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Published by Prisoners of Rock and Roll
Prisoners of Rock and Roll is a bi-weekly podcast about music, the people who make it, and the almighty, ever-lasting power it has over all of us. We've covered everything from Anthrax to Frank Sinatra, the history of the blues to the history of punk, and from Johnny Cash to the Joshua Tree. We also play clips, discuss music news, and sentence a song every week to The Electric Chair for being terrible. Check us out -- you might learn something! Check us out at www.prisonersofrockandroll.com.
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Before Elvis shook his hips, before Chuck Berry duck-walked across a stage, and before anyone had smashed a guitar or pissed off their parents with a Beatles haircut, there was a DJ in Cleveland spinning records that weren’t supposed to be for white kids. His name was Alan Freed. Contrary to legend, Freed didn’t invent the term rock and roll. And he sure as hell didn’t invent the music. Black artists had been rocking and rolling long before he ever stepped behind a microphone. But Alan Freed heard something happening that most of America didn’t. He played the original Black records instead of the watered-down white covers. He put Black and white artists on the same stage. He brought them to television and movie screens. And when Frankie Lymon danced with a white girl on national TV, the South lost its goddamn mind. Freed helped turn rhythm and blues into a teenage revolution—and became one of rock and roll’s first celebrities in the process. But there was another side to the story: money, songwriting credits, suspicious relationships with record labels, and the payola scandal that destroyed his career. So was Alan Freed the father of rock and roll? A crooked DJ? A racial trailblazer? Or maybe a little bit of all three? Tonight, we’re telling the story of the man who didn’t invent rock and roll… but turned up the volume. Episode Playlist Check out this week's Episode Playlist. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Alice in Chains is one of the biggest bands from the 90s. But by 1996, they were ghosts. Over two and a half years had passed since their last real concert. Layne Staley’s heroin addiction had derailed the band’s touring schedule. Yeah, they dropped their self-titled album in 1996 and it went to number one, but they couldn’t go on the road behind it. The band was out of the spotlight and the rumors about Layne’s addiction were deafening. MTV had chased them Unplugged for years and, in 1996, the finally said yes. The rehearsals were rough – guys not showing up and old habits refusing to die – but Layne got himself together long enough to step on that stage – with a little dose of H to round off the edges. On April 10th, they delivered what many – and I – call one of the greatest MTV Unplugged performances ever. The stage was dark, intimate—candles flickering, lava lamps barely moving. Layne showed up in his trademark wraparound glasses looking thinner than normal. It wasn’t perfect… and that’s exactly why it was perfect. A false start here, a wavering note there, Layne visibly frail but fighting through it. That raw vulnerability made it electric.They reached across their whole career—from early tracks to the new album—with acoustic versions that sometimes enhanced the songs, like the gorgeous ‘No Excuses,’ and other times exposed just how dark and brutal the lyrics really were, like ‘Sludge Factory.’ When Layne’s voice cut through ‘Nutshell’ or ‘Down in a Hole,’ you felt every word. It was haunting, beautiful, and heartbreaking… one of Layne’s final stands with the band. Episode Playlist Check out this week's Episode Playlist. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
KISS was well known for their image, the characters, and the merch. But behind the makeup and pyrotechnics, Ace Frehley brought the fire. Ace was the secret weapon: a Bronx-bred, unschooled guitar slinger whose wild bends, dinosaur vibrato, and pentatonic mayhem gave KISS songs their teeth. No formal lessons, just a Les Paul through a Marshall on ten, loose picking, and pure feel. He didn't just play solos—he sang through the guitar. Episode Playlist Check out this week's Episode Playlist. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
You guys ready for this one? Dr. Dre didn’t just have a great run in hip-hop… he reshaped the entire genre three separate times in less than thirty years. First, as the driving force behind N.W.A. He helped take raw, unfiltered gangsta rap out of the streets of Compton and slam it onto the national stage. Straight Outta Compton, an actual FBI warning letter — the whole thing was a cultural explosion. Then, after leaving N.W.A., Dre basically invents the G-Funk sound. The Chronic, Snoop Dogg, laid-back Parliament-Funkadelic grooves mixed with hard street edge. Suddenly that West Coast vibe took over radio, took over the charts, and defined the entire mid-90s. And just when you think he’s done? Late ‘90s Dre starts Aftermath, signs this skinny white kid from Detroit named Eminem, and opens hip-hop up to a whole new generation of fans. Then comes 50 Cent, Kendrick, and the business empire that turned him into a billionaire. Three different eras. Three different sounds. Three different ways he changed what hip-hop could be. So today we’re asking: Is Dr. Dre the most important man in hip-hop history? This one’s a banger. Let’s get into it. Episode Playlist Check out this week's Episode Playlist. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Summer’s coming in hot, and so are we. In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re checking out one of the coolest, most American sounds in rock history: surf music. It’s a sound designed to imitate the ocean — dripping wet reverb, a clean glowing tone, and that lightning-fast, machine-gun guitar picking you instantly recognize. It exploded right in the gap between the first wave of rock ‘n’ rollers and the British Invasion, when the music charts had gone soft. But while surf rock as short lived, it wasn’t just a blip. This scene drove major advances in guitar amps, influenced guitar gods from Jimi Hendrix to Eddie Van Halen, and even helped blaze a path toward speed metal. And of course, it gave the world The Beach Boys. This was counterculture. This was pure American teenage freedom in musical form — cars, girls, waves, and rebellion. In this episode, we’re riding the wave: and talking about artists like Dick Dale, The Surfaris, and the Ventures. We’ll also touch on how the Pulp Fiction soundtrack helped surf rock get back up on the board as well as some modern bands that are still hanging 10 with the sound. Episode Playlist Check out this week's Episode Playlist. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jerry Garcia never wanted to be the leader. He was the reluctant heart of the Grateful Dead — the quiet, bearded wizard whose guitar could take a song and stretch it into an all-night cosmic journey. But whether he liked it or not, the band revolved around him, and the counterculture found its soundtrack in his hands. Garcia was a profoundly complicated man. A devoted family guy who cherished his children, yet locked in a lifelong battle with addiction that would ultimately claim his life in 1995. He was equal parts dreamer and self-destroyer — a walking contradiction who somehow made that tension beautiful. What defined Jerry most was his restless creativity. The Grateful Dead was never enough. He dove into bluegrass, folk, jazz, and avant-garde with a rotating cast of side projects — from Old & In the Way to the Jerry Garcia Band — always chasing a new sound, a new collaboration, a new way to express the inexpressible. He wasn’t just a rock star; he was a musical explorer who treated every stage like uncharted territory. Today, his spirit lives on in every jam band that refuses to play a song the same way twice, in the Americana revival, and in generations of artists who understand that music isn’t about perfection — it’s about the journey, the risk, and the willingness to get lost so the audience can find something unexpected. Jerry Garcia: counterculture icon, reluctant leader, family man, addict, and eternal innovator. The ripples are still spreading. Episode Playlist Check out this week's Episode Playlist. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It’s easy and honestly fun to complain about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Every year, they announce a class of inductees and music fans rise up in anger asking “how is so and so not in yet” or “how did this person get in before that person.” Or, my favorite, “what? That person isn’t even rock and roll.” We all do it. Hell, we’ve done entire episodes on how the Rock Hall screwed up. But the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced the inductees for the class of 2026 and they pretty much got it right this year. Phil Collins finally getting kudos for his solo career, Billy Idol with that punk-pop sneer, Iron Maiden crashing the metal gates, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis bringing the Britpop attitude, the smooth sounds of Sade, R&B king Luther Vandross, and Wu-Tang Clan changing the game. They rounded it out with Early Influence nods, Musical Excellence awards, and even Ed Sullivan for bringing rock into living rooms. Look, it’s not the purest guitar-rock kickass class ever inducted, but it actually reflects how music evolved and shaped culture. Episode Playlist Check out this week's Episode Playlist. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Twisted Sister started as a hard-working bar band in the New York/New Jersey club scene. These guys played thousands of shows—eight thousand performances—grinding it out night after night in dive bars long before anyone knew their names. They perfected their wild theatrical metal sound the old-fashioned way: pure sweat and persistence. Then came 1984. Stay Hungry exploded, and MTV turned 'We're Not Gonna Take It' and 'I Wanna Rock' into anthems. Those over-the-top videos launched the band from club stages straight to multi-platinum stardom. One minute they're playing for drunks; the next, they're rock stars riding the video revolution. But success has its battles. In 1985, Dee Snider stood before a Senate committee during the PMRC hearings. While others stayed quiet, Dee looked Congress in the eye, defended artistic freedom, and made the whole room look like out-of-touch fools. It was one of the most badass moments in rock history. Years later, the band was gearing up for their 50th anniversary shows. But Dee made the tough call: he couldn't deliver the high-energy, kick-ass performance he demanded of himself anymore—thanks to arthritis and the wear of decades on the road. Rather than give fans anything less, he stepped down with class and integrity. Now, he's handed the reins to Sebastian Bach, who has Dee's full blessing to front Twisted Sister for these special 2026 dates. The spirit lives on: loud, defiant, and still not gonna take it. From the bars to MTV glory, from humiliating Congress to passing the torch—that's the Twisted Sister story Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Rock and roll started to lose its way in the late 1970s. The bands that once sounded dangerous were now playing 10-minute guitar solos in hockey arenas. Progressive rock groups were building entire albums around fantasy epics. Disco had taken over the charts and dance floors. Punk exploded then quickly burned out. If you were a kid looking for something fresh, rock and roll felt a little…tired. Then something strange started happening in clubs in New York and London. Bands were showing up wearing skinny ties instead of denim, playing short, sharp songs that mixed punk energy with pop hooks, art school weirdness, and a lot of synthesizers. The music was quirky, nervous, and a little futuristic. It didn’t sound like classic rock, and it definitely didn’t sound like disco. They started calling it New Wave. And before long, bands like Talking Heads, Blondie, and The Cars were turning that strange new sound into one of the defining movements of the 1980s. In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re looking at New Wave, the music genre that turned new sounds into a defining trend of the early 80s. We’re going to talk about bands like The Cars, Blondie, The Talking Heads and more. We’ve got the bands, the tunes, music news, a song for the electric chair, and all of the entertaining and educating stuff we have to say about them. Let’s hit it. Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re diving into 1976 – that wild year where America turned 200 with fireworks, flags, and music exploding everywhere. It is also the year where Ryan and I were born. And the music world celebrated us joining the party by releasing Hotel California from the Eagles, Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life, and Boston’s Debut Album. David Bowie was The Thin White Duke. Disco was taking over the dance floors, while the Sex Pistols, Ramones, and The Clash were just getting started underground. There’s plenty of great stuff to listen to, and debate so let’s hit it. Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re talking about covers – those magical moments where one artist takes another’s song and makes it their own…Wait, we said that in the monologue of last episode. Well it’s true! We had so many songs to talk about that we decided to jump back into the trenches and talk about more of those moments where one artist grabs a song and turns it upside down, inside out, or straight into gold…or garbage. We still have a lot to say on this topic since we didn’t get to discuss Jeff Buckley’s haunting version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, Manfred Mann having a number one hit with a Springsteen song while Springsteen has never had a number one hit himself, Weezer and Toto covering each other, Whitney Houston’s enormous hit with a Dolly Parton song, and more. And as always, we’ve got some thoughts on music news and a song to send to the electric chair. It’s our first ever two part episode so sit your butt down and turn that volume UP. Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re talking about covers – those magical moments where one artist takes another’s song and makes it their own. Sometimes they stay faithful to the original. Sometimes they completely blow it up and rebuild it into something fresh. We’re going to talk about covers that cross genres like Johnny Cash turning Nine Inch Nails into a heartbreaking confession to Sid Vicious giving us a punk rock version of Frank Sinatra. Covers that became more famous than the originals like Respect by Aretha or Nirvana’s unplugged version of The Man Who Sold the World. We’ve got a killer playlist of iconic reinventions, and a few headscratchers that will make you laugh out loud. Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
It's that time of year again: our 6th annual Christmas Episode! We've roasted bad holiday tunes, thrown epic Christmas parties with rock legends, and even had a blue Christmas diving into the blues. But this year, we're sneaking around the holiday playlist like a couple of grinches with a twist. We're talking about those classic "Christmas" songs that get blasted every December... but if you listen closely to the lyrics, they never once say the word "Christmas." No Santa, no manger, no ho-ho-ho – just snow, sleigh bells, fireplaces, and winter wonderlands that somehow became holiday staples anyway. Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We’re opening the vault on the single most mythical recording in Bruce Springsteen’s long career: Electric Nebraska. In January 1982: Bruce locked himself in a bedroom with a four-track and cut ten of the bleakest songs he’s ever written. A few months later, he took those songs into the studio with the E Street Band and tried them loud. They didn’t work. Bruce ultimately released the original demos, and Nebraska became one of the bleakest albums in the Springsteen catalogue. But what about those full band recordings. For forty years, fans have been debating: do the the tapes even exist? Were they destroyed? Are they better? Even members of the band disagreed on whether they existed. After decades of waiting, we finally have them. In October 2025, Bruce Springsteen dug into the vault and released Electric Nebraska as part of the Nebraska box set. It’s the ultimate “what if” in the Boss’s entire catalogue. Some of these electric takes absolutely rip, but some lose their special darkness as soon as that big E Street sound kicks in. So join us as we dive into the songs from the musical white whale, the electric ark of the covenant for Springsteen fans: Electric Nebraska. Episode Playlist No playlist for this one, but check out the Nebraska Expanded Edition box set for all of this great music we discussed. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hey there, groove rebels, light one up and crank it loud. In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re blazing through songs about weed. From Willie Nelson’s outlaw anthems to Snoop Dogg’s chronic classics, the Grateful Dead’s tie-dye jams, and Cypress Hill’s hazy hits, pot’s been music’s smoky sidekick for decades. But we’re not just name-dropping—we’re digging deep into tracks that tell America’s weed story as it’s gone from counter culture to more mainstream – and legal – form of recreation. Back in the Harlem Renaissance, jazz cats were puffing and playing, turning reefer into rhythm. Then it was counterculture fuel—think ‘60s stoners flipping the bird to the law. Now? It’s legal in half the states, and weed’s gone mainstream, from dispensaries to playlists. So grab your stash, feel the vibe, and join us as we roll through the tunes that tracked America’s high times. Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re reliving the one hit wonders of the 1990s. This was a defining decade for us because it’s when we graduated high school and college, and we spent a lot of it slinging CDs in a record store, back when your local mall had record stores. Music was literally in the background all the time, whether we were watching MTV, sitting in our rooms rocking out, cranking it up while driving our first cars, or helping customers find the cassette single of Macarena or Zoot Suit Riot. We put together a playlist of over 135 one hit wonders from the 90s. There’s no way we’ll get to them all, but we’ve got alternative rock from Blind Melon, Blur, the Flys, Local H, Ben Folds Five, Dishwalla, and more. The two single greatest hip hop songs of all time in the Humpty Dance and Baby Got Back. Singer songwriters like Eagle Eye Cherry, Duncan Sheik, and Jill Sobule. Nu metal, dance music, and all of that weird, quirky stuff like swing music, Right Said Fred, Haddaway, and more. We’re going to talk about songs you haven’t thought of in years and some you wish you never heard again. All you Gen Xers are gonna want to pay attention to this one. Let’s hit it! Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Abbey Road Studios in London, England was the world’s first purpose-built recording studio. Opened way back in 1931, this building and the people inside have been at the cutting edge of recording technology for over 90s years. Abbey Road Studios is most famous for being where The Beatles recorded almost all of their music, but it also drove innovation with stereo recording, multitracks, editing, and the shift from analog to digital recording. In addition to all of those amazing Beatles records – which we’ll get to – some other stuff recorded at Abbey Road includes Dark Side of the Moon and albums from Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Oasis, the Hollies, Radiohead, and the Zombies. Music scores for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Marvel movies, and video game soundtracks for Halo, Call of Duty, and World of Warcraft. They even recorded some of Winston Churchill’s famous speeches during World War II to help keep morale high. From classical roots to rock rebellion, Abbey Road’s always been ahead of the game, rewriting rules along the way. So kick back, feel the beat, and join us as we explore the studio that turned sound into a revolution. Let’s roll! Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
After doing a few episodes on scandals and artists who did time in prison, we’re flipping the script and shining a light on the good people in music – artists who pay it forward and have a reputation for just being good people. We’ve got Dolly Parton sending books to kids through her Imagination Library and Alice Cooper swinging his golf clubs to fund youth programs. Ludacris donating school supplies and clothes to thousands of kids and Jon Bon Jovi fighting poverty through his Soul Foundation. Taylor Swift, U2, Elton John, Kendrick Lamar – these aren’t just stars; they’re the real deal. In a world full of headlines that drag us down, these artists prove music can lift us up. So join us as we celebrate the heart behind the hits. Let’s roll! Charities Here are links to some the charities we talked about in this episode: Alice Cooper’s Solid Rock Foundation (Alice Cooper) – https://alicecoopersolidrock.com/ BeyGOOD Foundation (Beyonce Knowles-Carter) – https://beygood.org/ The Claddagh Fund (Dropkick Murphys) – https://www.claddaghfund.org/ Clara Lionel Foundation (Rhianna) – https://www.claralionelfoundation.org/ Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library (Dolly Parton) – https://imaginationlibrary.com/ The Dollywood Foundation (Dolly Parton) – https://imaginationlibrary.com/the-dollywood-foundation/ Elton John AIDS Foundation – https://www.eltonjohnaidsfoundation.org/ Feeding American – https://www.feedingamerica.org Habitat for Humanity - https://www.habitat.org/JBL Soul Foundation (Jon Bon Jovi) – https://jbjsf.org/ Honor Flight Network – https://www.honorflight.org/ JBL Soul KItchen (Jon Bon Jovi) – https://jbjsoulkitchen.org/ Joseph’s House – https://www.jhoc.org/ The Ludacris Foundation (Ludacris) – https://theludacrisfoundation.org/ Meat Free Monday (Paul McCartney) – https://meatfreeondays.com One (U2) – https://www.one.org/us/ Rex Foundation (Grateful Dead) – https://rexfoundation.org/ Shawn Carter Foundation (Jay-Z) – https://shawncartersf.com/ SocialWorks (Chance The Rapper) – https://www.socialworkschi.org United Way – https://meatfreeondays.com Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re going all the way back to the beginning of rock and roll – and our back catalogue – by taking another look at Sun Records. In January 1950, Sam Phillips and his assistant Mario Keisker opened a small recording studio in a former auto glass repair shop in Memphis, Tennessee and the rest is rock and roll history. Sun Records brought us the first rock and roll song Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats. They also introduced the world to Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and more. We’re going to talk about the history of Sun Records and Sam Phillips, the roster of amazing artists that recorded there, and the impact it had on music forever. Let’s roll. Or as Johnny Cash would say, “get rhythm.” Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The world of music is full of interesting characters, and some of them are unfortunately bad people. In this episode of Prisoners of Rock and Roll, we’re following our namesake by talking about musicians who did time in prison. We have a long list of artists from different genres who spent some time behind bars, and we’re going to talk about them, their crimes, and the music they made. We’ve got stories like Lead Belly being discovered while in prison for attempted murder, to Jelly Roll turning his life around after his daughter was born while he was serving time. The singer for Lamb of God was charged with killing a fan. Ike Turner missed his rock and roll hall of fame induction because he was behind bars. Lil Kim chose prison over snitchin’, and some of the Norwegian death metal dudes are crazy. We’ve got all of their stories and a lot more in this wild episode, so let’s hit it. Episode Playlist Check out our episode playlist here. Get In Touch Check us out online, on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. or drops us an email at show@prisonersofrockandroll.com. Or if you're in Philadelphia, come visit our home base at McCusker's Tavern. Prisoners of Rock and Roll is part of Pantheon Media. We're sponsored by Boldfoot Socks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Observed September 20, 2026.
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