Until recently, I'd never really listened to many podcasts. I know that I help our online publisher, Geoff Stanfield, with the Tape Op Podcast, but I hadn't really found the time or the interest to listen to any others. As my studio is only 21 blocks from my home, during the pandemic I began to make a point to walk to work as much as I could. But walking bored me and listening to music seemed distracting when I was heading to work where I'd be doing so all day. But after my pal, Jeff Stuart Saltzman, encouraged me to check out The Rockonteurs (Gary Kemp [Tape Op#145] and bassist Guy Pratt, interviewing rock notables), I found that podcasts could make my walk less dull, and maybe I'd also learn something in the process.
When I stumbled across A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs by Andrew Hickey, I knew I was in for a treat and that I could fill in the gaps in my own understanding of music's past. Andrew wrote California Dreaming: The LA Pop Music Scene and the 60s, plus other books on The Beach Boys and The Kinks, and his podcast is attempting to tell the story of rock music history, all the way from pre-rock rumblings in the late 1930s and ending at the end of 1999. It's certainly a labor of love, and Andrew's extensive research pulls together many disparate facts, challenges some long-held assumptions, and gives voice to many non-white-male participants.
Even simply beginning to understand the influence of a person like Johnny Otis, what he did for Black culture and music, and how he lived his life, was a huge revelation. If all he had done was "discover" Etta James or Jackie Wilson, the world would be a better place, but there's far more to his story, as Andrew covers in many episodes during the early parts of this podcast.