
Peter Gabriel- So
(cont)...It was not until stumbling into the broadcast media/entertainment business that I got to witness, up close and personally, individual musicians who have been given enormous powers of influence through the modern phenomenon of celebrity, by the very people who they entertain. Case in point is this week's classic rock interview subject: ex-Genesis lead singer Peter Gabriel had a cult following after four studio solo albums, with his most significant creation being the ground-breaking "Shock the Monkey" video. But with the May 1986 release of "So" (#1 UK, #2 U.S., over 5 million sold; 4 Grammy nominations including Album and Record of the Year for the #1 hit "Sledgehammer"), Peter Gabriel was vaulted into international pop stardom with all of its attendant door-opening , barrier-eliminating amenities...(more)

Steve Miller- Fly Like an Eagle
Sales of Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like an Eagle", which includes "Rock 'n Me","Take the Money and Run","Wild Mountain Honey","Serenade","Mercury Blues", and the title song have exceeded five million copies of Rolling Stone magazine's Album of the Year 1976, plus a berth on that mag's 500 Greatest Albums All Time list.

Bob Seger- Live Bullet
"It took me twelve years to make that album Live Bullet ," Bob Seger solemnly emphasizes to me in this classic rock interview from Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band in April 1976. This may be the only six million-seller in history which failed to make the Top Thirty in sales when initially released.

Aerosmith- Rocks- Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford, Joey Kramer
Aerosmith "Rocks". It was a declarative statement in Spring 1976 with no equivocation. If "Toys in the Attic" a year earlier had been the definitive mid-Seventies American hard rock statement, then Aerosmith "Rocks" made it musically imperative with "Back in the Saddle", "Sick as a Dog", the clever sequel to "Toys..." with "Rats in the Cellar", and another infectious Steven Tyler/Brad Whitford hit, "Last Child".

AC/DC- High Voltage- Angus Young
AC/DC's lead guitarist Angus Young is my guest, with priceless memories from the In the Studio archive by the late AC/DC rhythm guitarist/riffmaster Malcolm Young, for the saga of "High Voltage".

Billy Squier- Don’t Say No
My guest Billy Squier's 1981 second solo album “Don't Say No” sold over three million copies because of songs "In the Dark" , "My Kinda Lover" , "Lonely Is the Night", & the big hit " The Stroke".

Cheap Trick- Essential- Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander
On a maximum scale of five stars, the 1977 debut by Cheap Trick receives AllMusic.com's highest rating. And the even more melodic, better sounding sophomore effort "In Color" in the same year earns 4 1/2 stars. Then Cheap Trick's Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander, Tom Petersson, and Bun E. Carlos wrote and recorded the masterpiece "Heaven Tonight" in May 1978, yet again scoring a critics' perfect five star rating. So in hindsight it would appear that recording the Rockford IL quartet's set while performing the strongest material from these three killer studio albums, in front of an adoring audience in one of the world's premiere venues, would be as obvious as a sumo wrestler in your shower stall.

Rush- 2112: Early Best 45th Anniversary- Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson
"2112" by Rush was an amalgam of hard rock, progressive rock, science-fiction and Ayn Rand socio-economics right about the same time that The Ramones, The Dead Boys, and Ian Dury and the Blockheads were singing "Sex and Drugs and Rock'n'Roll". So things were about to get interesting in 1976. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush join me here In the Studio

Van Halen- 5150- Sammy Hagar, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, the late Eddie Van Halen
For the 35th anniversary, the late Eddie Van Halen's interview In the Studio is included with Sammy Hagar, brother Alex Van Halen, & Michael Anthony for the story of "5150".

Doobie Brothers- Takin’ It to the Streets- Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, Michael McDonald
The fact that the Doobie Brothers reinvented themselves for their March 1976 album "Takin' It to the Streets" is quite widely known, but the reasons for the musical shift, and the manner in which they made it work so successfully, is a fascinating back-story worthy of an HBO mini-series.. On the album's 45th anniversary, Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, & Michael McDonald are all here In the Studio to recall how it really went down.