Transition is the name of the game, as the Everly Brothers carry on the teenage travails of the '50s in "Cathy's Clown," Percy Faith tops the charts with the lush strings of his easy-listening staple,  …

"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," say the Rolling Stones, but they sure get airplay. Meanwhile, Bob Dylan's completely unrelated "Like a Rolling Stone" blows minds across the country and, at six-plus mi …

With Jamaica's high illiteracy rate, the country's music has long been considered the newspaper for the oppressed. In the early '70s, as a restless generation embraced Rastafarianism, message songs pre …

While he might be better known for acting (Chappelle's Show, Be Kind Rewind) as of late, no starring role can dilute the raw power of Mos Def's music, from the Hitchcock-caliber score of  …

Judging by its name alone, "I Promise Never to Get Paint On My Glasses Again" sounds like it's on some next-level tip. And it is, from the freaky, downright frightening free verse of Doseone to the pen …

If the roots sound is reggae's heartbeat, and dub is its soul, then dancehall is surely the flesh and blood that makes reggae real enough to feel in your gut, and infectious enough to make you shake yo …

One way or another, dancehall reaches into almost every era of reggae history. The first artists to point in a dancehall direction were still cutting their tracks with roots ruler Coxsone Dodd at his l …

Because the urban salsa explosion of the '70s took place in New York, many of its artists were directly influenced by the soul and R&B records of the time. From Tito Puente and Willie Col=n to Joe Bata …

Daddy Yankee dominates the top slots in this collection of songs, with company from Wisin & Yandel and the clever alternative-reggaet=n duo Calle 13. Also included are "Oye Mi Canto," the song by NORE  …