Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia - Decoder Ring: The New Age Hit Machine
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Slate
3.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 December 2022
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today, we’re excited to share an episode from Slate’s Decoder Ring that we think you’re going to love.
For this episode, a story from Slate senior producer Evan Chung about how Yanni, John Tesh and a number of other surprising acts made it big in the 1990s. It’s a throwback to a simpler time— when musicians struggled to find their big break, but discovered it was possible with a telephone, a television, and our undivided attention.
This story originally aired in 2019 on Studio 360 from PRX.
We hear from George Veras, Pat Callahan, and John Tesh.
This episode was written and produced by Slate’s Evan Chung. Decoder Ring is produced by Willa Paskin and Katie Shepherd. Derek John is Slate’s Executive Producer of narrative podcasts. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're listening Ad Free on Amazon Music. |
| 0:03.7 | Hey, Hit Parade listeners, I've got something special for you this week while we catch our breath over the holidays. |
| 0:10.8 | It comes from one of my favorite Slate podcasts, Decoder Ring, hosted by Willa Paskin. |
| 0:16.7 | In this episode, called New Age Hit Machine, Slate Senior Producer Evan Chung digs into the surprising |
| 0:24.7 | success of instrumental artists like Yanni and John Tesh back in the 1990s. What helped |
| 0:32.7 | them scale the Billboard charts? Well, you'll have to keep listening to find out. We'll be back with a new |
| 0:39.6 | episode of Hit Parade later this week. In the meantime, I hope you'll subscribe to Decoder Ring, |
| 0:46.5 | wherever you listen. Here's host Willa Paskin. |
| 1:02.7 | Before 2021, the musician Olivia Rodriguez was best known for appearing on the Disney Channel. |
| 1:10.1 | She was in high school musical The Musical The Series. |
| 1:27.5 | That's actually what the show is called. Last season on High School Musical, The Musical, The Series. That's actually what the show is called. Last season on High School Musical, the Series. Rachel Hampton is the host of I-C-Y-M-I, in case you missed it. Slate's podcast about internet culture. And so she already had a musical career. She was an up-and-coming Disney kid. And like a lot of up-and-coming Disney kids, Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, other less successful performers, |
| 1:31.5 | she decided it was time for a solo record. |
| 1:33.8 | And so her first single was Driver's License. |
| 1:36.9 | I got my driver's license last week, |
| 1:40.3 | just like we always talked about. |
| 1:44.0 | Driver's License is a breakup song. |
| 1:50.6 | And you're probably with that blonde girl who always made me doubt. |
| 1:53.3 | And some listeners began to speculate that the lyrics contained hints about the breakup, |
| 1:58.0 | which seemed to involve other Disney actors. |
| 2:00.8 | And by now we should have all watched that 30-minute video about, you know, like the Love |
| 2:04.5 | Triangle that's going on. |
| 2:05.3 | So in that video, there's a live of Joshua Baxter. |
... |
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