Posts

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The Who- Who’s Next 50th Anniversary- Pete Townshend

For the golden anniversary of "Who's Next" by The Who, ranked by Rolling Stone  magazine as the #28 rock album of all time, this August 1971 absolute musical masterpiece is mated with an incredibly illuminating classic rock interview with its composer, Pete Townshend, here In the Studio including the songs "Baba O'Riley","Bargain","Going Mobile","Behind Blue Eyes","Getting in Tune", and "Won't Get Fooled Again"...
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Journey- Escape 40th Anniversary- Neal Schon- Jonathan Cain- Steve Perry

Hard-charging San Francisco juggernaut Journey unveiled a defining album for the decade with "Escape"  in July 1981, containing "Don't Stop Believin' ","Stone in Love", "Who's Crying Now","Open Arms", and "Mother, Father". For the fortieth anniversary of this timeless effort, the Journey songwriting triumvirate of Steve Perry, founding guitarist Neal Schon, and new recruit then Jonathan Cain all recall their daring "Escape". 
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Stevie Nicks- Bella Donna 40th Anniversary

In July 1981, Stevie Nicks already was in arguably America's most popular band, Fleetwood Mac, but her first solo album then, "Bella Donna", took her career to another level entirely, a fact that was by no means guaranteed and which came at some cost.  Stevie spells it all out quite candidly In the Studio while revealing the stories and characters behind "Edge of Seventeen", "Leather and Lace" with Don Henley, and the timeless duet with Tom Petty on his "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around".
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Tom Petty- Into the Great Wide Open 30th Anniversary

My interview with the late Tom Petty thirty years ago, two significant events informed the songwriting on 1991's "Into the Great Wide Open" , Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' first post-Traveling Wilburys/ "Full Moon Fever"   effort with his own band.
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Steve Winwood- Back in the High Life 35th Anniversary

"Higher Love", the #1 seller and winner of both the "Record of the Year" and "Song of the Year" Grammys for 1986, isn't about doing it in the top bunk. It's about love on a spiritual plane, not an airplane. By his mid-twenties, Steve Winwood already may have  been on a hall of fame career pace, singing and playing hits as a mere teenager with the Spencer Davis Group ("Gimme Some Lovin' "," I'm a Man"), Traffic, and Blind Faith. Yet Winwood told me in this  classic rock interview about 1986's "Back in the High Life"  that a 1972 bout with peritonitis almost killed him...
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Genesis- Invisible Touch 35th Anniversary- Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Phil Collins

Concerts are coming back just in time for the 35th anniversary of Genesis' biggest album in their long fifty year+ career, Invisible Touch  (worldwide sales estimated at 15,000,000), so we convene Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, and Phil Collins here In the Studio  to discuss the blockbuster sales behind "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight", "Land of Confusion", "In Too Deep", "Throwing It All Away", and "Invisible Touch".
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Peter Gabriel- So 35th Anniversary

(cont)...It was not until stumbling into the broadcast media/entertainment business that I got to witness, up close and personally, individual musicians who have been given enormous powers of influence through the modern phenomenon of celebrity, by the very people who they entertain. Case in point is this week's classic rock interview : 35 years ago, ex-Genesis lead singer Peter Gabriel had a cult following after four studio solo albums, with his most significant creation being the ground-breaking "Shock the Monkey" video. But with the May 1986 release of So (#1 UK,#2 U.S., over 5 million sold; 4 Grammy nominations including Album and Record of the Year for the #1 hit "Sledgehammer"), Peter Gabriel was vaulted into international pop stardom with all of its attendant door-opening , barrier-eliminating amenities...(more)
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Billy Squier- Don’t Say No 40th Anniversary

My guest Billy Squier's 1981 second solo album Don't Say No  sold over three million copies because of songs "In the Dark" , "My Kinda Lover" , "Lonely Is the Night", & the big hit " The Stroke".
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Bob Seger- Live Bullet 45th Anniversary

"It took me twelve years to make that album Live Bullet ," Bob Seger  solemnly emphasizes to me in this classic rock interview to mark the forty-fifth anniversary of that release from Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band in April 1976. This  may be the only six million-seller in history which failed to make the Top Thirty in sales when initially released.
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Van Halen- 5150- Sammy Hagar, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, the late Eddie Van Halen

For the 35th anniversary, the late Eddie Van Halen's interview In the Studio is included with Sammy Hagar, brother Alex Van Halen, & Michael Anthony for the story of "5150".