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

It was December 14, 1969, a cold Sunday night, but the stage at CBS Studio 50 was sizzling with energy. The Ed Sullivan Show, a revered institution in American television, had introduced countless icons to the worldโThe Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Supremes. That evening, five brothers from Gary, Indiana, became the latest in that storied…

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 jump blues and Ray Charlesโs boundary-breaking โWhatโd I Sayโ to the polished hits of Motown and gritty grooves of Stax, this sweeping history traces soul musicโs riseโand discoโs rootsโin a racially and musically transformative America.