A history of rock and roll, one song at a time.
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs is a weekly podcast presented by writer and critic Andrew Hickey. Each episode digs deeply into the story of a single recording from the years 1938 to 1999 — the people, the places, the failures, and the small accidents that pushed popular music into its next shape.
Andrew Hickey is the author of more than twenty books on music, science fiction, and comics criticism. He launched the show in 2018 with a promise — no waffle, no padding, no ads where possible, and a free text transcript for every episode. The show is meticulously researched, generous in its sources, and structured to give each song the historical context it deserves.
New episodes publish as often as the research allows. Listeners who become members get an additional ten-minute bonus podcast every week, early access to ebook editions of new books, and the back catalog of subscriber-only episodes.