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Franke Previte was a founding member of Franke & the Knockouts, who had a top ten smash in 1981 with “Sweetheart.” “You’re My Girl” and “Without You,” also charted on the Top 40, plus the songs “Come Back” and “Never Had it Better” got significant play on rock radio back in the day. In all, the band issued three albums for major labels, two on Millennium and one for MCA. After the band’s demise, P...

Savoy Brown, one of the longest-running British Blues Rock bands. Formed in 1965 by guitarist Kim Simmonds, the band achieved success with songs like “Train to Nowhere,” “I’m Tired,” and “Hellbound Train.” Former band members have gone on to success with groups like Yes, Fleetwood Mac, and several members forming Foghat. But, through all this, Simmonds has remained the one constant, guiding force....

It’s been 50 years since the Beatles issued their final studio album, Abbey Road, and to celebrate, Apple Records has just released several deluxe versions. The biggest selling point is a brand-new remix of the original album by Giles Martin, son of Beatles’ producer George Martin. Also included are various demos and alternate versions that give us a peek behind the scenes of the Fab Four’s final...

Louis Price was the lead singer of the legendary Temptations in the late 1970’s. He also spent time in the Drifters after that. Price recently teamed with pianist Starr Parodi for an emotionally-charged update of Prince’s 1984 hit, “When Doves Cry.” The duo strip away the synths and heavy percussion of the original recording, leaving just voice and piano. This scaled-back approach places a stronge...

Ambrosia released five albums and five Top 40 singles during their original chart run. Their hits included “Holding on To Yesterday,” “How Much I Feel,” “Biggest Part of Me” and “You’re the Only Woman.” For the band’s last tour, an up and coming musician by the name of Bruce Hornsby played piano for them. Well bassist Joe Puerta is an original member of Ambrosia, who followed Hornsby and played in...

Tad Robinson is no stranger to soul music – he’s been doing a blend of it mixed with blues for decades, and it’s earned him eight nominations in various Blues Music Award categories. But, this time around, the Indianapolis singer/harmonica player decided to travel to one of the soul music mecca’s, Memphis, to record his latest record, Real Street, coming soon on Severn Records. He got a chance to...

It was 50 years ago that three days of peace and music changed the world forever. A new book, Woodstock 50th Anniversary – Back to Yasgur’s Farm from Krause Publications, captures the spirit with a front row seat account of the happenings with author Mike Greenblatt, who was there and lived to tell about it. Greenblatt also tracks down many of the artists who played the festival, as well as some o...

Chris Carter is a very busy man. He hosts Breakfast With the Beatles, America’s longest-running Beatles show – Monday through Friday 8 to 11am Eastern on Sirius Radio, as well as Sundays on the FM dial in Southern California. But, that’s not all. He also serves up Chris Carter’s British Invasion on Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel Saturday and Sundays too. Carter also owned a legendary N...

Carolina native Seth Walker has released a string of fine albums over the last decade, with Are You Open? being his 10th long-player. While groove has always been a part of his music. This time around, it seems to have taken on a more prominent role. He recently spent some time down in Cuba, and that certainly had an influence on things. Walker also talks about doing a lot of the recording at home...

No record label has done more for the genre of jazz over the last decade than Resonance Records. The California independent has unearthed gems from a who’s who of jazz, from John Coltrane and Jaco Pastorius, to multiple releases by piano great Bill Evans and guitar master Wes Montgomery. Those last two artists are the subject of Resonance most-recent projects. Evans in England features previously...

Soul is an over-used term. What it’s supposed to describe is music that’s real, human and authentic. There’s a Memphis group that embodies that term, mixing elements of R&B, blues, rock and gospel into something that’s unique, and very much southern and from the streets – hence the appropriate name Southern Avenue. They’ve just issued their sophomore album, Keep On, on Concord Music. Recorded at S...

The Cryan Shames came out of Chicago in the mid-Sixties, scoring a minor national hit with “Sugar & Spice” in 1966. Yet, several of their other songs, including “It Could Be We’re in Love,” did very well in major cities around the country. The band was signed to Columbia records and released three albums that still hold up today. The Cryan Shames became known for their intricate harmonies melded o...

Dayton, Ohio guitarist Eric Jerardi has been honing his craft for decades. From his humble beginnings winning a Battle of the Bands back in 1989, to going solo a few years later, to a string of critically-acclaimed albums and hundreds of gigs all over the world – Eric has kept at it for over 30 years now. But, just because he’s been doing things a long time, doesn’t mean he can’t still surprise. H...

Van Duren emerged from the same fertile Memphis music scene that gave us cult heroes Big Star. In fact, Duren was one of the many artists interviewed in the 2012 Big Star documentary, Nothing Can Hurt Me. In an odd twist of fate, Van Duren has gone from being interviewed in a documentary to having a documentary made about him. Waiting: The Van Duren Story, debuted in Memphis last November. The ori...

Legendary drummer Carmine Appice got his start in hard rock pioneers Vanilla Fudge. He’s played with Jeff Beck, Pink Floyd, backed Rod Stewart, and led bands like King Kobra and Blue Murder, all the while, setting a standard for rock drumming that’s unparalleled. One of his most impressive projects, is also his most under-appreciated. Guitar Zeus began as a pair of albums in the mid-Nineties, feat...

Billy Vera has spent his entire life in the entertainment business.  Although he is best known for his 1987 surprise #1 hit “At This Moment,” he’s also had roles in many movies and TV shows, and he’s written and performed some of the themes for those TV shows.  But, it doesn’t stop there. Vera has had a long career as a voice-over announcer, so odds are you’ve probably heard him at one time or ano...

Singer/songwriter Tony Joe White passed away on October 25th at the age of 75.  A singular artist who will never be replaced, White created an entire genre of music all his own, Swamp Rock.  A purist in every sense of the word, he even recorded his latest album in a horse barn. Tony Peters had an opportunity to talk with White just a few months ago, on the eve of the release of his latest album, B...

Singer, pianist, and songwriter A.J. Croce, the son of Jim Croce, has spent nine albums forging his own musical path. often mining elements of soul, folk and pop. In fact, he released one of the finest albums of 2017 called Just Like Medicine, which was produced by legendary producer Dan Penn, and featured a song co-written with the late Leon Russell. Croce’s latest venture is a series of shows, C...

Sultry New York singer Rebecca Angel recently graduated from Ithica College with a degree in voice and now she’s just issued her debut EP called What We Had. The album was produced by renowned jazz keyboardist Jason Miles, who’s worked with Miles Davis, Whitney Houston and many others. She’s also collaborated with this project with her dad, trumpet player Dennis Angel. Rebecca talks about finding...

He recorded his new record in a horse barn Call it swamp rock, or whatever you want, but Tony Joe White has created a style of music all his own and he’s parlayed it into a career that’s lasted over 50 years. He hit the top 10 in 1969 with “Polk Salad Annie,” and penned the soulful ballad “Rainy Night in Georgia,” first made famous by Brook Benton, but has been covered by countless performers. He’...

Warren Zevon was the very definition of the enigmatic artist. In Accidentally Like a Martyr: The Tortured Art of Warren Zevon (Backbeat Books), author James Campion attempts to separate the man from the myth by first analyzing the lyrics in several of his songs, then by talking with the family, friends and colleagues who knew him best. Campion secured interviews with Zevon’s ex-wife, and kids, plu...

Tom Rush is credited for starting the “singer/songwriter” movement. He emerged from the folk scene of the early Sixties, releasing a series of albums that featured covers of traditional folk and blues songs. Things changed for 1968’s The Circle Game, where Rush became the first artist to record songs by then-unknown songwriters Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Jackson Browne (before the three even...

The Motels had several big hits in the early Eighties, including “Only the Lonely” and “Suddenly Last Summer.” At a time when new albums are kind of an afterthought, The Motels have just issued one of the strongest albums of their entire career called The Last Few Beautiful Days. Vocalist Martha Davis is reunited with Marty Jourard who provided signature saxophone and keyboards on many of their al...

The musical landscape of the of early 1980’s was an unique one. Disco had died down, yet MTV hadn’t quite taken hold yet. The charts were ruled by mellow recordings full of lush arrangements. Now, years later, this style of music is being called Yacht Rock. One such artist having hits back then was Robbie Dupree, who hit #6 on the Billboard charts in 1980 with “Steal Away.” Then, a few months late...

An In-Depth Look at Every show the Beatles played in America There have been literally thousands of books written about the Beatles over the last 50 years, covering virtually every aspect of their brief career. Yet, Chuck Gunderson has found an unique angle. In Some Fun Tonight, a two-volume set of coffee-table books from Backbeat books, he goes behind the scenes of the groundbreaking and tumultuo...