Tag Archive for: classic rock interview

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Billy Idol- Don’t Stop 45th Anniversary

It's the all-important 1981 "Don't Stop"  EP by Billy Idol. In the last spasms of the London Punk Rock scene circa 1980, Generation X and their front man Billy Broad had the career arc of a bottle rocket, briefly filling English dance floors with the celebratory single "Dancing with Myself"and a cover of "Mony Mony". But Punk Rock's purpose of being a disruptive force to reset all the tumblers of popular music was practically fulfilled by then, and had no second act, so Billy Idol needed a new start. Billy Idol is my guest In the Studio.
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Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band- Night Moves 50th Anniversary

"We did two hundred sixty-five shows that year 1975," says Bob Seger with a mixture of pride and amazement...by October 1976 with "Night Moves" containing "Rock and Roll Never Forgets","Main Street","The Fire Down Below","Come to Poppa", and the title song which Bob calls "...a little novelette."
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The Police- Ghost in the Machine 45th- Stewart Copeland, Andy Summers

By the time October 1981 's fourth Police album "Ghost in the Machine"  was dispatched, the exposed roots and influences shown by the London-based trio founded by Yankee drummer Stewart Copeland, who had emerged from the dying embers of the Punk Rock scene there, were more Miles and Mingus than Johnny Rotten. "Ghost in the Machine" topped the UK sales chart, #2 on Billboard  album chart, over three million copies sold in America alone, and Rolling Stone  magazine ranking it at #322 on their Top 500 Albums of All Time list. Police commissioner Stewart Copeland and six-string sharpshooter Andy Summers are your personal Ghost...busters with me here In the Studio in my classic rock interview.
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Boston- Third Stage 40th Anniversary- Tom Scholz

"Third Stage" Boston comeback album released in September 1986 put up spectacular numbers in popularity, with three Top 20 hits on Billboard including "Cant'cha Say","We're Ready", and the #1 "Amanda", all helping to blast the album to #1 sales. Boston bandleader Tom Scholz, my guest, also brought free-agency to the music business.
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YES- Magnification @25- Jon Anderson, Steve Howe,the late Chris Squire & Alan White

It's the 25th anniversary of YES releasing their 21st century chestnut "Magnification" in September 2001, with Jon Anderson, Trevor Rabin, the late Alan White, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, and the late Chris Squire ALL In the Studio.

Kansas- The Prelude Implicit 10th- Phil Ehart, Rich Williams, Ronnie Platt, David Ragsdale

In 2016 the first new original studio album in sixteen years, "The Prelude Implicit",  from all-American progressive rockers Kansas, was one of the most pleasant musical surprises in 2016...like discovering the "lost"  album which would have fit naturally between early mid-Seventies efforts "Song for America"  and "Masque". Lifers drummer Phil Ehart and guitarist Richard Williams are joined here In the Studio  by violinist David Ragsdale and impressive veteran lead singer Ronnie Platt.
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Bryan Adams- Waking Up the Neighbours 35th Anniversary

Bryan Adams sold 16,000,000 copies worldwide of "Waking Up the Neighbours" since 1991, it starts to take up some real estate on the page. In this week's classic rock interview, diplomat's son Bryan Adams reminds us that he had a passport before he had a guitar.

Dire Straits- On Every Street 35th Anniversary- 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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Lynyrd Skynyrd- One More From the Road 50th Anniversary- the late Gary Rossington, Leon Wilkeson

In September 1976, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Atlanta's venerable Fox Theater each needed a minor miracle. Performing over three hundred shows on 1975's notorious "Torture Tour" had original Lynyrd Skynyrd members dropping like flies. Three things were evident: America's hyped bicentennial was entering the history books even as the wrecking ball was heading for the Fox Theater; a live "best of" discounted price double album by Peter Frampton earlier that year was re-writing the record books; and Lynyrd Skynyrd was selling more concert tickets than copies of their diminished ranks studio album "Gimme Back My Bullets". The band needed a stop-gap recording that could capture their lightning in a bottle live show, and the Fox Theater needed a lightning rod which could make saving it a cause celebre. Original co-founder the late guitarist Gary Rossington joined me here In the Studio for the tale behind "One More from the Road".
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Genesis- Abacab @45- Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins

The September 1981 release of Genesis "Abacab" forty-five years passed. The veteran English band's eleventh  studio album, nevertheless it was the first Genesis album to breach the American Top Ten album sales on Billboard , and surprisingly the first Genesis million seller. Yet it is no minor miracle that my guests Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, and Tony Banks could make it to the Progressive Rock promised land.