Tag Archives: Classic Rock and Oldies

No matter what you think about the arc of Bruce Springsteens’ career – my favorite album of his came out 30 years ago, The Wild the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle – there is still nothing like a Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert. On the 14-month …

Two creature feature oldies collections from Buffalo Bop: Horror Hop and Monster Bop!

The Isley Brothers have moved fluidly through time and a wide range of musical genres (including R&B, rock ‘n’ roll, funk, psychedelic rock and smooth urban soul) to create an essential body of work. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, brothers O’Kelly (December 25, 1937-March 31, 1986), Rudolph (born April …

After the supreme triumverate of the Beatles, Stones, and Who, the Kinks – led by singer/songwriter Ray Davies and his guitarist brother Dave – are the next most important band from the British Invasion. Beginning with the primal riff rock of “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All …

Power pop is the hard rocking, but highly melodic music exemplified by the Beatles’ “She Loves You” or “A Hard Day’s Night,” or the Who’s “Can’t Explain” or “Substitute” in the ’60s: songs with blaring guitars, catchy choruses, and group harmonies. Cleveland’s own Raspberries were a great power pop band, …

The original Allman Brothers Band is back in the spotlight, and rightly so.

In 1970, Shep Gordon, who managed Alice Cooper, was wandering the streets of Toronto, killing time as he awaited the arrival of funds to pay the band’s hotel bill after the Strawberry Fields Festival. His wanderings led him to the door of Nimbus 9 productions, producers of the Guess Who, …

Evolutionary psychologists, anthropologists, neurologists and various other ologist-types have been trying to figure out the meaning of music in terms of human utility for some time: Darwin proposed that traits found attractive in courtship would enable their owners to get more genes into the next generation. The upshot would be …

Just as their run with Sweet was petering out in 1974, songwriters Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn hooked up with a spunky little leather-clad rocker from Detroit, transplanted to London, Suzi Quatro. When rehearsals for her first album were coming together, producer Mickie Most brought in the Chinnichap team to …

While Manfred Mann was classic ’60s British Invasion pop-rock, Sweet came along in the early-’70s and added power to the pop on the strength of slamming, goofy tunes by songwriters Mike Chapman and Nicky Chinn (“Chinnichap”). The third song the pair wrote was “Funny Funny,” a takeoff on the Archies’ …