Music Talk Radio

     According to Rock Reflections , The song "Highway Star," by Deep Purple on 1972's  Machine Head, was written on a tour bus when a reporter asked Richie Blackmore how they wrote songs. Blackmore grabbed a guitar and started riffing in the key of G. Ian Gillan, the lead singer, started making up lyrics on the spot.     Impressively, Deep Purple played the song that night at their gig! What a killer Bach-like guitar solo. It's one of the greatest guitar solos in rock. Great music to drive fast to! Apparently, that was Blackmore's vision of the song. Speeding in a car on a highway with the tune blasting. Check it out on Spotify.

It's 1973, and  Grand Funk is in financial ruin because of a costly legal battle with their producer/manager, Terry Knight. Grand Funk fired Knight because of poor management, and apparently, he wasn't handling their money well either. Knight responded by suing them for breach of contract.      Also , at that time, radio and the record industry were changing from album-focused play to hit song formats. Grand Funk was an underground album-focused FM radio band. Because of the substantial legal costs of fighting Knight, they knew they had to write a "hit" single to stay afloat.     Grand Funk was touring, flying from city to city at the time.  As they were flying into a city, Don Brewer, the drummer in the band, looked out of the plane window, and the line "We're coming to your town, we'll help you party down" came into his head. Brewer wrote the song on guitar around that one inspiring line. He knew about 4 guitar chords. He used them all. Brewer w...

      I love this album cover. Why? Because it looks fantastic. The Machine Head album cover was photographed by Shepard Sherbell. Remember, we didn't have Photoshop or digital photography back then. Artists and photographers had to get creative. This was created using a piece of sheet metal held up to reflect the band like a mirror. The lettering was die-stamped into the metal to give the lettering that raised, embossed look. I love it. It's always been one of my favorites. Photo by Shepard Sherbell, 1972

       I have to admit my snobbery and ignorance regarding Keith Richards. As a guitarist,  I paid homage to guitarists like Allan Holdsworth, Al DiMeola, Steve Morse, and Eric Johnson. You may not have heard of any of these players. My snobbery is astounding.     I've always liked the Stones, although my bands (as a teenager) were Aerosmith (first 5 albums only) and Led Zeppelin. I knew every oooh and ahhh that Plant sang. I was into the whole mystique about the band and Plant's tales of whoa, far-off lands (Kashmir), No Quarter...I was entirely in. You get the picture.     Here is the thing about Keith Richards. He doesn't give a flying f@#! about being the greatest guitarist in the world. He is all about the feel, fun, and rhythm hook, especially . The Chuck Berryish draw you in intros. He just grabs you and slays you with them. How about the best rhythm intro in rock and roll (to me), "Can't You Hear Me Knocking."  Or "Brown Sugar,...

    Did you know that Tony Iommi, guitarist of Black Sabbath fame, lost a couple of his fingertips on his right hand? His index and middle fingers, to be exact. Being left-handed, this would have been his fretboard hand. He worked in a sheet metal factory and accidentally cut them off. Ouch! It almost stopped Iommi from playing guitar, but a friend, seeing Iommi's depression from not playing, played Iommi a record of Django Reinhardt.  A guitarist of Jazz fame. Iommi didn't know until after hearing Reinhardt that Reinhardt had severely burned his ring and index finger on his left hand but kept playing. Iommi was impressed by the jazz great. His friend then revealed that Reinhardt could only use two fingers on his fretboard hand.       This got Iommi inspired and back on the saddle again. Tony used light guitar strings and even banjo strings , dropping the string tension to make them looser.  He dropped his tuning to C# Standard and D# Standard...

     "Since I've Been Loving You" on Zeppelin's third album, Led Zeppelin III , is a masterpiece of hard rock blues. Some say Zeppelin is early metal, but to me, they are a hard rock blues band. The only songs that "hint" at metal are "Whole Lotta Love" and "The Immigrant Song." On "Whole Lotta Love," it's because of the chug-like hook and the E power chords. The Immigrant Song's subject matter (Vikings) and the staccato guitar chord riff also hint at metal. Nevertheless, they are much more blues rock to me as a whole.      Take "Since I've Been Loving You" for instance. Wow. It's my favorite electric blues rock song. Robert Plant's vocals are so authentic in this. He's at his best. Between Bonzo's colossal sound and Jimmy Page's playing on this song, it's pure blues rock bliss in phrasing, intensity, sound, and feel.      T he Stones may have loved the blues but couldn't play th...

     The best live concert I have been to was the band Yes. Even though I knew next to nothing about their music before this show. If you don't know, Yes is a "progressive" rock band that was big in the 1970's. Progressive rock is more complex and sometimes has lengthy songs, odd-time signatures, and some improv. You might recognize the song "Roundabout" or "I've Seen All Good People." These were Yes's biggest songs and my least favorites. The show was at Boston Garden on December 11th, 1974. This was before the venue became the Fleet Center and now TD Garden.       One of the things that made this show so special was that the stage was in the center of the floor. Most people got a great view of the band, even though I was only thirteen at the time. How did that happen?      I just found out while writing this that Yes has released a double CD of this show (in April 2024). You can only find it on Amazon, though. I don't see that you...

     Eddie Van Halen was one of my favorite guitarists. Why? Because of how he could play a hook. I know. Is it not his lead playing? Don't get me wrong, his lead playing was phenomenal. You may not like his lead playing style, but the man could play. Whether it was a single-note phrase/run or brilliantly played diads (two-note chords). Like how Keith Richards hooks you in with his rhythm playing. Like in the "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" intro from Sticky Fingers. Of course, Eddie was more aggressive in his playing but also had to take responsibility for both lead and rhythm guitar. I am pointing out Eddie's brilliance with hooks in case you've never listened to him from that perspective. Check out these tunes on Spotify, And there are so many more! "Running With The Devil" from their debut album Van Halen "I'm the One"  is also from their debut album "Ain't Talkin Bout Love" again from their debut "Unchained"...

     This is a quick "Did You Know." The album cover photo for At Fillmore East shows the band cracking up. Apparently, second from the left, Duane Allman spotted a dealer he knew and ran over to grab some contraband. Then he hurried back to grab his seat so the photographer could take the shot. Duane is hiding the contraband in his lap. Makes me smile from ear to ear knowing this. They are clearly amused. This was revealed in Greg Allman and Alan Light's (2012) book, "My Cross To Bear" on page 182. Pick up the book here and some other great Allman merchandise! Check out the full album cover story here. Photo by Jim Marshall, 1971

      According to Far Out Magazine's Poppy Burton,  Peter Cetera, the lead singer on "25 or 6 to 4" from Chicago II , was at an L.A. Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs game back in 1969 when he was attacked by four marines . The Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs. Cetera was celebrating the win, clearly as a Chicago Cubs fan. The celebration, coupled with his long "hippie" hair, didn't sit well with the uptight Marines. He sustained a trip down some stairs, and he was punched in the face. Cetera ended up with a broken jaw (in 3 places) and a stay in ICU. That didn't stop Cetera from recording, though. He recorded 25 or 6 to 4 with his jaw wired shut. Next time you hear the song, listen to it. I personally can't tell that his jaw is wired shut at all. It's a fantastic recording. As a result of the injury, Cetera developed his singing style with clenched teeth. Check out the tune on Spotify and see if you can tell that his jaw is wired shut:  25 or 6 to 4

     "Gimme Shelter" from 1969's Let It Bleed is my favorite Rolling Stones song.  The story behind it is interesting, too . Apparently, Keith Richards was staying at someone's apartment in London, and there was a big rainstorm. He looked out the window and saw everyone scrambling for cover to escape the rain. His then-girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg (Brian Jones' girlfriend a year earlier), was doing a movie with Mick Jagger called "Performance." Keith was a bit insecure about the sex scenes Mick and Anita were doing in the film. In fact, Mick and Anita did sleep together during this time. Anyway, the scene of the people running out of the rain and the thoughts of Jagger and Anita together sparked the beginning of the song for Richards. "Oh, the storm is threatening my very life today. If I don't get some shelter, ya I'm gonna fade away." There are two distinct parts of the song that blow me away. The first part is the opening guitar. He...