Pursuits
When Elvis Met Beyoncé: A History of Pop Music
A book about pop music’s winding road
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In 1985 the co-founders of Def Jam Recordings, Rick Rubin and Russell Simmons, wanted to find a way to sell hip-hop to rock fans. So they had the rap trio Run-DMC cover Aerosmith’s 1975 hit Walk This Way—along with Aerosmith. Next, the label released the Beastie Boys’ You Gotta Fight for Your Right (to Party!). The new Walk This Way sold 3 million copies and the Beastie Boys’ License to Ill became the first No. 1 hip-hop album, even though its first single wasn’t technically hip-hop at all.