Classic Rock 'n' TV History

By Jason C. Klose It was 30 years ago today (October 28, 1991) that the English rock/pop group Genesis released their fourteenth studio album "We Can't Dance," their last album with lead vocalist and drummer Phil Collins, before his official departure in 1996 to focus on his solo career full-time. Production began after a four-year period of inactivity from the group, following the commercial success of "Invisible Touch" (1986) and its tour. From October 1991 to November 1992, Genesis released five singles from this album in the United States, all of which made the Billboard Hot 100 and Top 40: "No Son of Mine" (#12) "I Can't Dance" (#7) "Hold on My Heart" (#12) "Jesus He Knows Me" (#23) "Never a Time" (#21) Every track on this album is solid, including the unreleased tracks, which are some of my favorites, including "Driving the Last Spike," "Living Forever," "Tell Me Why...

By Jason C. Klose I'v e b een watching the CNN special "History of the Sitcom," and it reminded me of how much I miss the classic TV shows I grew up watching in the 1980s. One of my favorite shows was the NBC series "Family Ties," featuring the Keaton family and starring Michael J. Fox (Alex), Michael Gross (Steven), Meredith Baxter (Elyse), Justine Bateman (Mallory), and Tina Yothers (Jennifer). One of the things I loved about this show was that even though it was a sitcom, there were dramatic scenes as well as comedy, and serious issues were tackled in several episodes. "Family Ties" had outstanding writing, directing, and production, as well as superb acting. One of my favorite episodes was from Season 2, "Say Uncle," which featured a young Tom Hanks, who would go on to Hollywood stardom as one of the greatest and most popular actors in the film industry. In this episode, which originally aired January 26, 1984, Elyse's alcoholic...

By Jason C. Klose Best known to television audiences as a model on the CBS daytime game show The Price Is Right from 1990-2000, Kathleen Bradley has an impressive resume in the entertainment industry that includes not only modeling, but acting on television and film and music. But this beautiful, groundbreaking woman didn't achieve her success without plenty of hard work, determination, and remembering where she came from. Born January 10, 1951 in Girard, Ohio, just two miles east of Youngstown, Bradley was the only girl to four brothers. For Bradley it was a wonderful upbringing - living in a rural area in a  nice, small community and not in a big city. "Family life was great, and everybody was going to each other's homes every now and then," Bradley recalls. "You didn’t have to lock the doors, and you could go home before the streetlights came on." Bradley was brought up in a community that at the time was still segregated. The neighborhood was made up of...

By Jason C. Klose Here's another great piece in a series from Rock History Book : Artists Who Were "More Than One-Hit-Wonders" - Part 3 (The '70s - Volume 2); featuring Firefall, The Brothers Johnson, Pablo Cruise, Gerry Rafferty, and Rupert Holmes. #firefall #firefallband #thebrothersjohnson #thebrothersjohnsonstomp #pablocruise #pablocruiseband #gerryrafferty #gerryraffertybakerstreet #rupertholmes #rupertholmesescape I wrote the content for this, and thanks to John Beaudin and his son Chase Beaudin for producing another great video! You can also find the link to this video on my website: jasoncklose.contently.com . Please like this video and subscribe to the channel Rock History Book . Thank you!

By Jason C. Klose Here's another great piece in a series from Rock History Book : Artists Who Were "More Than One-Hit-Wonders" - Part 3 (The '70s - Volume 1); featuring Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds, Gino Vannelli, 10cc, Gary Wright, and Ambrosia. #hamiltonjoefrankandreynolds #ginovannelli #10cc #10ccband #garywright #garywrightdreamweaver #ambrosiaband I wrote the content for this, and thanks to John Beaudin and his son Chase Beaudin for producing another great video!  You can also find the link to this video on my website: jasoncklose.contently.com . Please like this video and subscribe to the channel Rock History Book . Thank you!

By Jason C. Klose Here's another piece from Rock History Book:  The Top English Songwriting Teams of the 1970s; featuring Mick Jagger & Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, Elton John & Bernie Taupin, Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees, Jimmy Page & Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, and David Gilmour & Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.  I wrote the content for this and many thanks to John Beaudin and his son Chase Beaudin for producing the video. Great job as always!  You can also find the link to this video on my website: jasoncklose.contently.com . Please like this video and subscribe to the channel Rock History Book . Thank you!

By Jason C. Klose Here's the second video in a series from Rock History Book : Musicians Who Were "More Than One-Hit-Wonders" - Part 2 (The '60s); featuring Manfred Mann, The Zombies, Spanky & Our Gang, Classics IV, and Steppenwolf. #manfredmann #thezombies #spankyandourgang #classicsiv #steppenwolfband I wrote the content for this and thanks to John Beaudin and his son Chase Beaudin for the great video! You can also find the link to this video on my website: jasoncklose.contently.com . Please like this video and subscribe to the channel Rock History Book . Thank you!

By Jason C. Klose Here's another great piece in a new series from Rock History Book : Musicians Who Were "More Than One-Hit-Wonders" - Part 1 (The '80s); featuring Robbie Dupree, The Greg Kihn Band, Men at Work, Quarterflash, and The Motels. #robbiedupree #gregkihnband #menatworkband #quarterflash #quarterflashband #themotels #themotelsband I came up with this series and wrote the content. Many thanks to John Beaudin and his son Chase Beaudin for producing the videos. Terrific job! You can also find the link to this video on my website: jasoncklose.contently.com . Please like this video and subscribe to the channel Rock History Book . Thank you!

By Jason C. Klose Here is another great piece from Rock History Book: The Top Male Country Rock Crossover Artists of the '70s & '80s - Part One; featuring Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers, Charlie Daniels, Ronnie Milsap, and Eddie Rabbitt.  #glencampbell #kennyrogers #charliedaniels #charliedanielsband #ronniemilsap #eddierabbitt I wrote the content for this one, and many thanks again to John Beaudin and his son Chase Beaudin for producing another excellent video. Great job! You can also find the link to this video on my website: jasoncklose.contently.com . Please like this video and subscribe to the channel Rock History Book . Thank you!

By Jason C. Klose Here is another great piece from Rock History Book : The Top Duos in Rock History - Part Two; featuring Sam & Dave, The Carpenters, Steely Dan, England Dan & John Ford Coley, and Daryl Hall & John Oates. I wrote the content for this one, and many thanks again to John Beaudin and his son Chase Beaudin for producing another great video!  You can also find the link to this video on my website: jasoncklose.contently.com . Please like this video and subscribe to the channel Rock History Book . Thank you!

By Jason C. Klose H ere is another great piece from Rock History Book: The Top Duos in Rock History - Part One; featuring The Everly Brothers, Jan & Dean, The Righteous Brothers, Sonny & Cher, and Simon & Garfunkel.  #theeverlybrothers #jananddean #therighteousbrothers   #sonnyandcher I wrote the content for this one, and many thanks to John Beaudin and his son Chase Beaudin for producing this great video!  You can also find the link to this video on my website: jasoncklose.contently.com . Please like this video and subscribe to the channel Rock History Book. Thank you!

By Jason C. Klose Here's another video from Rock History Canada : The Top Canadian Artists in the U.S. from the 1980s - Part One; featuring Rush, Loverboy, Bryan Adams, Corey Hart, and Glass Tiger. I wrote the content and thanks again to Rock History Music 's John Beaudin for his great work on the video!

By Jason C. Klose Here's another great piece...this time from Rock History Canada : The Top Canadian Artists in The U.S. from the 1970s - Part One; featuring The Guess Who, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchell, and Anne Murray. A wide array of amazing talent from different genres of music on this list. I wrote the content for this one, and many thanks again to John Beaudin of Rock History Music for doing another excellent video!

By Jason C. Klose Here's another great video from Rock History Book : The Biggest Chicago Bands of All Time; featuring The Buckinghams, Chicago, Earth, Wind & Fire, Styx, and Survivor. The content for this video was written by me, Jason Klose, and many thanks to John Beaudin of Rock History Music for always doing an excellent job on these videos! Well done!

By Jason C. Klose Here's another great video from Rock History Book : The Top Australian Acts of the 1980s; featuring Olivia Newton-John, Little River Band, Air Supply, Rick Springfield, and Men at Work.  The content for this video was written by me, Jason Klose, and many thanks to John Beaudin of Rock History Music for putting these videos together. Great job!

By Jason C. Klose Here's another great piece from Rock History Book: The Top 5 Female Country-Pop Crossover Acts of the '70s & '80s; featuring Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Olivia Newton-John, Crystal Gayle, and Juice Newton.  The content for this video was written by me, Jason Klose, and many thanks to John Beaudin of Rock History Music for the awesome video! Well done!

Rusty Young, singer, guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the country rock group Poco, passed away on Wednesday, April 14 of a heart attack at the age of 75. Young was also a virtuoso on the pedal steel guitar and influential in the country rock sound of the late '60s and early '70s. Young was an outstanding musician who will be missed for sure. RIP Rusty. Those of you who are old enough to remember the late '70s will remember Poco's No. 17 hit from early 1979, "Crazy Love," from their 1978 album Legend . Written and sung by Young, "Crazy Love" was the first single by Poco to reach the Top 40. Young would sing lead on another Top 20 hit for Poco in the '80s. "Call It Love" was a No. 18 hit for them in 1989, from the album Legacy .

By Jason C. Klose Happy Birthday to legendary jazz and pop vocalist/guitarist George Benson, who turns 78 today!  In the Spring of 2009, I wrote a biographical profile on George Benson during my internship for The Pennsylvania Center for the Book at the Penn State University Libraries. For my internship, I did research, wrote, and edited biographical profiles on cultural figures with a connection to the state of Pennsylvania. A native of Pittsburgh, Benson has always been one of my favorite jazz artists. Benson  is known as one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all-time. After beginning his recording career at the age of 21, Benson played with a number of renowned jazz artists during the 1960s, including Jack McDuff and Miles Davis. His breakthrough success came in the 1970s with his 1976 release Breezin’ , which included the title track and “This Masquerade.” Other hit albums followed, including Give Me the Night in 1980, and a hit single, “Turn Your Love Around” in 1981. H...

By Jason C. Klose Five years ago, I had the honor of interviewing the legendary Barry Manilow for the Centre Daily Times (State College, PA)   for a preview of his concert at the Bryce Jordan Center on the campus of Penn State University.  Manilow was on his "One Last Time!" tour, which began on February 11, 2015 at the CenturyLink Center Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska, with stops at most major North American venues.  Other destinations included Chicago at the United Center, Los Angeles at the Staples Center, and Brooklyn at the Barclay's Center for the tour finale on June 17, where Manilow celebrated his 72nd birthday during his Barclays Center debut. Manilow visited Penn State on March 12, 2016, performing many of his signature songs including "Mandy," "I Write the Songs," "Looks Like We Made It," and "Copacabana (At the Copa)."  On February 14, 2020, Manilow released Night Songs II , which debuted at No. 32 on the Billboard 200, markin...