The headline was brutally honest, reading: “How We Lost $35,509 on the ‘album of the year’ (dammit).” The advertisement described how Warner Bros. Records had poured a huge amount of money ...

Fifty years ago, rock 'n' roll had, definitively, its greatest year, featuring a landmark run of debut albums and artistic achievements that make 1969 an unrivaled mini-era in the genre's history ...