What a weird and wonderful world we might now inhabit if racism and homophobia hadn’t killed disco at its cultural zenith — if sybarite symphonies like Barry White’s “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything” still flew their freak flags from the highest reaches of the Billboard charts. There’s never again been a pop star […]

“All the songs I record fall into one of two categories, as a rule,” Kenny Rogers once said. “One is ballads that say what every man would like to say, and every woman would like to hear. The other is story songs that have social significance.” The 1978 country-pop crossover classic “The Gambler” fits squarely […]

“Reach Out I’ll Be There” is a light in the darkness — an achingly tender declaration of commitment and compassion delivered with the force of rolling thunder. Released in August 1966 following a summer of mounting civil unrest and violent rebellion, the Four Tops’ humanist anthem remains a bottomless reservoir of strength and succor through […]

Before he was the impish foil of rapper Lil Dicky on the FX network’s must-watch cringe comedy Dave, benny blanco was merely one of the biggest music producers in the universe. His shapeshifting, kitchen-sink production ethos is the sound of pop radio in the post-millennium age, midwifing career-defining records for superstars Ed Sheeran, Rihanna, Justin […]

“(I Just) Died in Your Arms” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in May 1987, more than a year after the Parents Music Resource Center compiled its “Filthy Fifteen” — the now-infamous list of pop songs the committee’s founders blamed for the moral decay of America’s youth. Censors were asleep at the wheel by the time […]

When the Temptations released their debut Motown Records single “Oh Mother of Mine,” Paul Williams was firmly ensconced as the group’s lead singer. But by the time the Tempts topped the charts with “I Can’t Get Next to You,” Williams’ life and career were in irreversible decline, his formidable baritone confined almost exclusively to backing […]

Gladys Knight and the Pips’ “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” was at one time the best-selling single in Motown Records history — and then Marvin Gaye’s version of the song came along just 13 months later, and knocked it off its pedestal. But Knight’s “Grapevine” is no footnote: her rendition of the Norman Whitfield/Barrett […]

There’s only one “Reunited.” Peaches & Herb’s gauzy, gooey ballad is pure polyester pop, a disco-era kitsch classic endlessly repurposed and recontextualized across a dizzying array of sitcoms, advertisements and memes. There’s a whole lot of Peaches, however. While Herb Fame has remained a constant in the R&B duo since its 1966 introduction, no fewer […]

Edwin Starr will forever remain synonymous with “War,” his 1970 psychedelic soul milestone assailing America’s ongoing involvement in the decades-long conflict in Vietnam. But Starr was by no means a one-hit wonder. Eighteen months before declaring “War” on the pop charts, the singer hit paydirt with “Twenty-Five Miles,” one of the most propulsive singles ever […]

James Burton is the quintessential sideman. The virtuoso electric guitarist’s legacy spans more than half a century, and encompasses stints behind many of the most celebrated artists of the rock and roll era, including Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson, Merle Haggard, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris. While Burton spent the vast majority of his career 20 […]