Classic Rock Interviews

These are the classic rock interviews and rock music interviews from the most recent weekly episodes  of In The Studio with Redbeard.

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ZZ TOP- Eliminator- Billy Gibbons, the late Frank Beard & Dusty Hill

And yes, the series of clever, campy videos on the upstart MTV video channel in America undoubtedly had much to do with that staggering (15 million just in US) level of popularity for "Eliminator" (truly ironic, since manager Bill Ham had steadfastly kept ZZ Top off of U.S. television until then). But the songwriting, musicianship, modern arranging, and state-of-the-art recording on "Eliminator" which I heard that day was truly extraordinary. Billy Gibbons, Frank Bread, & the late Dusty Hill are my guests In the Studio.
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Pink Floyd- Dark Side of the Moon- David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters

To illustrate how seriously many of the post-British Invasion bands were approaching the rock idiom by early 1973, you need look no further than Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" to see how this progressive rock movement had matured,  with spectacular results both artistically and commercially, confirmed in this fiftieth anniversary classic rock interview by my guests, musical lunar explorers David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Nick Mason.
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U2- War- Bono,The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen jr

With the rousing martial rhythms from Larry Mullen jr’s drums on the opening to “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, the tortured passion evident in Bono’s voice over The Edge’s stiletto guitar stabs on “New Year’s Day”, and Adam Clayton’s rolling bass on “Surrender” as well as “Two Heats Beat as One”, War  by U2 was a musical proclamation of a serious contender on the unfolding Eighties rock vista. Hear the fortieth anniversary classic rock interview In the Studio.
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Doobie Brothers- The Captain and Me- Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons

In the Studio classic rock interview with the Doobie Brothers The Captain and Me , released March 1973.
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Van Halen- Alex, David Lee Roth, Michael Anthony, the late Eddie Van Halen

The interviewsof the earliest years of Eddie and Alex Van Halen’s emigration from The Netherlands to Southern California, meeting Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth, playing Pasadena backyard parties to the Sunset Strip, and recording their January 1978 debut.
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Journey- Frontiers- Neal Schon, John Cain, Steve Perry

Jonathan Cain, band co-founder/guitarist Neal Schon, and former singer Steve Perry reveal considerable personal pathos during the Big Payday provided by  "Separate Ways", "Faithfully", and two more Journey hits which were inexplicably bumped off of "Frontiers", "Only the Young" and "Ask the Lonely".
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Alice Cooper- Billion Dollar Babies

In February 1973 when Alice Cooper's sixth album "Billion Dollar Babies" went  #1 sales, we all thought that Marshall McLuhan, Andy Warhol, and Alice Cooper were being hyperbolic with their predictions about video fame's impact on society. We laughed then, but as it turns out, the joke's on us...Alice Cooper is my fascinating guest on the 50th anniversary of “ Billion Dollar Babies”.
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Def Leppard- Pyromania- Joe Elliott, Phil Collen, Rick Savage

Def Leppard “Pyromania” interview with Joe Elliott, Rick Savage, Phil Collen In the Studio.
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Journey- Infinity- Gregg Rolie, Neal Schon, Steve Perry

With their 1978 fourth album,"Infinity", some rock writers even today  attempt to reduce the remarkable transformation by the San Francisco band Journey  as "talented veteran but commercially struggling group hires world-class singer, which anybody would recognize; shortens song arrangements; and instantly becomes the biggest band in America". "Wrong," says Journey lead guitarist/songwriter/co-founder Neal Schon ."Wrong!"
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Bryan Adams- Cuts Like a Knife

Bryan Adams interview to explore his breakthrough album "Cuts Like a Knife" from January 1983

Moody Blues- Seventh Sojourn- Justin Hayward, John Lodge

Justin Hayward & John Lodge are In the Studio for their international #1-seller, "Seventh Sojourn".
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Aerosmith- Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton

This classic rock rock interview is such a treat because you hear Aerosmith founders Joe Perry, Steven Tyler, and Tom Hamilton In the Studio recalling days at Lake Sunapee NH fifty years ago before recording their 1973 debut.
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Phil Collins- Hello I Must Be Going

It happened to Elton John, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Bryan Adams, Sting, and most recently U2: US radio and music video outlets overplaying the hits by these most popular musicians, in the programmers' misguided attempts at gaining a bigger audience. But the unfortunate by-product is that these listeners/viewers burn out on the saturation repetition to the peril of the musicians, and the predictable backlash unfortunately is misdirected at the musicians, who had no control over how their songs were appropriated. No one on the planet knows this better now than my guest Phil Collins while sharing his second solo album,"Hello I Must Be Going.".
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Jackson Browne- Running On Empty

Jackson Browne In the Studio with Redbeard for the backstory to December 1977’s "Running on Empty", his biggest seller.
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Traffic- John Barleycorn Must Die- Steve Winwood, the late Jim Capaldi

Traffic album in July 1970 "John Barleycorn Must Die" included former Spencer Davis Group teen prodigy singer/organist/guitarist Steve Winwood, reed man Chris Wood, and drummer Jim Capaldi. Steve Winwood & the late Jim Capaldi joined me In the Studio.