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Join Live: Sound Opinions

The 10 Most Important Artists in Chicago Music History

Join music critics Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot, hosts of the world’s only rock ‘n’ roll talk show, for a live, online event celebrating Chicago music. They’ll trace the city's rich musical history via the 10 artists they feel contribute the most enduring and influential sounds over the past half-century. Genres include Gospel, Blues, Rock, R&B and more!​

Sound Opinions is your source for smart and engaging music criticism and conversation. Each week on the show, Jim and Greg interview artists, talk about pop culture and music industry news, review new record releases and give trends a historical context. Sound Opinions can be heard on WBEZ and 150 other public radio stations across the country. Learn more at soundopinions.org.

About the hosts
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, the year the Beatles arrived in America, Jim DeRogatis began voicing his opinions about rock ‘n’ roll shortly thereafter. He is a full-time lecturer in the Professional Writing Program of the English Department at Columbia College Chicago and continues to write about popular music for WBEZ Chicago. DeRogatis spent fifteen years as the rock critic at The Chicago Sun-Times and continues to cover news and culture as a freelance writer, including via contributions to The New Yorker. He is the author of ten books, among them: Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs, America’s Greatest Rock Critic, and the critically-acclaimed Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly. DeRogatis has played in punk-rock bands since age thirteen but jokes that he is a drummer, not a musician. He lives on the North Side of Chicago with his wife, while his daughter pursues musical theater.

Greg Kot spent 30 years as the music critic at the Chicago Tribune where he comprehensively covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues. He has written several books, including I’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers, and the Music That Shaped the Civil Rights Era and Wilco: Learning How to Die. Kot also has made major contributions to books on Johnny Cash, George Harrison, the Velvet Underground, Queen, Aerosmith, R.E.M. and the Beatles. A longtime contributor to Rolling Stone, Kot has written for a dozen national publications, including Details, Blender, Entertainment Weekly, Men's Journal, Guitar World, Vibe and Request. Kot has lived on Chicago's Northwest Side through numerous character-building winters with his wife, two daughters and far too many records.

Together, Jim and Greg issued The Beatles vs. the Rolling Stones: Sound Opinions on the Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Rivalry (2010), written in the fun but combative style of the radio show. 

This program is presented in partnership with Addison Public Library, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Aurora Public Library, Des Plaines Public Library, Forest Park Public Library, Glenview Public Library, Highland Park Public Library, Lincolnwood Public Library, Niles-Maine Library District, Oak Park Public Library, Schaumburg Township District Library, Skokie Public Library and Wheaton Public Library.

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