Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia

The White and Nerdy Edition Part 2

August 29, 2025 • 46 mins

Sped-up voices. Wacky instruments. Songs about cavemen, bathtubs, bikinis, and mothers-in-law. From the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll through the 1970s—the age of streaking, CB radios, disco and King Tut—novelty songs could be chart-topping hits. But by the corporate ’80s, it was harder for goofballs to score hits on regimented radio playlists. Until one perm-headed, mustachioed, accordion-playing parodist who called himself “Weird” reboot...

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The White and Nerdy Edition Part 1

August 15, 2025 • 49 mins

Sped-up voices. Wacky instruments. Songs about cavemen, bathtubs, bikinis, and mothers-in-law. From the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll through the 1970s—the age of streaking, CB radios, disco and King Tut—novelty songs could be chart-topping hits. But by the corporate ’80s, it was harder for goofballs to score hits on regimented radio playlists. Until one perm-headed, mustachioed, accordion-playing parodist who called himself “Weird” reboot...

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Here's The Beef Edition Part 2

July 25, 2025 • 63 mins

When Kendrick Lamar took the Super Bowl halftime stage in 2025 and had the stadium chanting along to “Not Like Us,” it was clear: Diss tracks had gone stratospheric. The Kendrick vs. Drake beef echoes legendary rap rivalries like Biggie vs. Tupac and Jay-Z vs. Nas—but diss tracks stretch back through a century of American pop to the Tin Pan Alley era. Vaudeville singer Eddie Cantor, James Brown, John Lennon, Carly Simon, Kool Moe ...

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Here’s the Beef Edition Part 1

July 18, 2025 • 57 mins

When Kendrick Lamar took the Super Bowl halftime stage in 2025 and had the stadium chanting along to “Not Like Us,” it was clear: Diss tracks had gone stratospheric. The Kendrick vs. Drake beef echoes legendary rap rivalries like Biggie vs. Tupac and Jay-Z vs. Nas—but diss tracks stretch back through a century of American pop to the Tin Pan Alley era. Vaudeville singer Eddie Cantor, James Brown, John Lennon, Carly Simon, Kool Moe ...

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Mighty Real Edition Part 2

June 27, 2025 • 62 mins

Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded freedom. What all of these LGBTQ artists had in common was bold hitmaking—and fear of being fully out of the closet. For decades, queer acts topped the charts while cloaking their true identities and paving the way...

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Mighty Real Edition Part 1

June 13, 2025 • 60 mins

Little Richard was rock ‘n’ roll’s flamboyant architect. Lesley Gore sang that no one owned her. Sylvester was a gender-fluid icon who helped define disco. Freddie Mercury made rock operatic, and George Michael demanded freedom. What all of these LGBTQ artists had in common was bold hitmaking—and fear of being fully out of the closet. For decades, queer acts topped the charts while cloaking their true identities and paving the way...

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All Apologies Edition Part 2

May 30, 2025 • 60 mins

The story of Nevermind, Nirvana’s genre-defining breakthrough, is a familiar one. Less well known is the saga of Billboard’s Modern Rock chart—and how college-rock staples of the 1980s like R.E.M. and The Cure gave way to heavier, more commercially dominant groups of the ‘90s like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and The Smashing Pumpkins. What sparked the grungification of the charts? How did Modern Rock become the new Top...

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All Apologies Edition Part 1

May 16, 2025 • 65 mins

The story of Nevermind, Nirvana’s genre-defining breakthrough, is a familiar one. Less well known is the saga of Billboard’s Modern Rock chart—and how college-rock staples of the 1980s like R.E.M. and The Cure gave way to heavier, more commercially dominant groups of the ‘90s like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and The Smashing Pumpkins. What sparked the grungification of the charts? How did Modern Rock become the new Top...

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Only Girl in the World Edition Part 2

April 25, 2025 • 55 mins

It’s been nearly a decade since Rihanna released a studio album—and fans and critics alike have wondered when, if ever, a follow-up to 2016’s Anti might arrive. Which is ironic, because in her heyday, Rihanna was the most productive hitmaker on the charts. Churning out at least one album a year in the late aughts and early ‘10s, Rihanna’s approach to the charts was closer to early Motown or the Beatles than Beyoncé or Taylor. The...

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Only Girl in the World Edition Part 1

April 11, 2025 • 57 mins

It’s been nearly a decade since Rihanna released a studio album—and fans and critics alike have wondered when, if ever, a follow-up to 2016’s Anti might arrive. Which is ironic, because in her heyday, Rihanna was the most productive hitmaker on the charts. Churning out at least one album a year in the late aughts and early ‘10s, Rihanna’s approach to the charts was closer to early Motown or the Beatles than Beyoncé or Taylor. The...

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Singing Nuns and Green Tambourines Edition Part 2

March 28, 2025 • 57 mins

When you think of music in the 1960s, some groundbreaking artists probably come to mind: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and the Jefferson Airplane, for example. But the pop charts paint a very different picture of that decade, which embraced easy listening, groovy bubblegum, novelty and instrumental records—even a guitar-strumming Belgian nun. In other words, the soundtrack of the era was more like Mad Men and less like Forrest Gump. Joi...

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Singing Nuns and Green Tambourines Edition Part 1

March 14, 2025 • 50 mins

When you think of music in the 1960s, some groundbreaking artists probably come to mind: Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix and the Jefferson Airplane, for example. But the pop charts paint a very different picture of that decade, which embraced easy listening, groovy bubblegum, novelty and instrumental records—even a guitar-strumming Belgian nun. In other words, the soundtrack of the era was more like Mad Men and less like Forrest Gump. Joi...

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Material Girl in an Imperial World Edition Part 2

February 28, 2025 • 43 mins

In the late 1980s, the English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys dominated the U.K. pop charts and staged an invasion of the American charts. Years later, founding member Neil Tennant dubbed this streak of creative and commercial supremacy the group’s “imperial phase”—a term that eventually caught on among music critics and pop fans. So, what does it take for an artist to achieve imperial dominance? Why might Fleetwood Mac in the 1970s ...

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Material Girl in an Imperial World Edition Part 1

February 14, 2025 • 64 mins

In the late 1980s, the English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys dominated the U.K. pop charts and staged an invasion of the American charts. Years later, founding member Neil Tennant dubbed this streak of creative and commercial supremacy the group’s “imperial phase”—a term that eventually caught on among music critics and pop fans. So, what does it take for an artist to achieve imperial dominance? Why might Fleetwood Mac in the 1970s ...

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The Freewheelin’ Edition Part 2

January 31, 2025 • 59 mins

At the movies, A Complete Unknown depicts Bob Dylan as a 1960s “it” boy—played by a 2020s “it” boy, Timothée Chalamet. But the film ends in 1965. What happened in the six decades after that? Dylan not only kept recording. He actually started topping the charts—in the 1970s, the era of Led Zeppelin, not Pete Seeger. And several of his chart-topping albums came decades later, in the 21st century. Bob’s voice got rougher, but loyal a...

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The Freewheelin’ Edition Part 1

January 17, 2025 • 61 mins

At the movies, A Complete Unknown depicts Bob Dylan as a 1960s “it” boy—played by a 2020s “it” boy, Timothée Chalamet. But the film ends in 1965. What happened in the six decades after that? Dylan not only kept recording. He actually started topping the charts—in the 1970s, the era of Led Zeppelin, not Pete Seeger. And several of his chart-topping albums came decades later, in the 21st century. Bob’s voice got rougher, but loyal a...

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Introducing Broken Record: "Norah Jones Begins Again"

January 3, 2025 • 82 mins

To kick off the New Year, we're sharing a podcast that we think Hit Parade listeners are going to love: Broken Record. Check out this episode with singer/songwriter Norah Jones, co-hosted by Blue Note Records President Don Was. Norah has been with Blue Note Records since releasing her juggernaut 2002 debut album, Come Away With Me. In this conversation, Norah details her musical upbringing and what it was like striking it big with ...

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The Bridge: Slate Music Club 2024

December 27, 2024 • 35 mins

The Slate Music Club is back, in a special edition of Hit Parade – “The Bridge”! Our year-end panel of critics—NPR Music’s Ann Powers, Hearing Things’ Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Slate’s own Carl Wilson and Hit Parade host Chris Molanphy—discuss their favorite albums and singles and the trends that shaped the year in pop, rap, country, Latin and global music. Among the questions the roundtable tackles: Have we reached peak Taylor...

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I’d Like to Teach the World to Buy Edition Part 2

December 27, 2024 • 41 mins

That damned jingle! In that infernal commercial trying to sell you cars, sneakers, soda, gum! Can’t get it out of your head? Well, what if we made it longer, had a famous singer perform it, and put it on the radio? How would you like it then? A surprising number of hits across chart history got their start in advertisements: the Carpenters song that was originally a promo for a California bank. The ’70s country-pop smash by a char...

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I’d Like to Teach the World to Buy Edition Part 1

December 13, 2024 • 56 mins

That damned jingle! In that infernal commercial trying to sell you cars, sneakers, soda, gum! Can’t get it out of your head? Well, what if we made it longer, had a famous singer perform it, and put it on the radio? How would you like it then? A surprising number of hits across chart history got their start in advertisements: the Carpenters song that was originally a promo for a California bank. The ’70s country-pop smash by a char...

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Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia

Episodes

The White and Nerdy Edition Part 2

The White and Nerdy Edition Part 1

Here's The Beef Edition Part 2

Here’s the Beef Edition Part 1

Mighty Real Edition Part 2

Mighty Real Edition Part 1

All Apologies Edition Part 2

All Apologies Edition Part 1

Only Girl in the World Edition Part 2

Only Girl in the World Edition Part 1

Singing Nuns and Green Tambourines Edition Part 2

Singing Nuns and Green Tambourines Edition Part 1

Material Girl in an Imperial World Edition Part 2

Material Girl in an Imperial World Edition Part 1

The Freewheelin’ Edition Part 2

The Freewheelin’ Edition Part 1

Introducing Broken Record: "Norah Jones Begins Again"

The Bridge: Slate Music Club 2024

I’d Like to Teach the World to Buy Edition Part 2

I’d Like to Teach the World to Buy Edition Part 1

Popular Podcasts

Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}The White and Nerdy Edition Part 2

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}The White and Nerdy Edition Part 1

Here's The Beef Edition Part 2

Here’s the Beef Edition Part 1

Mighty Real Edition Part 2

Mighty Real Edition Part 1

All Apologies Edition Part 2

All Apologies Edition Part 1

Only Girl in the World Edition Part 2

Only Girl in the World Edition Part 1

Singing Nuns and Green Tambourines Edition Part 2

Singing Nuns and Green Tambourines Edition Part 1

Material Girl in an Imperial World Edition Part 2

Material Girl in an Imperial World Edition Part 1

The Freewheelin’ Edition Part 2

The Freewheelin’ Edition Part 1

Introducing Broken Record: "Norah Jones Begins Again"

The Bridge: Slate Music Club 2024

I’d Like to Teach the World to Buy Edition Part 2

I’d Like to Teach the World to Buy Edition Part 1

Popular Podcasts

The White and Nerdy Edition Part 2

The White and Nerdy Edition Part 1