Ed Ward
Ed Ward is the rock-and-roll historian on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross.
Ward is the author of The History of Rock and Roll, Volume 1, 1920-1963, and a co-author of Rock of Ages: The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll, Ward has also contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and countless music magazines. The first part of his two-volume history of rock and roll, covering the years 1920-1963, will be published by Flatiron Books in the fall of 2016.
Ward lives in Austin, Texas. He blogs at City on a Hill.
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The '70s Memphis-based rock band Big Star won rave reviews for their albums and influenced countless followers, but never managed to become stars. Rock and Roll historian Ed Ward says a new box set and a collection of recordings by founding member Chris Bell offer a chance to look back on the band's troubled life.
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Dobie Gray, in his hit "The In Crowd," famously said, "The original is still the greatest." But is it? Ace Records in London has put out a CD called You Heard It Here First!, with 26 original versions of hit songs. Rock historian Ed Ward takes a look. -
The volatile and eclectic music scene of 1960s Los Angeles comes together in a new box set issued by Rhino Records. Critic Ed Ward gives it a listen.
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Few groups get to achieve a 50th anniversary, but the pioneering American folk trio the got to do just that this year. The release of a three-disc commemorative set by the New Lost City Ramblers was darkened, though, but the death of co-founder Mike Seeger.
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Walter Jacobs, aka "Little Walter," was a harmonica virtuoso whose life was consumed by blues music. A new five-disc Hip-O Select re-release of Walter's complete recordings for the record label Chess is on shelves now. -
Two albums featuring the late rock 'n' roll icon have been released — Memorial Collection and Down the Line: Rarities. Rock historian Ed Ward considers Holly's music and tragic death. -
Rock historian Ed Ward looks at Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Chuck Berry and the career that made him a star. Berry's entire record output from the 1950s was recently released on a four-disc set from Hip-O-Select titled, Johnny B. Goode: His Complete '50s Chess Recordings.
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In the past 20 years, Great Britain has produced a huge quantity of popular music that's gotten very little attention in the U.S. The Brit Box is a four-CD collection of British rock and pop, including songs by The Smiths, Supergrass, and The Boo Radleys. -
Rock historian Ed Ward remembers the sound of San Francisco in the '60s, from the early days of countercultural upheaval through the Summer of Love in 1967. It's all lavishly documented in Love is the Song We Sing, a new four-disc set from Rhino Records.
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Rock historian Ed Ward reviews the new classic rock box set Rockin' Bones: 1950s Punk and Rockabilly. Hits from Elvis, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee light up this 101-track, four-disc collection produced by Rhino Records.
