Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia

Latest Episodes:

The Bridge: Cover Queens and The Boy Wonder Mar 15, 2019

Show notes

Host Chris Molanphy reflects on the previous full length episode of the show, and invites one Slate Plus member to play some music trivia related to an upcoming episode. This month, Molanphy is joined at the mic by T. J. Raphael, senior producer of the Slate Podcast Network. Together, they discuss some of the best cover songs of all time from the likes of Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, and more.

After a break, Molanphy is joined by one listener for some music trivia related to the next full-length episode of Hit Parade, which is all about Stevie Wonder. How does it all work? The contestant is asked three trivia questions, and the player also has the opportunity to turn the tables—they get a chance to try to stump Molanphy, a music journalist for the past 25 years, with one trivia question of their own.

If you’d like to be a contestant on an upcoming show, sign up for a Slate Plus membership here, and then enter as a contestant here. You can also enter to play if you’re already a Slate Plus member.

Want your question featured in an upcoming show? Email a voice memo to hitparade@slate.com.

Podcast production by T. J. Raphael

Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our FAQ at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.

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The Bad Moon on the Rise Edition Feb 28, 2019

Show notes

In just a couple of years, Creedence Clearwater Revival generated one of the most amazing runs of hits in

American pop history: from “Proud Mary” to “Green River,” “Bad Moon Rising” to “Travelin’ Band.”

Reportedly, they even outsold the Beatles in America in 1969. But for all their success with those John

Fogerty–penned classics, CCR never held the No. 1 spot on the Hot 100. All of those hits were No. 2s: a

dubious Billboard chart record they hold to this day, for most No. 2s without a No. 1. True, it was the late ’60s,

and CCR had the bad luck to be competing with such chart titans as Paul Simon and Sly Stone…but

sometimes they were held back by No. 1 songs that are barely remembered today. In this episode of Hit

Parade, we break down the sequence of events that relegated CCR—a future first-ballot Rock and Roll Hall of

Fame band—to the charts’ permanent runner-up slot.

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The Bridge: R. Kelly and Music's #MeToo Reckoning Feb 15, 2019

Show notes

Hit Parade, the music history podcast from Slate, is back with a new episode of The Bridge.

In this monthly mini-episode, Host Chris Molanphy reflects on the previous full length episode of the show, and invites one Slate Plus member to play some music trivia related to an upcoming episode. This month, Molanphy is joined at the mic by T. J. Raphael, senior producer of the Slate Podcast Network. Together, they discuss the sexual assault allegations facing artist R. Kelly, and whether the #MeToo movement will finally change the music industry.

After a break, Molanphy is joined by one listener for some music trivia related to the next full-length episode of Hit Parade, which is all about Creedence Clearwater Revival. How does it all work? The contestant is asked three trivia questions, and the player also has the opportunity to turn the tables—they get a chance to try to stump Molanphy, a music journalist for the past 25 years, with one trivia question of their own.

Want your question featured in an upcoming show? Email a voice memo to hitparade@slate.com.

Podcast production by Danielle Hewitt.

Take the Slate podcast survey here.

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The Gaga is Born Edition Jan 25, 2019

Show notes

A Star Is Born, the movie Hollywood can’t stop remaking, is a fairy-tale about the American dream factory. But it has also, always, been a reflection of the woman in the lead role—and the latest version stars a woman who has been playing a role for more than a decade: Stefani Germanotta, a.k.a. Lady Gaga. When Gaga scored her first No. 1 hit, “Just Dance,” 10 years ago this month, critics thought her fame might be short-lived. But

Gaga had a lot to say about The Fame, and within a year she had shifted the sound of the Top 40 in her electro-pop direction. And then, in the mid-2010s, she shifted her own sound, belting out pop standards for everyone from Tony Bennett to Julie Andrews. What happens if this shape-shifter pivots from Grammys to Oscars? And what will that say about the themes of A Star Is Born: artifice, authenticity and agency?

This episode is brought to you by Slack, the collaboration hub for work. Learn more at Slack.com.

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Music Trivia: Grammys and Gaga Edition Jan 18, 2019

Show notes

Think you know music? Hit Parade, the music history podcast from Slate, is back with a new episode of The Bridge.

In this monthly mini-episode of Hit Parade, Host Chris Molanphy reflects on the previous full length episode of the show, and invites one Slate Plus member onto the show to play some music trivia related to the upcoming episode. How does it all work? Contestants are asked three trivia questions, and the player also has the opportunity to turn the tables—they get a chance to try to stump Molanphy, a music journalist for the past 25 years, with one trivia question of their own.

This month, Molanphy is joined at the mic by T. J. Raphael, senior producer of the Slate Podcast Network. Together, they reveal which artist won the coveted spot of this year’s U.K. Christmas No. 1, look ahead to the 2019 Grammy Awards, and discuss the next full length episode of Hit Parade, which is all about the rise of Lady Gaga.

If you’d like to be a contestant on an upcoming show, sign up for a Slate Plus membership here, and enter as a contestant here. You can also enter to play if you’re already a Slate Plus member.

Want your question featured in an upcoming show? Email a voice memo to hitparade@slate.com.

Podcast production by T. J. Raphael.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Christmas is All Around Edition Dec 21, 2018

Show notes

In the UK, the No. 1 song the week of Christmas is a big deal. The media breathlessly covers the contest, and there are even wagers placed on what song will reach the top of the charts as pop stars and record labels jockey for position. While there are patterns to the kinds of songs that tend to do well in this perennial sweepstakes, often the winner is a fluke: Everything from Queen to the Flying Pickets to Bob the Builder has taken the crown. It was even parodied in the smash British Christmas comedy film Love, Actually—and one year in the late aughts, the British public rebelled en masse against a music-TV impresario, making a statement with the unlikeliest Christmas topper ever. But in an age when songs sell less than they stream, and hits tend to snowball, will the sun set on the fluky British Christmas No. 1 empire?

Email: hitparade@slate.com

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Music Trivia: The Christmas Music Edition Dec 14, 2018

Show notes

Think you know music? Quiz yourself with the latest episode of Hit Parade: The Bridge.

This month, Host Chris Molanphy is joined by Jessica Goldstein, the culture editor at ThinkProgress and a journalist whose work has appeared in Vulture and The Washington Post, among other places. Her October article in Entertainment Weekly, “Britney Spears wanted to be a star: An oral history of '...Baby One More Time,'” was an inspiration for the November episode of Hit Parade.

Chris is also joined by one listener contestant to play some music trivia, which is all about holiday music.

If you’d like to be a contestant on an upcoming show, sign up for a Slate Plus membership here, and enter as a contestant here. You can also enter to play if you’re already a Slate Plus member.

Want your question featured in an upcoming show? Email a voice memo to hitparade@slate.com.

Podcast production by T. J. Raphael. Additional support for this episode comes from Danielle Hewitt and Merritt Jacob.

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The Give Me a Sign Edition Nov 30, 2018

Show notes

From a very young age, Britney Spears seemed destined for stardom. The kid from Louisiana had landed a role on the revived Mickey Mouse Club and styled herself as a belter of power ballads. But to score her first No. 1 hit, Spears would team up with an introverted Swedish songwriter named Max Martin. He was trying to write American R&B and instead, through Britney and her high-school dance formations, created a new template for über–American teen-pop. This month, we go inside the Stockholm music factory—and its decades-long history, from ABBA to Ace of Base—that gave rise to a new generation of millennial pop, from the Backstreet Boys and *N Sync to Robyn and Taylor Swift.

Email: hitparade@slate.com

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Music Trivia: ’90s Teen-Pop Edition Nov 16, 2018

Show notes

Think you know music? Quiz yourself with the latest episode of Hit Parade: The Bridge.

This month, on the heels of the 2018 midterm elections, Host Chris Molanphy is joined by T. J. Raphael, senior producer for the Slate Podcast Network, to talk about musicians who make political endorsements. Chris is joined by one listener contestant to play some music trivia, which is all about '90s teen pop.

If you’d like to be a contestant on an upcoming show, sign up for a Slate Plus membership here, and enter as a contestant here. You can also enter to play if you’re already a Slate Plus member.

Want your question featured in an upcoming show? Email a voice memo to hitparade@slate.com.

Podcast production by T. J. Raphael.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Oh. My. God. Becky Edition Oct 26, 2018

Show notes

In Hit Parade’s “Def Jams Edition,” we told you about rap’s first wave in the ’80s. But in this sequel (don’t believe the hype!) we enter the ’90s with still no No. 1 rap hits on the Hot 100—even though the music was starting to dominate both streets and stores: from conscious rappers like Public Enemy, to gangstas like N.W.A, to left-field innovators like De La Soul. It would take Billboard rebooting its charts in 1991 tallying

record sales more accurately than ever with SoundScan data—for rap to get a fair shake on the charts. That boosted a new wave of crossover acts, from P.M. Dawn to Arrested Development to Sir Mix-a-Lot. But rap’s elders were not entirely thrilled at these new chart-toppers…and some rappers literally bum-rushed the show.

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