
Claude Lemaire continues his series on records that transformed the pop and rock music landscape, organized by year of release.

November 21, 1955, wasnโt just another Monday. For Elvis Presley, it was the day a $35,000 contract (equivalent to $400,000 in 2024) pulled him out of a regional spotlight and thrust him onto the global stage. RCA Records, sensing that the young singer from Tupelo, Mississippi, was more than just a passing trend, purchased his…

In the glittering circus of pop music, where smoke, mirrors, and synthesized beats reign supreme, few scandals hit harderโor landed messierโthan the Milli Vanilli debacle of 1990. This wasnโt just a little hiccup in the pop machine. This was a full-on implosion, a moment when the flashy veneer of the music industry was peeled back,…

In the autumn of 1964, America was a cauldron bubbling over with change. The civil rights movement was in full swing, the Vietnam War was escalating, and the Beatles had already ignited a British Invasion that left teenagers screaming and parents scratching their heads. But on October 25th, a new kind of British export hit…

On July 11, 1969, as the world braced for the monumental Apollo 11 moon landing, an emerging David Bowie released โSpace Oddity,โ a song that would soon become a defining anthem of the space age. Just days before humans first set foot on the moon, Bowieโs cosmic tale of Major Tom captured the imagination of…

In the twilight of post-war Europe, a revolution was brewingโnot in the streets, but on the airwaves. It was 1956, and amid the rolling hills of Lugano, Switzerland, a spectacle was about to unfold that would change the face of European entertainment forever. The Teatro Kursaal, an elegant theater nestled in this picturesque city, became…

In the spring of 1963, The Beatles embarked on a tour that would irrevocably change not only their careers but also the cultural landscape of the 1960s. Starting on May 18 at the Adelphi Cinema in Slough, England, this tour was more than just another series of concerts; it was the genesis of Beatlemania and…

On the third day of April in 1956, a spectacle unfolded that was nothing short of a cultural earthquake, with Elvis Presley at its epicenter. This wasnโt your garden-variety television appearance; it was an event that would ricochet through the annals of music and television history, leaving an indelible mark on the fabric of American…

Pierre recounts how a record theft led him from rock to a lifelong passion for classical music, recommending five era-spanning albumsโfrom Renaissance to Stravinskyโthat shaped his journey and still dazzle audiophiles today.

By February 21, 1970, the Jackson 5 were no strangers to the national stage. Just two months earlier, theyโd dazzled millions on The Ed Sullivan Show, announcing their arrival as Motownโs freshest sensation. But their appearance on American Bandstand was something else entirely. This wasnโt just about proving they belonged; it was about showing the…

From a farm boy in Altoona to a legend in high fidelity, Henry Kloss transformed home audio with the KLH Model Six, the Advent Loudspeaker, and the Cambridge SoundWorks Ensembleโpioneering gear that made superb sound affordable for all.