The tempestuous relationship between bandmates and brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher led to the breakup of Oasis in 2009 and numerous public feuds.

After the bitter breakup of the Beatles, John Lennon and Paul McCartney only played music together one more time—at an impromptu studio session in 1974, joined by Stevie Wonder.

Blur, Oasis, Pulp, and Suede are widely considered the four defining bands of the 1990s Britpop genre.

The 20-year feud between Elton John and Madonna

The two superstars feuded from roughly 2002 until 2025. After playing shows together in the 1990s, John took issue with Madonna's James Bond theme song "Die Another Day," calling it the worst of the film series. He kept up a stream of criticisms, and the feud peaked at the 2012 Golden Globes when Madonna beat out John for best original song. The pair reportedly reconciled backstage at "Saturday Night Live" in 2025.

Paul McCartney announced his departure from the Beatles in a 1970 press release, surprising his bandmates.

A bootleg video of a 1966 conversation between Bob Dylan and John Lennon has long been a cryptic text for the artists' superfans.

The story behind Nirvana's expulsion from their own record release party

The band wasn't interested in schmoozing with the industry types who occupied the "Nevermind" release event at Seattle's Re-bar. So, the band snuck in their own whiskey and started a food fight in the venue before being tossed by security.

The Beatles stopped touring in 1966, citing frustration with the era's limited sound systems.

A teenage Springsteen struggled with his father

Springsteen's father didn't understand why his son was interested in pursuing a music career, leading to a tense relationship that was often exacerbated by his father's struggles with mental illness.

Traditional bands largely disappeared from the Billboard charts in the 21st century, mostly replaced by solo artists.

Why Metallica sued Napster—and enraged music fans

When Lars Ulrich, the drummer for metal legends Metallica, began his press campaign against Napster, an early filesharing software, he said he was fighting for artists. Listeners weren't convinced, especially because data suggested that filesharing services helped record sales rather than hinder them. This history of the ordeal contextualizes more modern problems in the music business, especially considering streaming services like Spotify were initially seen as a solution to illegal filesharing.

In 1998, Billy Bragg and Wilco recorded unreleased songs penned by Woody Guthrie.

Lorne Michaels claims 'SNL' has never banned a musical guest

After including overt political protests in their performances, rumors swirled that Sinead O'Connor and Rage Against the Machine had been banned from the show. (People said the same about rock band the Replacements, but that was for on-air drunkenness.) Showrunner Lorne Michaels, however, claims no musical guest has ever been banned.

Listen to 'Now and Then,' the Beatles' final song

The Beatles released their final song, "Now and Then," in October 2023, featuring a previously hidden John Lennon vocal. The track was initially shelved due to poor audio quality but was revived with the help of AI to enhance Lennon's performance....

Lorne Michaels jokingly offered the Beatles $3K to reunite on 'Saturday Night Live,' which John Lennon and Paul McCartney briefly considered.

In the late '80s, Dylan formed the Traveling Wilburys with other rock legends

The word “supergroup” gets tossed around plenty in rock ‘n’ roll, but it’s never been more apt than with the Traveling Wilburys, a late '80s band featuring Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne. At the time, Dylan was feeling creatively adrift and far removed from the passion of his earlier work. The winking alter-egos of the Wilburys reinvigorated him, leading to a great record and a renaissance in Dylan’s solo career.

The long history of Kurt Cobain suicide conspiracy theories

Cobain died by suicide in 1994, but it wasn't long before fans began espousing conspiracy theories alleging that the government or his wife and lead singer of Hole, Courtney Love, had him killed. Seattle police revisited the case in 2014, but determined that it was indeed a suicide.

The origins of the Rolling Stones

Founded by Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones emerged during the massive shifts taking place in the 1960s. From the start, they were the edgier version of the Beatles, and their complex reputation gave them a unique profile in the public eye.

The Beatles sued technology company Apple in 1978 to defend naming rights to their record label, Apple Corps.

Some people believe Paul McCartney died in a car crash in 1966 and was replaced by a lookalike.

Heavy metal legends Black Sabbath touched on existentialist themes

Although they’re primarily known for Ozzy Osbourne’s distinctive singing and Tony Iommi’s singular riffs, the metal icons Black Sabbath also have a body of work that explores existentialist questions about mankind’s purpose. Philosophy professor William Irwin unpacks the band's lyrics and applies them to some of existentialism’s major themes, drawing comparisons between the band and philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Albert Camus.

The story behind Prince's rivalry with Michael Jackson

The Purple One was often compared to the King of Pop, but Prince considered himself the superior artist. This retrospective details the many contentious encounters between the two giants, but it also highlights the sincere admiration they had for each other's work.

A teenage Springsteen struggled with his father

Springsteen's father didn't understand why his son was interested in pursuing a music career, leading to a tense relationship that was often exacerbated by his father's struggles with mental illness. Embed: Podcast

A young Dolly Parton felt confined by her partnership with country star and TV host Porter Wagoner.

Read a list of people Elon Musk has been romantically involved with, including musician Grimes

Elon Musk shares six children with his ex-wife Justine Musk, who he was married to from 2000 to 2008. He has also dated celebrities, including actresses Amber Heard and Talulah Riley.

Fugazi refused to make merchandise, but that didn't stop bootleggers

The band—formed by members of Minor Threat and Rites of Spring—was known for its innovative post-hardcore music and its high-minded ethics: They released albums themselves through the Dischord label, ensured all shows were $5 all-ages affairs, and refused to make merchandise to avoid commodifying their art. That didn’t stop bootleggers.

Dylan's 1965 electric set at the Newport Folk Festival was viewed by some as a betrayal

It's considered a watershed moment in his career and rock ‘n’ roll history, mostly because the audience allegedly booed Dylan’s new electrified songs, believing he had abandoned politically minded folk music for pop stardom.

Why Neil Young is sometimes called 'the godfather of grunge'

The legendary singer-songwriter's work with his band Crazy Horse, especially "Rust Never Sleeps" and "Ragged Glory," married infectious melodies with overpowering guitars, a formula that many grunge acts would replicate. Young would go on to perform with Pearl Jam (like in the performance of "Rockin' in the Free World" below) and record the 1995 album "Mirror Ball" with them.

The lives of Liza Minnelli and her mother, Judy Garland, have many striking similarities

Both performers charmed audiences with their immense talent, particularly their singing and acting. They also shared struggles, as both battled with addiction, experienced multiple divorces, and dealt with public criticism. Both are also beloved icons of the gay community, with Garland even earning an informal title as the "Elvis of Homosexuals."

The tragic history of 'the 27 Club'

Kurt Cobain's 1994 suicide followed an eerie pattern in rock 'n' roll history: Several of the music's brightest stars' lives end at the age of 27. That group includes Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Amy Winehouse. This exploration of the phenomenon delves into the eerie and tragic circumstances that continue to shape its relevance.

How 'Nevermind' realigned the music industry

Nirvana's breakout album inspired other major labels to hunt for similarly loud, countercultural bands. That led to a fascinating period in popular music that found defiantly anticommercial indie acts like the Melvins, the Butthole Surfers, and Ween (among many, many others) suddenly offered lucrative contracts.

Frank Ocean's 2023 appearance was a notorious catastrophe

Ocean's Coachella performance was one of the most anticipated in the festival's 20-plus years. He was an enigmatic but generation-defining artist, so a headlining set on Coachella's legendary stage seemed like the perfect place for him to reveal the next step in his artistic journey. Unfortunately, it was a slipshod and confusing spectacle—rife with technical issues—and left fans disappointed and confused.

In 1966, Dylan was in a motorcycle accident

At the height of his popularity, Bob Dylan disappeared. The press reported it was due to a near-fatal motorcycle accident, though specifics were never provided. When he returned some time later, with a new album and sound, Dylan fans treated the accident as a pivotal moment in the legendary artist's career. But there's ample proof the accident never happened and, at its core, was little more than a cover story for a burnt-out rock star.

The story behind David Bowie's failed '1984' musical

The musician hoped to adapt Orwell's dystopian novel for the stage, though the project floundered after Orwell's widow—who found Bowie's vision in poor taste—refused to grant him the rights. Several of the project's songs—including "Big Brother" and "1984"—eventually appeared on Bowie's 1974 album "Diamond Dogs."

'My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each others' negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts.'

-Apple co-founder Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

The BBC banned the Beatles' song 'A Day in the Life' for 5 years, fearing it encouraged drug use.

An American Beatles album featured a bizarre, gruesome image of the band as butchers, which was swiftly recalled.

Basquiat and Warhol were friends and collaborators before a bitter falling out

The two men were tight, but they also offered what the other lacked in the art world: Basquiat inspired Warhol, and Warhol gave Basquiat art-world credibility. They began working together, producing 160 collaborative works between 1983 and 1985. A 1985 exhibition of their joint works was a massive flop, though, and the friendship never recovered.

Ozzy Osbourne was never comfortable with being called 'metal'

Despite being called a forefather of the genre, the Prince of Darkness said he never understood why his music was called "heavy metal." "Back in the day, it was always just rock music," he told SPIN in 2013. "It’s still just rock music."

Dylan's raucous 1976 tour was one piece of an ongoing reinvention

In the mid-70s, Dylan assembled a ragtag group of musicians and poets—including Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, and Allen Ginsberg—he called the Rolling Thunder Revue. Rather than playing stadiums in major markets, they played smaller venues in smaller cities for a more intimate experience. The tour yielded some of the most exuberant versions of Dylan songs, captured in this 1976 performance in Fort Collins, which originally aired on NBC as “Hard Rain.”

Hear how the Beatles became the most influential band on Earth, with guest Conan O'Brien.

How Pearl Jam helped inspire Coachella

Pearl Jam hasn't yet played Coachella, but they did play a major role in inspiring the annual music festival. The story goes back to 1993, when Pearl Jam was protesting all Ticketmaster-owned venues, which made playing a Los Angeles-area date next to impossible. That led concert promoter Goldenvoice to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, where the first Coachella took place six years later.

Abramović and Ulay ended their partnership on the Great Wall of China

After over a decade of romance and collaboration, the pair formally separated in a 90-day performance that involved walking over 12 miles a day in solitude.

Dolly Parton recorded two albums with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris under the name Trio.

In 2004, Prince paid tribute to George Harrison with a surreal solo

The 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony paid tribute to the recently deceased Beatle with a rendition of one of his most famous songs by Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood, and George Harrison's son, Dhani. Several minutes into the performance, Prince suddenly appeared center stage for a virtuosic solo. He ended it by tossing his guitar into the crowd. Tom Petty's drummer would later say, "Everybody wonders where that guitar went, and I gotta tell you, I was on the stage, and I wonder where it went, too."

Ireland's Slane Castle has hosted over 1.5 million visitors for its rock concerts

The first act to play the legendary venue was Ireland's own Thin Lizzy in 1981. The band was joined by another promising young Irish band: U2.

In the late '70s, Dylan started a trilogy of Christian rock albums

Across his six decades making music, Bob Dylan’s gone through numerous artistic eras and reinventions, but among the most polarizing (and, for some, the most perplexing) is Dylan’s Christian period in the late '70s and early '80s.

The Shaggs weren't good musicians, but they still made a classic

In 1969, the three sisters recorded "Philosophy of the World"; only 100 copies were publicly distributed. The record became a cult classic thanks to its strange backstory (their father forced them into playing music) and the band's amateurism. Critic Lester Bangs wrote, "They can't play a lick! But mainly they got the right attitude, which is all rock'n'roll's ever been about from day one."

Why grunge fashion lasted longer than its music

Although grunge musicians largely resisted the fashion world's overtures, the style associated with grunge—thrifted shirts, combat boots, loose-fitting flannels—continues to appear on runways and in photo shoots, with fashion icons like Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, and Gigi Hadid often sporting the look.

The Beatles' song 'Taxman' was inspired by Britain's tax structure.

The consequences of dating as a K-pop idol

Seunghan, a star from the boy band RIIZE, experienced intense backlash for leaked photos of him kissing a woman when he was a trainee. Many fans were outraged by the images and found his behavior to be against their expectations of a wholesome K-pop idol. This article provides details about this case and gives other examples of idols who experienced a fallout with fans for having personal relationships.