The opening riff of “White Wedding” is instantly recognizable—a skittering, syncopated guitar line quickly swallowed by pummeling drums. But the song itself is a bit of an enigma. Is it rock? Pop? New wave? Rockabilly punk? Like much of Billy Idol’s career, the song exists somewhere in between. Idol was a shape-shifter, blurring genre lines in pursuit of bigger hooks, bigger audiences and, eventually, pop stardom.Raised near London and running with the Sex Pistols’ inner circle, Idol arrived with genuine punk bona fides. But with the rise of MTV and the explosion of new wave, he refashioned himself as the bleach-blond, leather-clad rock crooner who sneered his way to the top of the charts.Join Chris Molanphy as he traces the rise, reinvention and Rock Hall canonization of an original MTV icon.Get more Hit Parade with Slate Plus! Join for bonus episodes of "The Bridge" and ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe directly from the Hit Parade show page on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hit-parade-music-history-and-music-trivia/id1291058235" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/4GqbdfOT9Je4nEp5BqnGit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a>. Or, visit <a href="https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Hit_Parade&utm_source=episode_summary" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">slate.com/hitparadeplus</a> to get access wherever you listen.Need to set up your Slate Plus feed? If you subscribed through Slate.com, check out our <a href="https://slate.com/podcastfaqs#plusbenefits" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">FAQ</a> at slate.com/podcastfaqs for easy instructions. Members subscribed via Apple Podcasts get automatic access—no setup required.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

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