
History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff is the show that aims to make grand and often oddball hard rock and heavy metal points through a narrative built upon the tiny idea of a quintet of songs. Buttressed with illustrative clips, Martin argues quickly and succinctly why these songs - and the specific sections of these tracks - support his mad professor premise, from the wobbly invention of an “A... more
| Publishes | Weekly | Episodes | 376 | Founded | 7 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | Music HistoryMusicMusic Commentary | |||

In Episode 377 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin examines the fascinating “shared birthdays” of iconic 1970s albums. He highlights unexpected release-day pairings, musical rivalries, and the stories and connections behind these coi... more
In Episode 376 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin explores the art of the album “con” by examining rock and metal records whose dramatic or intriguing covers may have overpromised the experience. Artists including Alice Cooper, Jet... more
In Episode 375 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin contemplates the gritty, rebellious, swaggering, often dark and unapologetically uncommercial album that stands apart in a band's discography, including Van Halen, Pink Floyd, and Ozz... more
In Episode 374 of History in Five Songs with Martin Popoff, Martin examines how bands such as the Pixies, Queen, and Black Sabbath use dramatic shifts between quiet and heavy passages to create tension, surprise and impact.
• Pixies – “Tame”
• ... more
People also subscribe to these shows.




So if I don’t care for Atlantic Star, Chic or Peaches and Herb, it’s because I hate black people? C’mon, Martin, spare us your white guilt. It is possible to dislike a band and not be a racist.
How about the subject of signature guitars? How many of these guitars have been sold? John Petrucci and Steve Morse Melody Maker guitars. Satriani, George Benson, plat Metheny and Paul Stanley’s Ibanez. How many of those guitars have been sold?
Martin is the perfect host for this podcast - a fan and an expert all rolled into one. He brings it all back to me and brings new music that I had not considered for me to buy - what a joy!
Based only on the Genesis episode from 9 days ago this is either a) a not very funny spoof or b) an ill conceived project that should be laid to rest as soon as possible.
Blah blah blah blah,blah, blah blah, blah blah,blah blah blah and a ton of weird mouth noises.
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #47 | |
Apple Podcasts | #35 | |
Apple Podcasts | #89 | |
Apple Podcasts | #137 | |
Apple Podcasts | #149 | |
Apple Podcasts | #243 |
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | Gender Skew | Location | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interests | Professions | Age Range | |||
| Household Income | Social Media Reach | ||||
Five-song focused narratives explore hard rock and heavy metal history through tight, curated song choices. Each episode uses concise analysis of sections within tracks to illustrate broader themes—from the evolution of guitar roles to the spread of metal across subgenres—often weaving in anecdotes, fan input, and historical context. Noteworthy is the consistent emphasis on how five tracks can illuminate expansive storytelling, with a distinctive authorial voice that blends scholarship and passionate opinion. The format is approachable for both deep genre fans and newcomers curious about lineage, making it a strong fit for listeners who enjoy curriculum-like yet highly opinionated music history in a compact, episode-driven package.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for History in Five Songs. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to History in Five Songs and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for History in Five Songs, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for History in Five Songs, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers History in Five Songs has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with History in Five Songs:
1. The Eddie Trunk Podcast
2. A Pod Somewhere In Time
3. 100 Songs that Define Heavy Metal
4. The Vinyl Guide - Artist Interviews for Record Collectors and Music Nerds
5. The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan
History in Five Songs launched 7 years ago and published 376 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for History in Five Songs from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of History in Five Songs. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on History in Five Songs include:
1. Joe Skinner
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.