“Mercury plays a dumber version of Bowie's cul­tured stud, May a mutant Page with less control. With Queen, con­fused image takes precedent over content.”

“For this high school generation, attendance at a Led Zeppelin concert is as mandatory as freshman English.”

“Hooks are what makes DJs and listeners remember a record. Elton’s gift for the hook is so universal that there is small likelihood that one of them hasn’t stuck in your pleasure center. Or your craw”

“As glam rock waned and disco had yet to wax, punk style provided the perfect cultural jolt, a new kind of 'No!' that brought together fashion, music, press, and politics to tell the world a story En­gland still can't be too eager to bear”

“Jackson has inspired debate over his cosmetic decisions because the residue of the ’60s black nationalism and the condescension of those who would pity or mock black Americans have met over the issue of his face, his skin tone, his hair”

“Without a doubt, Armstrong was the greatest trumpet player of the century — the most powerful, the most touching, the most varied”

“From the strength of their personal decency and dedication, the musicians summoned up an oceanic passion, a commitment to the true experience of their materials that short-circuited the hair on the back of one’s neck”

He made some of the greatest music that has ever been made; if any one man is to be given credit for siring rock 'n' roll, it is he

“Drugs became his escape hatch and his prison. As his In Our Lifetime so brazenly articulates, the devil was after his soul and damned if he wasn’t determined to win”

“Put him in a raincoat and trademark fedora and have him walk the streets of metro­politan America, and he comes alive on screen. His cockiness and swag­ger make sense on a street”