Dionne Warwick is a five-time Grammy award-winning pop music icon. She’s also my favorite female vocalist of all time. The reason why is because she has one of the most beautiful, versatile and emotionally-charged voices in the history of music. She also has an expansive and diverse catalog of music that is compelling, satisfying and extraordinary.
Last night Stephanie and I saw The Golden Boys – Bobby Rydell, Frankie Avalon and Fabian – at the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. I interviewed Bobby this past summer about his impressive career and new memoir, and he was nice enough to have us as his guests at this great concert. Here’s a recap of this fun evening, along with photos taken by Stephanie backstage after the show. Enjoy!
I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my favorite singers and one of the greatest voices in the history of music: Dennis DeYoung, lead vocalist of STYX hits “Come Sail Away,” “Babe,” “Mr. Roboto,” “The Best of Times,” “Don’t Let It End,” “Show Me The Way,” and “Lady.”
Our discussion lasted for more than an hour and we covered a myriad of topics, including Barry Manilow, Journey, what DeYoung misses most about being in STYX, the state of the music industry, politicians using music without the permission of the artists, and much more. DeYoung was funny, charming, smart, and easily one of the most enjoyable interviews I’ve ever conducted.
Make sure to visit DeYoung’s website for the latest tour dates. He has two performances in the Philadelphia/New Jersey/New York area coming up in October. I’m attending his show on October 8 at The Keswick Theatre in Glenside, Pa. For those of you closer to New York, DeYoung has an October 21 performance scheduled at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island, with special guest Steve Augeri, former lead vocalist of Journey.
I recently had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Bobby Rydell, pop icon and author of the new memoir, Teen Idol on the Rocks: A Tale of Second Chances. During the 1960s Rydell scored 34 Top 40 hits, making him one of the top artists of this era. From “Wild One” to “Volare” to the summertime classic “Wildwood Days,” Rydell’s music still lives on in the hearts and minds of millions of music lovers. My interview with him below touches on all of the highs and lows of his career, including his new book. I hope you enjoy it.
As you know by now, one of my passions is music. And I love meeting the artists whose music inspires me. One of those individuals is Alice Cooper, whom I was lucky enough to meet this past Friday when he was in Philadelphia with Motley Crue. Continue reading
I’m a huge Barry Manilow fan and one of my favorite albums of his is 15 Minutes; so, when I had the opportunity to interview the key songwriting partner on that record, I jumped at it. As you’ll see in the interview below, Enoch Anderson has worked with a variety of artists on myriad projects. Currently an English professor who completed a PhD program in his 40s, Anderson is an inspirational artist who is constantly reinventing himself. Interviewing him was a great honor, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Last week Barry Manilow ended his One Last Time! tour. I was fortunate to see and meet him twice on this tour. First in LA and, most recently, in Philadelphia. It was fitting that I saw and met Barry, supposedly for the last time, in the same arena where I saw him for the first time back in 2007. I say supposedly because Barry just announced today that he’s going to visit more cities on this tour. My fingers are crossed that he decides to go to Atlantic City or another nearby destination on the second leg of this tour. But I digress. Let me tell you all about his show in Philly.
On Tuesday night one of my dreams came true: I got to meet and have my photo taken with Barry Manilow. Having been a fan of his music for more than 10 years, being able to meet the man himself backstage before the concert was a fabulous experience I’ll never forget.
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This year I enjoyed some amazing new music from artists including Barry Manilow, Billy Idol, Neil Diamond, and Dionne Warwick, among others. But 2015 is shaping up to be even better based on what I’m listening to right now, which is Only to Rise by Sweet & Lynch.
Last Friday I saw Barry Manilow perform live at QVC. Check out my video and photos below recounting the event, as well as the QVC video of the entire TV special. Enjoy!