If you're a fan of rock music and its history, you'll appreciate the depth of research and the oceans of info contained in every episode of Andrew Hickey's podcast "A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs." It's like The Beatles' yellow submarine was outfitted as a bathyscaphe and descended to the bottom of the Marianas Trench of rock history.
Even fans who think they've heard it all will discover new gems. In the episode about the song "Hey Jude" I learned that Peter Tork of the Monkees played banjo on the Yellow Submarine movie and that the very first record released by Apple Records was by …Frank Sinatra?!
And as it's a podcast, your host tracks down obscure bits of audio and plays them for you, like the obscenity left in the mix of "Hey Jude" (once you hear it…). You haven't swung until you've tasted Ella Fitzgerald's cover of Harrison's "Savory Truffle." (so, that's two "tangerine" songs by her?) The songs' backstories and historical audio bits are fascinating. Alternate takes and early demos of old favorites let you hear them with fresh ears.
If you jump in, be careful: you could get the bends in each two-hour-plus long dive.
