Showing results by author "Ben Greenman" in All Categories

They say there are no second acts in American lives, and third acts are almost unheard of. That's part of what makes Brian Wilson's story so astonishing. As cofounder of the Beach Boys in the 1960s, Wilson created some of the most groundbreaking and timeless popular music ever recorded. With intricate harmonies, symphonic structures, and wide-eyed lyrics that explored life's most transcendent joys and deepest sorrows, songs like 'In My Room', 'God Only Knows' and 'Good Vibrations' forever expanded the possibilities of pop songwriting.

One of the few indisputable geniuses of pop music, Sly Stone is a trailblazer who created a new kind of music, mixing Black and white, male and female, funk and rock; penned some of the most iconic anthems of the 1960s and 70s, from "Everyday People" to "Family Affair"; and electrified audiences with a persona and stage presence that set a lasting standard for pop culture performance. Yet he has also been a cautionary tale, known as much for how he dropped out of sight as for what put him in the spotlight in the first place. As much as people know the music, the man remains a mystery.

Brian Wilson ist genialer Musiker, der uns unzählige Welthits wie "Surfin USA" oder "Good Vibrations" und das Jahrhundertalbum "Pet Sounds" geschenkt hat. Der amerikanische Rolling Stone hat ihn unter die 20 wichtigsten Künstler aller Zeiten gewählt. Brian Wilson ist auch ein labiler Mensch, der sich mit Tabletten, Drogen und Alkohol immer wieder in Zonen bewegt hat, aus der man ohne fremde Hilfe nicht heil herauskommt.

What songs have made up your life's soundtrack? Which have captured your every mood and deepest sentiments? Pop music, like no other form of entertainment or art, is capable of articulating our feelings, desires, joy, and pain. In a few soul-grabbing minutes, artists from every genre - from Little Richard to Lou Reed, Willie Nelson to Wu-Tang Clan, Sly and the Family Stone to the Rolling Stones - can help us understand our place in our own lives.