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.
David Cassidy was the biggest teenage idol of the 70's thanks to his starring role in the "Partridge Family" TV series which produced hit songs like "I Think I Love You", "Doesn't Somebody Want To Be Wanted" and "I Woke Up In Love This Morning". As a solo artist David Cassidy concerts also broke records while his good looks broke hearts.
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".
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".
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 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 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!
Dewey Bunnell of the band America has been there throughout the group's history. In fact it was a 19 year old Dewey who wrote the band's first hit "A Horse With No Name". Since then there's been many hits and also the curious habit of giving their albums titles beginning with "H". Dewey reveals how it all began.
Johnny Rivers sold more than 30 million records between 1964 and 1978. Some of his best known hits include "Summer Rain", "Slow Dancin" and "Secret Agent Man". Perhaps less well known is the fact that he gave a number of singers and songwriters their big break with his record label and publishing company. Johnny Rivers has some of the best hit stories you'll ever hear.
Jimmy Webb is the only artist ever to have received Grammy Awards for music, lyrics, and orchestration. Amazingly he has only ever had one of his songs go all the way to the top of the charts in the USA and it will probably be a surprise as to which one it is. He also has a great story about a visit to Galveston.
