

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

May 27, 2019 • 60min
Managing Led Zeppelin, the Biggest Band on Earth
This week author Mark Blake joins Nate to talk about his book “Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin, and Beyond--The Story of Rock's Greatest Manager.” In this episode, Mark and Nate talk about the man behind the biggest rock band of the 1970s, Peter Grant, manager of Led Zeppelin. Mark goes beyond the legends of money, muscle and drugs and tells us about the real human being who fought for his clients and turned the music industry on its ear.Buy the book and support the podcast.Download this episode.Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter.Follow us on Facebook.Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts.
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May 20, 2019 • 54min
Frank Sinatra, Mitch Miller and the Great American Song
Buy the book and support the podcast.Download this episode.Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter.Follow us on Facebook.Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts.This week author Ben Yagoda joins Nate to talk about his book “The B Side: The Death of Tin Pan Alley and the Rebirth of the Great American Song.” In this episode, Ben and Nate discuss the golden age of American song when writers like Cole Porter and George Gershwin wrote songs that worked on Broadway, on the radio, in dance clubs and as source material for great jazz and how that era ended after world war 2. It wasn’t rock and roll that almost killed Frank Sinatra’s career -- it was Columbia producer Mitch Miller. Come back next week when author Mark Blake joins us to discuss Led Zeppelin and the greatest manager in rock history.
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May 13, 2019 • 55min
The Weavers: Folk Music vs the Black List
This week author Jesse Jarnow joins Nate to talk about his book “Wasn’t That a Time: The Weavers, the Blacklist and the Battle for the Soul of America.” In this episode, Jesse tells Nate about one of America’s unlikeliest million selling pop combos -- the folk singing, unabashedly left wing Weavers and their battles with the paranoid American right wing, all in the context of a pre-rock and roll 50’s when pop was at its all-time whitest and blandest.Buy the book and support the podcast.Download this episode.Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter.Follow us on Facebook.Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts.
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May 6, 2019 • 43min
Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra and the Swing Era
This week author Peter Doggett returns to discuss his book “Electric Shock: 125 Years of Pop Music.” In this episode, Peter and Nate discuss the joyous music that dominated the years of World War II including Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and more. Come back next week when author Jesse Jarnow joins us to discuss the Weaves vs the blacklist.Buy the book and support the podcast.Download this episode.Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter.Follow us on Facebook.Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts.
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Apr 29, 2019 • 48min
Bing Crosby and the Age of the Crooner
This week author Peter Doggett returns to discuss his book “Electric Shock: 125 Years of Pop Music.” In this episode, Peter and Nate discuss how the invention of electric recording, microphones and radio allowed singers like Bing Crosby and Rudy Vallee to "croon" to their audiences. Come back next week when author Peter Doggett returns to talk about the Swing Era.Buy the book and support the podcast.Download this episode.Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter.Follow us on Facebook.Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts.
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Apr 22, 2019 • 1h 1min
The Entrepreneurs of Early Hip-Hop: Sugar Hill & Def Jam
This week author Dan Charnas joins Nate for a discussion of his book “The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip Hop.” In this episode, Dan and Nate talk about two of the legendary record companies from Hip Hop’s early years: Sugarhill Records and Def Jam. They discuss Sylvia and Joe Robinson’s background in the world of old school R&B and how those practices carried over into the 1980s. They also dive deep into the unlikely partnership between Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin and the glory days of Def Jam.Buy the book and support the podcast.Download this episode.Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter.Follow us on Facebook.Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts.
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Apr 15, 2019 • 1h 6min
Otis Redding: Supernova
This week Nate and author Jonathan Gould conclude their discussion of Otis Redding. They cover Redding's breakthrough with audiences urban, English and anglo and his tragic death.Buy the book and support the podcast.Download this episode.Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter.Follow us on Facebook.Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts.
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Apr 8, 2019 • 1h 7min
The Rise of Otis Redding
This week author Jonathan Gould joins Nate for the first of two episodes discussing his book “Otis Redding: An Unfinished Life.” In this episode, Jonathan and Nate cover the youth of Otis Redding in segregation era Georgia, his beginnings in music, his discovery by Stax Records, his management and an early brush with crime.Buy the book and support the podcast.Download this episode.Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter.Follow us on Facebook.Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts.
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Apr 1, 2019 • 1h 4min
Stax Records Blows Up in the 1970s
Nate and author Robert Gordon finish their discussion of Robert's "Respect Yourself" with a focus on Al Bell's years at the helm of Stax. From the dizzying highs of Shaft and WattStax to the sad end of Memphis' greatest record company in the 1970s.Buy the book and support the podcast.Download this episode.Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter.Follow us on Facebook.Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts.
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Mar 25, 2019 • 58min
Stax Records and the Soul Explosion
This week Nate is joined by author Robert Gordon to discuss his book “Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion.” In this episode, Robert and Nate talk about the birth and rapid rise of Stax Records, the early hits of Booker T & the MGs, Otis Redding, and Carla Thomas, as well as the political, social and racial context of Memphis, Tennessee in the 1960s.Buy the book and support the podcast.Download this episode.Have a question or a suggestion for a topic or person for Nate to interview? Email letitrollpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on Twitter.Follow us on Facebook.Let It Roll is proud to be part of Pantheon Podcasts.
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