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The Band’s Robbie Robertson Has Died

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Robbie Robertson has died at age 80. As an elder statesman of twentieth century rock, as well as 21st century film soundtracks, we were blessed by his stories, wit, and wisdom multiple times here In the Studio.
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Lynyrd Skynyrd- Pronounced 50th- the late Gary Rossington, Ed King, Leon Wilkeson

Over the fifty years the perception seems to have become that Lynyrd Skynyrd had a date with destiny, an almost Shakespearean drama of dreams, aspirations, triumph, and tragedy to which all of us were immediately and keenly aware from the moment of "Pronounced" 's release. The late Gary Rossington dismissed that assumption as no more true than imagining Will Shakespeare did not toil, struggle, and starve in relative obscurity in his time.
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Boston- Don’t Look Back 45th Anniversary- Tom Scholz

The band Boston had by August 1978 sold seven million copies on its way to becoming the top-selling debut (now over 17 million ), and the follow-up "Don't Look Back"  was being rush released to North American rock  radio stations. Boston, led by my guest here in this classic rock interview, guitarist/composer Tom Scholz
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ZZ TOP- Tres Hombres 50th- Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard

The all-important breakthrough third ZZ Top album, "Tres Hombres", will focus on the all-around improvements in recording quality and songwriting reflected in such perennials as "Waitin’ for the Bus”, “Jesus Just Left Chicago”, and “Lagrange” plus the introduction of "the squank" to guitar vernacular. Squankmaster Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard, and the dearly missed Dusty Hill tell the colorful tales of the earliest days of ZZ Top here In the Studio for  the breakthrough third album, "Tres Hombres" on its golden anniversary.
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George Thorogood & the Destroyers- Move It on Over 45th Anniversary

I have interviewed literally hundreds of the greatest rock musicians , but George Thorogood is the only one who told me that he was planning to be a professional comedian, not a musician. The best-selling album by bare-knuckle electric bluesrocker George Thorogood with July 1982's Bad to the Bone. George marks the occasion here In the Studio  with his unlikely journey featuring all of his biggest hits including "One Bourbon, One Scotch, and One Beer","Move It On Over", Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love", "I Drink Alone", Chuck Berry's "It Wasn't Me", and of course "Bad to the Bone".
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Queen 50th Anniversary pt 2- Brian May, Roger Taylor

By the time the credits roll concluding the four-time Oscar winning Queen biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody", a casual music fan might assume that the royal rockers' career must have peaked with that July 1985 Live Aid London benefit concert performance which climaxes the film. In fact, the story portrayed in "Bohemian Rhapsody" is only the first volume of the five decade Queen saga whose final chapter is being writ large in real time even today with Queen + Adam Lambert North American Tour. Brian May & Roger Taylor return In the Studio for part 2 of the band's Golden Jubilee.
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Queen 50th Anniversary, pt1- Brian May, Roger Taylor

Meanwhile Brian & Roger  give us the backstory on such early Queen songs as "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Doing All Right" from the debut ;"Now I'm Here", "Stone Cold Crazy", and "Killer Queen" from Sheer Heart Attack; and some amazing early live performances from the London Hammersmith Odeon. Queen's golden jubilee, part one, with Brian May and Roger Taylor here In the Studio.
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The Band- Music from Big Pink- Robbie Robertson

Widely viewed along with Bob Dylan, The Byrds, and Gram Parsons as  fathers of  the Americana musical movement, The Band also may have  been one of rock's first alternative groups. In part one of this classic rock interview, main songwriter Robbie Robertson ("The Weight","The Night They Drove Ol'Dixie Down","Up on Cripple Creek","The Shape I'm In") helps me make that case.
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Foreigner- Double Vision 45th Anniversary- Mick Jones, Lou Gramm, Kelly Hansen

As we discuss the forty-fifth anniversary of their blockbuster second album Double Vision, one of the most endearing things about Foreigner founder and guiding heart, Mick Jones, is that he has never been coy or clever in trying to hide his…
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The Police- Synchronicity 40th Anniversary- Sting, Stewart Copeland

Arguably the finest, yet the  final, fifth studio recording by the Anglo-American trio The Police, "Synchronicity" forty years ago put the cuffs on an arresting recorded legacy left by the band...Cops of Rock Stewart Copeland and  Sting open this Police inquiry with me  In the Studio  for the definitive classic rock interview regarding the making  of  "Synchronicity" four decades ago.