Vinyl Vibes

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Normie Rowe,  the biggest music star of 1960s Australia. Norm grew up listening to the likes of Col Joye and Ray Charles. All he wanted to be growing up was a singer. He made his first live performance at the age of 14 and was soon playing at lots of local rock and roll dances. In 1965 Norm would release his first single  "It Ain't Necessarily So"...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Jack Casady , bass player and founding member of Jefferson Airplane. Coming to age during the onset of rock and roll, Jack Casady was initially inspired by the likes of Carl Perkins and Gene Vincent. He would form his first band in the late '50s, The Triumphs with Jorma Kaukonen. Jorma would become a life-long friend of Jack's. By 1965 Jefferson A...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Peter Staples , bass player and founding member of The Troggs. In 1964 Peter joined a group that contained Reg Presley (vocals), Ronnie Bond (drums) and Chris Britton (guitar), and they would soon be named The Troggs. In 1966 the band would record a song written by Chip Taylor called "Wild Thing". The song would be a number 2 hit in the UK and a n...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Alan Warner , original guitarist and founding member of The Foundations. In 1966 Alan put an ad in a music magazine looking to play in a reggae/soul group. He found a group called ''The Ramongs''. At the time, the group had two lead singers, Ramong Morrison and Clem Curtis. After Ramong Morrison left the group, the band needed a name change. Alan...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Ian Peewee Wilson , founding member of The Dellttones. Peewee formed the Delltones in 1958 along with Noel Widerberg, Warren Lucas, and Brian Perkins. After being discovered by radio DJ, Bob Rodgers, the group were quickly singing backing for artists like Johnny O'Keefe. Their first single,  Why,  would come out in 1959 and would reach number 15 o...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Tim Gaze, legendary Australian guitarist. Tim joined his first band Stonehenge in 1968 at the age of 14. After a year or so as their guitarist, Tim made a bold move and auditioned for Tamam Shud. He would prove to be successful and would join the band at the age of 16 in late 1969.Tamam Shud would be Tim's first major band and he is featured as a...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Steve Bingham, former bass player of The Foundations. When Steve was 12 his sister took him to see a local band called The Strollers. This would be the first time Steve would see a bass and is the moment he fell in love with the bass sound. By 1969 Steve had formed a group called Misty. The band would release a single called Hot Cinnamon  but it w...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Larry Van Kriedt , original bass player of AC/DC. Larry grew up in San Francisco during the '60s, being exposed to music as diverse as west-coast jazz to Jimi Hendrix. He is the son of jazz legend, David Van Kriedt which increased his exposure to music. In 1969, at age 15, he and his family moved to Australia. It was here in Sydney, Australia, sho...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Dick St. Nicklaus, possibly the greatest disco star you haven't heard.  You are probably more familiar with Dick as the drummer of The Kingsmen (known for their hit song "Louie, Louie"). This is a position he has had with the band since late 1963. The band took two breaks during its time in music, one during the psychedelic rock era of the late '6...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Bob Spencer, former guitarist of Skyhooks & The Angels. Bob joined his first band Finch in 1973. After recording and playing with the band for a few years, he left the group in 1977 to join Skyhooks on guitar. This was just after the departure of original Skyhooks guitarist Red Symons. The first single to feature Bob on guitar was the band's i...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Kevin Johnson , an Australian musical icon. After getting the first guitar, Kevin joined his first band  The Candymen  in his late teens. This was also when he started writing songs. By the mid '60s, Kevin's work as a songwriter got the notice of Col Joye who signed Kevin to his publishing company in 1966. In 1967 Kevin moved to the music capital...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Kerry Jacobson, drummer of Dragon. Kerry join Dragon in 1976 after the passing of original drummer Neil Storey. He joined just as the band began recording their third album Sunshine .  Get that Jive  would be Kerry's first single with the group and it would be their biggest hit at that point in 1977 reaching number 13 on the charts. However the gr...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Terry Gibbs, one of the last people left from the big band era of the 1940s. Terry was born in 1924 and at the time of this interview is 98 years old going on 99. One of Terry's early musical achievements came in 1936 at the age of 12 when he won the Major Bowes Amateur Hour Contest marking the start of a very long successful career in music. Comi...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Paul Marshall , a former lead singer of The Strawberry Alarm Clock. In 1967 the band had a number one in the US with their song  "Incense and Peppermints". Paul would join the band in 1969 after the departure of singer and guitarist Jimmy Pitman. He would become an important component of the band, becoming their main songwriter on Alarm Clock sing...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Jim Valley , a former guitarist of Paul Revere and The Raiders. After playing in bands like the Viceroys and The Good Times, Jim joined Paul Revere and The Raiders in 1966. Upon entering the band, they quickly began recording their album The Spirit of '67 . More recently the album cover and songs (of which Jim is featured on) Hungry and Good Thing...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Kim Lynch, original bass player and founding member of The Loved Ones. Growing up Kim listened to the likes of Buddy Holly and Ray Charles as well as a lot of Jazz records. As a Tuba player he joined his first band, The Red Onion Jazz Band in 1960. The band also included Gerry Humphrys and Ian Clyne. With Kim on bass, Gerry on vocals and Ian on or...

In this episode of  Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Bosco Bosanac bass player of The Atlantics . Bosco and his family migrated to Australia in the late '40s. Growing up during the era of rock and roll it was bands like the Shadows and The Ventures that inspired Bosco greatly. On bass Bosco along with Peter Hood on drums and guitarists Theo Penglis and Eddy Matzenik formed an instrumental garage ba...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Tom Austin, drummer of The Royal Teens . The Royal Teens were formed in New Jersey in 1956 with Tom on Drums, Bob Gaudio on piano, Billy Dalton on guitar, and Billy Crandall on saxophone. In 1957 Tom and Bob Gaudio were driving down the street in Tom's brand new Ford Fairlane 500 when they saw two girls exit a candy store wearing cut-off shorts. T...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by  Rick Buckler drummer of The Jam. Rick grew up in a working class family and so few records were owned by the family. Radio and album swapping at school is what exposed Rick to music in his early days. This included music such as The Kinks and Jimi Hendrix. The Jam formed in 1972 and during it's hit days consisted of Paul Weller on vocals/guitar,...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Richard Gower, lead singer of Racey. Growing up amongst the music of The Rollings Stones and The Beatles, Richard got into music at a young age. Having performed in bands since he was a teenager, he formed a band called Alive And Kicking in the mid '70s. Becoming popular around the local London pub circuit, the group were soon discovered by the we...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Terry Buzzy Johnson, a longtime member of The Flamingos. Terry got into music at a young age being the neighbour of The Orioles' Sonny Til and The Swallows' Earl Hurley. In 1954 Terry formed his first group, The Whispers. It was with this group he recorded and wrote music for the first time. In 1955 the group released two singles "Fool Heart" and...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Colin Petersen, the original drummer of the Bee Gees. Growing up in Kingaroy, Queensland, Colin had his first bit of fame at the age of ten when he was in the 1956 movie Smiley. This movie was followed by two more: The Scamp in 1957 and A Cry from the Streets in 1958. By the end of his career in the movies, Colin was 12 and Rock and Roll was becom...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Nancy Nevins, the lead singer of Sweetwater. Nancy got into singing and music at a young age when she realised she had a good voice. In 1967 she heard a group called Jay Walker and The Pedestrians playing in a coffeeshop window and she started singing with them what would become the groups most known song, a rendition of traditional song  "Sometim...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by Charlie McCoy , a legendary nashville session musician who has been in the music field since in the late 1950s. Charlie began his musical journey when in 1949, at the age of 8 he bought his first harmonica for 50 cents out of a comic book. He has been playing the instrument for over 74 years. After trying to make it as a performer, Charlie discove...

In this episode of Vinyl Vibes , Jack is joined by John Kosh , a legendary album cover designer who has been in the field since in the 1960s. Kosh was the art director of Art & Artists magazine when he was discovered by John Lennon in 1968. Lennon was a fan of the magazine and wanted some of his music content to be featured in the magazine. It was through this that Kosh was hired by The Beatle...