Pop
Here you'll find album stories, birthdays, and anniversaries from pop artists across the decades, along with news of vinyl reissues as titles return to print. Pop built much of its early history on the 7-inch single, the format that carried hit songs into homes and jukeboxes long before albums became the main event, and that legacy still shows up in picture sleeves, colored pressings, and singles boxes collectors look for today. The stories here follow how specific songs and albums came together, the writers and producers behind them, and why a particular reissue or pressing still catches a collector's eye.
379 STORIES
When a Rocket Launch Killed the Radio Star
On 1 August 1981, MTV launched with The Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star.' The novelty track became a prophecy that reshaped music, fashion, and television.
· 5 min read
Tiffany Young: The California Girl Who Built a K-Pop Empire
Tiffany Young went from a California singing competition to a four-year SM Entertainment traineeship. Her career made Girls’ Generation one of the world’s most popular female groups.
· 5 min read
How a Backstage Walkout Made Siouxsie and the Banshees Go Synth
Two musicians vanish without warning. A band is left staring at a stage they’re supposed to command in hours, with no guitarist and no drummer. That kind of sho…
· 5 min read
40 Years of a Debut That Started in a Crowded House
In August 1986, Crowded House released their self-titled debut on Capitol Records. It was a pop-rock statement built from the ground up in two iconic Hollywood studios.
· 6 min read
Cilla Black: From the Cavern to Prime Time
Cilla Black died in a Spanish villa in August 2015. Her story began in a damp Liverpool basement, where a coat-check girl became a pop phenomenon under the wing of the Beatles.
· 4 min read
Eight Tracks in Soho: The Beatles' 'Hey Jude' Gamble
In July 1968, The Beatles left EMI's four-track confines for Trident Studios in Soho. They recorded 'Hey Jude' on eight-track equipment, a move that shattered pop conventions and radio rules.
· 4 min read
Jimmy Cliff: Before and After The Harder They Come
In a dimly lit Kingston recording booth in 1962, a teenage Jimmy Cliff watched producer Leslie Kong cue the tape for 'Hurricane Hattie.' The song, named after t…
· 5 min read
Cass Elliot: The London Night the Sunshine Faded
Cass Elliot died of a heart attack at thirty-two in Harry Nilsson's London flat. Hours earlier, she had finished a sold-out Palladium run that marked her triumphant solo return.
· 6 min read
How a $7M Film Turned Prince's Pain Into Vinyl Gold
Inside First Avenue, the air was thick with cigarette smoke and the scent of cheap beer. A silhouette emerged on stage, draped in a purple trench coat, gripping…
· 5 min read
Stevie Nicks, Bella Donna: A Fleetwood Mac Mythology Splinters
Stevie Nicks released Bella Donna on July 27, 1981, while still inside Fleetwood Mac. It was a platinum-selling statement that reframed her songwriting as a separate, self-sufficient mythology.
· 4 min read
Stormzy: The Oil Refinery Rapper Who Changed Charts
Stormzy was a quality control inspector at a Southampton oil refinery before he became the artist who made grime the mainstream of British music. His rise rewrote what British rap could achieve.
· 5 min read
Jennifer Lopez: The Fly Girl Who Flipped the Billboard 200
Jennifer Lopez went from In Living Color's Fly Girl troupe to a historic Billboard 200 run. She became the first woman with a simultaneous number-one album and film in the United States.
· 5 min read
Michelle Williams: From Destiny's Child to Gospel Chart-Topper
In 2002, while Destiny's Child was on hiatus, Michelle Williams released Heart to Yours. The gospel album became the year's best-selling gospel record and launched a multifaceted solo career.
· 4 min read
David Hasselhoff: From Knight Rider to German Rock Stardom
David Hasselhoff, born July 17, 1952 in Baltimore, became America's unlikely European rock sensation while simultaneously dominating 1980s television.
· 3 min read
Valentina Tolkunova’s Voice Beyond Pop
Valentina Tolkunova, born in 1946, worked as a dub actor and actor as well as a singer, bringing a rare versatility to Soviet music and film. She would have turned 80 this year.
· 1 min read
Lily Allen's Alright, Still: A MySpace-Fueled Pop Revolution
Lily Allen's debut album Alright, Still arrived in July 2006 after a MySpace-fueled buzz. It blended pop, ska, and hip-hop into a candid manifesto that bypassed traditional industry gatekeepers.
· 3 min read
Kyle Gass: From 7UP Ads to Tenacious D Stardom
Kyle Gass's path to Tenacious D ran through a 7UP commercial, UCLA theatre school, and The Actors' Gang, where he met Jack Black and taught him guitar.
· 4 min read
Dan Smith of Bastille: From Bedroom Composer to Synth-Pop Visionary
Dan Smith, the creative force behind Bastille, went from a teenager secretly writing songs in his London bedroom to a synth-pop visionary. His 2013 hit 'Pompeii' anchored a global breakthrough.
· 4 min read
Ulrikke Brandstorp turns 31: the voice that refuses to be boxed in
Norwegian artist Ulrikke Brandstorp turns 31 this year, having already built a career across pop music, composition and acting. Her path rebels against being boxed into a single lane.
· 1 min read