Not just a bunch of dilettantes wearing tailor-made suits and putting around on Italian scooters, the Mods helped bring a new strain of American R&B over to the UK -- in the process developing a real genre of music while opening a sharp class divide that sometimes led to out-and-out street warfare. Read more about Mod music and its history in my latest encyclopedia entry.

Whatever your religious beliefs, the holidays are (almost) upon us again... and while oldies music tends to be Christmas-oriented, there's no reason anyone can't enjoy these ten CD collections -- spanning rock and roll, pop, R&B, country, blues, jazz, reggae, and instrumental rock -- through the end of the year. This list gathers together the best Christmas music, both sacred and secular, released in the first golden era of rock and roll... get a jump on your holiday party right here!

Love it or loathe it, disco was the musical phenomenon of its era... in America, anyway. But disco also brought R&B finally into America's living rooms, romanticized soul, revived an earlier era of ballroom dancing, reduced funk to the basics, and birthed the entire world of modern dance music. Read all about disco -- the hits, the history, and the histrionics -- in my latest Ultimate Guide.

The "national anthem of Halloween" may be the most popular song of the costuming season, but, as this history proves, it only got that way with a lot of help. Wondering how the Hollywood Argyles' "Alley Oop," Ronny and the Daytonas, and Leon Russell fit into the picture? Curious as to how it almost never saw the light of day? Wondering what Boris Karloff and Elvis thought of it? Look no further. Read the story of "Monster Mash" here.