Music

RIP Rick Derringer

- Roshan

American rock guitarist and singer Rick Derringer, who shot to fame at 17 when his band The McCoys recorded Hang On Sloopy, has died aged 77. He also had a hit with Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo and earned a Grammy Award for producing “Weird Al” Yankovic’s debut album. Derringer died on Monday in in Ormond Beach, Florida, according to a Facebook announcement from his caretaker, Tony Wilson. No cause of death was announced. Derringer’s decades in the music industry spanned teen stardom, session work for bands like Steely Dan, supplying the guitar solo on Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart and producing for Cyndi Lauper.

His best-charting album was All American Boy in 1973, which included the instrumentals Joy Ride and Time Warp. He also worked extensively with brothers Edgar and Johnny Winter, playing lead and rhythm guitar in their bands and producing all of their gold and platinum records, including Edgar Winter’s hits “Frankenstein” and “Free Ride” (both in 1973). He produced Yankovic’s Grammy Award-winning songs “Eat It” (1984) and “Fat” (1988). Additionally, Derringer produced the World Wrestling Federation’s album The Wrestling Album (1985) and its follow-up, Piledriver: The Wrestling Album II (1987). Those albums featured the entrance song for Hulk Hogan, “Real American“, and the theme for the  Demolition  tag team, “Demolition”. Derringer also produced three songs from the soundtrack of the 1984 Tom Hanks film Bachelor Party.

Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Derringer worked extensively as a session musician, playing on albums by Steely Dan – including Countdown to Ecstasy, Katy Lied and Gaucho — Todd Rundgren, Kiss and Barbra Streisand. He played on Air Supply’s Making Love Out of Nothing at All. In the mid-1980s he began working with Lauper, touring in her band and playing on three of her albums, including the hit True Colours. He toured with Ringo Starr and The All-Starr Band. In 2001, Derringer, Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice released the album Derringer, Bogert & Appice (DBA): Doin’ Business as… on the German record label Steamhammer Records. Starting in 2001 Derringer, his wife, and their children released the first two of four Christian music albums, all through Panda Studio Production.

Facts About Carry On My Wayward Son By Kansas

- Roshan

The band Kansas formed in Topeka, Kansas in 1975 and the song Carry On My Wayward Son saved the band from pop music obscurity! Steve Walsh handled lead vocals and guitar, with Kerry Livgren on guitar and keyboards, Phil Ehart on drums, Robby Steinhardt on violin, Rich Williams on guitar, and Dave Hope on bass. Members would come and go…and return…and leave again over the years…as the band continues to tour to this day…but that is in the future timeline, from a “Carry On” standpoint.

  • “Carry On Wayward Son” was written by guitarist Kerry Livgren and featured on their 4th album Leftoverture.
  • Livgren, who became an evangelical Christian in 1980, says that his hit record was not meant to take on any religious meaning….although It contains “searching” and other ideas.
  • Livgren is quoted: “I felt a profound urge to ‘Carry On,’ to continue the  search.” Further, “I saw myself as the ‘Wayward Son’ alienated from the ultimate reality, and yet striving to know it.”
  • Landing at #11 on the Hot 100 charts in early 1977, “Carry On Wayward Son” was the band’s first pop chart hit, and first hit on top-40 radio! And, it was a last-minute addition to the “Leftoverture” album!
  • Kerry Livgren wrote this hit-record-to-be…a mere two days before the band started recording the album!
  • As the studio sessions were coming to a close, and Kansas was polishing the songs that had been recorded for the new album…not adding new ones..Livgren said “I’ve got one more song that you might want to hear.” The guys knew a hit record when they heard it, and “Carry On Wayward Son” was not only a last-minute add to the album, it was made the lead song.
  • The album  was a commercial success, going platinum 5 times.
  • “Carry On Wayward Son” often makes lists of the greatest rock songs of all time….and it has earned Kerry Livgren a reputation as one of the most respected musicians and lyricists in rock ‘n’ roll!
  • “Carry On Wayward Son” is considered the unofficial theme song for the television series  Supernatural. It is heard in the final episode of almost every season of the show, in “The Road So Far” synopses of previous episodes. At San Diego Comic-Con in 2017, Kansas appeared at the Supernatural panel and played the song live.
  • The song was featured in the season 3 official trailer of the Reacher Amazon Prime Video series.
  • It was used by the professional wrestling faction The Elite members Kenny Omega, “Hangman” Adam Page, and The Young Bucks as their ring entrance music as of November 19, 2022 in AEW.

Here Are Some Facts About The Captain America Movies Within The MCU

- Roshan

Captain America Movies in the MCU
There are currently 4 released solo Captain America films :

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

  • Director: Joe Johnston
  • Setting: Primarily during World War II
  • Plot: Steve Rogers, a frail man, volunteers for a super-soldier experiment and becomes Captain America to fight the Nazis and HYDRA.
  • Notable Characters: Peggy Carter, Red Skull, Bucky Barnes

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

  • Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo
  • Genre: Political thriller/superhero
  • Plot: Steve Rogers uncovers a conspiracy within S.H.I.E.L.D. while facing an old friend-turned-enemy: the Winter Soldier (Bucky Barnes).
  • Notable for: Shifting the MCU tone to darker, more grounded storytelling.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

  • Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo
  • Plot: After a mission goes wrong, the Avengers are divided over government control, leading to a clash between Team Cap and Team Iron Man.
  • Significance: Introduced Black Panther and the MCU version of Spider-Man.

Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

  • Starring: Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, the new Captain America
  • Plot: It focus on Sam Wilson stepping into his role as Cap following The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as he investigates a conspiracy involving U.S. president Thaddeus Ross
  • Significance : Harrison Ford debuts in the MCU that sees him take over the role of Thaddeus Ross and the Red Hulk.

The Final Countdown – Europe

- Roshan

The Final Countdown is the third studio album by the Swedish rock band Europe. Released on 26 May 1986 through Epic Records, the album was a commercial success, peaking at number 8 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and reaching high positions in charts worldwide. The Final Countdown is the first album to feature keyboardist Mic Michaeli and drummer Ian Haugland and the last to feature founding guitarist John Norum until 2004’s Start from the Dark. John Leven & Joey Tempest handled bass and vocals as usual.

We start of with their biggest hit & probably best ever song, The Final Countdown is a song by the Swedish rock band Europe, released in 1986. Written by their lead singer Joey Tempest, it was based on a keyboard riff he made in the early 1980s, with lyrics inspired by David Bowie’s “Space Oddity“. Originally intended only to be a concert opener, it is the first single and title track from the band’s studio album of the same name. The music video by Nick Morris, made to promote the single and featuring the band’s live performances in both Solna & Stockholm, has received over 1.2 billion views on YouTube. It was based on keyboard riff that Tempest came up with and Leven asked him to write a song based around the riff. The song was #1 in France, Austria, Italy, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. And top 10 in the US & Canada.

Next on the list is their second big hit on the album – Rock The Night. Initially written in 1984, the version we know became second international single from the album. The 1986 release became a Top 10 hit in France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Belgium, Ireland and Switzerland, and peaked at #12 on the UK Singles Chart and #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States in early 1987. The music video sees the band walking into a Hard Rock Cafe and they start singing as a live video of the same song plays on tv. Next up we have Carrie, the ballad on the album and a Top 30 hit in several territories worldwide, #9 in Canada & #3 in the US. It’s a song about breakup but still being in love.

Danger On The Track is a song about being alone and in danger of being attacked by strangers and not knowing what to do. Ninja is a song that admires the ancient warriors and their exploits during war and fights and dreaming of being one of the brave ones. Cherokee is the next single released in 1987. It was the fourth single released internationally from the album and reached number 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States. The video for Cherokee was filmed in September 1987, in Almería, Spain. It was filmed a half mile from where Sergio Leone shot the famous Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western A Fistful of Dollars. Lyrically the song is about the plight of the Cherokee tribes and how they had to survive following the forceful removal & displacement by the US government in between 1830 and 1850.

Another ballad is the beautiful Time Has Come about the dreams and longings of the lonely adventurer  who is coming back home from his adventures & exploits. Heart Of Stone is a song about still longing for the one you love, despite the fights and arguments. On The Loose was initially written and featured in a Swedish film of the same name. Lyrically it is about the exploits of a young man living out on his own and playing by his own rules. Love Chaser released in 1986 as a single only in Japan and featured in the soundtrack album of the Japanese movie Pride One.  It’s basically about someone who is longing for the object of their affection and is determined to do anything to get them.

In support of the album’s release, Europe went on their first leg of the Swedish tour and then Japan for 6 dates. During that tour, guitarist and band co-founder John Norum told the other band members that he wanted to leave the band, due to musical differences with the rest of the band and their manager. He continued with the band through the second leg of the Sweden tour, as well as a promotion tour around Europe including TV appearances and interviews. He made his last appearance with the band for a Sky Channel broadcast at the club Escape in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 31 October 1986. Norum was then replaced by Kee Marcello, appeared in the music videos for “Rock the Night“, “Cherokee” and “Carrie,” before making his first TV appearance with the band at Peters Popshow in Dortmund, West Germany on 12 December 1986.

In January they toured Europe before playing a 23 night run across the US and then later Canada and back to Europe again to end their world tour. I saw & heard The Final Countdown video back in 1986 when I was 10. This was the first rock song/band I knew and I became an instant fan. I played the album to my cousins and every cousin bought this album later the next year.

Permanent Waves – Rush

- Roshan

Permanent Waves is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on January 14, 1980 through Anthem Records. After touring to support their previous album, Hemispheres (1978), the band began working on new material for a follow-up in July 1979. This material showed a shift in the group’s sound towards more concise arrangements and radio-friendly songs, though their progressive rock blueprint is still evident on “Jacob’s Ladder” and the nine-minute closer “Natural Science.” Bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee also employed a more restrained vocal delivery compared to previous albums. Permanent Waves was the first of seven studio albums the band recorded at Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec with production handled by the group and Terry Brown.

Let’s start things off with one of the most friendliest of songs that talks about the role that the radio plays in our lives. The Spirit Of Radio became their first top 30 single in Canada and reaching number 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100 but 13 on the UK Singles Chart in March. Lyrically, the song is a lament on the change of FM radio from free-form to commercial formats during the late 1970s. The Brampton, Ontario based station CFNY-FM—which had not abandoned free-form programming—is cited as an inspiration for the song. The second song is another favourite – Freewill. The song’s lyrics deal with the subject of free will; in a December 1989 interview on Rockline, Lee stated that “the song is about freedom of choice and free will, and you believing in what you decide you believe in”. It has been described as an “explicitly atheistic” song that mocks those who believe in a god, exemplified by the lyrics “choose a ready guide in some celestial voice”.

Developed during their warm up routines, Jacob’s Ladder is the 3rd song on the record. uses several time and key signatures, and possesses a dark, ominous feel in its first half. The lyrics are based on a simple concept; a vision of sunlight breaking through storm clouds. The song’s title is a reference to the natural phenomenon of the sun breaking through the clouds in visible rays, which in turn was named after the Biblical ladder to heaven on which Jacob saw angels ascending and descending in a vision. The 3rd single off the album, Entre Nous is up next with it’s straight ahead rock and acoustic interlude. French for “Between Us” comes from Ayn Rand’s 1943 novel The Fountainhead and captures the sense of rapport Neil Peart feels with members of the audience.

Different Strings is kinda unique as the lyrics were written by Geddy Lee and it also features Hugh Syme on piano. And then we have the length album closer Natural Science which has 3 parts – Tide Pools, Hyperspace and Permanent Waves finishing off in great Prog Rock style! t was featured, with a different arrangement, on the 1996 Test for Echo Tour, the 2002 Vapor Trails Tour, the 2007–2008 Snakes & Arrows Tour and the 2015 R40 Live Tour. The album reached No. 3 in Canada and the UK and No. 4 in the US. ush supported Permanent Waves with a concert tour of Canada, America and the UK between January 17 and June 22, 1980. The band toured with a 25-member road crew who handled the 60 tons of equipment to stage the show, which included Boeing 707 landing lights, a $50,000 mixing console and a screen projector behind the band.

Dark Side Of The Brain – Flat Black

- Roshan

Flat Black is a band formed by Canadian guitarist Jason Hook. After spending many years in the Toronto scene and his band not getting their album released, he moved to Los Angeles and became a sessions guitarist, honing his craft with  hard rock band BulletBoys. In 2000, he was hired by pop singer Hilary Duff as the guitarist in her live lineup; he also served as the session guitarist recording tracks for her. Hook also supported Mandy Moore on her 2001 tour. Hook became a highly coveted session player in the L.A. circuit and went on to tour and record with acts like the Vince Neil Band and Alice Cooper. He released two solo albums before joining Five Finger Death Punch as a full time member for 11 years before he left. Flat Black was former with drummer Rob Pierce, bassist Nick Diltz and Wrex Horton on vocals and in 2024 they released their debut album Dark Side Of The Brain.

It’s Ok To Be Angry starts off with a monologue before breaking into a monster riff and the song has a melodic refrain and a Hook solo. Frantic riffage starts off the new song Justice Will Be Done., which sounds a bit like Machine Head. Mainline grooving character such as Sideways, It’s Your Lack Of Respect and title entry Dark Side Of The Brain prove even more engaging between Horton’s dramatic and varied vocal assault and Hook’s highly expressive and generally concise yet showy guitar display. Sideways as a single with a music video is melodic enough and yet hits with their vocals, drums and guitars punch.

A Little Bit Of Lightning is a great song with its catchy chorus. Written during the pandemic, it was Jason trying to come to grips with his decision to leave FFDP and begin his own adventure. Hook admits, “I was feeling pretty low, and the pandemic wasn’t helping. The lyric is basically me asking for something to turn around sooner than later.” Unwanted also starts with the heavy riffs before going into more melodic parts in the veses. The ballad Home is nice touch giving you more depth than just the heavy riffs and it sounds catchy enough to be a hit and has a nice little solo. Mixing the melody with the heavy riffs once again is Halo, catchy but proves a bit shorter and more dynamic in its delivery. The somber yet thudding power ballad Villain also checks all the boxes in terms of modern stylistic tropes and catchy hooks, with a hint of NIckleback.

Add in a rather intriguing guitar instrumental bit in Youth N Eyes which showcases Hook thinking a bit out of the box and going back to his solo albums. Another melancholy, downtempo rocker in Tidal Wave and we end the album with the up-tempo power anthem Let It Go. Flat Black & Jason Hook have a winner and have been touring to promote it across North America and Europe.

RIP Les Binks

- Roshan

Former Judas Priest drummer Les Binks has died aged 73. The Northern Irish sticksman joined the legendary heavy metal band in 1977, after tenures with Eric Burdon and War (later known as simply War) and pop group Francy. His death was reported by various outlets on Tuesday (15.04.25), however, no cause of death was given. Binks appeared on the pair of 1978 Priest albums ‘Stained Class’ and ‘Killing Machine’, and the 1979 live LP ‘Unleashed In The East’. He departed the group shortly after the latter project’s release. Binks reunited with Judas Priest when they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2017. At the time, he also performed in the covers band KK’s Priest with former members K. K. Downing and Tim “Ripper” Owens.

Previously working for Eric Burdon of the Animals and the funk band War, Binks was also a drummer on Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover’s album The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast (1974). The album project began as a soundtrack for an animated film based on a well-known English children’s book, but a promo for the film never gained any interest, so the project was scrapped. Glover went on to release the soundtrack as a “Roger Glover and Friends” title. Binks played for the pop band Fancy who had two U.S. hits in 1974 with a cover of Chip Taylor’s “Wild Thing”, and “Touch Me”.

Through his connection to Roger Glover who had just wrapped up production of their album Sin After Sin, Binks joined the up-and-coming heavy metal act Judas Priest in March 1977 for their world tour – their first on American soil. Binks stepped into the role Simon Phillips had held in the band. Binks remained with Judas Priest for two and a half years, until July 1979, recording the studio albums Stained Class and Killing Machine (both 1978) and the live album Unleashed in the East (1979), all of which feature a faster thrash metal, speed metal double bass drumming approach, thus helping to develop and explore new terrain within heavy metal music. Binks left the band just before the start of the North American leg of the “Killing Machine” (Hell Bent for Leather) tour. Binks said in 2017 that he left because he felt he was essentially hired as a “freelance session drummer” by the band and was never made an official member.

Binks toured with the bands Lionheart (1981) and Tytan (1982–1983) soon after their first single release. Since 2017,[12] Binks performed classic Judas Priest songs live with a new band called Les Binks’ Priesthood. He additionally intended to join the band KK’s Priest after a one-time show in November 2019 playing Judas Priest songs at KK’s Steelmill in Wolverhampton, along with other former Judas Priest members K. K. Downing (guitar) and Tim “Ripper” Owens (vocals). Other participants included David Ellefson (bass) of Megadeth and A.J. Mills (guitar) of the UK band Hostile. However a fractured wrist stopped him from joining them.

In 2022, Binks was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Judas Priest via the Award for Musical Excellence.

Total Control – John Norum

- Roshan

Total Control is the first solo album by Europe guitarist John Norum. It was released after Norum left Europe following the release of 1986’s The Final Countdown and the tour that followed.  Apparently guitarist John Norum left Europe back in the 1980’s because he was unhappy over the more commercial bent of the group’s music. The band definitely had more success with that change but in more recent years have gone more towards that classic rock sound. While the album’s production is clearly of the 80’s, the material does veer greatly into the heavier guitar driven sound. While keyboards do have a presence on the album, they don’t overwhelm the clearly more aggressive rocking vibe.

Joining him on this album are singer Goran Edman on 3 tracks, while John tackles vocals on the other 8, and Norum’s friend from the early days of Europe Marcel Jacob, when they were still called Force. Jacob joined the band Force for 3 years before quitting to rejoin Yngwie Malmsteen’s band Rising Force. Jacob also cowrote 8 of the 11 songs. Peter Hermansson played drums on the record while Per Blom added keyboards on some songs. We start off with Norum singing and playing guitars on the more rockier Let Me Love You which has a great bass and drum rhythm throughout the song. It was also the first single. The video for the next song, Love Is Meant To Last Forever is from a live performance. The song is about two lovers who are trying to make it through the struggles and Goran takes the vocals on this one.

John comes back to sing the slower Too Many Hearts which is the first ballad in the album. The slower paced guitar solos shows off more of Norum’s range. Someone Else Here sounds more like Europe than most of the other songs in the album. Eternal Flame starts off with a searing solo before the rest of the song kicks off, reminding me a bit of Joe Lynn Turner era Rainbow. Back on the Streets is a cover of a Vinnie Vincent song from the previous year and has got a great music video in which John’s guitar is stolen and he searches for it only to find it in a pawn show before he joins Goran, Marcel and the others to play the solo. More chaotic is the song Blind with John singing again.

One of my favourite songs of the record is the oddly sounding Law Of Life penned by Max Lorentz & Mats Lindfors. For a 11 year old, I thought that this song would be good in a Western movie. We’ll Do What It Takes Together is once again another song that reminds of Turner & Rainbow – especially the rhythm part. I remember singing this song loudly in my room back in the preteens. The album ends with the instrumental In Chase Of The Wind, featuring some beautiful acoustic guitars along with electric. Some regions got a bonus track in a Thin Lizzy cover of Wild One. Norum who is a fan of the band and Phil Lynott, dedicated it to the latter who passed away the previous year.

The album earned the #4 spot in Sweden and did well across Europe heralding Norum’s successful solo career before he rejoined his friends in Europe in 2003 as the band reunited from a long hiatus and has put the band first while still maintaining his solo efforts.

Remembering The Late Jeff Healey On His 59th Birthday

- Roshan

Jeff Healey was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart with “Angel Eyes” and reached the Top 10 in Canada with the songs “I Think I Love You Too Much” and “How Long Can a Man Be Strong”. Norman Jeffrey “Jeff” Healey (born March 25, 1966 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) lost his sight as a child due to retinoblastoma, a rare form of eye cancer. He was adopted as an infant; his adoptive father was a firefighter. When he was almost one year old, Healey lost his sight due to retinoblastoma, a rare cancer of the eyes. His eyes had to be surgically removed, and he was given ocular prostheses.

Healey began playing guitar when he was three, developing his unique style of playing the instrument flat on his lap. This was also because his parents didn’t know how to play the guitar either. As a teenager he started playing in prominent venues in Toronto and even got to play with legends like Buddy Guy. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to bassist Joe Rockman (born January 1, 1957, Toronto) and drummer Tom Stephen (born February 2, 1955, New Brunswick – died February 20, 2023), with whom he formed a trio, the Jeff Healey Band. After being signed to Arista Records in 1988, the band released the album See the Light, which appeared on the RPM Top 100 chart in 1989. It featured the hit single “Angel Eyes” and the song “Hideaway“, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance. While the band was recording See the Light, they were also filming (and recording for the soundtrack of) the Patrick Swayze film Road House.

In 1990, the band won the Juno Award for Canadian Entertainer of the Year. The albums Hell to Pay  and Feel This gave Healey 10 charting singles in Canada between 1990 and 1994, including a cover of the Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps“, which featured George Harrison and Jeff Lynne on backing vocals and acoustic guitar. Post the long tour after supporting Fell This Jeff took a break from touring due to his health and released Cover To Cover, an album full of his favourite songs and influences. But then he mostly concentrated on his jazz & blues club, Healeys’ in Toronto. He also started playing more jazz tunes live at the club. 2000 saw him and the band release Get Me Some, which didn’t do as well as the previous 3 albums.

Other than a couple of live albums, he only released jazz records until 2008. On January 11, 2007, Healey underwent surgery to remove metastatic cancer tissue from both lungs. In the previous 18 months, he had two sarcomas removed from his legs. On March 2, 2008, Healey died of sarcoma in his home town of Toronto at the age of 41, just a few days short of his 42nd. Over the years, Healey toured and sat in with many well-known performers, including The Allman Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, B. B. King, ZZ Top, Steve Lukather, Eric Clapton and many more. In 2006, Healey appeared on Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan’s CD/DVD Gillan’s Inn. Healey discovered and helped develop the careers of other musical artists, including Alex Pangman, Terra Hazelton, Amanda Marshall, Shannon Curfman, and Philip Sayce.

My introduction to the late, great Jeff Healey was back in late 1990 when a friend of my in grade 9 let me borrow his cassette tape of this album and recommended it to me. A little while later, I bought my own copy. I became a huge fan and bought Feel This in 1992 and his debut See The Light in between. He has always been one of my favourite singer/guitarists since 1990 and the music world lost a great artist when he passed away.

The IPod Shuffle : A Nostalgic Look Back

- Roshan

Back in 2007, I was gifted a 1GB Ipod shuffle from my cousin Raakhee. She lives in the US & sent it to me via her mother (my mom’s sister) who was visiting her on the birth of her (Raakhee’s) second child. Her mom came back to India that year after her visit and she gave the box to my mum and another sister who were there waiting to pick her up. My mum came back home and sprung this surprise on me when she gave the box to me. The iPod Shuffle was a small, flash-memory-based MP3 player by Apple, known for its simplicity and portability, featuring no screen, FM radio, or Dock Connector, and was discontinued on July 27, 2017.

Here are some key facts about the iPod Shuffle:

  • Smallest iPod: It was the smallest model in Apple’s iPod family.
  • Flash Memory: It was the first iPod to use flash memory for storage.
  • No Screen: It lacked a screen, FM radio, and a Dock Connector, focusing on simplicity.
  • Headphone Controls: The 3rd generation Shuffle had no buttons on the device itself, relying on a small remote on the headphone cord, while the 4th generation added buttons back.
  • First Model: The first model was announced at the Macworld Conference & Expo on January 11, 2005.
  • Discontinuation: The iPod Shuffle was discontinued by Apple on July 27, 2017, along with the iPod Nano.
  • Capacity: The iPod shuffle was available in 2GB and 4GB memory capacities.
  • Dimensions: The iPod shuffle is 45.2mm tall, 17.5mm wide, and has a depth of 7.8mm.