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 legendary guitarist, songwriter and singer died Saturday at the age of 90. Rock historian Ed Ward looks back on Berry's music and career. Originally broadcast in May 2008.
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Rock historian missed the "Prefab Four" the first time they came along. Listening now, he finds that the Monkees' best songs have held up, mostly because they used top-notch songwriting talent.
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The New Zealand band began releasing records on the Flying Nun label in the 1980s. Four decades later, they are still at it. Rock historian Ed Ward tells story of The Chills.
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After his 1958 hit "Endless Sleep," Reynolds continued to record interesting music — though he never connected with the public in the same way again. Rock historian tells his story.
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Rock historian Ed Ward says that musicians in Düsseldorf, Germany, including Klaus Dinger of the band Neu!, helped start a new German pop movement in the 1970s and '80s.
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Herman's Hermits hit the American pop charts 22 times in the 1960s and early '70s. Now, a new anthology compiles 66 of the Hermits' tracks. Rock historian Ed Ward considers how the music has held up.
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Terry Ork was a mystery man who crashed the Warhol scene and founded his own record label. Rock historian Ed Ward traces the brief, tumultuous existence of Ork Records.
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Post-war black gospel music shaped soul sounds through the mid-1970s, but it's increasingly hard to find today. Rock historian Ed Ward discusses a few recent gospel reissues.
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Much of Moore's music was unreleased at the time of recording and some of her best work didn't get the attention it deserved. A double disc compilation of her recordings has just been released.
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During a hiatus, some tapes surfaced of new songs Bob Dylan been writing: the infamous Basement Tapes. These songs have been collected in a box set.