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!
Benny Gallagher is most often remembered as half of the British duo Gallagher and Lyle. Along with Graham Lyle, Benny was also a major contributor to the band McGuiness Flint and co-wrote a solo hit for Art Garfunkel. Among the Gallagher and Lyle duo chart successes are "I Wanna Stay With You" and "Heart On My Sleeve". We know you'll enjoy the hit stories of Benny Gallagher.
Sting and The Police were labelled New Wave when they first emerged in the UK but did they ever consider themselves to be "punk"? Sting has his say on that, talks about the famous desk where he once wrote songs, reminisces about the legendary 60's band that played at his wedding and tells how he came to record with Dire Straits.
Col Joye is a legend and icon of Australian music. Col was there in rock'n'roll's infancy in the 1950's and with The Joy Boys became a household name through TV shows like "Bandstand". He played an important role in the early career of the Bee Gees but it wasn't until the 1970's that he had his biggest hit with "Heaven Is My Womans Love" as Col Joye explains.
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.
Peter Sarstedt left us in January 2017 aged 75. You'll probably recall him for his worldwide number one "Where Do You Go To My Lovely". It's considered a serious love song but that's not the way, or why, he wrote it. Peter Sarstedt also tells the story of the notable record he shares with his brothers in relation to the British Top Forty.
Status Quo's Rick Parfitt is sadly no longer with us however this chat will bring back memories for Quo fans. Rick left us on Christmas Eve 2016 at age 68. He recalls the hits "Wild Side Of Life", "Pictures Of Matchstick Men", their appearance at Live Aid in 1985 and how Rick could see the band ending. You can also access our chat with Status Quo's Francis Rossi here.
