Jeff St John
Jeff St John left us on March 6, 2018. He was an Australian music legend who's hit-making spanned the 60's, 70's and 80's but it wasn't until the year 2000 that he performed in front of his biggest ever audience.
Glen Campbell
Glen Campbell will be remembered as one of the biggest country stars of the 70's and one of the most recorded guitarists of the 60's. The hits he created with song-writer Jimmy Webb are a major part of the soundtrack for his generation and the stories behind them are worth hearing.
Pilot lead singer David Paton
Pilot lead singer David Paton shares the stories behind the Pilot hits "Magic" and "January". David also has some fascinating tales from his work with artists such as Elton John and the Alan Parsons Project. Alan Parsons also produced the Pilot hits, as you can hear in his Hitstories interviews here.
Slim Jim Phantom from The Stray Cats
Slim Jim Phantom is best known as the Stray Cats drummer. This American rockabilly band first found fame in the UK after being produced by Dave Edmunds. Jim explains how they met Dave, why his drumming style is different to most and which music legends influenced the Stray Cats. Also hear the story behind their hit "Runaway Boys".
Spencer Davis of the Spencer Davis Group #2
This is Ian Keenan's second interview with Spencer Davis of the Spencer Davis Group, you can find the first here. In this interview he reveals the story behind their biggest ever hit, why he wasn't always lead singer of the group and you'll learn what Spencer Davis did before his music career took off.
Carole King and James Taylor
Carole King and James Taylor have know each other for more than 40 years but in that time there's one surprising thing they've never done together. James Taylor reveals which was his favourite version of "Carolina In My Mind" and Carole King hints at what may have inspired her song "Smackwater Jack".
Smokie’s Terry Utley
Terry Utley was one of the founders of the band Smokie. He began the band while still at school and saw them become an overnight success years later. Remember "Don't Play Your Rock and Roll To Me", "It's Your Life" and "Living Next Door To Alice"? He shares the stories behind those Smokie hits and more as well as how the band lost it's first two lead singers.
The Byrds’ Chris Hillman
Bass player for The Byrds, Chris Hillman, was one of the band's longest serving members. He explains why The Byrds had such a short lifespan and why only one of the band's members actually played on "Mr Tambourine Man". Chris also recalls why "Eight Miles High" was such an important song for the group.
Tony Orlando
Tony Orlando never actually met the singers in his backing group Dawn until after they had their first hit together. Initially his involvement was kept secret to protect his day job but thankfully the hits kept coming. These days we know Tony Orlando for songs like "Knock Three Times", "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" and "He Don't Love You" amongst others.
Tommy James
Tommy James had to wait of a couple of years for his debut hit to take off but then many followed. More than 300 cover versions of his hits have been recorded and two of those songs made chart history in the USA. One of the biggest Tommy James songs was inspired by a bank's neon sign while another of his hits was banned!