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Author: Matthew Reisz
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Artist of The Week: Lynyrd Skynyrd!
Lynyrd Skynyrd (/lɛnərd ˈskɪnərd/, LEN-ərd SKIN-ərd)[2] is an American Southern rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom (bass), and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on “Lynyrd Skynyrd” in 1968. The band released its first album, (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), in 1973. By then, they had settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell, and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird“. After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band’s career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines, and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
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]
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Artist of The Week: Joe Walsh
Bio from Wikipedia:
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 supergroup The 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]
Besides his work with his several bands, he has released twelve solo studio albums, six compilation albums and two live albums. His solo hits include “Rocky Mountain Way“, “Life’s Been Good“, “All Night Long“, “A Life of Illusion” and “Ordinary Average Guy“.
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]
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Eric Clapton
Bio from Wikipedia:
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.
Clapton has been the recipient of 18 Grammy Awards, and the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2004 he was awarded a CBE at Buckingham Palace for services to music.[8][9][10] He has received four Ivor Novello Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, including the Lifetime Achievement Award. In his solo career, Clapton has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time.[11] In 1998, Clapton, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, founded the Crossroads Centre on Antigua, a medical facility for recovering substance abusers.[12]
Artist of the Week is brought to you by Franky’s Pizzeria & Lounge
A Taste of Italy Hidden in Chico Since 1992
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Eagles
Bio from Wikipedia:
The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. The founding members were Glenn Frey (guitars, vocals), Don Henley (drums, vocals), Bernie Leadon (guitars, vocals) and Randy Meisner (bass guitar, vocals). With five number-one singles, six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards, and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s. Their albums Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) and Hotel California rank first and third, respectively, among the best-selling albums in the United States, with 38 million and 26 million album units in sales.[1] The Eagles are one of the world’s best-selling bands, having sold more than 200 million records, including 100 million albums sold in U.S alone.[2][3] They were ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone‘s 2004 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[4]
Their debut album, Eagles (1972), spawned three top 40 singles: “Take It Easy“, “Witchy Woman“, and “Peaceful Easy Feeling“. Desperado (1973) was less successful, only reaching number 41 on the charts; neither of its singles reached the top 40. However, its songs “Desperado” and “Tequila Sunrise” became two of the band’s most popular tracks. On the Border (1974) added guitarist Don Felder and produced two top 40 singles: “Already Gone” and the Eagles’ first number one, “Best of My Love“.
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]
Artist of the Week is brought to you by Franky’s Pizzeria & Lounge
A Taste of Italy Hidden in Chico Since 1992
The Eagles – Hotel California (40th Anniversary Expanded Edition)
The Eagles – Top Tracks
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Bad Company!
Bio from Wikipedia:
Bad Company are an English rock supergroup formed in Albury, Surrey in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and later adding bassist Boz Burrell.[1] Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also managed Bad Company until 1982.
Bad Company enjoyed great success throughout the 1970s. Their first three albums, Bad Company (1974), Straight Shooter (1975), and Run with the Pack (1976), reached the top five in the album charts in both the UK and the US.[2][3] Many of their singles and songs, such as “Bad Company“, “Can’t Get Enough“, “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad“, “Feel Like Makin’ Love“, “Ready for Love“, “Shooting Star“, and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy“, remain staples of classic rock radio. They have sold 20 million RIAA-certified albums in the US and 40 million worldwide.[4]
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Weekday Afternoons w/Zander!
Live Cuts On Thunder
Each weekday, right before 5pm, Zander features an iconic live in-concert performance from some of your favorite Thunder classic rockers.
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Who Deserves a 5-3-0 Salute?
Thunder 100.7 salutes those in the community working to make a positive impact for others. Thanks for all you do!
