Talks from my book Come Together

Whole Lot of Shakin’ Goin’ On: How Did Rock and Roll Come to Be?

• 12 Changes That Paved the Way for the Rock and Roll of the 50s
• What Was the 1st Rock and Roll Record?
• Rockin’ ‘Round the Clock: DJ Alan Freed, the combo band Bill Haley and His Comets, and the movie Blackboard Jungle ignite a rock and roll explosion

Setting the Stage for the Beatles

• The King and Court: Elvis and 6 other rock and roll pioneers who greatly influenced the Beatles
• A New Frontier: The music of the Kennedy years (1960 to 1963)

From Rock and Roll to Rock: A 6-year musical road trip from Liverpool to Woodstock

• 1964 – The Beatles and the Music of the British Invasion
• 1965 – With Rubber Soul, The Beatles, Under the Influence of Bob Dylan and Pot, Create Song Lyrics with More Mature Meanings
• 1966 – Garage Rock Rules, but Albums like the Beatles’ Revolver Begin Making LPs More Important Than 45 Singles
• 1967 – With the Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s as Its Soundtrack, a Summer of Love Gives Birth to Psychedelic Rock and the Hippie Lifestyle
• 1968 – The Music of the Beatles, the Stones, and Others Reflect Turbulent Times
• 1969 – The Beatles Stay Home But from Atlantic Pop to Woodstock to the Isle of Wright to Altamont, It’s a Year of the Big Music Festival
• from Our Rock and Pop Culture Division – Rock of Agers Icons

Rock Icons and the Real World Series

The Bands

• Here, There, and Everywhere: How the World Would Be Much Different Without the Influences of the Beatles
• What a Drag It Is Getting Old: What the Rolling Stones Can Teach All of Us About Aging
• A Traveling Show of Deadheads and Tie-Dye: The Radical, Yet Highly Successful Business Plan of the Grateful Dead

Individual Artists

• The Answer Is Blowin’ in the Wind: The Great Protest Anthems of Bob Dylan
• Is a Dream a Lie If It Don’t Come True or Is It Something Worse: Bruce Springsteen and the Unfilled Promise of the American Dream
• Rebel, Rebel: David Bowie Drives GlamRock, Androgyny, and Gay Life Style