Thom Donovan

Neil Young released an electronic album one year after New Order's debut Movement . But Movement still sounds like Joy Division, the post-punk band whose ashes New Order rose from following Ian Curtis's suicide in 1980.

When Glenn Frey heard Jack Tempchin play “Peaceful Easy Feeling” at a friend’s home in Los Angeles, he thought the song would work for his new band. Formed from Linda Ronstadt’s backing band, the Eagles would soon be in London recording their first album. Meanwhile, Tempchin was an unknown folk singer performing the rounds in Southern California coffee shops. Here’s how a fast-food restaurant, a show poster, and Tempchin’s song became an early hit for the Eagles.

Neil Young's 1982 electronic album Trans is a polarizing work designed to tear apart a particular perception of his music. His new wave experiment is equal parts krautrock and early synth-pop MTV, and its greatest paradox is how affection anchors its cold façade.

When Chicago singer/songwriter Richard Marx wrote his biggest hit “Right Here Waiting,” it took a boomerang of rejection for the song to return to him.

Six months after the Bee Gees released “Tragedy,” culture war in the U.S. ignited … literally.

The Bee Gees' best song might be one they didn't record for themselves. And Barbra Streisand's “Woman in Love” may be the musical highlight of Barry Gibb's remarkable career.

In 1974, Van Halen played their first Sunset Strip show at Gazzarri’s, a former West Hollywood nightclub. Though the band had previously performed at house parties and high school events, booking a show on the Sunset Strip was a crucial step forward for them. Here are five essential deep cuts from the David Lee Roth era to celebrate Van Halen’s April 4 Sunset Strip debut 50 years ago.

Jimi Hendrix changed the music world with his guitar playing in a brief but prolific four years. In iconic stature, he rivals Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones as one of rock and roll’s most influential and mythical figures. The five guitarists listed below borrowed Hendrix’s distinct style and turned it into something uniquely theirs.

Pearl Jam's “Waiting for Stevie” began while singer Eddie Vedder waited for a music legend to arrive for a recording session. It's the kind of anthem Pearl Jam used to write regularly. Think Yield's “Given to Fly.” It's a return to the band's familiar sound following the experimentations on their previous album, Gigaton

He played earthy and cosmic guitar melodies, and his songwriting lifted The Allman Brothers Band to a wide commercial audience. He and Duane Allman's weaving guitar style established Southern rock and forever changed music. Following Allman's death in 1971, Betts' role within the band grew, and he wrote their only Top 10 hit, “Ramblin' Man.”