Sound Opinions Presents: 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!​

Will your favorite Chicago artists make the cut?

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.

Missed the event? View the recording here. Recording available through May 31, 2021

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 is the head of editorial at Coda Collection and previously the music critic at the Chicago Tribune for 30 years, where he comprehensively covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues. His books include acclaimed biographies of Mavis Staples (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) and a history of the digital music revolution (Ripped). Kot also has made major contributions to books on Johnny Cash, George Harrison, the Velvet Underground, Queen, R.E.M. and more and has written extensively for Rolling Stone, BBC Culture, and Encyclopedia Britannica. He lives on Chicago's Northwest Side with his wife 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. 

Closed-captioning will be available for this program

This program is presented in partnership by: Addison Public Library, Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Aurora Public Library, Des Plaines Public Library, Forest Park Public Library, Glencoe Public Library, Glenview Public Library, Highland Park Public Library, Niles-Maine Library District, Oak Park Public Library, Schaumburg Township District Library, Skokie Public Library, Westchester Public Library, Wheaton Public Library