Every weekday between 1 and 5pm we play tracks from our #spotlightartist. They’re an artist with a body of work which has stood the test of time. We’ll play the hits – but also some deep cuts. Listen ad-free through New Zealand via @tunein at https://goo.gl/VL6m3N
Our spotlight artist this week, sadly departed last year, had a stellar career stretching back to the 1970s. From early bands Epic and Mudcrutch, by the end of 1976 he had released his first album with the Heartbreakers. It did respectably in the charts, with single “Breakdown” hitting the top 40 – it also yielded signature song “American Girl”. For me it was their third album Damn The Torpedoes which marked their creative blossoming. Every track a great listen, it sold over 3 million copies in the US and hit number 2 on the Billboard charts.
Tom Petty was a household name through the MTV era, and his 1991 album Into The Great Wide Open and subsequent Greatest Hits collection really cemented his reputation with a new generation. By this time he had joined Rock royalty with his participation in the Travelling Wilburys project with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynn.
Leaving his original label, he branched out to release his second solo album Wildflowers, an exquisite album that we’ll feature several tracks from. He continued releasing solo and “Heartbreakers” albums through to 2014’s Hypnotic Eye and continued to tour all the while.
He leaves an enormous body of fantastic work, and this week we’ll sample only some of the absolute classics he released, along with a selection of lesser known cuts. What a legend.
Mr Geoffrey Arnold Beck was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. He played with a few bands before being recruited by The Yardbirds, replacing Eric Clapton, on the recommendation of Jimmy Page who joined the band the following year. This was an incredible stamping ground and Beck’s almost two year stint produced some incredible music. Listening to their 1965 album Having A Rave Up is incredible with the blend of solid blues numbers, and the incredible “Heart Full of Soul” which contains Indian influences (the Indian sitar player had trouble producing the sound needed so Beck produced a sitar-like effect on his guitar).
One of the most successful artists of the 1980s, Lionel Richie followed success in The Commodores with a massive 13 Top 10 hits in his 1981 – 1987 heyday. His first single from his first solo album (Truly) hit number 1 – we’ll kick the Spotlight Artist week off with this track on Monday. The hits kept on coming. We’ll play most of them, but as usual we’ll also play some less well known tracks.
The Wailers started out in 1963, with changes of lineup through to 1974 and their third album Natty Dread. Peter Tosh had left by this time, and for the first time they were credited as Bob Marley & The Wailers. Their breakthrough didn’t come until the following year when they performed at the Lyceum in London. Eric Clapton had helped popularise reggae the with his cover of “I Shot The Sheriff”. The band kept going from strength to strength until Bob’s sad death in 1981.
On this premier week, our first Spotlight Artist is The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. There wouldn’t be more artists of the past century who have been as prolific, and as successful. It is extraordinary to think thata seminal album like I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You from way back in 1967 was actually her eleventh. The daughter of an itinerant preacher father, she got her first major label recording contract in 1960, but it wasn’t until 1967 when she joined Atlantic Records that she achieved major success. It has’t really stopped since. She has sung for Presidents, and the 76 year old is true showbiz gold. We look forward to exploring some of her fantastic body of music this week.