The Moscow Music Peace Festival was a two-day rock concert held in August 1989.  Held during Mikhail Gorbachev’s period of Glastnost, Russia allowed a handful of western rock and roll acts to perform for the first time in Moscow, and over 100,000 people living in Cold War Soviet Union packed into Central Lenin Station to witness the forbidden fruit of late 80s rock and roll in all of its excess.  Motley Crue, Ozzy Osbourne, Skid Row, Bon Jovi, and the Scorpions shared the stage with some Russian rock and roll acts to promote peace and raise awareness about drug and alcohol addiction ..read more

Chess Records was an independent record label created on the South Side of Chicago in 1950 by two Polish immigrants named Leonard and Phil Chess. As one of the most important blues labels of all time, Chess Records captured the electric sound of the American South and had a huge influence on the early days of rock and roll.  Chess Records helped introduce America to Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howlin’ Wolf, and Etta James. And when these albums made their way across the Atlantic, they inspired the British blues movement that gave us Clapton, Zeppelin, and of course, the Rolling ..read more

Lights, camera…rock and roll! Music plays a huge role in film, and in this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re taking another look at movie soundtracks. Soundtracks have given us some incredibly iconic songs over the last 80 years.  Purple Rain, The Bodyguard, Titanic, Saturday Night Fever, Purple Rain, 8 Mile, Ghostbusters, Footloose, Robin Hood, Judgment Night, Guardians of the Galaxy, Pulp Fiction, Singles, Grosse Point Blank, the Lion King. I could keep going but we have a show to do.  Grab some popcorn and a soda, recline your seat, and silence your damn cell phone beca ..read more

Get ready to climb into the musical memory machine and take a trip back to 1994 as we revisit the music that came out 30 years ago.  It was a year that defined our generation when Kurt Cobain took his own life. We got important albums like Purple from Stone Temple Pilots, Superunknown by Soundgarden, Sixteen Stone from Bush, Jar of Flies from Alice in Chains, Throwing Copper from Live, and Vitology from Pearl Jam. REM tried to plug in with Monster while Nirvana went unplugged on MTV. Mariah Carey transformed into a Christmas character, while Green Day and Offspring pushed punk o ..read more

Get ready to climb into the musical memory machine and take a trip back to 1994 as we revisit the music that came out 30 years ago.  It was a year that defined our generation when Kurt Cobain took his own life. We got important albums like Purple from Stone Temple Pilots, Superunknown by Soundgarden, Sixteen Stone from Bush, Jar of Flies from Alice in Chains, Throwing Copper from Live, and Vitology from Pearl Jam. REM tried to plug in with Monster while Nirvana went unplugged on MTV. Mariah Carey transformed into a Christmas character, while Green Day and Offspring pushed punk o ..read more

Rock and roll and cars are a classic combination. In fact, the very first rock and roll song, Rocket 88, was about a car.  So get ready to rev your engines and hit the open road because on our next episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we're shifting into high gear and exploring of music about cars. From the rhythmic hum of the engine to the wind in your hair, these tunes capture the essence of the open highway and the freedom that comes with it. We'll be diving into the classics and exploring the rock and roll rebel attitude embodied in some of these great songs.  But it's not just ..read more

We’re rock and rollers at heart here at the Prisoners of Rock and Roll, but we both have a soft spot for Christmas music. In our annual Christmas episode, we decided to hope in a one horse open sleigh and take a trip down memory lane to the classic Christmas songs of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. These are the songs we opened our presents to as kids – and many of them are from artists who were enormously popular at the time but we really only hear around the holidays this year.  So grab some punch and settle in as we are having a classy, classic Christmas.  Episode Playlist Check out all of ..read more

Bruce Springsteen has released more than 20 studio albums over the course of his 50-year career, including some of the most iconic rock and roll albums in history.  We’re both huge fans of the Boss here at Prisoners of Rock and Roll, and we unfortunately didn’t get to see him this summer after he canceled part of his tour due to illness.  So in this episode we are taking a close look at we think are his top five albums. We’re going to explain how we came up with the list, talk about the songs that make him such an important figure in music and our lives, and get into what his music m ..read more

There were several ambitious projects in the 1980s where the music industry tried to make a difference by raising money to make a difference. One of those projects happened in 1985, when dozens of musicians formed a supergroup called USA for Africa and recorded We Are the World.  Written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and produced by the legendary Quincy Jones, We Are the World included dozens of performers in a star-studded ensemble cast made up of some of the biggest names in music at the time: Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Kenny Loggins, Bruce Spring ..read more

There were a lot of things about the 1980s that we’d like to forget but one of the most memorable parts of the decade was the music. While artists like Madonna, the Police, Def Leppard, and Michael Jackson were popular for huge parts of the decade, the music scene of the 1980s is filled with artists who had one, and only one, hit song.  In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re talking about the one hit wonders of the 1980s. We’ve got a list of songs that includes some that we still listen to today…and some that haven’t aged very well.  So, Come On Eileen and Take On Me wh ..read more