By Adam Waldman
The origin story of Hard Rock Daddy goes deeper than a dad’s love of hard rock music. Long before discovering my passion for rock music, my main exposure to music was Doo Wop from my parents. I used to bask in the imagery of what it was like to grow up in the ‘50s as my dad would wax nostalgic about hanging out at the malt shop. The image in my mind’s eye was brought to life with Happy Days (my favorite show as a kid), and later with Grease (one of my all-time favorite movies).
Having turned 50 last year, life in the ‘50s has an entirely different meaning to me these days. Still, the nostalgia of life in the 1950s will always be a part of me. Even though I was born in the late ‘60s, my true origin story begins on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the ‘50s.
If there is one thing that truly represents the ‘50s in my mind, it is the jukebox. Whenever I come across them these days in diners, it conjures up the stories that my dad used to tell us about hanging out at the malt shop. He and my mom used to hang out there together when they were teenagers.
You may have noticed the numbers 3 and 13 in the HRD logo, but not understood the meaning. It actually has a dual meaning. The first is that the site was launched in March of 2013. On a more personal level, the numbers represent my dad’s birthday. He always loved seeing the numbers together.
In honor of his birthday, Hard Rock Daddy is announcing the launch of a new feature called HRD Jukebox. It will debut on Monday, March 18th.
Times have changed, and technology has made it infinitely easier to listen to your favorite songs with just the click of a button. The anticipation of hearing your songs come on the jukebox after putting quarters in the machine no longer exists. It has been replaced by an endless selection of music to choose from on demand. However, having too many choices can be overwhelming, especially in the day and age of constant distractions.
HRD Jukebox will be less about waiting for the songs that you already know, and more about discovering songs that you may not. It will feature a mixture of established and rising artists.
Hard Rock Daddy has evolved since launching in 2013. Older features are being updated to be delivered in a way that our readers prefer. What was once Hard Rock Music Time Machine (and then Rock and Roll Time Machine) has been updated to provide top hard rock song lists from the years prior to our launch.
HRD Jukebox is the natural evolution of Music Discovery Monday. There will be some similarities, but the focus of this feature will be more about overall playlists of new music than providing exposure to artists under the radar. This mixture of established and rising artists will mimic the approach taken on the annual top hard rock songs list.
In addition to the playlists of new music, there will be a blurb about each song, and a hyperlink to go directly to the YouTube video for that song if you so desire.
Check back on the afternoon of Monday, March 18th for the debut of this new feature!
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