Redbeard’s Blog

Ted Nugent- Free for All 50th Anniversary

Ted Nugent's "Free for All" fifty years ago changed the national  radio reception and over-amped its way onto the Billboard album chart in 1976, becoming the second of his three consecutive multi-platinum sellers. Tyrannosaurus Ted is my guest In the Studio.

Van Halen- Poundcake- Dallas 12-4-91

The story behind this free concert performance by Van Halen of "Poundcake" in the streets of downtown Dallas in early December 1991 gets filed under Urban Legends that are actually true. That's me introducing Van Halen from the stage. -Redbeard

Men At Work- Business as Usual 45th Anniversary- Colin Hay

Men At Work managed to occupy the peak slot in America for 15 weeks. The songs "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Down Under" followed the Business As Usual debut album from Men At Work to #1 sales for all three in the U.S., something never before done by a rookie band, not even the Beatles.

Alice Cooper- Under My Wheels- Dallas 4-29-73

Music historians and longtime fans often emphasize what a good live band the original Alice Cooper outfit was from 1971 to 1974 before the sideshow theatrics moved center stage, but not a lot of examples exist to support that contention, which is why this rare performance of "Under My Wheels" in Dallas in April 1973 is a real treat. -Redbeard
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YES- Fragile- Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman

The remarkably durable breakthrough fourth album by progressive rockers YES has turned out to be anything but "Fragile"... YES co-founder Jon Anderson is joined In the Studio by keyboard innovator Rick Wakeman who joined the band to make "Fragile".

Faces- A Nod is as Good as a Wink- Rod Stewart, Ron Wood

Those first two Faces albums were critical faves but received scant U.S. airplay, but that all changed in a hurry in November 1971 with "A Nod is As Good As a Wink" containing the international hit "Stay With Me". Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, & archival comments from the late  Ian McLagan ( Ronnie Lane passed as well ) face the music In the Studio for their most popular album, "A Nod is as Good as a Wink" .

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers- American Girl- San Francisco 1997

It is a miracle that "American Girl", on the 1976 debut Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers   released forty-five years ago, was ever discovered to be played on album rock radio: it was sequenced tenth, last song on side 2! Here TP and the best working band in America then stripped it down to its essence in order to "make it last all night..." during a multi-night stand at San Francisco's Fillmore in February 1997.
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U2- Achtung Baby @35- Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen jr

U2 drummer Larry Mullen jr blurted out in my In The Studio classic rock interview regarding "Achtung Baby" that the Dublin-based quartet nearly broke up in the Berlin recording studio after reconvening following "Rattle and Hum"...

Cars- Shake It Up 40th anniversary- Greg Hawkes, the late Ric Ocasek

The Cars' "Shake It Up" was their first album to contain a Top Ten Billboard  hit in the title song, so 1981's "Shake It Up", with its peak at #9 on Billboard  album sales chart as well as #34 for the entire year, was seen by many  as a return to high performance by the Boston band. Keyboard player Greg Hawkes joins me In the Studio with archival interview by Cars bandleader the late Ric Ocasek on "Shake It Up" fortieth anniversary.

Ozzy Osbourne- Flying High Again- Memphis 4-28-82

Five weeks after the deaths of his trusted guitarist Randy Rhoads, his tour bus driver, and the band's wardrobe seamstress in a single engine plane crash, Ozzy Osbourne summoned the courage to honor a commitment to perform a live national radio broadcast from Memphis' Mid South Coliseum, with Night Ranger's Brad Gillis doing a commendable job of guitar grace under pressure, ripping through "Flying High Again".