I watched a number of videos of Linda Ronstadt performing live back in the day before finding this one, and the one thing I can tell you is she nails it EVERY time. Each one made me stop, listen, and be stunned again by her enormous talent. Unlike a lot of today’s female performers, Ronstadt’s voice is as clear and strong live as it is recorded. Many times it would…
WATCH: Firefall performs “Strange Way” – 1978
This is about as close as I’ve been able to find to a LIVE performance of this song after quite a bit of searching. At least they’re pretending like it’s live, so there you go. Here’s more on the band from Wikipedia: Firefall is a rock band that formed in Boulder, Colorado in 1974. It was founded by Rick Roberts, who had been in the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Jock…
WATCH: Very Early J. Geils Band LIVE @Boston’s Orpheum Theater 1972 – “Floyd’s Hotel” + “Hard Drivin’ Man”
Most of us are familiar with the J. Geils Band from their radio hits in the early 80’s, including: “Love Stinks” (which reached #38 in 1980), “Freeze-Frame” (which reached #4 in the Billboard Top 200 in 1981), and “Centerfold” (which reached #1 in the United States in early 1982). What you may not know is that the band got its start in WAY back in 1968, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under…
WATCH: Mashup – James Brown & Led Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Sex Machine”
You know, I’ve watched a number of these classic rock mashups over the years and, while I appreciate the effort that goes into coming up with them and then creating them, they don’t awlays work. Usually you can tell within the first 30 seconds if one these will work … and this one does! We have James Brown and his classic “Sex Machine” meshed with Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”…
WATCH: Boston – “More Than a Feeling” LIVE @Giants Stadium – June, 17, 1979
Did you miss out seeing Boston LIVE back in the day? Yeah, me too. The great thing today though, is that you can find these great videos of concerts from back in the day, including this performance by Boston at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ in June of 1979. The music is great, but I’m not a huge fan of them switching back and forth between some handheld color…
WATCH: Mötley Crüe & Steely Dan Mashup becomes “Look Again”
What happens when you take Steely Dan’s “Do It Again” and mash it up with Mötley Crüe’s “Looks That Kill?” You get a song that rock fans are either going to totally love, or totally hate. Everyone we’ve shared this with has been on either extreme … there doesn’t seem to be any in-between on this one musical marriage. For the record, “Looks That Kill” by Mötley Crüe was released…
WATCH: Van Halen’s first TV concert footage – Nov. 24, 1979 – Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert
Back in 1979, before there was an MTV, Van Halen was getting some radio airplay for “Dance the Night Away” but wasn’t really making headway with any of their new material. So, on May 18 of that year, Warner Brothers filmed the band performing three songs, “Dance the Night Away,” “You’re No Good,” and “Bottoms Up!” which ultimately was shown on the popular Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert television during the November…
WATCH: Charlie Dore sings “Pilot of the Airwaves” – 1979
Even if you do remember the song, you probably don’t remember the artist, English singer/songwriter Charlie Dore. She came out of nowhere in 1979 with the catchy tribute to late-night disc jockeys, “Pilot of the Airways’ and the song went on to reach No. 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and also earned her the Record World New Female Artist of the Year, and an ASCAP award. The song…
WATCH: Slade vs Quiet Riot: Who Covered “Cum on Feel the Noize” Better?
As some of you already know, we posted of video Quiet Riot performing their hit “Cum on Feel the Noize” from the 1983 US Festival a little while back to celebrate the release of their Metal Health album in March of 1983. Along the way we found the original version of the song by Slade from way back 1973. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Slade, they’re an…
WATCH: The Ramones rock “Blitzkrieg Bop” LIVE from 1977
The “Blitzkrieg Bop” had gone from hard-hitting rock anthem to mainstream commercial fare. Pretty sure that’s not what The Ramones intended when they released as the band’s debut single in February 1976, but that’s how things turn out in the music business sometimes. “Blitzkrieg Bop” was, of course, the opening track on the band’s debut album, Ramones, that was released April 23, 1976. According to the band, the song was credited to the…