By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor "Yes, I'm going to be a pop star. Oh mama, mama see me, mama, mama see me I'm a pop star" - Cat Stevens 1970 Pop stardom, that fickle mistress of temptation for youngsters, and record companies, never subsides. It may mutate over time, take slightly different shapes and […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor As we wander and stumble through 2023, one can't help but think back to 'simpler' times now and again. Those of, or over, a certain age will remember times free of irony, a plague of the 21st century. Things could stand or fall as they were, no hidden […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor One of the most unlikely success stories in all of the rock and roll fables is that of Dire Straits. Formed in 1977 by brothers Mark and David Knopfler along with drummer Pick Withers and bassist John Illsley, Dire Straits slipped out of the British music scene during […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor People are always full of bright ideas, aren't they? Especially those in the business of distracting the general public from reality. From ‘Cop Rock’ to ‘New Coke,’ the roads are littered with questionable decisions. One large blunder took place on July 28, 1978 with the release of the […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor Though their roots stretch back into the late 1950s, Simon & Garfunkel were a product of the times. Those times were the music revolution that happened in the 1960s. Initially inspired by the Everly Brothers, the non-brotherly duo had that special vocal connection to produce sympathetic and wonderful […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor As the Woodstock Nation said goodnight to the world and the decade from which they sprang, the gates of 1970 had flung open wide, presenting a variety of avenues, many untraveled, for the kids to ponder. Within the first few years of the new decade the music world […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor The year was 1978, in many ways a golden year in a golden decade for rock and roll. Popular music was all over the map, caught in an identity crisis of sorts. Disco was huge business and radio dominating. Mega-albums were soup de jour, with everyone from Fleetwood Mac […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor In the early 1980s there were a large number of underground rock and roll bands that were embracing the sounds and styles of the 1960s, particularly the garage and psychedelic side of things. From UK bands like Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen to American rockers like […]
Read MoreBy Brad Savage - Summit FM Program Director Now fast becoming a signature program or feature of The Summit FM, "Cruisin' The Decades - 100 Years of Music" is a real, interesting musical journey each week. The concept is music from the 1920's to the 2020's, any one song per decade, all in one hour. […]
Read MoreBy Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor Can it really be 30 years since Sheryl Crow welcomed everyone into the Tuesday Night Music Club? Arithmetic being what it is, yes, indeed -- it has been 30 years! From childhood, Crow knew she wanted to be a singer and set about making her dream happen. From […]
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