Between the Liner Notes

Episodes

1. 22

   Introducing Bleeped - A New Show About Censorship

   Bleeped is a new podcast about censorship and the people who stand up to it. Coming June 18th. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

   Jun 3, 2019

   1m
2. 21

   21: Stone

   Joe Stone is the youngest son of the founder of TK Records, Henry Stone, and wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. Henry, however, refused to allow any of his children to work in the music industry. Listen as Joe chronicles how he convinced his father to take a chance on him. Hosted on…

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   May 22, 2017

   50m
3. 20

   20: Take Me Out to the Ball Game

   If you attend a baseball game today, during the seventh inning stretch you’re likely to hear the entire stadium sing, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.” We’ve grown so accustomed to singing the song during ballgames that it feels like the ritual has been around forever, but if it wasn’t for a device...

   May 1, 2017

   38m
4. 19

   19: Discophobia (Disco Part 2)

   1978 set the record for most album sales with disco surpassing rock & roll for the first time ever. Industry insiders predicted the following year would continue to break sales records, but an economic downturn and a fierce anti-disco backlash proved their predictions false. This is the story of...

   Mar 22, 2017

   28m
5. 18

   18: The Dance Floor Doesn't Lie (Disco Part 1)

   In 1970, two deejays discovered they had the ability to take the dance floor on a journey by playing records back-to-back, continuously throughout the night. Soon clubs all over the world adopted this style of deejaying, and a new culture and music genre called "disco" emerged. Eight years later,...

   Feb 21, 2017

   39m
6. 17

   17: The Colored American Opera Company

   The Colored American Opera Company was born at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church — the first all-black church in the nation’s capitol — where an Italian priest invited a white Spanish American veteran of the U.S. Marine Band, and teacher of march legend John Philip Sousa, to teach a French style of...

   Jan 17, 2017

   26m
7. 16

   16: The Fake Zombie Invasion

   When “Time of the Season” became a hit song in 1969, the Zombies had already disbanded. Yet for some reason, there was a band touring around America calling itself the Zombies. Listen as Daniel Ralston, author of the article “The True Story Of The Fake Zombies,” talks about unearthing this...

   Dec 19, 2016

   20m
8. 15

   15: Boy Bands, Blimps & Ponzi Schemes

   This is the story of boy band impresario and convicted Ponzi schemer, Lou Pearlman. Listen as Pearlman biographer, Tyler Gray and talent manager Jeanne Tanzy-Williams discuss an individual who was larger than life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

   Nov 14, 2016

   45m
9. 14

   14: Give 'em the Hook

   Vaudeville was once America's most popular form of entertainment. Audiences flocked to the theaters to watch an array of performances ranging from standard singers and comedians, to shadow puppets and a man who eats weird stuff. A few savvy businessmen recognized vaudeville's popularity early on,...

   Oct 11, 2016

   31m
10. 13

    13: The Execution of Joe Hill

    In 1915, Joe Hill, a Swedish-American labor activist, was unjustly convicted and executed by the State of Utah, but not before leaving behind a body of work that would inform the next generation of American folk music. In this episode, we talk with William Adler author of the Joe Hill Biography...

    Sep 3, 2016

    43m
11. 12

    12: 3,000 Beatniks Riot in Village

    Every Sunday since the end of World War II, musicians journeyed to Washington Square Park to sing folk-songs. Until one Sunday—after the City of New York denied the musicians a singing permit—they decided to protest instead. What resulted was a violent confrontation with authority. Hosted on…

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    Jul 25, 2016

    38m
12. 11

    11: The District

    The story of how Jazz began in New Orleans Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Jun 20, 2016

    40m
13. 10

    10: Jingle Brains

    Jingles are traditionally defined as short songs about a product that are written for TV or radio, but—with songs like Poo-Pourri’s “Imagine Where You Can Go” being released on the internet—does the traditional definition need to be expanded? Listen as Tim Taylor, author of “The Sounds of...

    May 9, 2016

    36m
14. 9

    09: Castrati

    It's hard to believe, but only a few centuries ago, young boys were castrated for the sole purpose of preserving their high-pitched singing voices. These boys—commonly referred to as Castrati—started out singing the high parts in church choirs, but, with the surging popularity of opera, soon...

    Apr 4, 2016

    30m
15. 8

    08: God Bless Tiny Tim

    Ten years before hippies grew their hair long and twenty years before rock stars like David Bowie began wearing makeup, Tiny Tim did both. His unique appearance complimented his high-pitched falsetto singing and small ukulele. Like a performer out of step with time, Tiny’s repertoire featured…

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    Feb 29, 2016

    44m
16. 7

    07: Extinguish Lights

    Taps is a 24 note bugle call that was composed during the American Civil War. It is the only piece of music that is required to be performed at a United States military funeral. Oddly, when it was written it was never intended to be played at funerals. It was supposed to tell soldiers when to go…

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    Feb 1, 2016

    43m
17. 6

    06: That’s How Cuba Sang

    Ramón Sabat once owned Panart Records, the largest indie label in Cuba. Legendary Cuban vocalists like Celia Cruz and Olga Guillot made their first recordings with Panart. Nat King Cole recorded his first Spanish album in Panart Studios. Success, however, did not come easy to Panart. Ramón Sabat...

    Jan 4, 2016

    46m
18. 5

    05: Who Owns Happy Birthday?

    Jennifer Nelson is a documentary film maker who wanted to make a movie about the song “Happy Birthday to You.” When she inquired about using the song in her film the owners of the song forced her to pay for it, and she did. However, while Jennifer Nelson was doing research for her film she...

    Dec 1, 2015

    36m
19. 4

    04: Why Won't They Let Sharkey on the Radio?

    Imagine if all your favorite songs were banned from the radio. Well, that actually happened during the Great Radio Boycott of 1941. The United State’s most famous songwriters collectively decided to pull their catalogues from the public airwaves. This was their response to the radio stations...

    Nov 2, 2015

    42m
20. 3

    03: I Want My MTV

    In 1981, no one believed people would watch a cable channel that aired music videos 24 hours a day. This is the story about how MTV proved them all wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Oct 4, 2015

    53m
21. 2

    02: The Tuning Wars

    Back in the day, every A-list philosopher and scientist argued over the best method for tuning a musical instrument. The battles they fought were some of the fiercest intellectual scuffles the western world has ever seen. In 2003, Stuart Isacoff published a book about those scuffles. The book...

    Sep 1, 2015

    35m
22. 1

    01: Bing Crosby, Magnetophons, & Nazis

    In the aftermath of World War II, the United States Military assigned a tech savvy GI named Jack Mullin the mission of investigating secret inventions left behind by the Nazis. Mullin’s journeys around Germany led him to a makeshift radio studio that had a device called the Magnetophon, the first...

    Aug 2, 2015

    31m