Music History Monday Podcast: From Classical To Country: Rock to R&B

Today’s music is fragmented, much like the nation. Songs are expected to stay in their genre lane. When they don’t, there’s controversy like Old Town Road by Lil Nas X that combined music genotypes under the country music aegis. Or Beyonce’s new country album, Cowboy Carter, in which she adds her distinctive inflections into the country genre.

There are numerous music podcasts that study popular music, its trends and artists. Each has its own specialty. Song Exploder breaks down the fabric of a song as explained by its creator. Then, we have Switched On Pop and its musical forensics, and Slate’s Hit Parade, with its focus on the popularity of music based on Billboard charts.

Today, I am recommending a music podcast that has a host who sounds like a history professor. You can practically hear the tweed on his jacket. The host is not very dynamic, and can be pedantic. Furthermore, the podcast does not limit itself to one genre — classical, R&B, blues, jazz, rock, bluegrass, country, zydeco, and so on.

Yet, this podcast, Music History Monday, is a must-listen for those listeners with a passion for music — all kinds, from different times, and from different artists.

The show’s tepid marketing pitch is this: “Explore Music History with Professor Robert Greenberg one Monday at a time. Every Monday Robert Greenberg explores some timely, perhaps intriguing and even, if we are lucky, salacious chunk of musical information…