Raiderstation

I have been putting this in other threads, but am afraid I am just cluttering up those threads, so I will stop doing that and just do stuff in this one. Care to join in? I am all about learning more about music. So here we go.

Here are five artists from the UK who are really well known, and they had hits on both sides of the Atlantic, but had a lot more success in the US than in their home countries. There may be more and if you know one, feel free to join in.

First, we start with Ringo Starr of the Beatles. He had a lot of success as a solo artist in the US with a number of top 40 singles, far more in the US than in the UK. Songs like Photograph did quite well in the US, but not so much over seas

Second, Sheena Easton, she did well on both sides, but had a lot more success in the US with songs like Sugar Walls

Third, the Alan Parson's Project. They did OK in the UK but had a lot of success in the US, with songs like Games People Play

Next we have Steve Winwood who was quite successful as a solo artist, but much more so in the US

And finally, we have George Harrison, another Beatle. Had a lot of success as a solo artist in the US and was also a part of the Traveling Wilbury's.

How does the band Queen factor into one of the biggest songs of the 80s? By saying no to a huge star, of course. Here is the story.

He was filming a movie in the 80's and needed a good song to put into it. He knew of a band out of Chicago and heard and early single by them called Poor Man's Son so the star, who was also directing, hit them up. He even sent some footage for them to get a feel for their role in telling the story. But when the guys started watching it, there was already a Queen song there. Confused, they contacted the director and he explained that he wanted Another One Bites The Dust, but Queen had politely declined. So they went back and looked at the footage and there was one line that stood out, so they keyed on that. And thus was born one of the biggest soundtrack hits of the 80s for one of its biggest stars. Know what I am talking about yet? Frankie and Jim became instant stars and the band went on to a lot of success. The song went on to win the Grammy and was even nominated for the Oscar. And all because they heard "You had that eye of the tiger, man, that edge. You gotta get it back." Survivor may not have survived as a band, their lead singer had vocal issues and legal issues and his replacement died of a stroke, but Eye of the Tiger still rules 80's era radio stations to this day. And that is how a polite "no" turned a garage band into mega stars

The 80's were a great time for music and music history. But the Devil was also corrupting young head bangers and that meant only one thing. It was time for responsible adults to stop the devil. Here is one story.

They were world famous and on tour. But Tipper Gore and the rest of the PMRC were out to get them. They were rolling up to the concert venue when they saw protesters out front, and it was a huge group. They knew if they were seen, the crowd would get them. So their road manager came up with a pretty devilish solution. He had the band lay on the floor of the bus so they could not be seen. He he then had the driver change the rolling sign from the band name to "The Singers For Christ." The band slipped right past the protesters and into the venue. Angus Young and the rest of the guys in AC/DC went on to perform that night without a scratch. Very rock and roll. I wonder if the devil made them do it?
https://live.staticflickr.com/3284/2953 ... b1b8_c.jpg

Interesting Angus is a tea totaler and apparently never did drugs or drank...........except for chocolate milk before every show

[quote=Xramfan post_id=1289799]Interesting Angus is a tea totaler and apparently never did drugs or drank...........except for chocolate milk before every show[/quote]The PMRC was just a weird time

July 20 1969 saw Apollo 11 land on the moon. The top song on the chart that day? In the Year 2525. But the 11th highest song? Bad Moon Rising.

You just cannot make this stuff up

In the early days of MTV, you know, when they actually played videos, a struggling artist thought that maybe a really strong video would send him to success. Problem was, he had a face for radio. So, he drew up some story boards for a really interesting video. Now, the problem was, he did not have a song. Well, not one to give up, he wrote a song based on his conception art. And it worked, the song took off largely due to the content on the screen. One of the breakout stars of the video was not someone you would expect as he was pretty old at the time. But wherever he traveled after that, fans would rush up to him and shout out one of his lines. Puzzled? Well, Thomas Morgan would go onto a pretty successful career on the heels of that one big song. And what of the old guy? Well Magnus Pyke was also a scientist which is why Thomas Morgan AKA Dolby asked for his participation in the song, She Blinded Me With Science. Pyke passed away 10 years later but Dolby is still out there with his song.

There are a few teams in sports that have adopted a song as theirs, most notably Sweet Caroline for the Red Sox and of course New York New York for the Yankees. But how about a song written specifically for a team? Happened in the 70's and you will likely know it before you read the next sentence.

Of course I am talking about the John/Taupin song Philadelphia Freedom. But the back story for this number one hit will be of interest. Elton wanted to write a song for his good friend Billie Jean King who was a star on the tennis team, but was also about to be named the number one woman's tennis player for the fifth time. Taupin had no intention of writing a song about tennis or about freedom in general so the lyrics really do not reflect any specific theme. John wanted to incorporate the "Philadelphia" sound of bands like the Spinners and actually performed the song on Soul Train. It was the only time the partners consciously wrote a single rather than for an album. It was released just as the US was preparing for its Bicentennial so it was getting heavy play on the radio and actually was played at several events on the actual day and was in play on local TVs across the country. And of course it was played at every event the tennis team played at home. Interestingly enough it was also in heavy play leading up to the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between King and Bobby Riggs which was one of the most watched tennis matches of all time. Forgotten in time, this was the second of three "battle of the sexes" matches, Riggs had beaten Margaret Court in straight sets earlier that year in 1973. Bobby lost all three sets to King that September, and it was Jimmy Connors who beat Martina Navratilova in straight sets in 1992.

And what about the Philadelphia Freedoms tennis team? The song may have stayed on the Hot 100 charts longer than the team survived in Philly. The team was sold and moved to Boston and rebranded "The Lobsters." King was traded before the move to New York and "The Sets." World Team Tennis would not survive however, there was just so much tennis anyone could take and team tennis died in 1978 just five years after its inception. Ironically, Rock Lobster by the B-52's was released that very year, but after the "Boston Lobsters" could have used it. Ah what might have been.

And that is the history of one of Elton John's biggest hits.

This 80's hit off of one of their biggest albums almost never got recorded. The principle writer of the band's biggest hits was not going to do a someone else's song. Ironically, they had already laid down a cover for the upcoming album. Here is the story.

It was 1987 and this four piece was given a cassette tape of a song the label wanted them to do. The principle writer in the band did not hesitate. He grabbed the cassette, threw it on the floor and stomped it out of existence, or so he thought. Their manager was not deterred. He grabbed a recording of the melody and asked the singer to sing along to it to see if it was in his range and he recorded that. Then he took it to the bass player and drummer to hear the results. They both liked it and recorded their parts. He then took it to the guitar player who had stomped the cassette and let him hear the results. He admitted it sounded pretty good. So he laid down his part of the demo and off they went into the studio to record what would become their most played hit in their career. Think you know who this band is? They were not known for power ballads or doing covers but that is the combination that made the album work. Matter of fact, it was the power ballad and the cover that became the album's singles releases. Here is the one that will get you to the finish line, the cover was one of Elvis's biggest hits. That's right, the guys known for "The Dream Police" were tricked into recording "The Flame." Being flexible can pay off big.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u6uXuT9pm4

Who plays the guitar solo on the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps?"

[quote=raider_kin post_id=1290236]Who plays the guitar solo on the Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps?"[/quote]Clapton

[quote=Hellbound post_id=1290261]Clapton[/quote]Ding ding ding

PS: that's Slowhand to you

This 60's blues rock band, at one time or another, featured 3 of the greatest rock guitarists of all time.

Which band? Which players?

[quote=raider_kin post_id=1290296]This 60's blues rock band, at one time or another, featured 3 of the greatest rock guitarists of all time.


The Yardbirds??? Clapton, Beck, Page.

[quote=Dr Death post_id=1290303][/quote]Ding ding ding

So Thriller could be argued as one of the most iconic albums ever made. It certainly cemented Michael Jackson as the "King of Pop" and one of the most in demand artists of the 80's, The album was the top of the charts for an astonishing 37 weeks. But that was not 37 weeks in a row. No, there were 4 albums that broke it into periods of time, and that was also because of the singles being released over time which would propel the album back to number one.

Here are the four albums that took over at number one, only to fall again to Thriller. Quiet Riot started the onslaught with Metal Health. Pretty rare for a metal album to reach number one during that time and pretty much got hair metal into the music scene. After that, it was a soundtrack that derailed Thriller. Flashdance became a thing for a bit with a wide variety of songs that caught the public eye, or ear, or both. Next to sneak in was Lionel Richie who's Can't Slow Down reached the top. I, personally, was not a fan of his post funk stuff. And next if was the Police to topple Thriller with Synchronicity. Never found Sting and his various incarnations interesting musically. I do think his bandmates were talented but collectively they just did not do it for me. Amazingly, they held the top spot for 17 weeks only to see Thriller take it back.

But what album took the top sport for good over Thriller. It was another soundtrack. Soundtracks were big business in the 80's and one of the most prolific contributors to soundtracks during that time lead the way with the title track to "Footloose" which ended Thriller's run.