Each weekday on Thunder -at around 10:15am with Vianna and around 4:15 pm with Zander – we play a song from that week’s featured artist. Be listening for the special Artist of the Week keyword to text in for a chance to join us for a meal at our monthly listener appreciation get-together at Rock n’ Brews inside Rolling Hills Casino & Resort in Corning!
Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed in 1987 for a reunion tour with Ronnie’s brother, Johnny Van Zant, as lead vocalist. They continued to tour and record with co-founder Rossington, Johnny Van Zant, and Rickey Medlocke, who first wrote and recorded with the band from 1971 to 1972 before his return in 1996. Over the years, other founding members of the band have died either during—or after—their time in the band. In January 2018, Lynyrd Skynyrd announced its farewell tour,[3] and continued touring until 2022. Members were still working on the band’s fifteenth album at the time of Rossington’s death in 2023,[4] after which no founding members remained in the band.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Lynyrd Skynyrd No. 95 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.[5][6] Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 13, 2006.[7] As of 2023, the band has sold more than 28 million records in the United States. AllMusic called them “the definitive Southern rock band”.[1]
Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947)[2] is an American rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. Walsh was also part of the New Zealand band Herbs. In the 1990s, he was a member of the short-lived supergroupThe Best.
Walsh has also experienced success both as a solo artist and as a prolific session musician, being featured on a wide array of other artists’ recordings. In 2011, Rolling Stone placed him at the No. 54 spot on its list of “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.[3]
In the mid-1960s, after attending Kent State University, Walsh played with several local Ohio-based bands before reaching a national audience as a member of the James Gang, whose hit song “Funk #49” highlighted his skill as both a guitarist and singer. Roger Abramson, a concert producer and artist manager, signed the James Gang to a management agreement with BPI in Cleveland. After leaving the James Gang in 1972, he formed Barnstorm with Joe Vitale, a college friend from Ohio, and Kenny Passarelli, a bassist from Colorado, where Walsh had moved after leaving Ohio. While the band stayed together for three albums over three years, its works were marketed as Walsh solo projects. The last Barnstorm album, 1974’s So What contained significant guest contributions from several members of the Eagles, a group that had recently hired Walsh’s producer, Bill Szymczyk.
At Szymczyk’s suggestion, Walsh joined the Eagles in 1975 as the band’s guitarist and keyboardist following the departure of their founding member Bernie Leadon, with Hotel California being his first album with the band.[4] In 1998, a reader’s poll conducted by Guitarist magazine selected the guitar solos on the track “Hotel California” by Walsh and Don Felder[5] as the best guitar solos of all time. Guitar World magazine listed it at eighth of the Top 100 Guitar Solos.[6]
As a member of the Eagles, Walsh was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998, and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2001. The Eagles are considered to be one of the most influential bands of the 1970s, and they remain one of the best-selling American bands in the history of popular music.[7] His creative contribution to music has received praise from many of the best rock guitarists, including Led Zeppelin‘s Jimmy Page, who said, “He has a tremendous feel for the instrument. I’ve loved his style since the early James Gang.”[8]Eric Clapton said that “He’s one of the best guitarists to surface in some time. I don’t listen to many records, but I listen to his.”[8]The Who‘s guitarist, Pete Townshend, said “Joe Walsh is a fluid and intelligent player. There’re not many like that around.”[3][8]
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE (born 30 March 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and of Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and influential guitarists of all time.[2] Clapton ranked second in Rolling Stone‘s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time“[3] and fourth in Gibson‘s “Top 50 Guitarists of All Time”.[4] He was also named number five in Time magazine’s list of “The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players” in 2009.[5]
After playing in a number of different local bands, Clapton joined the Yardbirds in 1963, replacing founding guitarist Top Topham. Dissatisfied with the change of the Yardbirds sound from blues rock to a more radio-friendly pop rock sound, Clapton left the Yardbirds in 1965 to play with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, with whom he played on one album. After leaving Mayall in 1966, Clapton formed the power trio Cream with drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce, in which Clapton played sustained blues improvisations and “arty, blues-based psychedelic pop”.[6] After Cream broke up, he formed blues rock band Blind Faith with Baker, Steve Winwood, and Ric Grech, recording one album and performing on one tour before they broke up, leading Clapton to embark on a solo career in 1970. Alongside his solo career, he also performed with Delaney & Bonnie and Derek and the Dominos, with whom he recorded “Layla“, one of his signature songs. He continued to record a number of successful solo albums and songs over the next several decades, including a 1974 cover of Bob Marley‘s “I Shot the Sheriff” (which helped reggae reach a mass market.[7]), the country-infused Slowhand album (1977) and the pop rock of 1986’s August. Following the death of his son Conor in 1991, Clapton’s grief was expressed in the song “Tears in Heaven“, which appeared on his Unplugged album, and in 1996 he had another top-40 hit with the R&B crossover “Change The World“, and in 1998 released the Grammy award winning “My Father’s Eyes“. Since 1999, he has recorded a number of traditional blues and blues rock albums and hosted the periodic Crossroads Guitar Festival. His most recent studio album is 2018’s Happy Xmas.
Their 1975 album One of These Nights included three top 10 singles: “One of These Nights“, “Lyin’ Eyes“, and “Take It to the Limit“, the first hitting the top of the charts. Guitarist and vocalist Joe Walsh also joined the band in 1975, replacing Leadon. The Eagles continued that success and hit their commercial peak in late 1976 with the release of Hotel California, which would go on to sell more than 26 million copies in the U.S. alone and more than 42 million copies worldwide. The album yielded two number-one singles, “New Kid in Town” and “Hotel California“. Meisner left the band in 1977 and was replaced by Timothy B. Schmit. They released their last studio album for nearly 28 years in 1979 with The Long Run, which spawned three top 10 singles: “Heartache Tonight“, “The Long Run“, and “I Can’t Tell You Why“, the lead single being another chart-topping hit.
The Eagles broke up in July 1980 but reunited in 1994 for the album Hell Freezes Over, a mix of live and new studio tracks. They toured consistently and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2007, the Eagles released Long Road Out of Eden, their first full studio album in 28 years and their sixth number-one album. The next year they launched the Long Road Out of Eden Tour in support of the album. In 2013, they began the extended History of the Eagles Tour in conjunction with the band’s documentary release, History of the Eagles.
Following Glenn Frey’s death in January 2016 and a one-year hiatus, the Eagles re-formed in 2017, with Deacon Frey and Vince Gill sharing lead vocals for Frey’s songs.[5]
WITH GREG ‘WOODY’ WOOD, CHRIS WILCOX, & CHELSEA PAXTON
All about breaking out of the normal expectations of the typical mornings show, Woody & Wilcox have two key ingredients, a lack of personal privacy, and the lack of sleep. It is a winning combination that leads to comedy. Not comedy in the sense of just laughing. This is comedy that makes audiences laugh and think. Born on opposite sides of the country and typically on the opposite sides of most discussions, is what makes Woody & Wilcox different, and what makes it work. Woody is from LA. Wilcox is from DC. They joined forces in San Diego in 2003, and the rest is history.
