Gregg Allman

He’s always been an Allman Brother. Together with his older sibling Duane they evolved from the Allman Joys to The Hour Glass to the band that would define Southern Rock. Their signature sound blending rock, blues, country, jazz and jam was a staple of the early progressive FM airwaves and remains just as popular today. It hasn’t always been easy for the band to stay together, but forty plus years later they’re still performing sold-out shows to an ever-growing fan base.

In June 2010 it was a surprise to learn that Gregg had just undergone a successful liver transplant after suffering from Hepatitis C. He returned to limited performing in October and just a few months later released his first solo album in fourteen years Low Country Blues. It’s primarily a collection of covers originally done by his early blues heroes.

The album had been recorded with producer T Bone Burnett before his operation and we spoke about it in January 2011. Gregg told me how a radio station had turned him on to the blues when he was a kid and how he had selected the songs for this new collection. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to ask about those legendary Allman Brothers NYC shows captured on Live at Fillmore East and he shared a surprising secret about that classic album’s artwork.

Sadly Greg passed away on May 27, 2017 due to complications of liver cancer.

Clarence Clemons – The E Street Band

The first time I met Clarence Clemons was backstage at New York’s Bottom Line in August 1975 during his historic series of performances with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band.

In 1985 I did a TV profile about him for PM Magazine spotlighting his solo career. When we sat down again in Feb 2004 he was working on some solo projects, but still very much a pivotal member of Bruce’s band and firmly established as one of the defining saxophone players of rock n’ roll. We talked about all of these things and he shared the wonderful story of the night forever immortalized in “Tenth Avenue Freezout” when “the Big Man joined the band. “

Click here to listen to the full audio

Jake Clemons – The E Street Band

If the name Jake Clemons is familiar to you, it might be as one of the newer members of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. He’s also the nephew of Clarence Clemons, the legendary and charismatic saxophone player for Bruce’s band.

When Clarence passed away in June 2011, it was not only a great loss for fans, friends and family, but a major challenge to somehow try and fill his role in the group. Jake was already an established musician pursuing his own career, but when Bruce called him in for an audition he knew he had to go. It didn’t start off well, but ultimately he “passed the audition” and made his debut with the E Street Band at the Apollo theatre in Harlem.

Jake shared the complete story with me when he visited WFUV to promote his own new album Fear and Love.

Click here to listen to the full interview.

Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks is truly an original, a one of a kind, and one of the few entertainers to win an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy and a Grammy. I had the opportunity to talk with him at length on March 27, 1978. He was promoting an album that featured both the soundtrack to his latest film High Anxiety and musical highlights from his earlier movies billed as his “Greatest Hits.”

What a night – spending the evening as the straight man with the original “Two Thousand Year Old Man”, creator of Get Smart and the director/writer of Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles and so many more. Of course we talked about The Producers and it’s interesting to hear what he thought the future of it might be, more than two decades before it became one of the most successful Broadway shows ever. As the interview began, it was obvious he had gotten some background information on me that still makes me (and my Mom) smile.

Elvis Costello

When Elvis Costello visited with me at WFUV in April 2002, it was the day before the official release of his then latest album When I Was Cruel. It was already the nineteenth album of his career that began in the mid 1970’s; and in the years since he’s released six more.

In addition to his own work, he’s also participated in numerous other collaborative efforts and was commissioned to compose an opera and a ballet. He’s hosted a critically acclaimed television music interview show “Spectacle” and continued to tour extensively. His 2015 memoir Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink offers almost seven hundred pages discussing many of these subjects, and is a thoughtful perspective on his career. In this interview we talked about his return to an earlier “sound,” while still moving ever forward in exploring different stylistic approaches. He was charming and witty and related how appearing in a brief cameo in “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” provided a new opportunity to attract fans.

Paul Simon

As a student at Queens College in the mid 1960’s, I started to hear rumors that one half of a new folk rock duo that was getting airplay, was a recent graduate of our school. The alum was Paul Simon who along with his partner, Art Garfunkel, had grown up in nearby Forest Hills and would soon become known worldwide.  By the time they split up in the early 70’s, I was on-the-air at WNEW-FM and introducing their solo projects to my listeners.  Paul especially was trying out new musical genres and he was my in-studio guest on September 8, 1986 to discuss his latest project, the groundbreaking album Graceland.

Seventeen years (and one day) later on September 9, 2003, Simon and Garfunkel announced their long awaited reunion.  It was called the Old Friends tour, based on a song title that was part of their classic Bookends album.  I arranged for a live radio broadcast of the event over WFUV live from The Bottom Line club and here are highlights from that press conference and performance.

Click here to listen to the full audio.

Patti Smith

The first time I ever heard a Patti Smith record I didn’t know what to make of it. It was her cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria”, a favorite AM hit of mine from the mid-60’s by the Chicago band The Shadows of Knight. Patti’s version was not just different, it was startling – mixing spoken word, religious references and her distinctive voice with a rock‘n’roll backbeat. When Arista Records released her debut album Horses in 1975 they asked me to provide the voice-over for the radio commercial that was aimed at letting the audience know just what this new artist was all about.. Almost 20 years later I got to ask Patti to explain it all to me when she came to WFUV for a live performance with her band to promote her then new album Trampin’. Here’s the original commercial from 1975 followed by highlights from my interview and her performance in 2004.

Click here to listen to the full interview.

Justin Hayward – The Moody Blues

The Moody Blues began in 1964 as a rhythm and blues based band from Birmingham, England . Within the year their single “Go Now” was a big hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite their early success, lead singer Denny Laine quit in 1966 and the band reformed with Justin Hayward and John Lodge as the newest members.

The first time I met Justin Hayward and John Lodge was backstage at Carnegie Hall in March 1975. They were taking a break from the Moody Blues and introducing their new Blue Jays album in a special listening party event promoted by WNEW-FM. Sixteen years later (December 1991) we were backstage at the Theater at Madison Square Garden as the reunited Moodys were preparing to headline the annual WNEW-FM Christmas concert.

When I spoke with Justin in November 1996 for Classic FM, he recalled how the group’s distinctive sound emerged from a record label’s desire to test a new recording technology for classical music. The result was the landmark album Days of Future Passed and the enduring composition “Nights in White Satin.”

Seven consecutive hit albums from 1967-1972 together with their 1980’s MTV introduction to a new generation firmly established them as rock royalty. Justin, John and original group member Graeme Edge continue to tour consistently to a loyal, large, and enthusiastic audience.