Latest articles by Bill DeMain
How Joni Mitchell watched Woodstock on TV then wrote the song that captured its magic
Originally a b-side, Joni Mitchell's generational classic Woodstock found its biggest audience with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida: the improbable story of a 17-minute one-hit-wonder
Iron Butterfly's In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida started life as a 90-second country ballad, but turned into a psychedelic and cultural landmark
Long Train Runnin': the Doobie Brothers' jam that became a dancefloor classic
The Doobie Brothers' Long Train Runnin' was an instrumental showcase for "half-hour solos" before their producer saw its hit potential
Hi Ho Silver Lining got Jeff Beck into the charts: he never forgave it
Jeff Beck's first single was his biggest hit, but he would go on to describe it as "a pink toilet seat" hanging around his neck
How Christine McVie wrote the song that gave Fleetwood Mac their future
All those shimmering pop masterpieces about dysfunctional relationships can be traced back to a single Fleetwood Mac song
Chicago's 25 or 6 to 4 was supposedly about an acid trip: the truth was much more mundane
Featuring one of the greatest wah solos of all time, this is the story of the Chicago classic 25 or 6 to 4
Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot sold a million: now it's banned from her set
The story of Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot: "I can’t say those words out loud with a smile on my face"
Borrowed notes: The complicated, cross-Atlantic evolution of Black Magic Woman
Santana made a hit of Peter Green's Black Magic Woman, but that's only a small part of the song's journey
Africa by Toto: the song that conquered the known universe
A billion streams makes Toto's Africa one of the most beloved songs in rock history, even if its writer doesn't know why
The soundtrack of my life: Jellyfish's Roger Manning Jr
Jellyfish founder member and keyboard player Roger Manning Jr picks his records, artists and gigs of lasting significance, and reveals the song that makes him cry
The story of the all-time Kinks classic that came to Ray Davies in a dream
One critic described Waterloo Sunset as "the most beautiful song in the English language", and for some it's the ultimate London anthem
Why the new album from Dawes is an exercise in not checking boxes
Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith on digging jazz, doing things on his own terms, and Bob Dylan confusing him with Taylor Swift
The story of the show that turned Prince into a global superstar
Purple Rain represented Prince’s breakthrough moment, but it was the tour that followed – and one show in particular – that turned him into a living legend
How a song about an imaginary break-up with a twist became The Cars' first classic
Ric Ocasek's 1978 hit My Best Friend's Girl was the song that consolidated The Cars' sound and style
It looks like a beer bong and sounds like a robot: the story of Joe Walsh's Rocky Mountain Way
Rocky Mountain Way came to Joe Walsh as he mowed his lawn, much to the detriment of his furious neighbour's rose bushes
How David Bowie’s role as the Elephant Man was almost his last
David Bowie received glowing reviews for his performance as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, but the run ended with Bowie distraught and escaping into seclusion
Watch an inebriated Ace Frehley wreak havoc during Kiss's interview on The Tomorrow Show
It's 1979, it's Halloween, ands Ace Frehley has had a drink
The day John Lennon became a disc jockey on New York's biggest radio station
What happened when John Lennon showed up at WNEW-FM and broadcast for two hours – a show that's still talked about nearly 50 years later
What happened when the FBI tried to decipher The Kingsmen's Louie Louie
With the dumbest of dumb riffs and lyrics that launched an FBI investigation, The Kingsmen's version of Louie Louie has a history unlike any other song
How The Beatles became the first band to make a stand for civil rights
In 1964, faced with playing segregated audiences in the southern United States, The Beatles took a stand
Johnny Cash may not have shot a man in Reno but he murdered his wife on Columbo
Just one more thing... The story of the time Johnny Cash played country-gospel singing murderer Tommy Brown on Columbo, taking the Man In Black places he'd never been before.
Gerry Rafferty, Baker Street, and the sax intro that gave birth to an urban legend
Raphael Ravenscroft's sax intro gave Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street its classic status - but no one can agree how it happened
