How Christmas brought about Nirvana’s chart victory over Michael Jackson—and invented a holiday sales strategy. <iframe title="Smells Like Christmas Spirit Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT2702552065&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> <iframe title="Smells Like Christmas Spirit Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT1571457329&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Advertisement Listen & Subscribe Choose your preferred player: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts TuneIn Spotify Stitcher Overcast [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to Billboard’s Melinda Newman, frequent Garth Brooks interviewer, about the country king’s career. <iframe title="The Bridge: Ropin’ the Charts" src="" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> View Transcript Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive episodes of Slow Burn, Hang Up and [...] Read more

How Garth Brooks became the biggest-selling musician of the ’90s, making pop fans come to his side of the fence. <iframe title="Friends in Low Places Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT8832433334&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> View Transcript <iframe title="Friends in Low Places Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT7780827665&amp;light=true" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> View Transcript Country music is forever wrestling with its [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to Todd Rundgren biographer Paul Myers about Todd’s work on a smash Jim Steinman–Meat Loaf LP. <iframe title="The Bridge: Producer by the Dashboard Light" src="" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive episodes of Slow Burn, Hang [...] Read more

How Jim Steinman brought pomp, thunder and a whole lot of Meat Loaf to the top of the charts. <iframe title="Turn Around, Bright Eyes Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT9157495792&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> <iframe title="Turn Around, Bright Eyes Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT6167605373&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Producers and songwriters have a major impact on how a finished pop song sounds, [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to Billboard’s Jason Lipshutz about one-hit wonders from the last century through the TikTok era. <iframe title="The Bridge: Some Popstars That We Used to Know" src="" class="slate-megaphone__megaphone-player" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> View Transcript Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive episodes [...] Read more

Why A-ha and Dexys Midnight Runners are one-hit wonders—but Vanilla Ice and Men Without Hats aren’t. <iframe title="One and Done Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT6539042044&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> <iframe title="One and Done Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT6324570528&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> “Spirit in the Sky.” “Tainted Love.” “Come On Eileen.” “Bust a Move.” “Ice Ice Baby.” “Macarena.” The artist behind [...] Read more

Chris Molanphy talks to the coiners of Yacht Rock about how they define the genre they invented. <iframe title="The Bridge: Yacht Or Nyacht?" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT6663014493&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> First, we have a few announcements about the future of Hit Parade—and it’s good news for both Slate Plus members and non-Plus listeners. While the economic challenges [...] Read more

Slate staffers go head-to-head with Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy for the ultimate chart-trivia roundup. <audio title="Wednesday Night Live: Music Trivia" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT7510393630.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="Wednesday Night Live: Music Trivia" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT7510393630&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> Get More Hit Parade Slate Plus members get extended, ad-free versions of our podcasts—and much more. • Exclusive [...] Read more

How Yacht Rock, a genre invented in the ’00s, gave a name to the smooth West Coast music of the ’70s and ’80s. <audio title="What a Fool Believes Edition" src="https://traffic.megaphone.fm/SLT7307219829.mp3" class="slate-megaphone__audio-player" tabindex="0" preload="metadata" controls></audio> <iframe title="What a Fool Believes Edition" src="https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=SLT7307219829&amp;light=true" frameborder="no" height="200" scrolling="no" width="100%"></iframe> In the late ’70s and early ’80s, a scene and [...] Read more