Talk and Rock Radio Podcast

Jerome Gourdine (born January 8, 1941, known as Little Anthony , is an American singer, best known for leading Little Anthony and the Imperials .   He formed The Duponts, who later renamed to Little Anthony and the Imperials . In 1959, they recorded " Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop ", which sold over one million copies. Gourdine is nicknamed "Little Anthony" despite the fact he is 5ft 9in. Gourdine lef...

Jerome Gourdine (born January 8, 1941, known as Little Anthony , is an American singer, best known for leading Little Anthony and the Imperials .   He formed The Duponts, who later renamed to Little Anthony and the Imperials . In 1959, they recorded " Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop ", which sold over one million copies. Gourdine is nicknamed "Little Anthony" despite the fact he is 5ft 9in. Gourdine lef...

Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor , Howard "Howie" Kane , Kenny Vance , and Sandy Deanne , though their greatest success on the charts in the United States and Canada came after Traynor left and once Jay Black and Marty Sanders joined the group; Black replaced Traynor as lead singer. The current lead...

Feel-Good Rock, Soul, and Legacy Sunshine Pumpers blends decades of musical experience, live energy, and genre-bending creativity into an unforgettable sound. These great musicians fuse rock, soul, Tejano, fusion, and spiritual rhythm with decades of experience, crafting a bold sound rooted in El Paso's music scene and beyond. Get ready to feel the energy, dance to the rhythm, and soak up the good...

  Billy Vera (born William Patrick McCord ;[1] May 28, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, author, and music historian . He has been a singer and songwriter since the 1960s, his most successful record being " At This Moment ", a US number 1 hit in 1987. He continues to perform with his group Billy Vera & The Beaters and won a Grammy Award in 2013.

  The Transatlantic Guitar Trio comprises fingerstyle guitar champion Richard Smith from the United Kingdom, German gypsy jazz virtuoso Joscho Stephan, and the brilliant multi-instrumentalist American musician Rory Hoffman. These remarkable musicians joined forces in 2019 and have entranced audiences across the country with their unique blend of jazz ballads, gypsy swing standards, and groovy orig...

Richie Furay is an American music luminary, an inductee into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He is celebrated for pioneering Country-Rock as a founding member of the legendary and quintessential groups Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and the Souther-Hillman-Furay band. In this episode of Talk and Rock Radio, host Rick Kern discusses the illustrious career of Richie alo...

Quoted by Mary McCoy: At the age of 3, I knew I wanted to sing. When neighbors came to visit my mom and dad, I would get my little rocking chair and put it in the middle of the room and yodel throughout their visit. When I was 6 and 7 years old, mom and dad belonged to the Odd Fellows and Rebeccah Lodge and I would sing for them. Age age 11, I won my first talent contest. At 12, KMCO came on the a...

Steve Davis, history professor, is one of the founding faculty members at Lone Star College-Kingwood, having started in the fall of 1984.  He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Houston. He also worked on his doctoral degree in American history from the same institution.  Aside from the standard survey courses in U.S. and Texas history, Davis teaches specialized course...

James Messina (born December 5, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, singer, guitarist, recording engineer, and record producer. He was a member of the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield , a founding member of the pioneering country rock band Poco , and half of the soft rock duo Loggins and Messina with Kenny Loggins .

  Steve Postell is a singer/songwriter/guitarist/composer and producer. Trained at The Mannes College Of Music in New York City, Steve Postell has had a successful, prolific career which spans his days playing with Pure Prairie League, performing on Broadway in shows such as "Evita" and "The Man Of LaMancha," co-writing the score for the off-Broadway rock musical "Fallen Angel" (starring Living Co...

The latest offering from Stephanie Urbina Jones & The Honky Tonk Mariachi, Manuel's Destiny, goes far beyond the limits of the typical album: it's a saga, a joyride, an impassioned reclamation of her cultural heritage, and—above all—a riveting tribute to the power of a dream to travel over 100 years and three generations. From her great-grandfather crossing the border, to an artist living and tell...

Johnny Madara was born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , in 1936. His family lived in public housing known as "projects" located in south Philadelphia. He was the only one of six children interested in music. He took vocal lessons and began his career as a musical artist. His first recording was released in 1957 and became a hit record single "Be My Girl" Later in 1957 he wrote a song called "Do th...

Johnny Madara was born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , in 1936. His family lived in public housing known as "projects" located in south Philadelphia. He was the only one of six children interested in music. He took vocal lessons and began his career as a musical artist. His first recording was released in 1957 and became a hit record single "Be My Girl". Later in 1957 he wrote a song called "Do t...

The Mascot Theory has been kicking around Wisconsin weekend-warrior style for the past decade, but like many musicians, the great pandemic-induced entertainment halt of 2020 forced the band to reflect and refocus musical efforts. With the core foundation of singer/songwriter Erik Kjelland and the rhythm section of Nick Fry on bass guitar and Paul Metz on drums, The Mascot Theory used this time off...

Celebrating their 50th Anniversary, The Manhattan Transfer continues to set the standard as one of the world's greatest and most innovative vocal bands. Winners of eleven Grammy Awards, with millions of records sold worldwide, this amazing quartet is building upon the extraordinary legacy created by founder Tim Hauser who organized the four-part harmony group along with Janis Siegel (alto), Alan P...

In 2009, Rick Kern and Rod Crosby produced the very first Border Legends of El Paso Concert at the Lancers Club East. There were 8 groups performing with approximately 250 in attendance. The show was a complete success and they were encouraged to continue doing another one the following year. The second concert took place at the Isaron Hall on the west side of El Paso. The third year had the show...

Michael James Peterson (born August 7, 1959) is an American country music artist. He made his debut on the country music scene in 1997 with his second self-titled album (following his 1986 release featuring contemporary Christian songs), which produced five Top 40 hits on Billboard s Hot Country Singles & Tracks, including the Number One hit " From Here to Eternity ". Peterson's second album, 1999...

Richie Gajate Garcia, a Puerto Rican born in New York City, was raised on the island of Puerto Rico from the age of seven. Richie grew up with musical influences of his percussionist step father Doel Garcia and family friends like Tito Puente, Monchito Munoz and Armando Peraza. Richie started his formal education at Springfield College and then went on to the Conservatory of Music in Chicago where...

Steven Lee Cropper , sometimes known as " The Colonel ", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer . He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band , Booker T. & the M.G.'s , which backed artists such as Otis Redding , Sam & Dave , Carla Thomas , Rufus Thomas and Johnnie Taylor . He also acted as the producer of many of these records. He was later a member of the Blues Brothers...

During the early '70s, Warren and his brother Bill formed The Ham Brothers Band and included Ira Wilkes on bass, Red Young on piano and organ and Dahrell Norris on drums. The group recorded for Texas producer Huey P. Meaux . Despite critical acclaim for the work, the album never made it in the marketplace. It was soon taken out of print. In 1978 The Ham Brothers band had replaced Wilkes and Young...

John Madara was born on May 28, 1936 and grew up in Philadelphia, at a time when the city was teeming with groups and artists such as The Spaniels, The Clovers, Harvey and The Moonglows, Billy Ward and The Dominos and the great Jackie Wilson.  Rock and roll was starting to take root and John Madara was destined to make rock and roll history.   In 1957, John launched his solo career, with his first...

Taj Farrant was just hanging out at home in the backyard around the fire when a live version of "Comfortably Numb" started playing. He declared he wanted to learn to play that guitar solo. He'd only just gotten his first guitar for his birthday, but he set about mastering the solo. And he did. He was 7 years old. His father, Brandin Farrant, wanted to share it with his family, so he put a YouTube...

  Robby Robinson is originally from Litchfield, Illinois . He studied piano from age 7, saxophone from age 8, and started playing in rock bands at age 14. He majored in music at Southern Illinois University of Edwardsville . From high school through college, Robinson played in a variety of bands in the Southern Illinois-St. Louis area, after college he toured the US with Phil Driscoll and "Patch &...

Hi everybody, this is Rick Kern - producer & host of TalkandRockRadio. When I think of great guitar pickers - many names come to mind: Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Glen Campbell, Tommy Tedesco, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Tommy Emanuelle. There are so many! The gentleman you are about to see, at age 11 was asked by Chet Atkins to come up on stage and play with him at Her Majesty's Theater i...