The Killers in concert The Killers (2001-present) are an American rock band that formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001. Their classic lineup is vocalist/keyboardist Brandon Flowers, guitarist Dave Keuning, bassist/guitarist Mark Stoermer, and drummer Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. The Killers have recorded many successful albums including 2o04’s debut of Hot Fuss, 2006’s Sam’s Town, 2008’s Day & Age, 2012’s Battle Born, and 2017’s Wonderful Wonderful. The later went
“The Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll” Part II by DJ’s/Podcasters Ray Koob and Markus Goldman In this special addition of The Rock Doc’s Rockin Blog Ray and Markus share four of their
“The Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll” by DJ’s/Podcasters Ray Koob and Markus Goldman This podcast that was created to discuss the humongous tree of music
The Legendary Rock Band U2 The Legendary Rock Band U2 The seeds of U2 (1978-present) began in 1976 when Irish drummer Larry Mullen Jr., then only fourteen years old, decided to form a band. He recruited his Dublin Schoolmates guitarist David “The Edge” Evans, bassist Adam Clayton, and vocalist Paul “Bono” Hewson. Their original lineup, known as Feedback, also included Edge’s brother Dik Evans, Peter Martin, and Ivan
Tom Petty (1950-2017) and The Heartbreakers (1976-2017) Tom Petty was a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor from Gainesville, Florida born in 1950. Petty began playing music in high school and formed a band called The Sundowners, who later became The Epics. By 1971, that band evolved into Mudcrutch, featuring (future Heartbreakers) guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench. Mudcrutch moved to Los Angeles but called
The Genius of Jimmy Page and John Bonham Jimmy Page (born 1944 – ) is recognized as one of the great guitar players of all time. Jimmy received his first guitar when his family moved to Surrey, England. Early on, he was exposed to a number of musical influences including everything from skiffle music to rockabilly. Jimmy studied classical and jazz guitar techniques, and the sounds of Les Paul, Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt,
The ZOSO Masterpiece album by Led Zeppelin The ZOSO Masterpiece album (Led Zeppelin IV) by Led Zeppelin remained on the charts for over 250 weeks in 1971 and went platinum a dozen times over! This set a record for chart longevity and became the fifth biggest selling album in music history! Unlike their first three albums, Page and Plant wrote most of the songs for Led Zeppelin IV before
Led Zeppelin – Part II This Led Zeppelin- Part II post shows that things happened very quickly for Led Zeppelin. We are now moving into the period where Led Zeppelin will establish itself as one of (if not the) biggest rock bands in the world! The much anticipated release of Led Zeppelin II meant there was now pressure for the band to meet growing expectations to equal or surpass their
Led Zeppelin -the Early Years In 1968, Jimmy Page and Peter Grant (who had retained the legal rights to the Yardbirds name) were determined to carry on after the demise of The Yardbirds. Page slowly began reforming The New Yardbirds to fulfill some contracted performance dates in Europe. The session bassist, keyboardist, composer, and arranger, John Paul Jones had asked Page about his plans for The New Yardbirds. The
Guitar great Jeff Beck Jeff Beck (born 1944-) arrived on the music scene when he replaced Eric Clapton in The Yardbirds in 1965. He began his career as a solo artist in 1967 with the release of the single “Beck’s Bolero” that became an instrumental hit in the mid-1960s. Beck led his own band, The Jeff Beck Group, from 1967 to 1972 that featured Rod Stewart on vocals. From 1972
The Yardbirds (1963-1968) were an important English supergroup that also proved to be an important catalyst for the careers of Cream and Led Zeppelin. In addition, they helped to launch the solo careers of guitarists Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. The original lineup was fronted by guitarist/vocalist Keith Reif and featured guitarists Chris Dreja and Anthony Topham, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, and drummer Jim McCarty. The Yardbirds assumed a residency
Billy Joel (born 1949- ) is an American vocalist/pianist that was born in Hicksville, Long Island New York in 1949. In his youth, he pursued two passions, playing the piano and street fighting. By 1964, Joel joined The Echoes, a band that covered British Invasion tunes. In 1965, at the age of sixteen (after some amateur boxing matches), Joel was hired as a session musician and played on The
This month I am super excited to feature one of my all-time favorite bands – The Grateful Dead! The Dead are as much a part of Americana music as any band (including The Band). They created a legacy that is unmatched in American music history. As unique as the Dead were, their fans (Deadheads) were a cultural phenomenon unto themselves- a virtual sub-culture within the counterculture of the 1960’s and beyond! The Grateful
Back by popular demand, I have decided to extend this month’s Rock Doc blog to more coverage of the great Jimi Hendrix! Last month, we explored the life and music of Hendrix in some detail. This month we will dig deeper into his legendary musicianship. In this article titled The Four Sides of Jimi Hendrix, I will state a case that he was one of the most complete musicians in virtually any style
I am really excited to explore the incredible musicianship of Jimi Hendrix this month!! I really want to focus on his music and Hendrix’s many musical attributes rather than get side-tracked with “27-club” conspiracy theories about his death and other issues that pull us away from the music itself. This blog post will present some of Jimi’s musical history and then focus on his multi-faceted musical skills. It is truly amazing and
This month, I have decided to continue our focus on the musical genius of legendary classic rock band The Who by taking a “deeper dive” into the musical minds of two of its members, composer/guitarist Pete Townshend and drumming great Keith Moon. What musical characteristics make the The Who “uniquely” unique? The extraordinary creativity and musical inventiveness of Townshend and Moon are at the top of the list!
The Who (1964-present) represent one of the defining British Invasion bands. The Who could have easily been placed in the punk rock genre as one of the first true punk bands. They exhibited punk characteristics of violence, aggressive behavior (on and off stage), attention to fashion trends, and a healthy disrespect for authority. Their early fans could be thought of as the first punk fans but without the mosh pits. Their fan
Elton John was the biggest pop-rock star of the 1970’s (he could make a claim as“king of pop” at least for that decade). His flamboyant stage attire and outspoken persona only added to his star status. In a remarkable career that kept him on the charts for over twenty-five years, Elton John adeptly changed with the times. Elton’s musical relationship with Bernie Taupin has rivaled the legendary partnerships of Lennon and McCartney and Tin Pan
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