Redbeard's Blog

Allman Brothers Band- Eat a Peach- the late Gregg Allman, the late Dickey Betts

It was Duane Allman who formed and led the Allman Brothers Band, and behind them an entire new Southern Rock movement. But at the end of October 1971 midway through the recording of what would become" Eat a Peach", Duane died riding his beloved motorcycle. Gregg Allman (who died May 2017) and ex-guitarist Dickey Betts (d.4/18/24) reveal how the music sustained the brotherhood.

Medium Rare

Rush- Grace Under Pressure- Neil Peart

When revisiting the Rush April 1984 release "Grace Under Pressure", I had to double-check the math. Could "Grace Under Pressure", in my mind that mid-period transitional album for the Toronto-based trio, really have been their tenth studio album in as many years? The late Neil Peart of Rush discussed it all on opening night of the "Grace Under Pressure" 1984 tour.

Live Tracks

Rush- The Enemy Within- Grace Under Pressure 1984 tour

To note the fortieth anniversary of the Rush transitional album "Grace Under Pressure" here In the Studio, we present the performance of "The Enemy Within" from the Rush 1984 tour.

Beard's Blog, Classic Rock Interviews

Tom Petty- Full Moon Fever

When we met in 1978, we were both in our mid-twenties, but I realized even then that Tom Petty had a very old soul, wise and true, and that sense only increased over the next four decades...The late Tom Petty is my guest In the Studio for the story of "Full Moon Fever".

Medium Rare

Peter Frampton- Shine On Early Best

The sub-title of this classic rock interview should probably be "Frampton Barely Survives". Everybody knows that young Englishman Peter Frampton revolutionized the recording industry in early 1976 with his live double set "Frampton Comes Alive". But where did those now-iconic songs like "Show Me the Way", "Lines on My Face", "Baby I Love Your Way", "All I Want to Be (Is By Your Side)", and "Do You Feel Like We Do" originally come from? Peter joins me In the Studio to trace the days after he left Humble Pie, his struggles with four solid but woefully under-exposed solo studio albums, his phenomenal transformation into pop superstardom with the live album, and the tumultuous years immediately afterward trying to survive it all.

Medium Rare

The Cult- Electric/Sonic Temple- Billy Duffy

This late 1987 interview with The Cult lead guitarist/co-writer Billy Duffy reflects the frustration, duplicated effort, and enormous expense the band incurred making the preceding album, "Electric", as well as the subsequent success they found with the final results, pointing ahead to the platinum success with "Sonic Temple".

Beard's Blog, Classic Rock Interviews

Lynyrd Skynyrd- Second Helping- Gary Rossington, Ed King, Leon Wilkeson

The late Gary Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd "In the Studio" for a Southern-fried serving of "Second Helping". My archival interviews with Ed King and Leon Wilkeson’s final radio interview, as well.

Live Tracks

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers- I Won’t Back Down- San Francisco 2-6-97

Note how Florida natives the late Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers stood their ground with a six-string rather than a six-shooter. It's a different take on "I Won't Back Down" from San Francisco's Fillmore during a nationwide radio broadcast in February 1997.