Let It Roll
Pantheon Media
"Let it Roll" is a podcast about the history of popular music from the 19th Century to the 21st. Proud part of Pantheon - the podcast network for music lovers.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 23, 2026 • 46min
CountryRoll 6: George Jones & Tammy Wynette Were Mr & Mrs Country Music
Host Nate Wilcox & music writer James Porter continue discussing Ken Burns' Country Music with a look at episode six “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” which covers the rise of Kris Kristofferson and a new generation of Nashville songwriters, Mr & Mrs Country music George Jones & Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash’s emergence as a superstar and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s successful attempt at rapprochement between musical generations.
GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack.
Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks!
Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter.
Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 21, 2026 • 40min
CountryRoll 5: Charley Pride Integrates Nashville, Buck Owens & Merle Haggard Bring the Bakersfield Sound
Host Nate Wilcox & music writer James Porter continue discussing Ken Burns' Country Music with a look at Charley Pride’s efforts to integrate country music, the rise of Roger Miller, Buck Owens & Merle Haggard’s Bakersfield Sound, Loretta Lynn and the new wave of female singers she led.
GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack.
Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks!
Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter.
Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 19, 2026 • 40min
Countryroll 4: Johnny Cash and the Rockabilly Revolution Were Answered by Patsy Cline and the Nashville Sound
Host Nate Wilcox and music writer James Porter continue their discussion of Ken Burns' Country Music with a look at the sudden emergence of rockabilly from Memphis, the new generation of stars like Johnny Cash and the Nashville Sound that producers Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley came up with for artists like Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline in response.
GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack.
Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks!
Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter.
Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 16, 2026 • 43min
Countryroll 3: Hank Williams, Eddy Arnold, Lefty Frizzell and Kitty Wells Lead a Post-War Country Music Boom
Host Nate Wilcox and music writer James Porter continue their discussion of Ken Burns' Country Music with a look a Hank Williams, the living avatar of honky tonk, his closest rival Lefty Frizzell, as well as Eddy Arnold, who offered a pop-country alternative, and Kitty Wells whose answer song prefigured feminist country music.
GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack.
Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks!
Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter.
Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 14, 2026 • 43min
Countryroll 2: Roy Acuff, Bob Wills, Gene Autry and Woody Guthrie Lead Country Music Through Hard Times According to Ken Burns
Hosts Nate Wilcox and James Porter discuss Country Music during the Depression and World War 2 and the artists, like Roy Acuff and Bob Wills, and the Maddox Brothers and Rose who dominated the era.
GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack.
Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks!
Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter.
Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 12, 2026 • 43min
Countryroll 1: The Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers and the Beginnings of Country Music According to Ken Burns
Hosts Nate Wilcox and James Porter kick off their discussion of Ken Burns' "Country Music" documentary series with a look at episode one, “The Rub.” They talk about the musical sources of country music, Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family. There’s also a little meta discussion about the series and their thoughts on Ken Burns.
GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack.
Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks!
Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter.
Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 9, 2026 • 50min
What Have We Learned From Ed Ward's History of Rock & Roll Part 2?
Today special guest scholar and musician Yuri Campbell returns to review the key lessons we learned from Nate’s discussions with Ed Ward about his book “The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964-1977 The Beatles, The Stones and the Rise of Classic Rock” and the Let It Roll series covering it. We talk about Ward's cultural scholarship and what lessons we can learn from his method of studying music history.
GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack.
Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks!
Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter.
Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 7, 2026 • 50min
What Have We Learned From Ed Ward's History of Rock & Roll?
Nate Wilcox and guest Yuri Campbell look back on Ed Ward's book "History of Rock & Roll 1920-1963 " and the Let It Roll series covering it. We talk about Ward's cultural scholarship and what lessons we can learn from his method of studying music history.
GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack.
Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks!
Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter.
Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 5, 2026 • 43min
The Pre-Punk Seventies: Ed Ward's History Of Rock & Roll
Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock" with a look at the bloating of the music biz in the early 70s and the feeling that everyone was waiting on something to happen, Bob Dylan vs David Geffen, the New York Dolls at the Mercer Arts Center and the collapse of Stax Records.
GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack.
Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks!
Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter.
Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 2, 2026 • 47min
Hard Rock Vs. Soft Rock, AM Vs. FM: Ed Ward's History Of Rock & Roll
Ed Ward and Nate Wilcox continue their discussion of Ed's book "The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock" with a look at the splits between AM and FM, hard rock and soft rock and John, Paul, George and Ringo.
GO TO THE LET IT ROLL SUBSTACK TO HEAR THE FULL EPISODE -- The final 15 minutes of this episode are exclusively for paying subscribers to the Let It Roll Substack.
Also subscribe to the LET IT ROLL EXTRA feed on Apple, Spotify or your preferred podcast service to access the full episodes via your preferred podcast outlet. We've got all 350+ episodes listed, organized by mini-series, genre, era, co-host, guest and more.
Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to support the show. Thanks!
Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.com
Follow us on Twitter.
Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
