Episode 20: Joe Cocker: "Music was an awakening for me"

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Today, Joe Cocker would have turned 82.

The man with the gravelly growl and flailing arms had a rare gift — the ability to turn pain into poetry.

HOT1027’s Tara Penny takes a look...

20 May English South Africa Music

Episode 26: Mick Hucknall: "Pop music is a definite art form"

Today, Mick Hucknall turns 66. From a tough childhood in Manchester to selling more than 50-million records with Simply Red, Hucknall turned heartbreak, hope and soul into some of the biggest hits of the 80s and 90s. HOT1027's Tara Penny takes a look…

8 Jun 2 min

Episode 25: Johnny Clegg: "Music was an expression of our friendship"

Today, Johnny Clegg would have turned 73. Known around the world as the "White Zulu", he broke apartheid's racial barriers through music, language and friendship — creating songs that became part of South Africa's story. HOT1027's Tara Penny reports…

7 Jun 3 min

Episode 24: Prince: "You're either here to enlighten or discourage"

Today, one of music’s most gifted and enigmatic stars would have turned 68. Prince was a singer, a songwriter, a producer and a multi-instrumentalist who refused to be defined by race, genre or convention. HOT1027’s Tara Penny takes a look.

6 Jun 3 min

Episode 23: Kylie Minogue: "You can't buy it, you can't bottle it"

Kylie Minogue turns 58 today. From Ramsay Street to global superstardom, few artists have reinvented themselves quite like Kylie - with a career spanning nearly four decades, and two battles with cancer. HOT1027’s Tara Penny takes a look…

28 May 2 min

Episode 22: Stevie Nicks: "I understood what love is and why people write these songs"

Stevie Nicks turns 78 today. From the chaos of Fleetwood Mac to a legendary solo career , Nicks became the first woman inducted twice into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame — and she remains one of rock’s most magnetic storytellers. HOT1027’s Tara Penny takes a look…

26 May 2 min