Explore the Realm

Music History

How charts, formats and musical movements really work.

BillboardGrammy AwardsGenre HistoryOne-Hit Wonders

John Fogerty Was Sued for Sounding Like Himself: Rock's Strangest Lawsuit

A former label said John Fogerty copied a CCR song that he had written himself. The courtroom battle became one of music's strangest copyright cases.

Seven gifted artists died at 27. Their stories deserve accuracy, compassion and more attention to their lives than to a haunting number.

The 1977 crash ended lives, changed Southern rock and left survivors with injuries and memories that lasted far beyond the wreckage.

Queen treated a short charity set like a precision-built stadium show, and Freddie Mercury made Wembley Stadium feel like one instrument.

After years focused on movies, Elvis returned in black leather and reminded television audiences why his live presence had changed popular music.

The Hot 100 combines several kinds of American listening and buying activity into one weekly ranking.

Music travels from a mastered recording to a cut groove, metal stampers and hot vinyl pressed into a playable disc.

The difference comes from mastering, playback hardware, physical limits and the way we listen - not from one format always being superior.