Music Talk Radio

     There are some great female singers: Ann Wilson, Pat Benatar, and Janis Joplin, for instance. Although Linda Ronstadt was multi-genre, and that is a positive, she was a phenomenal rock singer. Linda is a powerhouse and should be right up there with the best female rock vocalists. She could do it all: soft ballads, country, rock and opera.       I happened to think of Linda while watching a reaction video by "The Charismatic Voice" on YouTube. The host, Elizabeth, an opera singer, reacts to rock and metal songs she has never heard before.  Check it out.  She was completely unaware of Ronstadt's talent in the rock world. Elizabeth teaches opera and has studied Linda's opera technique in school. It reminded me of Ronstadt's talent. Another fun fact is that Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner  were all members of Linda Ronstadt's band before forming the Eagles. That says something.    Ronstadt has won 11 G...

     I know Prince is not classic rock. Still, I wanted to mention a few songs he wrote for other artists in the 80s and 90s that I  read on phactual.com .        I knew he wrote "Nothing Compares 2 U," which Sinead O'Connor made famous in 1990.      He wrote what I thought was a song written by Chaka Khan, "I Feel For You." I never would have guessed that!      I didn't know he wrote the Bangles hit "Just Another Manic Monday." For the life of me, I can't hear him singing that at all. He is credited on the song but under the name 'Christopher.' I can imagine him singing "Nothing Compares 2 U," though. He recorded "Nothing Compares 2 U," but I haven't heard it.     Prince also co-wrote "Stand Back," which Stevie Nicks wrote in response to hearing "Little Red Corvette" on her wedding day. She recorded a demo of "Stand Back" on her wedding night in a hotel room.       Nicks asked Princ...

     If you ask me, the best logo in rock ‘n’ roll is the Rolling Stones tongue logo, created by John Pasche , a 25-year-old student in his last year at the Royal College of Art in London in 1970. Pasche designed at least 90 percent of the logo, which was then finalized by a designer named Craig Braun.       Braun added more prominent white highlights on the tongue and raised the teeth enough to reveal a bit of black inside the mouth. At the same time, Braun was working with Andy Warhol to create one of the best album covers in rock, Sticky Fingers. The new logo was to be put on the album.      Why is this logo so effective? Its red color quickly catches your attention. It's simple. It also has sexual connotations. It's a rebellious symbol, like a kid sticking their tongue out at you. So rock ‘n’ roll. Anti-authority all the way.       According to Radio X , Mick Jagger formed the concept of the tongue from a new...

     This may or may not go over well. Eric Clapton is overrated. For me, he has no originality at all. Sure, he can play the blues and make it look harder than it is with his head tilted back and eyes closed, but he doesn't impress me. I know that he was one of Eddie Van Halen's heroes, and even though Eddie is one of my favorite guitarists, it still doesn't sway me.       I will admit I liked Clapton when he was in Cream, but that's it. I did like "Badge,""White Room," "Tales of Brave Ulysses," and "Sunshine of Your Love," but that was a great team effort. Except for the wah solo on "White Room," I just don't get what is so special about Clapton.     He's a good songwriter and singer, sure. But as a guitarist, I just don't get it. Compare him to SRV, and Stevie blows him out of the water. Stevie was channeling. I never felt that with Eric. It felt phony and pretentious.       How's that for an opinion? ...

     I like Led Zeppelin's "Brown Bomber" album cover for Led Zeppelin II. David Juniper created the artwork. The whole story is at Rock Pop Gallery, but let me summarize it. The artwork was created by taking an authentic 1917 World War I photo of German air force pilots (The Red Baron's crew) and replacing some pilots' heads with the Zeppelin members, famous celebs, and some Zeppelin crew.      Interestingly, the Red Baron didn't make it onto the Zep II cover. In the original photo, he is sitting in the plane's cockpit. Juniper airbrushed him out. Remember that this art was created before the ability to quickly Photoshop the replacement faces. It was all done by hand. It's not as big a deal to make this now, but it was back in 1969.      The blond woman was Glynis Johns, the mother of Mary Poppins. I might add that she looks pretty crazy in this! Glynis Johns was a play on the recording engineer's name who recorded their debut album, Glyn J...

     Here is the thing about Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith. He is excellent with wordplay and sexual innuendo in his lyrics. He's forever pulling off "Mustang Sally" type lines. Mack Rice, the lyricist of "Mustang Sally," never says it outright, but we all know Sally is loose and likes to ride! This type of lyricism was necessary during the beginning stages of rock and roll. It was the 50s, after all. It was an uptight, moralistic decade. So, lyricists had to be creative with their message. Today, you can say anything, but back then, oh no!      Take the lyrics in "Love In An Elevator," for instance. "Livin' it up when we're goin' down." Or, in "Walk This Way," from Toys in the Attic , "Singin' hey diddle diddle with your kitty in the middle."       Or the best one yet, "Lord of the Thighs" from Aerosmith's second album, my favorite, Get Your Wings . "I am the lord of your th...