Classic Rock

The idea of marrying Rock and Jazz (a combination not made in heaven) had been kicked around for a while by the time Chicago Transit Authority left their Midwest home for L.A.  In the end, it wasn’t a fusion Jazz and Rock, rather, Chicago (they had to shorten their name under threat of a lawsuit…

Remembered in the U.S. for the song “Epic,” and a couple other tracks, Faith No More managed to build a large following internationally. In ’81, a group of Bay Area musicians came together as Faith No Man. Two years later the group had only two original members, drummer Mike “Puffy” Bordin and bassist Billy Gould….

In a world populated by Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin, Creedence Clearwater Revival might have seemed a little boring. Don’t be fooled. This group of journeyman musicians led by singer, songwriter, guitarist John Fogerty delivered potent Rock. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Fogerty somehow channeled the Southern Rock bayou…

“House Of The Rising Sun” is a traditional Folk song that was first recorded in the ‘30’s and later covered by Pete Seger, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, among others, in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s. That was before The Animals, a British Blues band, took it to #1 in the U.S., U.K. and…

It’s not unusual for a group to toss a member prior to the recording of their debut album. Whether it’s due to a lack of talent, personality conflict, drug abuse or an aversion to touring, line-up changes are fairly common. What is unusual in the Gin Blossom’s case is the one bounced, guitarist Doug Hopkins,…

It took a life-altering event to prod Benji Madden and his identical twin brother Joel down the Rock road – a Beastie Boys’ concert. The “hey, we can do that” mentality ruled as the Waldorf, MD, natives, who’d relocated to Annapolis, developed their chops. Benji picked up the guitar and wrote songs while Joel worked…

When the term “Heavy Metal” (taken from the William Burroughs novel “Soft Machine”) was coined in the late-60s it was used to describe loud, earth-shaking guitar-oriented Rock. Black Sabbath may not have entirely embraced the term and all its loutish connotations, but their ominous songs that dwelled on the sinister, occult and macabre defined the…

Instead of Badfinger, they should have called themselves Bad Deal because that’s what they got. Badfinger was signed by The Beatles’ Apple Records. Paul McCartney wrote their first worldwide hit “Come and Get It” for Ringo Starr’s film (with Peter Sellers), “The Magic Christian.” The Beatle connection haunted the band. If you didn’t look too…

Phil Walden, head of Capricorn Records, suggested Duane Allman, a renowned session guitarist, start his own group. First, Duane installed his brother as the lead singer. Nobody liked that idea even though Gregg also handled keyboards. Dickey Betts was the second guitarist – you can never have too many guitars. Berry Oakley played bass. Also,…