On The Mix

After the tragic death of Nirvana singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain, drummer Dave Grohl was distraught. Spending months of his time isolated in his house, he questioned whether he had a place in the music industry anymore. But he pulled himself out of his slump and went into a recording studio for 6 days to create what would be the debut album for his future band the Foo Fighters. However, what you...

Do you remember the 21rst of September? That's the question that Earth, Wind & Fire posed in their number 1 hit single "September", released in 1978. The song has become synonymous with the autumn month, but what significance does the 21rst have? Today we look at how the band came up with the lyrics behind the song, and why it's so culturally important. Follow me for more music content, and ho...

Green Day is considered one of the most popular pop rock bands that formed in the 90s and catapulted even more in the early 2000s. They emerged at a time where the punk genre was morphing to fresh ears compared to their punk forefathers in the 70s. Green Day has managed to win over fans and bridge the gap between their punk ethos and creating catchy songs for everyone to enjoy. Wake Me Up When Sep...

1974 New York was the landscape for one of the most integral punk bands to begin their incredible career: The Ramones. A band of best friends from high school with shaggy haircuts, and a lead singer that towered above everyone with a voice that was completely unique - The Ramones swept the globe with their incredible songs that became the blueprint for many other punk acts to follow. However, whil...

Britain in the 70s was rapidly changing, and the youth were desperately in search of a new wave of music to relate to their every day problems. Incomes the Punk Movement. Bands like the Sex Pistols and the Buzzcocks brought on a new way of looking at the world, along with a new way to dress and express yourself. The Clash formed with members Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer, and Topper Heado...

in 1969, Eric Clapton was looking for a fresh outlook on his music career after supergroup Cream disbanded. With a solo album made and was given lukewarm reception, he was struggling to figure out how to keep making music. In comes a band of friends with the likes of southern rock legend Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers to reignite Clapton's fire. Today we learn how the album was made, what the...

The life of blues guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan is one that's fraught with challenges, loneliness, and addiction. But it also was one of the underdog rising up and becoming the best of the best. Growing up in Dallas, Texas with his alcoholic father lead him down an unsteady path until he found his passion for music. After many years of failing in bands and trying to find himself, he finally had...

The year was 1966 - The Beatles had just completed a grueling American tour that would inevitably be the very last tour they would ever do as a band. The press caught wind that maybe the Fab Four were finished. EMI was stressing about how they would be able to sell a brand new Beatles album for the profitable Christmas market. Well, in came "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" - a compilation album th...

The Woodstock music and arts festival held in New York for 3 incredible days in 1969 has gone down in infamy as one of the greatest concerts of all time. You have legends like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, The Who, and plenty more bands that signed on to perform for a massive crowd of half a million people all crammed into a dairy farm playing on a half finished stage. The atmosph...

Ring of Fire, I Walk The Line, Folsom Prison Blues. These are just some of the hit songs that country/folk singer Johnny Cash gave to the world. He was born with the God-given gift of a rich bass voice and ability to write songs that strikes a chord. From the humble farm life upbringing of his childhood in Arkansas that was riddled with abuse and the death of his brother Jack, to his whirlwind fam...

Actor Clint Eastwood is best known for his plethora of spaghetti western films that he starred in during the 60s, bringing the genre to the centerfold of American culture. While his incredible talent for acting as a rough and tumble lonesome cowboy is his predominant venture, he took a crack at releasing a few singles and a full length album of country songs, once upon a time. While today is a sho...

Elvis is known around the world as the King of Rock n Roll. His jumpsuits, flashy Las Vegas performances, long hair and sideburns are just some of the things we think of when Elvis comes to mind. But who was the man behind the stardom? From humble beginnings in Mississippi, moving to Memphis and trying to find himself in the process, starting his music career, becoming an overnight sensation and b...

We know River Phoenix mostly as an actor in films like Stand By Me and My Own Private Idaho. But acting aside, music was his main passion. Growing up in a religious cult and busking on the Venezuela streets at 4 years old, his background put him in survival mode and would remain as his shadow until his death at 23 in 1993. River would always make music, and he had the chance to put a band together...

Limerick, Ireland saw the birth of musically gifted Dolores O'Riodran. Growing up, her childhood was fraught with tragedy after tragedy. But through it all she always seemed to manage it with grace, and music was her savior. Her unique vocals and songwriting abilities set her apart from her school peers. After running away from home at 18 she stumbled upon a local band, The Cranberry Saw Us, strug...

The year was 1982. The place, Seattle. This was long before the grunge movement would solidify the city's place in music history. The early 80s were still riding on the backs of the punk movement, and 17 year old guitar prodigy Duff McKagen would find himself interwoven with this underground band of likeminded kids rebelling against politics and their parents. They called themselves The Living. Bu...

Hole was a grunge band from Seattle Washington in the 90s that was fronted by Courtney Love, the wife of Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain. When Hole was looking for a replacement bassist they stumbled upon an underground Minnesota band named Janitor Joe and immediately knew that it's bassist, Kristen Pfaff, was the girl they were looking for. Kristen, who was an honor student and had a passion for music...

Joan Jett never gave a damn about her bad reputation. She's remained an iconic female vocalist that proved women would dominate the once male run music industry, especially in the rock and punk genres. Brought up in a strictly religious family in Pennsylvania, she found her way to LA where she changed her name, chopped off her hair, and adored black leather jackets where she was reborn. The Runawa...

Chrissie Hynde is the quirky singer for the American-English band the Pretenders. Being a music lover all her life from Akron, Ohio she ingrained herself with the British Invasion, and with bands that made a statement. In the 70s she flew to London with only a few dollars, her music, and a dream. That dream was forming her own band, which at the time was unusual for a woman. She stumbled into the...

Sibling duo Karen and Robert Carpenter formed a band together in the late 60s at a time when hard rock groups and psychedelia was the norm. The Carpenters were easy listening and produced soft pop ballads. They initially struggled to acquire a recording contract and fan base. Their string of hit singles like "Close to You", "Superstars", and "Rain Days and Mondays" propelled them into stardom. Kar...

Lauryn Hill was a small town girl from New Jersey that grew up loving and being surrounded by music. Through her early years in school, she joined a r&b group named The Fugees that released two albums, the second of which entitled The Score has been named as one of the best hip hop albums of all time. Such singles as "Killing Me Softly" and "Ready or Not" made it big in the 90s. In her own rig...

Jane's Addiction is a rock band that formed in LA in the 80s. They had just released their third album by 1991 and they were set to go on a final tour before their breakup. Singer Perry Farrell came up with the concept of Lollapalooza as a music and arts festival that toured many cities across the United States in the summer of 1991, solely for the tour of Jane's Addiction. From that moment on, th...

Just go ahead now! The Spin Doctors were known for being a jam band that originated in New York that won a sizeable audience with their ties to The Blues Travelers and their long, drawn out live shows. Once they got on their label Epic Records, the pressure was on for them to conform from their usual style and compete with the grunge movement that was shaping the music scene at large all around th...

Whitesnake is most famously known for their popular 1987 self titled album that features their biggest hit, "Here I Go Again". The hair metal anthem alongside the successful music video featuring Tawny Kitaen dancing on the hoods of two Jaguars helped to solidify the band's place in America. The story about how Whitesnake and lead singer David Coverdale pushed through to make sure this album was a...

Bobby Caldwell is a musician that is most famous for his hit song "What You Won't Do For Love" that was released alongside his debut album in 1978. As part of the marketing strategy to promote his album, and as to not alienate his label's predominately black audience, they thought it was best to hide the fact that Bobby was actually white. It came as a massive shock when his fans saw him for the f...

The 27 Club is an elusive collective of famous musicians, actors, writers, athletes, and others that have all died at the age of 27 under tragic circumstances. Members of this 27 Club that died at 27 are Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Jim Morrison, and more. Today, I take a look at the history of The 27 Club and some of its members in detail. Follow me for more music content, and how yo...