After sampling a few episodes, I decided to start again from the beginning. Easily the most detailed and interesting music podcast there is. Mind boggling!

If you find it boring or not what you thought it would be, skip ahead to when he gets to the early to mid 60s when it gets really interesting. Or don’t the rest good too 👍 Any way here’s a basket: 🧺

As a kid, I read Lilian Roxon’s Encyclopedia of Rock, which, as she said, took a picture of the 1969 rock scene. This podcast basically takes a satellite image and the zooms way in. Rainy afternoon? Put your headphones on and enjoy.

The sheer amount of research that must have gone into this podcast is mind boggling. Each episode, Andrew draws from his vast knowledge to tell compelling stories, built around rock music’s foundational songs. Despite the naming conventions used for the episodes, the scope of each episode is much broader than the titular song. They cover the life story of the musicians, their influences, the culture in which they operated, the business of rock music, and so much more. For music lovers, I cannot recommend this podcast highly enough.

I was a music obsessed teenager in the 60’s and consumed as much news as I could about what was going on at that time. Music journalism was hard to come by. Even buying a Rolling Stone magazine required a trip to one of the city’s few cool record shops back then. Mr. Hickey’s historical perspective, his exhaustive research and his storytelling ability expand so much on what I knew, or thought I knew. Just an amazing example of all that a podcast can be!

Just listen to it... Just. Listen. To. It. Just listen! Ugh, it's so good I'm irritated with Andrew Hickey for taking up so much of my free time!

This is the kind of thing I pay my internet bill for. I love it and am so glad that a random match from a dating app recommended it to me. We never met in real life and never actually dated but in recommending this podcast to me I feel like she’s one of the best relationships I’ve ever been in. 10/10

I’m practically stopping people on the street to tell the about this podcast. So very good!!! Thank you!!!

This one goes deep, and for those of us who enjoy that, this is fantastic. Mr. Hickey does such a great job of creating context for each song / artist / time period. I’m not a fan of 50s rock ‘n’ roll, but I have a whole new appreciation of the context of the times: the music industry, the norms of the music industry at the time, etc.

This is a top shelf podcast of history and context, told with balance and sensitivity. The “song” in each episode is really just a destination of an often multi hour journey through all the threads that led to that song’s creation, often with a history of the artist deftly entwined in the narrative. It's amazingly deep, well researched, avoids hagiography, and most importantly: stitches the various threads of music genres and movements together that gives incredible context to the song discussed.

I have the upmost respect for Andrew Hickey and the integrity with which he does these shows. This pod cast will surely become one of the best resources for rock music history.

Enough said.

A podcast that gets better with every new episode. Andrew’s British, but he understands American history, culture and politics better than almost all Americans.

The level of detail Andrew puts into getting the story as “right as possible” shines through in every episode. His handling of sensitive and controversial topics is extremely professional. I appreciate the level of work he puts into this. I know so much more about music and its history because of his diligent research and effective presentations.

I checked this podcast out on a recommendation through a different podcast that referenced it. I decided to start from the very beginning and listen to them all, endeding up eagerly awaiting the next week’s episode. So with hundreds of hours in, I can say this podcast is definitely worth your time. the recent episodes have been full on masterpieces. Keep going! This is great work!

Well-researched, thoughtful and highly entertaining, this podcast explores the social and cultural contexts of the songs it covers, offering great insight and perspective. A great listen for rock fans.

His earlier shows were interesting, but in the past few years he’s gone insane. His left wing woke presentation has become tiresome. He recently called the majority of Americans fascists. I’m done with him. With his bad health and very infrequent episodes I believe that J.R.R. Martin has a better chance of finishing The Song of Ice and Fire series before this guy ever hits 500 songs.

I really love this. It's crazy to me that there are a few boneheads complaining in this comments section. This work is so thoughtfully researched and assembled. People haven't a clue. It's truly amazing to listen to-enlightening and fun. Many many thanks to Andrew Hickey and whomever else is involved in putting this together.

I loved this podcast at first, but then the episodes kept getting longer and longer and longer and longer and more convoluted and boring. Not to mention that Mr. Hickey began injecting his totally leftist politics into nearly every story…I canceled my Patreon. I’m OVER IT!

Andrew Hickey is a treasure, and this podcast is a masterpiece. The pacing reflects the care going into it, and I eagerly anticipate the ongoing education I am gratefully receiving. Quality wins over speed any day :)

Elmer Fudd is actually Republican, As is Yosemite Sam.

The cockney’d Elmer Fudd accented host recently claimed “the modern Republican Party in the United States is explicitly fascist”. If the host thinks the majority of the American population is fascist, why should we believe anything he claims about music history?

Does a great job researching and making the podcast happen for his ‘Passion’ project but could totally do without his lame, partisan views on politics. Which are close to 90% of the time false. Enough with the ‘wokeness’ and ‘race hustling’.

The final beach boy episodes were so amazingly researched and constructed. What a sad but epicly told story. Thank you for taking the time to make these as carefully and thought out as you do!! <33 wonderful podcast!!

He posts about 5 episodes per year and at this rate will finish all 500 songs in 89 years!

Such a great podcast! Tons of history and information in every episode but Andrew retells the history as an intriguing story. I hope these keep going and get all the way to 500! Thank you for sharing these with us!

The rate music podcast that feels not only informative, interesting, but actually important. I've never heard a better researched nor as far-reaching swath of pop culture history documented anywhere else.

Only 2 songs since July 2024. The podcast is kaput. Go to the earliest weeks and enjoy the first 150 songs very well done.

Great essays that keep you engaged by showing you the wonders of early music history through bits of song. Bravo!

I can’t believe in this day and age a podcast host can find it acceptable to use explicit slurs like h*nky and cr*cker

This is so well researched and interesting. I would highly recommend for anyone wanting to hear about music, the business, and then cultural side of music all together in one. It’s approachable and I am reminded of or learn new music and artists in every episode.

If you listen to many podcasts, you find that many are just people telling you what they like—not a lot of research and not a lot to learn. This podcast is so amazingly researched and incredibly written as to be amazing. Such depth, intricacy and history behind the songs and the people and times that created the songs. Thank you. Also, thanks for introducing me to Johnny Otis! He was everywhere!

I hear music I have loved for years, with a new depth and perspective. Academically deep but never dull, Andrew Hickey has opened my eyes and ears.

I count myself as a pretty knowledgeable amateur, B+ to A-, but this is so far beyond my depth I would be drowning and lost at sea within just a few minutes of each episode. Hickey is a true scholar whose niche is the monkey nerve of rock ‘n’ roll. How he weaves the tapestry of every episode is uncanny and I rarely lose my place. I would call it stream of consciousness, but it all works together. Three thumbs up !

Read about this pod via Tim Heidecker a few months back and I’ve been obsessed ever since. Hickey is all about being as thorough and truthful as possible. In this day and age when the concept of “truth” is consistently under attack by nefarious forces in our culture and planet at-large, Hickey’s voice and work is a reminder of how much potential our humanity has. Thank you, Andrew.

I’ve enjoyed so many of your podcasts, but it’s hard to hear sometimes, when certain Performers come under constant criticism by anyone with a platform. Pat Boone, the McGuire Sisters are not bad people nor without talent. If an artist is still alive, this must hurt.

Dude is a genius and this show is FASCINATING. A Work of Art, actually… and miles above other podcasts.

I am seriously gobsmacked that something like this exists in the world. Andrew Hickey is giving us an amazing gift of knowledge. Knowledge that he has spent his life acquiring. I have joined the Patreon and am enjoying the short bonus episodes as well.

I’m leaning so much. Love everything about this podcast. You can tell Andrew Hickey has really done his research.

Andrew is a treasure. This is an absolutely Herculean amount of research to tackle. Mind blowing. We’re all fortunate to have this. Can’t thank you enough.

Hickey pulls from several sources and connects a lot of dots regarding disparate events that collided to build the phenomenon called “rock music.” Well worth a listen.

This thoughtful, expert work of history and music has changed from a source of information to a lifeline for this American listener. I’m learning, vibing, crying, and rejoicing all the way. The Fat Man episode is brilliant. I’m deeply grateful to Andrew Hickey for his work.

In which my man pots and pans loses what shred of credibility he had left and fully embraces speculative fiction. Rebrand suggestion: A People’s History of Rock Music. As Andy’s worldview collapses all around him he’s going to start sperging out in all directions. Tune in as the public meltdown continues.

Thank you Andrew Hickey for your care and respect for your subject. I thought I knew rock and roll but I have learned so much about the roots and the rip-offs. (I’m about 65 episodes in.) Sometimes it gets kinda poignant and I get kinda teary-eyed. The innovators, the originals, and even the one-hit wonders deserve to be honored and Andrew Hickey honors them well.

Wow! Andrew Hickey dives deep into the musical and cultural forces that converge to create the shape-shifting music called rock. From its antecedents like Charlie Christian, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and Bob Wills to its mid-50’s explosion and beyond, Hickey puts his spotlight on the sadly overlooked musicians as well as the supernovas of rock. Bravo!

What a beautiful podcast run by a beautiful man!

Very well researched, and is able to pull together many threads of history into a narrative around a single song. I get goosebumps sometimes hearing the stories turn into the recognizable names we know today.

A surprisingly engaging and informed history. Hickey knows his stuff and draws all sorts of interesting connections. Anyone interested in twentieth-century music and popular culture will learn a lot from it.

I never thought I was interested in the Grateful Dead/dark star but I couldn’t stop listening to that four hour episode! Well done! Every episode has been eye opening and delightful. Thank you!

Judging from all the reviews, I am in a distinct minority. However, even though there has always been a distinct leftist slant to this podcast, the slant has gotten significantly worse since the 1st episode, much to the detriment of the podcast. To that point, the warnings at the beginning of each episode are arrogant and condescending, treating the audience in an infantile manner. Perhaps if the podcast may disturb you, maybe podcasts are the least of your problems. Otherwise, the music information, although getting progressively tautological, is very interesting. For me, the podcasts are getting to be almost unlistenable. But again, I am probably in a very small minority.