s YTW is not ?locked in? until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The ?locked in? YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

U2 have millions of admirers?and haters: from the fans who regard them as rock?s conscience, to the cynics who blanch at lead singer Bono?s self-importance. Here?s the thing: U2 want to play to both crowds. They know why the haters can?t stand them. After a decade of earnestness in the ?80s, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen called BS on themselves, rebooting their sound and image for the ?90s age of irony. This shouldn?t have worked. Instead, U2 became as big as ever, and kept scoring hits. Then, when the whole sardonic thing stopped working for them, at the turn of the millennium, they went back to anthemic U2?and the hits kept coming. Their ability to pivot so many times and keep scoring hits over multiple decades is rare in pop history. Join Chris Molanphy as he explains how U2 pulled this off. How did they balance cool and cringe? How did they outlast new wave, college rock, hair metal and grunge to remain chart-toppers into the era of teenpop and hip-hop? And?what exactly were they thinking when they forced an album onto your iPhone? They don?t mean to bug ya, but?why can?t we live with or without U2? Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. ?Disclosure in Podcast Description: A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC. Deposits into this account are used to purchase 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of 9/26/24, the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across the Bond Account is greater than 6%. A bond?s yield is a function of its market price, which can fluctuate; therefore, a bond?s YTW is not ?locked in? until the bond is purchased, and your yield at time of purchase may be different from the yield shown here. The ?locked in? YTW is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. See our Fee Schedule. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. See https://public.com/disclosures/bond-account to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A decade ago, Rolling Stone magazine called 1984 ?Pop?s Greatest Year.? A bold statement?but a lot of critics agree. A confluence of factors?the comeback of dance music, the peak of MTV, the Second British Invasion, and the emergence of metal and hip-hop?made the radio a great place to be. It was a year of fearless genre crossover?cinematic hits?veterans reinventing themselves?ballads that became standards?a newcomer named Madonna?and a movie star who called himself The Kid and made doves cry. Join Chris Molanphy as he dissects eight reasons why 1984 was awesome for pop fans and walks through all 20 of the year?s No. 1 hits: from ?Jump? to ?Hello,? ?Karma Chameleon? to ?Caribbean Queen,? ?Let?s Go Crazy? to ?Like a Virgin.? This is what it sounds like when pop?s fly. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A decade ago, Rolling Stone magazine called 1984 ?Pop?s Greatest Year.? A bold statement?but a lot of critics agree. A confluence of factors?the comeback of dance music, the peak of MTV, the Second British Invasion and the emergence of metal and hip-hop?made the radio a great place to be. It was a year of fearless genre crossover?cinematic hits?veterans reinventing themselves?ballads that became standards?a newcomer named Madonna?and a movie star who called himself The Kid and made doves cry. Join Chris Molanphy as he dissects eight reasons why 1984 was awesome for pop fans and walks through all 20 of the year?s No. 1 hits: from ?Jump? to ?Hello,? ?Karma Chameleon? to ?Caribbean Queen,? ?Let?s Go Crazy? to ?Like a Virgin.? This is what it sounds like when pop?s fly. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades?literally since Woodstock?female musicians had battled music-industry perceptions that amassing too many of them, on the radio or on the road, was bad for business. And yet, by the ?90s, women were vital to the rise of alt-rock and hip-hop on the charts: from Suzanne Vega to Queen Latifah, Tracy Chapman to Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant to Missy Elliott. Sarah McLachlan harnessed this energy into an all-woman tour she dubbed Lilith Fair. Its string of sellouts from 1997 to ?99 affirmed women?s clout in the decade of grunge-and-gangsta. But the festival was also criticized for its narrow focus and for branding ?women?s music? as a genre. More than two decades later, Hit Parade assesses the legacy of Lilith on the charts and on the road?how its performers, attendees and musical descendants are helping to ensure the future is female. Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch and Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades?literally since Woodstock?female musicians had battled music-industry perceptions that amassing too many of them, on the radio or on the road, was bad for business. And yet, by the ?90s, women were vital to the rise of alt-rock and hip-hop on the charts: from Suzanne Vega to Queen Latifah, Tracy Chapman to Sheryl Crow, Natalie Merchant to Missy Elliott. Sarah McLachlan harnessed this energy into an all-woman tour she dubbed Lilith Fair. Its string of sellouts from 1997 to ?99 affirmed women?s clout in the decade of grunge-and-gangsta. But the festival was also criticized for its narrow focus and for branding ?women?s music? as a genre. More than two decades later, Hit Parade assesses the legacy of Lilith on the charts and on the road?how its performers, attendees and musical descendants are helping to ensure the future is female. Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch and Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

?Summer in the City.? ?I Feel the Earth Move.? ?Bette Davis Eyes.? ?Whoomp! There It Is.? ?Get Lucky.? ?Espresso.? What do these big summer hits all have in common? None of them was Billboard?s official Song of the Summer. Wait?there?s an official Song of the Summer? Isn?t that something that just happens organically? Every year, it seems everybody has an opinion on this musical national pastime. But the Hot 100 often tells a different story. For every ?Light My Fire,? ?Bad Girls,? ?Crazy in Love,? ?California Gurls? or ?Call Me Maybe??a hot-weather hit that unites the charts and the punditry?there are confirmed summer smashes that no one would pick out of a lineup, from Zager and Evans to Iggy Azalea. Join Chris Molanphy as he traces the tangled story of how America came to decide there should be one victorious summer hit to rule them all. And he counts down the best Songs of the Summer by decade. Is it getting ?Hot in Herre,? or is it just us?? Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

?Summer in the City.? ?I Feel the Earth Move.? ?Bette Davis Eyes.? ?Whoomp! There It Is.? ?Get Lucky.? ?Espresso.? What do these big summer hits all have in common? None of them was Billboard?s official Song of the Summer. Wait?there?s an official Song of the Summer? Isn?t that something that just happens organically? Every year, it seems everybody has an opinion on this musical national pastime. But the Hot 100 often tells a different story. For every ?Light My Fire,? ?Bad Girls,? ?Crazy in Love,? ?California Gurls? or ?Call Me Maybe??a hot-weather hit that unites the charts and the punditry?there are confirmed summer smashes that no one would pick out of a lineup, from Zager and Evans to Iggy Azalea. Join Chris Molanphy as he traces the tangled story of how America came to decide there should be one victorious summer hit to rule them all. And he counts down the best Songs of the Summer by decade. Is it getting ?Hot in Herre,? or is it just us?? Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does a music producer do? If his name is Quincy Jones, a little bit of everything: conducting, arranging, composing. Assembling teams of ace session musicians. Sometimes, even picking a catchy title and telling an artist to go write a song about it? would ?Thriller? have worked as well if it had been called ?Starlight?? Quincy Jones was pop?s Renaissance Man, and he could not be limited either by genre or by role. He played in jazz bands?produced teen pop hits?discovered young talent?scored Hollywood films?helped invent Yacht Rock and Yacht Soul?even released hit albums under his own name featuring cavalcades of guest vocalists. And he worked with so! many! legends! Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Little Richard, Lesley Gore, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan ? and all that happened before he even met a former child star named Michael Jackson and helped him produce the best-selling album in history. No wonder only Quincy had the clout to wrangle the superstars for the recording of ?We Are the World.? Join Chris Molanphy as he tells the story of the music man who truly did it all and is known affectionately by the letter Q. He made the world a better place for you and me. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Host Chris Molanphy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does a music producer do? If his name is Quincy Jones, a little bit of everything: conducting, arranging, composing. Assembling teams of ace session musicians. Sometimes, even picking a catchy title and telling an artist to go write a song about it? would ?Thriller? have worked as well if it had been called ?Starlight?? Quincy Jones was pop?s Renaissance Man, and he could not be limited either by genre or by role. He played in jazz bands?produced teen pop hits?discovered young talent?scored Hollywood films?helped invent Yacht Rock and Yacht Soul?even released hit albums under his own name featuring cavalcades of guest vocalists. And he worked with so! many! legends! Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Little Richard, Lesley Gore, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan ? and all that happened before he even met a former child star named Michael Jackson and helped him produce the best-selling album in history. No wonder only Quincy had the clout to wrangle the superstars for the recording of ?We Are the World.? Join Chris Molanphy as he tells the story of the music man who truly did it all and is known affectionately by the letter Q. He made the world a better place for you and me. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Host Chris Molanphy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Girl groups have long been underestimated?even by the producers and managers who created them. For women listeners, girl groups narrated profound emotions and expressed personal freedom?even when the singers were not so free themselves. For male listeners, girl groups provided inspiration, and a way to express matters of the heart. And for all listeners across rock and soul history, girl groups pushed music forward. In the ?60s, the Shirelles, Marvelettes, Ronettes and Shangri-Las kept rock afloat between Elvis Presley and the Beatles. In the ?70s and ?80s, girl groups from the Emotions to Exposé rebooted dance music. In the ?90s, En Vogue, TLC and Destiny?s Child fused hip-hop style with old-school soul?and the Spice Girls fired up a new generation through Girl Power. Join Chris Molanphy as we shimmy and strut through decades of bops to give girl groups the respect they deserve. You?ll love them tomorrow, because friendship never ends. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Want more Hit Parade? Join Slate Plus to unlock monthly early-access episodes. Plus, you?ll get ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking ?Try Free? at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hitparadeplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Girl groups have long been underestimated?even by the producers and managers who created them. For women listeners, girl groups narrated profound emotions and expressed personal freedom?even when the singers were not so free themselves. For male listeners, girl groups provided inspiration, and a way to express matters of the heart. And for all listeners across rock and soul history, girl groups pushed music forward. In the ?60s, the Shirelles, Marvelettes, Ronettes and Shangri-Las kept rock afloat between Elvis Presley and the Beatles. In the ?70s and ?80s, girl groups from the Emotions to Exposé rebooted dance music. In the ?90s, En Vogue, TLC and Destiny?s Child fused hip-hop style with old-school soul?and the Spice Girls fired up a new generation through Girl Power. Join Chris Molanphy as we shimmy and strut through decades of bops to give girl groups the respect they deserve. You?ll love them tomorrow, because friendship never ends. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Want more Hit Parade? Join Slate Plus to unlock monthly early-access episodes. Plus, you?ll get ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking ?Try Free? at the top of our show page. Or, visit slate.com/hitparadeplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you hear ?boy band,? what do you picture? Five guys with precision dance moves? Songs crafted by the Top 40 pop machine? Svengalis pulling the puppet strings? Hordes of screaming girls? As it turns out, not all boy bands fit these signifiers. (Well?except for the screaming girls?they are perennial.) There are boy bands that danced, and some that did not?boy bands that relied entirely on outside songwriters, and those that wrote big hits?boy bands assembled by managers or producers, and quite a few that launched on their own. From Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers to New Kids on the Block, the Monkees to the Jonas Brothers, Boyz II Men to BTS, New Edition to One Direction, and?yeah, of course, Backstreet Boys and *N Sync, boy bands have had remarkable variety over the years. (In a sense, even a certain ?60s Fab Four started as a boy band.) Join Chris Molanphy as he tries to define the ineffable quality of boy band?ness, walks through decades of shrieking, hair-pulling pop history, and reminds you that boy bands generated some of our greatest hits, from ?I Want You Back? to ?I Want It That Way,? ?Bye Bye Bye? to ?Dynamite.? Help him ?bring the fire and set the night alight.? Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you hear ?boy band,? what do you picture? Five guys with precision dance moves? Songs crafted by the Top 40 pop machine? Svengalis pulling the puppet strings? Hordes of screaming girls? As it turns out, not all boy bands fit these signifiers. (Well?except for the screaming girls?they are perennial.) There are boy bands that danced, and some that did not?boy bands that relied entirely on outside songwriters, and those that wrote big hits?boy bands assembled by managers or producers, and quite a few that launched on their own. From Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers to New Kids on the Block, the Monkees to the Jonas Brothers, Boyz II Men to BTS, New Edition to One Direction, and?yeah, of course, Backstreet Boys and *N Sync, boy bands have had remarkable variety over the years. (In a sense, even a certain ?60s Fab Four started as a boy band.) Join Chris Molanphy as he tries to define the ineffable quality of boy band?ness, walks through decades of shrieking, hair-pulling pop history, and reminds you that boy bands generated some of our greatest hits, from ?I Want You Back? to ?I Want It That Way,? ?Bye Bye Bye? to ?Dynamite.? Help him ?bring the fire and set the night alight.? Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cover songs once had a simple playbook: Artists would faithfully rerecord a song?note for note and word for word. They might modernize the instrumentation. If they were feeling radical, they?d punch up the vocals a bit. Now it?s hard to say what a cover is anymore. If Ariana Grande turns ?My Favorite Things? into ?7 Rings,? does that qualify? When Drake says he?s ?Way 2 Sexy,? is he covering Right Said Fred? The recent chart success of ?Fast Car??country star Luke Combs? very traditional take on Tracy Chapman?s folk classic?has reinvigorated interest in cover songs. Sometimes, isn?t just remaking the song as-is enough? Join Chris Molanphy as he explains the chart considerations and artistic motivations that rebooted the cover song, and whether a straight-up remake will ever top the Hot 100 again. We?re long past the days of ?Twist and Shout,? ?Venus? and ?I?ll Be There.? Podcast production by Olivia Briley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cover songs once had a simple playbook: Artists would faithfully rerecord a song?note for note and word for word. They might modernize the instrumentation. If they were feeling radical, they?d punch up the vocals a bit. Now it?s hard to say what a cover is anymore. If Ariana Grande turns ?My Favorite Things? into ?7 Rings,? does that qualify? When Drake says he?s ?Way 2 Sexy,? is he covering Right Said Fred? The recent chart success of ?Fast Car??country star Luke Combs? very traditional take on Tracy Chapman?s folk classic?has reinvigorated interest in cover songs. Sometimes, isn?t just remaking the song as-is enough? Join Chris Molanphy as he explains the chart considerations and artistic motivations that rebooted the cover song, and whether a straight-up remake will ever top the Hot 100 again. We?re long past the days of ?Twist and Shout,? ?Venus? and ?I?ll Be There.? Podcast production by Olivia Briley. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barbra Streisand: star of stage and screen. Oscar-winner, film director and TV producer. Culture warrior and meme generator. Yes, all that?but don?t get it twisted: Barbra?s legend rests in her catalog of hit songs?and that voice. Even as culture vultures consume her recent doorstop of a memoir My Name Is Barbra, what?s getting overlooked are Streisand?s awesome musical benchmarks, especially on the Billboard charts. All of those records Taylor Swift has been setting on the album chart, and Billie Eilish on the Grammys? Babs got there first. At a time when rock was ascendant and showtunes were on the wane, Streisand set her own pop agenda, scoring brassy hits that weren?t trendy but topped the charts anyway. She became a pop star, Broadway legend and box-office commander practically simultaneously. Join Chris Molanphy as he tells the story of the original Queen of All Media and explains how she racked up all those hits your mom loved (be honest, you know them too) and made ?memories, like the corners of [your] mind.? Trust us: It?ll be like buttah. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barbra Streisand: star of stage and screen. Oscar-winner, film director and TV producer. Culture warrior and meme generator. Yes, all that?but don?t get it twisted: Barbra?s legend rests in her catalog of hit songs?and that voice. Even as culture vultures consume her recent doorstop of a memoir My Name Is Barbra, what?s getting overlooked are Streisand?s awesome musical benchmarks, especially on the Billboard charts. All of those records Taylor Swift has been setting on the album chart, and Billie Eilish on the Grammys? Babs got there first. At a time when rock was ascendant and showtunes were on the wane, Streisand set her own pop agenda, scoring brassy hits that weren?t trendy but topped the charts anyway. She became a pop star, Broadway legend and box-office commander practically simultaneously. Join Chris Molanphy as he tells the story of the original Queen of All Media and explains how she racked up all those hits your mom loved (be honest, you know them too) and made ?memories, like the corners of [your] mind.? Trust us: It?ll be like buttah. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you watch the Grammy Awards every year and groan, or even yell at the screen? Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy sure does. But he has a weird hot take: The Grammys are better off not trying to be cool. They should reward the popular stuff?especially younger people?s music. Where the Recording Academy actually goes wrong is rewarding the old stuff?legendary artists long past their prime, from Frank Sinatra to Eric Clapton, Steely Dan to Beck. The Grammy wins remembered most fondly are artists at the peak of their chart prowess: Carole King. Stevie Wonder. Michael Jackson. George Michael. Lauryn Hill. Adele. Taylor Swift (and more Taylor?and more Taylor?and more?). When did the Grammys get it most right?and wrong? (Was the Toto win really so bad?) And how can they become more relevant? (Hint: much more rap.) Join Chris Molanphy as he offers a chart nerd?s take on the Recording Academy and offers guidelines for good Grammy governance, just before the 2024 awards. It?s an episode right in the Nick of Time. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you watch the Grammy Awards every year and groan, or even yell at the screen? Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy sure does. But he has a weird hot take: The Grammys are better off not trying to be cool. They should reward the popular stuff?especially younger people?s music. Where the Recording Academy actually goes wrong is rewarding the old stuff?legendary artists long past their prime, from Frank Sinatra to Eric Clapton, Steely Dan to Beck. The Grammy wins remembered most fondly are artists at the peak of their chart prowess: Carole King. Stevie Wonder. Michael Jackson. George Michael. Lauryn Hill. Adele. Taylor Swift (and more Taylor?and more Taylor?and more?). When did the Grammys get it most right?and wrong? (Was the Toto win really so bad?) And how can they become more relevant? (Hint: much more rap.) Join Chris Molanphy as he offers a chart nerd?s take on the Recording Academy and offers guidelines for good Grammy governance, just before the 2024 awards. It?s an episode right in the Nick of Time. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2023, several hits from years ago?sometimes decades?made it to No. 1 on Billboard?s pop charts after falling short the first time: Taylor Swift?s ?Cruel Summer.? The Weeknd?s ?Die for You.? Miguel?s ?Sure Thing.? And, most improbably but delightfully, Brenda Lee?s 65-year-old holiday bop ?Rockin? Around the Christmas Tree.? What?s going on here? A lot of it has to do with the ways streaming, YouTube and TikTok have changed the charts. But the truth is, the second-chance hit is as old as the charts themselves From David Bowie to Prince, Sonny and Cher to Guns n? Roses, the Miracles to the Moody Blues, there are certain songs the music biz won?t give up on. To say nothing of all those holiday perennials, from ?Monster Mash? to ?Last Christmas.? Join Chris Molanphy as he explains why certain songs keep coming back and counts down a dozen favorite second-chance hits. If it first they don?t succeed, chart, chart again. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2023, several hits from years ago?sometimes decades?made it to No. 1 on Billboard?s pop charts after falling short the first time: Taylor Swift?s ?Cruel Summer.? The Weeknd?s ?Die for You.? Miguel?s ?Sure Thing.? And, most improbably but delightfully, Brenda Lee?s 65-year-old holiday bop ?Rockin? Around the Christmas Tree.? What?s going on here? A lot of it has to do with the ways streaming, YouTube and TikTok have changed the charts. But the truth is, the second-chance hit is as old as the charts themselves From David Bowie to Prince, Sonny and Cher to Guns n? Roses, the Miracles to the Moody Blues, there are certain songs the music biz won?t give up on. To say nothing of all those holiday perennials, from ?Monster Mash? to ?Last Christmas.? Join Chris Molanphy as he explains why certain songs keep coming back and counts down a dozen favorite second-chance hits. If it first they don?t succeed, chart, chart again. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it crash-landed on the charts in 2019, Lil Nas X?s ?Old Town Road? felt new and old at the same time: a savvy, TikTok-fueled viral hit that summarized a century of cross-cultural collisions between R&B, rap and country. It was also unexpectedly huge?a record 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100?and controversial, as Billboard magazine pulled the song from its Hot Country Songs chart, prompting a reckoning on race and the very definition of country music. ?Old Town Road? wasn?t just a reckoning?it was a culmination. As a hard-to-categorize hit, it called back to cross-genre experiments by everyone from Ray Charles and the Rappin? Duke to Bubba Sparxxx and even Jason Aldean. As a viral smash, its antecedents date back to ?The Twist,? right through ?Crank That (Soulja Boy)? and ?Harlem Shake.? In honor of his new book Old Town Road (now in bookstores!) join Chris Molanphy as he walks through the many predecessors to ?Old Town Road? and explains why can?t nobody tell Lil Nas X nothin?. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special mini-episode of Hit Parade, recorded live on at Housing Works bookstore in New York City, host Chris Molanphy is joined by Dan Charnas?author of the New York Times bestseller Dilla Time, The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, and the acclaimed The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop. They discuss Chris?s new book Old Town Road?how he came to write it, what made the song exceptional, and how decades of chart and genre history led to Lil Nas X?s breakthrough. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it crash-landed on the charts in 2019, Lil Nas X?s ?Old Town Road? felt new and old at the same time: a savvy, TikTok-fueled viral hit that summarized a century of cross-cultural collisions between R&B, rap and country. It was also unexpectedly huge?a record 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100?and controversial, as Billboard magazine pulled the song from its Hot Country Songs chart, prompting a reckoning on race and the very definition of country music. ?Old Town Road? wasn?t just a reckoning?it was a culmination. As a hard-to-categorize hit, it called back to cross-genre experiments by everyone from Ray Charles and the Rappin? Duke to Bubba Sparxxx and even Jason Aldean. As a viral smash, its antecedents date back to ?The Twist,? right through ?Crank That (Soulja Boy)? and ?Harlem Shake.? In honor of his new book Old Town Road (now in bookstores!) join Chris Molanphy as he walks through the many predecessors to ?Old Town Road? and explains why can?t nobody tell Lil Nas X nothin?. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HEY! HO! LET?S GO!! Is this chant: (a) a movement of disaffected hipsters, (b) walkup music for a baseball player, or (c) a really catchy bop? How about all of the above? The legendary New York nightclub CBGB was the birthplace of punk. But it was also the future of pop: the Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Blondie. To varying degrees, these acts either became hitmakers, tried to reshape their music for the charts, or influenced generations of future multiplatinum stars. Honestly? Their music was pretty infectious from the jump, even if it was too advanced for the ?70s hit parade. The music we called punk contained multitudes: the improvisatory jazz-rock of Television. The demented anthems of the Ramones. The quirky funk of Talking Heads. The stylistic eclecticism of Blondie?who scored four No. 1 hits in four different genres. Join Chris Molanphy on a journey back to New York?s dirty days to try to answer: When did CBGB punk morph into chart pop? Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

HEY! HO! LET?S GO!! Is this chant: (a) a movement of disaffected hipsters, (b) walkup music for a baseball player, or (c) a really catchy bop? How about all of the above? The legendary New York nightclub CBGB was the birthplace of punk. But it was also the future of pop: the Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, Blondie. To varying degrees, these acts either became hitmakers, tried to reshape their music for the charts, or influenced generations of future multiplatinum stars. Honestly? Their music was pretty infectious from the jump, even if it was too advanced for the ?70s hit parade. The music we called punk contained multitudes: the improvisatory jazz-rock of Television. The demented anthems of the Ramones. The quirky funk of Talking Heads. The stylistic eclecticism of Blondie?who scored four No. 1 hits in four different genres. Join Chris Molanphy on a journey back to New York?s dirty days to try to answer: When did CBGB punk morph into chart pop? Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If an instrumental tops the charts, it?s probably an earworm: ?Tequila.? ?Wipeout.? ?Dueling Banjos.? ?The Hustle.? ?Feels So Good.? ?Chariots of Fire.? ?Axel F.? You can probably whistle or hum several of those from memory. But do you remember the artists? All were one-hit wonders. By and large, instrumental hits throughout chart history were flukes. But there were exceptions: a trumpet player from Los Angeles who pretended to be Latin, made up a fake mariachi band, put sexy models on his album covers and topped the charts almost as much as the Beatles. Or, a try-hard, perm-headed soprano saxophone player from Seattle, who turned holding his breath while playing dizzying runs of notes into an athletic feat. How do songs without words become hits? Why were Herb Alpert and Kenny G so good at it? Why did instrumentals fall off the charts after the ?80s?and who is bringing them back? (Hint: think oontz-oontz-oontz.) Join Chris Molanphy as he throws away the lyric sheet and explains how a catchy melody can be worth a thousand words. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If an instrumental tops the charts, it?s probably an earworm: ?Tequila.? ?Wipeout.? ?Dueling Banjos.? ?The Hustle.? ?Feels So Good.? ?Chariots of Fire.? ?Axel F.? You can probably whistle or hum several of those from memory. But do you remember the artists? All were one-hit wonders. By and large, instrumental hits throughout chart history were flukes. But there were exceptions: a trumpet player from Los Angeles who pretended to be Latin, made up a fake mariachi band, put sexy models on his album covers and topped the charts almost as much as the Beatles. Or, a try-hard, perm-headed soprano saxophone player from Seattle, who turned holding his breath while playing dizzying runs of notes into an athletic feat. How do songs without words become hits? Why were Herb Alpert and Kenny G so good at it? Why did instrumentals fall off the charts after the ?80s?and who is bringing them back? (Hint: think oontz-oontz-oontz.) Join Chris Molanphy as he throws away the lyric sheet and explains how a catchy melody can be worth a thousand words. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talk about ?90s rap, and most music fans will throw around the word ?gangsta? and talk about the East Coast?West Coast feud that tragically brought down Biggie and Tupac. But one rap group, OutKast, quite literally rose above the fray: At the 1995 Source Awards, while East and West were bickering with each other, OutKast?s André Benjamin took the mic and told the rap faithful that hip-hop?s future was in the South. For the next quarter century, he was proved indisputably correct. OutKast brought about this sea change by conceiving of hip-hop as everything music: funk, soul, pop, club, even country and indie all found their way into André and Big Boi?s music. By the time of their final studio album, they had pulled away almost fully from pure rap?and were rewarded with their biggest hits ever, a No. 1 smash each for Big Boi and André. Including that immortal jam that taught you, the fellas and the ladies?including all Beyoncés and Lucy Lius?what?s cooler than being cool. Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch and Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talk about ?90s rap, and most music fans will throw around the word ?gangsta? and talk about the East Coast?West Coast feud that tragically brought down Biggie and Tupac. But one rap group, OutKast, quite literally rose above the fray: At the 1995 Source Awards, while East and West were bickering with each other, OutKast?s André Benjamin took the mic and told the rap faithful that hip-hop?s future was in the South. For the next quarter century, he was proved indisputably correct. OutKast brought about this sea change by conceiving of hip-hop as everything music: funk, soul, pop, club, even country and indie all found their way into André and Big Boi?s music. By the time of their final studio album, they had pulled away almost fully from pure rap?and were rewarded with their biggest hits ever, a No. 1 smash each for Big Boi and André. Including that immortal jam that taught you, the fellas and the ladies?including all Beyoncés and Lucy Lius?what?s cooler than being cool. Podcast production by Benjamin Frisch and Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Lenny Kravitz, a hitmaker primarily in the ?90s and ?00s, and Bruno Mars, a 2010s?20s hitmaker, have in common? It turns out, a lot: Each man has a wide-ranging ethnic and musical background, with early exposure to unusual sides of showbiz. Each has scored hits in a variety of styles. They are admirers of each other?s work and have even performed live together. But the main thing Lenny and Bruno have in common is their skill?some might say habit?of borrowing tropes and styles from hitmakers of the past. Kravitz from the very start of his career emulated the rock stylings of his heroes, like John Lennon and Sly Stone. And Bruno Mars?talk about an Unorthodox Jukebox: His career has been a parade of hits whose sound has spanned from the Police to Rick James to Michael Jackson. Are they cultural appropriators, or genius style chameleons? Join Chris Molanphy as he chronicles two premier pop stylists of the last 30 years who wore genres like costumes and rebooted oldies into modern hits. Don?t believe them? Just watch. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do Lenny Kravitz, a hitmaker primarily in the ?90s and ?00s, and Bruno Mars, a 2010s?20s hitmaker, have in common? It turns out, a lot: Each man has a wide-ranging ethnic and musical background, with early exposure to unusual sides of showbiz. Each has scored hits in a variety of styles. They are admirers of each other?s work and have even performed live together. But the main thing Lenny and Bruno have in common is their skill?some might say habit?of borrowing tropes and styles from hitmakers of the past. Kravitz from the very start of his career emulated the rock stylings of his heroes, like John Lennon and Sly Stone. And Bruno Mars?talk about an Unorthodox Jukebox: His career has been a parade of hits whose sound has spanned from the Police to Rick James to Michael Jackson. Are they cultural appropriators, or genius style chameleons? Join Chris Molanphy as he chronicles two premier pop stylists of the last 30 years who wore genres like costumes and rebooted oldies into modern hits. Don?t believe them? Just watch. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, the Pointer Sisters are mostly remembered for their flurry of ?80s hits, especially the ?Excited? one about losing control and liking it. But their musical history is far more varied: jazz standards? Civil rights?era funk? Country music? Yacht rock? The Pointers applied their impeccable sibling harmonies to all of it. Billboard ranks the Pointer Sisters behind only the Supremes, TLC, and Destiny?s Child among hitmaking girl groups. Yet their versatility has gone relatively unheralded?from the Grammy they won in a country category, to the Bruce Springsteen demo they turned into a smash, to the kiddie bop they recorded for Sesame Street. How did the Pointers score so many hits in so many idioms? Join Chris Molanphy as he gives the Pointer Sisters their due as harmonizing innovators and genre-defying hitmakers. Here at Hit Parade, we jump (for their love). Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. This Pride Month, make an impact by helping Macy?s and The Trevor Project on their mission to fund life-saving suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, the Pointer Sisters are mostly remembered for their flurry of ?80s hits, especially the ?Excited? one about losing control and liking it. But their musical history is far more varied: jazz standards? Civil rights?era funk? Country music? Yacht rock? The Pointers applied their impeccable sibling harmonies to all of it. Billboard ranks the Pointer Sisters behind only the Supremes, TLC and Destiny?s Child among hitmaking girl groups. Yet their versatility has gone relatively unheralded?from the Grammy they won in a country category, to the Bruce Springsteen demo they turned into a smash, to the kiddie bop they recorded for Sesame Street. How did the Pointers score so many hits in so many idioms? Join Chris Molanphy as he gives the Pointer Sisters their due as harmonizing innovators and genre-defying hitmakers. Here at Hit Parade, we jump (for their love). Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. This Pride Month, make an impact by helping Macy?s and The Trevor Project on their mission to fund life-saving suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the ?90s, U.K. rock was by Britons, for Britons. The music of the U.K. indie, Madchester and shoegaze scenes fused together into a new wave of guitar bands with punk energy, laddish lyrics and danceable grooves. They called it Britpop. In the motherland, Britpop set the charts alight: Blur faced off against Oasis. Pulp poked fun at the class system. Suede sold androgyny, and Elastica repackaged ?70s art-punk as ?90s pop. But with rare exception, these hits didn?t translate in America. There was no Third British Invasion in the ?90s?with the exception of that one inscrutable Oasis song about a ?Wonderwall.? Why did Britpop fire up Old Blighty and flop with the Yanks? Join Chris Molanphy as he tries to define Britppop?was it a scene? a sound? a movement??and explains how the music boomed and busted faster than a cannonball. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy?s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the ?90s, U.K. rock was by Britons, for Britons. The music of the U.K. indie, Madchester and shoegaze scenes fused together into a new wave of guitar bands with punk energy, laddish lyrics and danceable grooves. They called it Britpop. In the motherland, Britpop set the charts alight: Blur faced off against Oasis. Pulp poked fun at the class system. Suede sold androgyny, and Elastica repackaged ?70s art-punk as ?90s pop. But with rare exception, these hits didn?t translate in America. There was no Third British Invasion in the ?90s?with the exception of that one inscrutable Oasis song about a ?Wonderwall.? Why did Britpop fire up Old Blighty and flop with the Yanks? Join Chris Molanphy as he tries to define Britppop?was it a scene? a sound? a movement??and explains how the music boomed and busted faster than a cannonball. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Make an impact this Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month by helping Macy?s on their mission to fund APIA Scholars. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before 1964, British bands couldn?t get anywhere on the U.S. charts. Then suddenly, after a certain Fab Four broke, they were everywhere. By 1965, they had locked down our Top 10. In 1981, a new generation of U.K. acts armed with synthesizers were largely shut out of the Hot 100 once again. But then a new video channel called MTV changed the game?helped by some very pretty men in dapper suits. By 1983, half of the U.S. Top 40 had a British accent. What did these two movements have in common, besides screaming fans and impressive hair? Join Chris Molanphy as he dissects these two bloodless coups that rebooted our hit parade. These Invasions were about as easy as a nuclear war. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy?s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before 1964, British bands couldn?t get anywhere on the U.S. charts. Then suddenly, after a certain Fab Four broke, they were everywhere. By 1965, they had locked down our Top 10. In 1981, a new generation of U.K. acts armed with synthesizers were largely shut out of the Hot 100 once again. But then a new video channel called MTV changed the game?helped by some very pretty men in dapper suits. By 1983, half of the U.S. Top 40 had a British accent. What did these two movements have in common, besides screaming fans and impressive hair? Join Chris Molanphy as he dissects these two bloodless coups that rebooted our hit parade. These Invasions were about as easy as a nuclear war. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Make an impact this Earth Month by helping Macy?s on their mission to bring more parks to more people across the country. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alecia Moore was so fearless, they put an exclamation point in her name. Pink?a.k.a. P!nk?was full of bravado from the moment she broke at the turn of the millennium, singing a frothy style of teen pop&B. She was promoted as ethnically ambiguous and sold to white and Black audiences as a sassy Total Request Live starlet. She even joined an all-star remake of ?Lady Marmalade.? But Pink felt misrepresented, even Missundaztood?so she recorded an album by that name, fusing rock guitar, dance beats and filter-free lyrics. She called out shiftless boyfriends, other pop stars, even the president of her record label in the lyrics of her hits, becoming the pop fan?s rock star. Join Chris Molanphy as he explains how Pink defined her own genre fusing punk attitude and soaring melodies into 21st-century self-empowerment music. She made herself into a rock star, simply by calling herself one. Who knew? Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Make an impact this Women?s History Month by helping Macy?s on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alecia Moore was so fearless, they put an exclamation point in her name. Pink?a.k.a. P!nk?was full of bravado from the moment she broke at the turn of the millennium, singing a frothy style of teen pop&B. She was promoted as ethnically ambiguous and sold to white and Black audiences as a sassy Total Request Live starlet. She even joined an all-star remake of ?Lady Marmalade.? But Pink felt misrepresented, even Missundaztood?so she recorded an album by that name, fusing rock guitar, dance beats and filter-free lyrics. She called out shiftless boyfriends, other pop stars, even the president of her record label in the lyrics of her hits, becoming the pop fan?s rock star. Join Chris Molanphy as he explains how Pink defined her own genre fusing punk attitude and soaring melodies into 21st-century self-empowerment music. She made herself into a rock star, simply by calling herself one. Who knew? Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Make an impact this Women?s History Month by helping Macy?s on their mission to fund girls in STEM. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most improbable blockbuster successes of the ?90s was Hootie and the Blowfish: a South Carolina bar band fronted by a Black lead singer that played jangly alt-pop. That singer, Darius Rucker, built a career that?s one of a kind. Rucker?s tastes growing up were eclectic, as were the influences on his young bandmates. Their Cracked Rear View album took a year to catch on, but then it dominated the charts. The story gets more interesting after Hootie fell off: Darius Rucker?s career is a prime example of how chart success is a product of musical trend. First, Rucker tried to become a neo-soul star. Then he tried his hand at country music, even though Nashville had not produced a major Black solo star since Charley Pride. Join Chris Molanphy as he traces this improbable journey?the role Rucker?s band played in mainstreaming alt-rock, Rucker?s effort to find a genre to call home, and how he finally became a chart-conqueror again.. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Make an impact this Black History Month by helping Macy?s on their mission to fund UNCF scholarships for HBCU students. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most improbable blockbuster successes of the ?90s was Hootie and the Blowfish: a South Carolina bar band fronted by a Black lead singer that played jangly alt-pop. That singer, Darius Rucker, built a career that?s one of a kind. Rucker?s tastes growing up were eclectic, as were the influences on his young bandmates. Their Cracked Rear View album took a year to catch on, but then it dominated the charts. The story gets more interesting after Hootie fell off: Darius Rucker?s career is a prime example of how chart success is a product of musical trend. First, Rucker tried to become a neo-soul star. Then he tried his hand at country music, even though Nashville had not produced a major Black solo star since Charley Pride. Join Chris Molanphy as he traces this improbable journey?the role Rucker?s band played in mainstreaming alt-rock, Rucker?s effort to find a genre to call home, and how he finally became a chart-conqueror again.. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Make an impact this Black History Month by helping Macy?s on their mission to fund UNCF scholarships for HBCU students. Go to macys.com/purpose to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of Fleetwood Mac is an oft-told rock n? roll tale: British blues-rock band sells poorly until two Americans join, bringing California vibes and lots of drama. Everybody fights, cheats, drugs, and boozes. Out pops Rumours and tons of hits. It?s more complicated than that. Those two Americans?Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham?got all the media coverage and wrote many great songs. But the quiet lady behind the keyboards, Christine McVie, actually wrote more of the hits: ?Don?t Stop.? ?Say You Love Me.? ?Hold Me.? ?Little Lies.? ?Everywhere.? They were all Christine compositions. Join Chris Molanphy as he remembers Christine McVie, who died in late 2022 at age 79, and restores her rightful place as the glue that held Fleetwood Mac together. Podcast production by Kevin Bendis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices