There is a very good reason why no one in the sold-out Cow Palace audience in November 1986 clapped in recognition to the first beginning notes of "Inca Queen" performed by hometown heroes Neil Young and Crazy Horse: it had not been released…

This timeless 1976 performance of soon-to-be classic "New York State of Mind" serves as proof positive that, even before his 1977 blockbuster "The Stranger" brought him to mass popularity, Billy Joel was a terrific live entertainer with a superb band.

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!