Curated playlist
20th-century American pianists
- Bruce SpringsteenBruce Springsteen threw the first acetate of his own album Born to Run into the swimming pool of his hotel in 1975. The record was being mastered while the band toured, and he was furious at what he heard. He briefly considered scrapping…
- Aretha FranklinOtis Redding said Aretha Franklin took his song "Respect" away from him. Her version hit number one in 1967.
- Little RichardLittle Richard walked away from rock and roll to study theology. A fireball over Sydney in 1957 shook him.
- Igor StravinskyIgor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring caused a near-riot at its 1913 Paris premiere.
- Dr. HepcatIn 1948, Austin station KVET hired Dr. Hepcat as Texas's first black disc jockey. He chose the name himself.
- Brian WilsonOn a flight to Houston in 1964, Brian Wilson broke down sobbing. He then quit touring with the Beach Boys.
- Trent ReznorTrent Reznor once worked at Right Track Studio in Cleveland as an assistant engineer and janitor. Studio owner Bart Koster remembered his employee this way: "He is so focused in everything he does. When that guy waxed the floor, it looked…
- Neil DiamondNeil Diamond, born on the 24th of January 1941, once stretched his food budget to just 35 cents a day. Decades later, the American singer-songwriter had sold more than 56.5 million records in the United States alone. That total places him…
- Joe WalshJoe Walsh ran for President of the United States in 1980 on a platform of "Free Gas For Everyone." He promised that if he won, "Life's Been Good" would become the new national anthem. He was only 32, three years short of the 35 the office…
- Charles RosenPianist Charles Rosen wrote his first book because a record sleeve note embarrassed him. It won a National Book Award.