Rare & Scratchy Rock 'N Roll Podcast

This episode spotlights a legendary singer/songwriter/guitar stylist who’s known as the King of Rockabilly, as well as the Godfather of Rock & Roll. He’s Carl Perkins. We’ll spotlight all of Carl Perkins’ hit singles, along with the remakes of those songs that were charted by other singers. We’ll also cover his connections with Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and especially, his life-long collaborations with Johnny Cash. Plus the Beatles.

The Motown Sound helped define the music of a generation during the company’s heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s. We’ll revisit the five-year period that encompassed its founding in 1959 through 1963 – just before its explosive growth and domination of the rock charts for more than a decade. Motown charted 64 rock and rhythm & blues singles from 1959 to 1963, and you’ll hear them all right here. This is a companion to our episodes #4 and #5 that presented a two-part "Alternative History Of Motown R

This episode spotlights 40 lost hits from the year 1972. These include top 40 tunes radio stations no longer play – by major artists such as Carole King, Three Dog Night, Ringo Starr, Neil Diamond, The 5th Dimension, Wayne Newton, Curtis Mayfield, and The Bee Gees, among others. We’ll present the only active-duty armed forces military band to march its way onto the top 40 rock charts, and sample the biggest hit single based on a soft drink commercial.

This episode salutes the 50th Anniversary of the largest and most famous rock and roll concert ever – Woodstock – August 15 through August 18, 1969. We’ll sample one song each from the acts who performed there – in chronological order – along with the back stories on each one. Hear about the acts that were invited to perform, but declined, canceled, or didn’t show up at all. We'll also detail how much the performers were paid, as well as how much the promoters lost in connection with this event.

This is the second of two episodes saluting one of the most famous names in rock and roll history – Rick Nelson. We’ll spotlight the second half of his career, as he gradually evolved from being a fading teen idol to reinventing himself as a county-rock pioneer and an accomplished composer. This includes the true-life story behind one of his biggest records of all time. We’ll spotlight all of his remaining hit singles and present the original versions of any of those songs that inspired Rick revived.

This is the first of two episodes saluting one of the most famous names in rock and roll history –Ricky Nelson – or as he later called himself – Rick Nelson. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, his success rivaled contemporary stars such as Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, and Fats Domino. In our two-part retrospective, we’ll spotlight all of his hit singles, plus the original versions of any of these songs that he covered. And we’ll track his trajectory from child actor to rock and roll stardom.

Every hit single with a biker theme during the 20th century, and some terrific two-wheel tunes that didn’t chart, along with selected hit album cuts about motorcycles. These songs include the only motorcycle gang to appear on a hit 45, plus the only motorcycle song to be #1 hit single. We’ll also re-cycle melodies about some of the most famous motorbikes of all time – including the only two makes that were the subject of hit singles saluting them. It's the greatest motorcycle rally on record.

This is the second of two episodes saluting one of the most unique and enduring talents in rock and roll history – Roy Orbison. This episode covers the last decades of his career with a particular focus on his triumph over multiple personal tragedies. This includes a spotlight on Roy Orbison’s movie career and an interview one of Roy’s sons – Roy Orbison, Junior, who’ll offer some insights into the unique performing persona his father projected and the living legacy his father left behind.

This is the first of two episodes saluting one of the most unique and enduring talents in rock and roll history. He’s best known for his soaring voice, but it’s not well known that he composed or co-composed most of his own hit songs. He’s Roy Orbison. We’ll sample all of his hit singles, plus the original versions by artists who inspired him. Then you’ll hear the charted remakes of his hits by other singers. And we’ll revisit hits he wrote expressly for other performers

This episode spotlights 40 lost hits from 1980. These include top 40 tunes radio stations no longer play – by major artists such as Elton John, Donna Summer, Carly Simon, Bob Seger, The Jacksons, Pete Townshend, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, and Dan Fogelberg, among many others. We’ll relate the story of a song that was a top 20 hit twice – the first time when it debuted in 1980 and nine years later in 1989 when it was re-issued.

This episode spotlights Jailhouse Rockers. These are performers with police records as well as hit records. Many served jail sentences. Others only received probation. A few got off with just a fine. And one died while his penitentiary term was still pending an appeal. As we recite some of their bad deeds, we’ll also sample some of their good music. Those are two things they all had in common. And that’s the way we’ll present them.

This is the second of two episodes saluting Paul Anka. His recordings span more than seven decades. We’ll sample all of his hit singles, plus the original versions by artists who inspired him, plus the charted 45 RPM remakes of his hits by other singers and hits he wrote for other performers. Hear Anka’s special connections with Frank Sinatra, David Bowie, and Michael Jackson. Our rockologist, Ken Deutsch presents more of his interview with Anka, and Anka relates how he wrote one of his biggest hit so

This is the first of two episodes saluting Paul Anka. We’ll sample all his hit singles, plus the original versions by artists who inspired him. Plus the charted remakes of his hits by other singers and hits he wrote for other performers. Hear Anka's connections with Annette Funicello, Buddy Holly, Connie Francis, and Johnny Carson. And rockologist Ken Deutsch presents a personal interview with Paul Anka in which the artist sits next to Ken on his piano bench and sings a 1974 hit right in his hotel room!

Feminine pride and empowerment are common themes in the rock, pop, and rhythm & blues hits of the 20th century – especially in recent years. But there were fewer such hit records in earlier eras. This episode remembers 30 songs with feminist messages that were played on the radio long before their time – the decades of the 1950s through the 1990s. Ironically, almost all of these tunes were composed or co-composed by men. We'll explain why and detail the importance of these hit songs.

Say the words, “British Invasion,” and everyone recalls the Beatles, the Dave Clark 5, the Rolling Stones, and the Bee Gees, for example. Their songs are still played on U.S. radio stations. But forgotten by many is an earlier British invasion. It preceded the Beatles and the other mid-1960s U.K. artists who dominated the U.S. music scene. This “Rare & Scratchy Rock ‘N Roll” episode salutes 50 lost Top 40 acts from both the 1950s and 1960s waves of the British invasion.