PODCAST · music
Deep Tracks
by Doug
History of Rock delivered in one podcast-sized chunk every week.
Episodes
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Ep. 3.9: Hard Headed Women part 2
We continue with the story of Wanda Jackson in this episode and then finish off by tackling the tale of Brenda Lee. This episode features clips of an interview Brenda Lee did with Tanya Pearson on the podcast "Women in Rock Oral History Project," which I strongly recommend everyone checking out!
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Ep. 3.9: Hard Headed Women pt.1
In what was originally intended to be a single episode on the three Founding Mothers of Rockabilly--Janis Martin, Wanda Jackson, and Brenda Lee--this is being released as "Part 1" in which we'll visit the story of Janis Martin and half of Wanda Jackson's. These women were breaking boundaries long...
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Ep. 3.8: Big O and The Killer
Wrapping up our coverage of Sam Phillips' cadre of rock pioneers, we will look at the last two artists to come out of that cohort: Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis. However, other than recording with Sun Records, these two men had almost nothing else in common. One was a reluctant rocker pining…
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Ep. 3.7: Perkins & Cash
After selling Elvis' contract to RCA, Sam Phillips could turn his attention to other artists he'd signed, all who were just as hungry and talented as Elvis. This episode we'll cover two of those artists: Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. We'll be talking about overcoming trials and coping with...
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Ep. 3.6: "Animalistic"
Moral outrage and outright racism ignite the explosive reactions to Elvis' performance of "Hound Dog" on the Milton Berle Show.
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Ep. 3.5: "The Turning Point"
Col. Parker had his sights set on country artists as his ticket to big money. After somewhat reluctantly allowing a young punk kid named Elvis Presley to tag along on his most recent Hank Snow tour, Parker soon came to realize that this kid was the "white whale" he'd been searching for all along....
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Ep. 3.4: "The Art of Snowing"
The man known as "Colonel" Tom Parker would be arguably the most impactful thing to happen to Elvis Presley. Being accused of both creating and destroying the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Parker is a controversial figure in rock history. Add to that his own mysterious and murky personal past, and…
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Ep. 3.3: "That's All Right [Mama]"
Elvis achieves success in his collaboration with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black! The trio find their recordings of "That's All Right" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky" dominating the airwaves! But, what comes next...?
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Ep. 3.2: "Memphis, Tennessee"
Last episode we left off with Elvis' family leaving their familiar surroundings in Tupelo, Mississippi for the big city life in Memphis, Tennessee. This episode we'll pick up where we left off and see him make his first recordings with Sun Records!
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Ep. 3.1 "The King Will Walk On Tupelo"
Kicking off Season 3 of Deep Tracks we explore the birth of the King of Rock 'n' Roll himself, Alan Greenspan! Okay, just kidding, we're gonna be FINALLY diving into the life of Elvis Presley! But, in order to lay some groundwork for the launch of his career, we also have to talk about the people...
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Ep. 2.10: "Nice Guys [Don't Always] Finish Last"
Today we're going to talk about two of early rock's "nice guys": Pat Boone and Dick Clark. Seeking to balance the controversy with their own brand of "squeaky clean" rock 'n' roll, Boone and Clark became a huge cultural influence on teens, teen culture, and even the teen market, during the 1950s....
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Ep. 2.9: "I'd rather theaters than street gangs"
In an effort to not only promote rock but also defend it, Alan Freed helped spearhead the production of three rock 'n' roll-themed films that came out in the mid-1950s: "Rock Around the Clock," "Don't Knock the Rock," and "Rock, Rock, Rock!" In this episode, we take a look at these movies, make...
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Ep. 2.8: "The [Rockers'] Initiative"
In this action-packed episode we tackle the life of early rock's most influential and notorious DJ, Alan Freed--the very man credited with giving the genre its name!
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Ep. 2.7.2: Interview w/ Bill Haley Jr., cont'd ("The Road Can Be Hard," pt.3)
"The road can be hard on a kid if he's not careful." Those words, uttered by Bill Haley, were perhaps more prescient than he probably realized. This is last half of my interview with his son, Bill Haley Jr. This is also the third part of a sort of 3-part "mini-series" I did on Bill Haley's early...
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Ep. 2.7.1: Interview w/ Bill Haley Jr. ("The Road Can Be Hard" part 2)
The saga of Bill Haley continues! In this episode, you'll get a better idea of why I used the Bill Haley quote--"The road can be hard on a kid if he's not careful"--as my title for my Bill Haley episodes. Last episode was a primer on Haley's life that prepped us for both this episode and the next...
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Ep. 2.6: "The Road Can Be Hard on a Kid if He's Not Careful"
Before Little Richard, before Chuck Berry, there was... Bill Haley! Prepare to dive into the story of the man who was arguably the first who could claim the title of "rock star." This episode is a primer/overview of Bill Haley's early life and career in preparation for the next two episodes in...
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Deep Theory: Song Forms
In this second, thrilling music theory episode, I am once again joined by my clones to talk about song forms and how they were used in early rock music! In addition to discussing various song forms, we of course cover the related topics of phrases and, perhaps most important within early rock,...
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Ep. 2.5.2 "The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" Pt. 2
The next segment in the wild journey of Little Richard's life: he finally comes into his own in the studio, "Tutti Frutti" becomes a smash hit, and Earl Palmer almost accidentally solidifies the backbeat as THE heartbeat of rock 'n' roll. It's gonna be fun!
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Ep. 2.5.1 "The Queen of Rock 'n' Roll" pt. 1
Little Richard often referred to himself as the "Architect of Rock 'n' Roll," but there's a great quote in which he said, "Elvis may be the King of Rock 'n' Roll, but I'm the Queen." That being said, I know the title of this episode may be confusing since Tina Turner was also often referred to as...
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Deep Theory: Chord Progressions
The clones are back! This is the first in a new series of episodes I'll be sprinkling throughout the show that are focused on different concepts in music theory. This one tackles chord progressions, and specifically touches on the "Doo-Wop progression" that is associated with Doo-Wop music (a…
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Episode 2.4: "Maybe He's Born With It. Maybe it's Maybellene"
At long last, we tackle Chuck Berry! In this episode we focus on his life story and on his lyrics. You also get to experience my new segue music. That alone is worth the listen...
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Ep. 2.3: "The Fat Man"
In this episode we focus primarily on the life and career of Fats Domino, but of course meander through the stories of several other interesting musical figures such as B.B. King and Ike Turner, not to mention we look at what is considered by most to be the first rock 'n' roll song: "Rocket 88."…
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Ep. 2.2: "Sex & [Charts] & Rock 'n' Roll"
The title says it all: this episode is about sex, record charts, and early rock music. More specifically, we're going to be talking about sexual innuendo within hokum blues and other forms of music, how this impacted people's perception of black music in general, how that would carry over into...
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Ep. 2.1: "I'm Just a Teenage Dirtbag"
Rock was born alongside youth culture in the U.S. and the two of them informed and fueled each other. The invention of the American teenager and the national anxiety over juvenile delinquency would impact how the first generation of rockers would make their decisions, how they would be viewed and...
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BONUS EPISODE: Interview with John Lucchetti from Green Room Strategies!
We take a deep dive into the business side of music! I speak with the genius behind Green Room Strategy, John Lucchetti! We talk about things like talent management, promotion, branding, Alan Parsons and the Alan Parsons Project, plus tons of other stuff! There's lots of great info in here for...
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Episode 1.9: The Overview (It's Cooler Than It Sounds)
An overview of our timeline so far, focusing on the connective tissue between styles/genres/musical cultures, and what elements are there in the music that would contribute to rock's birth. To prevent it from getting too dry, I invited my clone back into Deep Tracks Studio to cover the material...
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Bonus Episode: Interview With My Parents
In this episode, I interview Ma and Pa Deep Tracks! They were teens/young adults during the time of rock's birth, so they saw firsthand many of the events and cultural changes we're examining in this show. There's a lot to unpack in this episode that I left untouched for now, but rest assured I...
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BONUS EPISODE: Interview with Daren Smith
In this epic installment of Deep Tracks in Rock History I interview the founder and CEO of Craftsman Creative, Daren Smith! Daren has an impressive and diverse background in music, sound, and film, and brings to the table a lot of great insight on the creative process and fantastic advice on...
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Ep. 1.4: "Mommas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys"
In this thrilling episode we talk about Hank Williams, Roy Acuff, Hawaiian slide guitar, and tribbles (as in "Trouble with..."). This is where country music and western music finally merge to become Country Western, and the seeds are planted for rock's country heritage.
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Ep. 1.2: "Nobody Leaves This Place Without Singing the Blues"
In this thrilling episode we look at the blues roots of rock music! Some of the artists discussed are Robert Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and of course W.C. Handy.
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Ep. 1.1: "It Began In Afrika"
Before we talk about the birth of rock, we need to examine its pedigree. In this episode, we look at the African roots of rock: the musical traditions of the African slaves, musical elements like "call and response," spirituals, syncopation, lyrics with hidden meanings--all of it!
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Ep. 0: In Which Doug Gets an Exclusive Interview With Doug!
I've cloned myself! This episode is a brief overview of my approach and what to expect in this podcast, plus a few other, random tidbits. It figured it would be dry to just talk about it, so I went ahead and cloned myself and then interviewed my clone. You can check it out to get a taste of…
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Trailer
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Deep Tracks have?
Deep Tracks currently has 39 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Deep Tracks about?
History of Rock delivered in one podcast-sized chunk every week.
How often does Deep Tracks release new episodes?
Deep Tracks has 39 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Deep Tracks?
You can listen to Deep Tracks on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Deep Tracks?
Deep Tracks is created and hosted by Doug.
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