is the living, fire-breathing embodiment of the American Dream: the immigrant who found fame and fortune, in his case as co-leader of rock superstars . But when he talks about the music he loves, he is very much the Anglophile. “For me, England is holy ground,” he says.
“ changed life on Earth! And then you had the Stones, , and so on.” He feels that the cultural exchange between the US and the UK was uneven. “You guys gave us , and we gave you the Grateful fucking Dead!” But there is some American music he holds dear.
Surprisingly, the God Of Thunder is also a soul boy at heart. It was black music. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, James Brown, Ray Charles - all the greats.
When I moved to America with my mother, I was eight and I couldn’t speak a word of English. So I didn’t understand the words in songs like : ‘ ’ – you know, she likes to fuck! I didn’t know that the term ‘rock’n’roll’ meant sex. I was just moved by this music, even though I didn’t know how to dance.
When I was thirteen I had a school buddy, Seth Dogramajian, who played guitar and we’d sing harmony like the Everly Brothers. We called ourselves the Missing Links. Our first performance was at Joseph Pulitzer Junior High School in Jackson Heights, Queens, and I think the first song was a Beatles song, .
It’s either Lennon or McCartney. Because for every , every , you had , which is haunting like no other song I’ve ever heard. Even a song that Lennon wasn’t fond of, , nobody has ever sounded like that before or after.
So many great songs. It’s incredible. And let’s not forget .
He was supposed to be less talented because he didn’t write and all those other hits. But then he came up with and . So it’s like: “Oh, that guy’s a genius too!” Roy Orbison had the best voice for rock’n’roll songs.
But if you listen to by Jackie Wilson, that voice is just undeniable. And if we’re talking about charisma - not just a singer but a performer - then it’s James Brown. I remember a TV show from the sixties that had the Stones and and James Brown.
The Stones were closing the show, and while James Brown was on stage there was a close-up of watching him and biting his nails. James Brown was just killing it like nobody I’ve ever seen. It was astonishing how he moved, the way he was contorting his body There’s and there’s Hendrix, and then there’s , who made my head turn like Linda Blair in .
Like: “What the fuck is that?” Certainly the people that changed guitar playing were Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen. But I think they all looked up to Beck as the guv’nor. And yet who came up with the most riffs? It’s .
Nobody else comes close. Sign up below to get the latest from Classic Rock, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! My first thought is , but I could also pick one of Stevie Wonder’s classic records, say . When you think about talent, Stevie Wonder can do it all: songwriting, arranging, singing, keyboards, guitar, bass, drums.
Oh, and I forgot to mention he’s blind! In hindsight, Kiss never really spent enough time in the studio. is okay, and I like , but Kiss was always more about the live experience. .
I take the blame for it, because it was my idea. I remember telling [producer] Bob Ezrin that I was writing a movie script, we were making a concept album based on that, and he said: “Let’s do our own !” I said: “Yeah. If The Who can do it, why can’t we?” Well, the straight answer is because we’re not The Who! There are some fans who love that record.
To me it was dishonest. But really, the most dishonest record we ever made was , when we were trying to follow a trend instead of just being ourselves. If you’re in a place where there’s lots of girls, it’s Sir Mix-A-Lot’s Jeff Beck doing .
Oh my goodness! It’s so rousing, especially the end. It’s grand – and what we’re about to do is grand! Generally speaking, the more emotional songs, the ones that get me teary-eyed, are by black singers. Luther Vandross had this song , with all the memories he had as a little kid.
And when you hear Ray Charles singing , you feel the longing. I’ve had the most amazing life, so I don’t want people to be sad. I want them to have a party.
Just pop that champagne and have a good time. So play by Jackie Wilson and everybody dance. Don’t mourn the death, celebrate the life! Freelance writer for since 2005, Paul Elliott has worked for leading music titles since 1985, including and .
He is the author of several books including the first biography of Guns N’ Roses and the autobiography of bodyguard-to-the-stars Danny Francis. He has written liner notes for classic album reissues by artists such as Def Leppard, Thin Lizzy and Kiss, and currently works as content editor for . He lives in Bath - of which David Coverdale recently said: “How very Roman of you!” Joy Division Day in Macclesfield will celebrate iconic band and late frontman Ian Curtis "Mr Cain is elated with the outcome": Jonathan Cain claims victory in ongoing legal dispute with Journey bandmate Neal Schon Michael Schenker launches version of UFO classic Only You Can Rock Me aided by Joey Tempest and Roger Glover.
