Institute for Popular Music

John Covach, rock historian and director of the University's Institute for Popular Music, summarized Michael's impact on and influence in an essay for CNN.

Celebrating a style of music that dominated the 1970s, the University of Rochester’s Institute for Popular Music features an evening of country rock as part of its "In Performance" concert series.

Rochester professor and rock historian John Covach

In 1967, the Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined, and remain the only band with four No. 1 albums in a 12-month period. "Their music stands up," says John Covach, director of the University's Institute for Popular Music.

The 2015-2016 “In Performance” concert series continues on Saturday, Feb. 6, with a concert celebrating a genre that Institute for Popular Music director John Covach describes as "often overlooked by rock ‘n’ roll establishments like the Hall of Fame."

David Bowie, who died Sunday at the age of 69, wasn't the first performer to create an alter ego. But as music professor and director of the Institute for Popular Music John Covach explains, the difference with Bowie was how his personas would change over the years, sometimes shifting drastically.

To mark the 50th anniversary of what many rock historians consider to be one of the most progressive years in the history of rock music, the institute's “In Performance” series kicks off with a tribute concert to American rock.

Kara DioGuardi, songwriter and former judge on TV’s American Idol, and Bill Flanagan, a veteran music journalist who has spent the last 15 years as an executive at both MTV and VH1, will sit down for a behind-the-scenes look at their careers on Wednesday, April 22 and Wednesday, April 29.

For the past five decades the Rolling Stones have enjoyed tremendous success as the original bad boys of rock for their image based on sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. But what many people don’t realize is that this hasn’t always been the case for the group, according to John Covach, director of the Institute for Popular Music.

The Institute for Popular Music (IPM) celebrates the 50th year of the Rolling Stone’s breakthrough hit, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” with a special concert January 24. This musical tribute coincides with the launch of a free online course on "The Music of The Rolling Stones."