Country Legend Merle Haggard Back On the Road
Merle Haggard is gearing up for the road once again after a brief illness had him sidelined for several shows
Merle Haggard is gearing up for the road once again after a brief illness had him sidelined for several shows
It’s London, May 28, 2007 and I’m with a rock icon, drummer Simon Kirke, the backseat driver of two legendary hard rock bands, Free and Bad Company. People know Simon as “the drummer”, but hand the softly spoken Englishman a guitar and he’ll pull out the stops. He is also an accomplished singer and songwriter equally adept at piano and on guitar. Before he helped found the group Free, he could be heard pounding his U.K made Hayman drum kit with an actor’s son and child prodigy blues guitarist, Paul Kossoff in a group named Black Cat Bones.
The SKH Music Group told us that the Vehicle Production Group, a brand new American car company that designs, engineers, and distributes specialty vehicles, has altruistically gifted a brand new MV-1 to Leslie West.
Jimmy Page is one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most influential guitarists, and over the years has become a household name even in households without music fans. He has earned countless accolades and awards throughout his monumental career with Led Zeppelin, his time with the Yardbirds and The Firm, and as a session musician, but has maintained his humility and dedication to the music above all else.
Simon Kirke began his long love affair with rock n roll back in 1968 when he helped found influential British rock band Free, in which he was the drummer. Moving onward and upward, he and Paul Rodgers formed the legendary Bad Company five years later, with Simon drumming and Paul singing.
William Rory Gallagher, known by most simply as Rory Gallagher (pronounced “Gal-uh-her”), was born on March 2nd, 1948 in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland to Daniel and Monica Gallagher. Rory spent most of his young days in Cork, Ireland, where his family moved after the birth of his younger brother Donal Gallagher. Both brothers went to the North Monastery School in Cork.
There are few singers in rock history that have left their mark on the world as much as YES vocalist Jon Anderson. His career as the lead singer for the progressive rock band, pioneers in their field, is one of the most storied in the genre, and yet it seems like he’s just hitting his creative stride as he reaches his golden years. With a new record out last year, a successful tour with Rick Wakeman under his belt, and embarking on a new solo acoustic tour this spring, the veteran singer shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
It used to be that Rock n Roll was as American as apple pie. That the best rock n rollers grew up in the Deep South, the cornfields of the Midwest and under the sun of Los Angeles. But times have changed, and rock is now a global phenomenon, bringing to the world’s attention great bands and unbelievable talent from every corner of the globe. Case in point is one of Russia’s best rock bands, Pushking, and their latest record The World as We Love It is a testament to their longevity, creative output and ability to keep up with the biggest names it the business.
The distinct vocals of legendary singer, Eric Burdon, still resonate and captivate us nearly fifty years since The Animals made their way to America as part of the now heralded British Invasion. There was something deeply organic about the music that Eric and the rest of The Animals played, a gritty earthiness that had a working class feel to it.
Featuring one of the most famous guitar intros, rhythm parts and lead melody lines in instrumental rock history, the Chantay’s created a monster hit with their 1963 release “Pipeline.” Ever since, guitarists of all backgrounds and tastes from across the globe have sat down and worked out this triple-guitar threat, which was originally titled “Liberty’s Whip” until the band members watched the film Endless Summer which depicted two surfers searching for the perfect wave. Whichever name they would have gone with, the song proved to be the band’s biggest hit, and one that has gone down in rock history as one of the ‘60s most memorable tunes.
