Archive for category: Beard’s Blog

Aretha Franklin: a Fond Memoir

The tributes and testaments started even before official word was issued that Aretha Franklin had passed away. Knowing that I have interviewed so many of the greatest musicians of the last half century, more than one news outlet  contacted…
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Dire Straits- Best pt 2- Mark Knopfler

When the song "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits became a worldwide hit in Summer 1985, the album Brothers in Arms spent a stunning nine weeks as the #1-seller in the US in 1985, eventually selling a staggering 26,000,000  copies worldwide. This kind of celebrity could not have happened to a more reluctant rock star than Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler, and trust me, there is absolutely no way to prepare for what comes next.
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Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble- Best pt 2

As Double Trouble drummer Chris Layton told me of first experiencing Stevie Ray Vaughan’s extraordinary guitar talent from outside an Austin nightclub, I had to smile. Like Chris, I had not actually seen the young blues guitarist the first time I heard him play live , but the memory is burned into my mind. It was February 4 , 1984 as I was anchoring the live network broadcast interviews of the myriad of performers at the annual Charlie Daniels Volunteer Jam backstage at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium. Over ten years the Volunteer Jam had grown into an annual pilgrimage by the biggest names then in American rock music, featuring in one night the Charlie Daniels Band, the Marshall Tucker Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Allman Brothers Band, Molly Hatchet , the Outlaws, plus Billy Joel, Emmylou Harris, and Ted Nugent!

Ozzy Osbourne on ROCK 103 Memphis 4-28-82

In April 1982, little more than a month after a plane crash had taken the life of his young & talented guitarist Randy Rhoads , Ozzy Osbourne chose my afternoon radio show on Memphis' #1 station , ROCK 103 , to make his first public statements concerning the tragedy.

Sgt Pepper’s Golden Touch Eluded 1978 Movie

In 1978 a film was made about "Sgt Pepper's..."On paper the  concept couldn't possibly miss, but as co-star Peter Frampton reveals here In the Studio, it was all lipstick on a pig.

McCartney’s Wings Over America Lifted Off in 1976

Paul McCartney, after the Beatles breakup, made  a much-anticipated return to the stage in 1976.

Chuck Berry 1926- 2017

Chuck Berry has died at age 90.
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YES- Best pt 1- Jon Anderson,Tony Kaye,Bill Bruford,Steve Howe,the late Chris Squire

YES the early best "Fragile" and "Close to the Edge" with Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Tony Kaye, Bill Bruford, the late Chris Squire

John Lennon’s Assassin Had a Hit List & David Bowie Was Next

According to the late David Bowie , New York City police discovered that his name was next on a hitlist of targets of John Lennon's assassin , Mark David Chapman ...(more)
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The Band-The Last Waltz 50th- Robbie Robertson

Interview includes the legendary "Last Waltz" concert and subsequent Martin Scorsese-directed film never included Robbie Robertson threatening to leave the band, as has been misreported for years;