They will be remembered for their pioneering work in the world of "heavy metal". Deep Purple were loud, but also had great songs. There was one inspired by a fire which destroyed a Swiss casino. Another was recorded after the boys had had a big night down at the local pub, as singer Ian Gillan admits when asked by Ian Keenan.
If the Beatles are the most famous band to come out of England's Liverpool, then Gerry and The Pacemakers are the second most famous! They immortalised in song the river of their home town with their classic "Ferry Cross The Mersey" and are also remembered for the definitive version of "You'll Never Walk Alone". As you'll hear, Gerry Marsden has some great hit stories.
In the 60's one of the USA's most prolific songwriting teams was that of Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich. In this extensive interview you'll hear how they wrote some of the greatest hits of the era and worked with some of the greats. Neil Diamond and legendary producer Phil Spector were some of their closest colleagues and Ellie Greenwich told some revealing stories about both.
British singer and actress Marianne Faithfull began her career almost by accident. She was "discovered" by the manager of the Rolling Stones and it was a Jagger/Richards song that resulted in Marianne's first hit. She was there for one of The Beatles' greatest moments and as an actress also left her mark. In fact Marianne Faithfull has a unique claim-to-fame in movie history.
One of the "late greats" claimed by cancer is Lee Hazlewood. Lee died in 2007 and this interview was recorded in 2004, before his diagnosis. Lee had plans for a comeback which included a new album with Nancy Sinatra. That's discussed as well as his amazing output in the 50's and 60's. By the way there's a Nancy Sinatra interview here on hitstories.net.
Did you know that NONE of the hit-making Walker Brothers were actually born with the surname Walker? The late John Walker tells how and why the group's name came about, plus reveals the hit stories behind their well-remembered songs. It's also an interesting reason why they broke up and then reformed for one last hit in the 70's.
In the history of Australian music Glenn Shorrock is a name that stands tall. From the Twilights to Axiom and then the internationally famous Little River Band, the voice of Glenn Shorrock has featured on some outstanding recordings. Incidentally there is at least one Twilights hit he didn't like, as you'll hear as Glenn shares stories behind some of his most acclaimed hits.
So many great bands emerged from the UK in the 60's and Spencer Davis shares the history behind the band he famously led, the Spencer Davis Group. You'll discover just how young Steve Winwood was when they hit the charts, plus hear the hit stories behind their classics. You can also listen to another interview with Spencer Davis here.
Considering his music career began in 1957 it is fairly impressive that he is still performing to large audiences in 2016. No doubt a large part of Neil Sedaka's ongoing appeal is his huge catalogue of million selling hits. That said, it hasn't been all plain sailing throughout his career as you will hear as Neil Sedaka shares his hit stories.
Australian rock'n'roll lost one of it's greatest heroes when Billy Thorpe died suddenly in February 2007. He was a pioneer of the industry who was about to embark on an exciting new direction with his album "Tangier". He tells the story of that album's creation as well as the tales behind such hits as "Most People I Know" and "It's Almost Summer".
