50 Years Gone: Behind the Morrison Myths
Celebrating James Douglas Morrison
Genesis: Turn It On Again
By Steven P. Wheeler With last week’s surprising announcement that Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks were joining forces again for a Genesis reunion concert trek, I was immediately taken back nearly 30 years when I sat down with the trio at the time of what turned out to be their final studio album …
Bonnie Raitt: Mistress of the Blues
By Steven P. Wheeler Call her the Queen of Interpretation, Madame Grammy or even Mistress of the Blues. Back in 1995, I had a chance to sit down with Bonnie Raitt, the redheaded California native when she was at the very top of her commercial success. She had just released her first live album, Road …
Bob Seger: End Of An Era
By Steven P. Wheeler Last night in Philadelphia, American rock icon Bob Seger and his illustrious Silver Bullet Band gave their final concert performance. After more than 50 years, the 74-year-old father of blue-collar and heartland rock is moving into retirement and hanging up his road shoes. The epitome of the rock & roll American …
Celebrating John Lennon
By Steven P. Wheeler “’Imagine,’ ‘Love’ and those Plastic Ono Band songs stand up to any song that was written when I was a Beatle. Now, it may take you 20 or 30 years to appreciate that, but the fact is, if you check those songs out, you will see that [they are] as good …
Pat Benatar: From Heartbreaker to True Love
By Steven P. Wheeler It was 39 years ago this week that Pat Benatar’s iconic rock hit “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” was released, as it quickly became an anthem for female empowerment. Just like her platinum-selling debut album, In the Heat of the Night, did a year earlier with the ferocious, in-your-face power …
Ric Ocasek: In Memory Of…
By Steven P. Wheeler Fans of ‘80s rock have had a tough time the past few days. First, we lost the everyman of rock Eddie Money, and yesterday the head mechanic of The Cars—Ric Ocasek—passed away at the age of 75. The similarities between these two is as interesting as their public personas were different. …
Eddie Money: In Memory Of..
By Steven P. Wheeler With yesterday’s death of Eddie Money at the age of 70, only three weeks after publicly announcing that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer, I fondly recall my handful of visits with the rocker over the past 30 years. From his flawless self-titled debut album in 1977 featuring …
Nicky Hopkins: The Legendary Ivory-Tickler
By Steven P. Wheeler On the 25th anniversary of his tragic passing at the age of 50 due to complications from intestinal surgery, I’ve pulled out my old tapes from two interviews with this member of rock royalty. Nicky Hopkins was a true legend whose remarkable and unmistakable piano work graced some of the greatest …
Bernie Taupin: Elton’s “Write” Hand Man
By Steven P. Wheeler It is the summer of 1989. Six months of phone calls and patience has finally paid off. Bernie Taupin, the man who has been placing words into the mouth of Elton John since 1967, sits behind the desk in a cluttered office high atop Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California, willing to …