Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee--Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

     Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are nominees, and like almost all of others, can be debated on the merits of it's recorded output. What is not debatable is mentioning Jett without first talking about The Runaways.      The Runaways were brought together with the help of Kim Fowley who managed the group and also promoted their jailbait image which unfortunately kept the group from having a real shot at long term success. The core of the the group at the beginning was drummer Sandy West, and Joan Jett (real...

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee--Heart

     The band Heart revolved around sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, although the genesis of the band began before the Beatles hit American shores...      Bassist Steve Fossen, along with brothers Roger and Mike Fischer began a group called The Army back in 1963. The group went through several names before settling on Heart in the early 70's. This is also the time that Ann Wilson was brought in on vocals.      Wilson had lived in Southern California and Taiwan before her dad's retirement...

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee--Deep Purple

        One could argue that if for nothing else Deep Purple should receive a special award from the Hall of Fame for inspiring hundreds of thousands of guitar players to begin a musical road with those now famous power chords which open, "Smoke on the Water". However there was much more to the band, and honestly am baffled as to why it has taken so long for them to be considered.      The group started out from drummer Chris Curtis, formally of the band The Searchers ("Needles and Pins", "Love Potion...

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Hall of Fame Nominee--Chic

     I know every one of you who went down the list of nominees at some point (for some of you many points) went, "Huh?" My moment was Chic. I know them for two songs, but their influence went much deeper than that...      Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards met as studio musicians in 1970, and formed a rock band called, "The Boys", and later, "The Big Apple Band" up to 1976. The band disbanded after a second album failed to chart. In 1977, they recruited drummer Tony Thompson and as a trio did some club work....

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Hall of Fame Nominee--The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

     Paul Butterfield was born and raised in Chicago and grew up studying classical flute, but discovered blues harmonica and the blues. Paul and fellow student Elvin Bishop (guitar) began hanging around the blues houses in the city, rubbing elbows with greats like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. By 1963, they had teamed with Jerome Arnold (bass) and Sam Lay (drums) to form the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.      The were signed to Electra records in 1965 which also was the year of their first release. By this time...

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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Version 2013

     Some of you may have already heard this, but here are the nominees for the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:      The Paul Butterfield Blues Band      Chic      Deep Purple      Heart      Joan Jett and the Blackhearts      Albert King      Kraftwerk      The Marvelettes      The Meters      Randy Newman     ...

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The Eagles--Take It Easy (1972)

    In the spring of 1971, singer Linda Ronstadt was preparing for a summer/fall tour and her manager, John Boylan was looking to put together a backing band. Glenn Frey was from Detroit and had moved to LA back in 69, Don Henley had come to the city from Texas the next year. Both were recruited for the band. A few months later a couple of relative veterans came into the fold. Bernie Leadon had just finished a stint with the Flying Burrito Brothers after recording a couple of albums with the group. Randy Meisner had begun doing session...

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Bob Dylan--The Times They Are A-Changin (1964)

     There is not a lot to add here about Bob Dylan that has not already been said. It is important to note however, that if you are under the age of 40, many of you might wonder what the fuss was really all about. After all, in all of his years he only had four songs in the top 10. His voice has been parodied to the point of exhaustion, and in interviews (like the latest one in Rolling Stone), he comes as a cross between a curmudgeon and a religious zealot.      Let me put it as succinctly as I can. There has...

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Duran Duran--Hungry Like The Wolf (1982)

     If I were born ten years later, there might be a quaintness to the synthesizers of the 1980's. As it turns out, growing up during the early days of the Moog taught me a few things (like enjoying the bass sound in a recording) and it seemed as if the entire technology took a step back. Which is why a lot of early 80's stuff leaves me cold except for those artists who understood musical textures and could make the best of lousy keyboards.      Which brings me to Duran Duran. One could, I suppose discuss...

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