The Clash's 'London Calling' cover parodied Elvis

The Clash's breakthrough hit wasn't listed on ‘London Calling’

“Train in Vain” was a hit in the US, something that hadn’t yet happened for other first-wave punk acts. But the song was added to “London Calling” at the last minute, after the record jackets were already printed, making it one of the more popular “hidden tracks” in popular music.

An American Beatles album featured a bizarre, gruesome image of the band as butchers, which was swiftly recalled.

The cover of 'Abbey Road' was shot in a quiet London neighborhood in 1969

The unassuming setting became one of the most famous attractions in the city and was the cover of the Beatles' last-recorded album. It was shot in the late 1960s, when the Fab Four was the most famous band in the world.

The Beatles loved Motown Records, covering some of the label's songs while honing their skills as a club act in Germany.

The Beatles were not an immediate success in the US—their label rejected their first two singles, and the band was mocked on the TV show 'American Bandstand.'

Watch Bill Haley bring rock 'n' roll to mainstream America with his first performance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show.'

The American girl groups of the 1950s and '60s had a profound influence on The Beatles, who frequently paid homage to acts like the Marvelettes and the Ronettes

2 Tone ska aimed to counteract a segregated England

The 2 Tone record label, spearheaded by the Specials, popularized second-wave ska in the late ‘70s, which married British punk with Jamaican rhythms. The music—intentionally multicultural and performed by multiracial bands—was a response to England’s growing nativism.

The Beatles' labels released almost twice as many of the band's records in the US to capitalize on the band's popularity.

Listen to the Beatles' 'Revolver,' the band's groundbreaking 1966 album.

Novelist Charles Portis covered Elvis Presley as a young reporter

The "True Grit" and "Norwood" author spent time working as a reporter for Memphis newspaper The Commercial Appeal, where he covered Elvis Presley's brief military leave.

The Beatles' 'Tomorrow Never Knows,' the final track from 1966's 'Revolver,' used innovative recording methods—including a rudimentary form of sampling—to redefine the sound of popular music.

Bob Dylan wrote and recorded songs that later became hits when they were covered by artists like Jimi Hendrix, Adele, and Guns N' Roses.

The Beatles' appearance on 'The Ed Sullivan Show' in 1964 launched Beatlemania in the US after the band struggled to break through to American audiences.

Tour the iconic Sun Studio in Memphis, the studio responsible for hundreds of hours of American music history.

The BBC banned the Beatles' song 'A Day in the Life' for 5 years, fearing it encouraged drug use.

After Elvis Presley's first hip-shaking 'Ed Sullivan Show' appearance, Frank Sinatra called Presley's music 'a rancid-smelling aphrodisiac.'

In 1984, Bob Dylan reimagined himself as the front man of a punk band for a performance on David Letterman's late-night talk show.

How Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees New Order forged a new sound

Formed in the ashes of post-punk outfit Joy Division, the British group incorporated synthesizers and pulsating, disco beats for "Blue Monday," their early single that would come to define the 1980s sonic landscape.

Elvis was allegedly chided for playing rock 'n' roll at the Grand Ole Opry

Elvis Presley had deep roots in country music, though the Grand Ole Opry and its audience weren’t happy with Presley’s rocking take when he performed for his first (and only) time in 1954. Afterwards, the Opry’s manager Jim Denny allegedly told Presley, “Don’t quit your day job.”

The Beatles' song 'Taxman' was inspired by Britain's tax structure.

The Beatles once sued Nike

Nike used The Beatles' "Revolution" in an ad, sparking a $15M lawsuit over the song's use. While The Beatles and Nike ultimately reached an agreement, Nike ushered in the modern practice of using hit songs in advertisements, as opposed to jingles or covers.

Fifty backstage photos of musicians in the 1970s

Elton John, James Brown, Cher, Diana Ross, and many others all have famous photos seen multiple times on album covers, iconic images from events, and more. Rare is the unseen backstage photo of the greats, lounging or rocking out or, like Bo Diddley, frying up some chicken pre-show at the Garden. Peruse this incredible collection of candid shots of 1970s stars waiting in the wings to come on stage.

David Bowie tried to hire Norman Rockwell for the cover of 'Young Americans'

The Thin White Duke thought the iconic artist, known for his classic Americana, would be the perfect artist for his campy 1975 album, “Young Americans.” Bowie called the Rockwell residence and made the request, but was told that Rockwell would need around six months to complete the painting, which Bowie felt was too long.

Listen to Bruce Springsteen's first band, the Castiles, which he joined when he was still a teenager.

Hear how the Beatles became the most influential band on Earth, with guest Conan O'Brien.

Explore all 58 famous figures—including artists, thinkers, politicians, athletes, and other pop culture icons—portrayed on the Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' album cover.

Witness the birth of punk rock through the archives of an influential music magazine

Trouser Press magazine (originally Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press) was an influential publication that operated from 1974 to 1984. During that time, they ran cover stories on emerging acts like the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and others, offering contemporary readers a window into how punk was understood as it evolved.

Explore Abbey Road Studios, the site that invented stereo recording and was the site of most of the Beatles' recordings.

When rock expanded to Nigeria in the 1960s, it became an integral part of the country's civil war.

Check out the records stocked in the jukebox at the Stonewall Inn, the bar responsible for modern Pride celebrations.

A comprehensive list of the best Bob Dylan covers

Bob Dylan’s songwriting quickly became part of the great American songbook, thanks in large part to many major artists of the '60s popularizing their own versions of his songs. As this list proves, though, that tradition continued all the way to today. Learn about essential covers of Dylan songs by Adele, Guns N’ Roses, The White Stripes, and others.

Listen to "Yesterday and Today," the 1966 Beatles album only released in the US.

Explore a list of the best album covers of all time, featuring iconic covers by Pink Floyd, Cyndi Lauper, Nirvana, and more.

Paul Simon recorded his landmark album 'Graceland' in South Africa, in defiance of a UN-approved cultural boycott.

The surprising and strange sources behind 12 famous songs

Britney Spears's "Toxic" borrowed strings from a 1981 Bollywood film, Billie Eilish sampled The Office, and one duo made an entire album using only the sounds of their Whirlpool washing machine. Explore how sampling can pull from pretty much anywhere.

The Velvet Underground is often considered a starting point for punk rock

The band blended Warhol’s Pop Art with Beat poetry, early rock ‘n’ roll and the European avant-garde, creating a sound that was often chaotic, noisy and abrasive. The band’s debut album, “The Velvet Underground and Nico,” sold poorly, but (supposedly) everyone who purchased a copy started a band.

Watch a 1965 press conference with Bob Dylan where he mocks the media's focus on celebrity.

The Beats also influenced the imagery of the 1960s

First editions of Burroughs’s "The Naked Lunch," Kerouac’s "The Dharma Bums," and Ferlinghetti’s "A Coney Island of the Mind" were just as notable for their text as they were for their design, which anticipated the psychedelic imagery of 1960s countercultural touchstones like Ken Kesey, Andy Warhol, and R. Crumb.

Browse over 300 issues of influential music magazine The New Musical Express chronicling the rise of '70s punk.

The first known use of 'punk rock' was in 1971

When Creem Magazine's Dave Marsh wrote about seeing '60s garage rockers ? and the Mysterians perform, he remarked it would be unthinkable "to miss such a landmark exposition of punk-rock." The band isn't considered a punk band, but Marsh's description would go on to define other scrappy, back-to-basics acts.

Both British and American pop art took inspiration from US culture

Pop art emerged in the mid-1950s in Britain and the late 1950s in America. American pop art focused on representational art and was directly inspired by living within American popular culture, using hard edges and distinct forms. Its British sibling, on the other hand, took a more academic approach, viewing American culture from a distance and employing irony and parody.

An early Sex Pistols show is credited with inspiring other influential acts

When the Sex Pistols first ventured out to a small music hall in Manchester, only 40 people were in attendance. But, like the longtail influence of the first Velvet Underground album, the show's impact was massive: In the crowd that night were members of Buzzcocks, the Smiths, and Joy Division.

Before becoming a country superstar, Dolly Parton recorded girl group-style singles as a teenager, including one that became a hit outside the US.

Patti Smith's 'Horses' was the first album from the CBGB scene

The poet’s debut album, released in 1975, blended literature and the early New York punk sound. Smith called the combination “three chords merged with the power of the word.” Throughout the album, she references and repurposes earlier rock hits (including Them’s “Gloria” and Chris Kenner’s “Land of 1,000 Dances”).

Live Aid featured 16 hours of live music across two continents

The 1985 benefit concerts took place in London and Philadelphia, and performances from both locations were televised simultaneously.

The Beatles tried to get the rights to make a 'Lord of the Rings' film starring the band members as Gollum, Frodo, Gandalf, and Samwise.

Bruce Springsteen was initially so unhappy with his album 'Born to Run' that he threw it in a swimming pool.

Queen Elizabeth II ordered the US national anthem played at Buckingham Palace in the days after 9/11.

The Buzzcocks' 1975 self-released EP inspired a DIY ethos for punk

Punk sought to dismantle the self-importance of mainstream rock, favoring simple arrangements, short songs, and raw passion over sophistication or expertise. When the Buzzcocks struggled to find a label to release their debut record, “Spiral Scratch,” they took that do-it-yourself approach and applied it to business by releasing it themselves.