From: Styx - "The Grand Illusion" - 1977
Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater. The band is best known for the hit songs 'Lady', 'Come Sail Away', 'Babe', 'The Best of Times', 'Too Much Time on My Hands', and 'Mr. Roboto'. Other hits by the band include 'Show Me the Way', 'Don't Let It End' and 'Renegade'. The band has four consecutive albums certified multi-platinum by the RIAA.

From: Ted Nugent - Self Titled Debut - 1975
> Theodore Anthony "Ted" Nugent is an American rock musician from Detroit, Michigan. Nugent initially gained fame as the lead guitarist of The Amboy Dukes before embarking on a solo career. His hits, mostly coming in the 1970s, such as "Stranglehold", "Cat Scratch Fever", "Wango Tango", and "Great White Buffalo", as well as his '60s Amboy Dukes hit "Journey to the Center of the Mind", remain popular today. Nugent has released more than 34 albums and has sold a career total of 30 million records. He was known throughout his early career in the 1970s for using Fender amps, a large part of his signature sound, and for playing the hollow-body Gibson Byrdland guitar.
> Performing since 1958, Nugent has been touring annually since 1967, averaging more than 300 shows per year (1967–73), 200 per year (1974–80), 150 (1981–89), 127 concerts in 1990, 162 concerts in 1991, 150 concerts in 1993, 180 in 1994, 166 in 1995, 81 in 1996, Summer Blitz '97, '98, Rock Never Stops '99, 133 concerts with KISS 2K. Nugent's 2005 plans involved a tour with country music singer-songwriter Toby Keith, whom Nugent met in Iraq while they were both performing in USO -sponsored shows for the coalition troops. Nugent also toured with local Detroit musician Alex Winston during the summers of 2007 and 2008.
> On July 4, 2008, at the DTE Energy Music Theater in Clarkston, Michigan, Ted Nugent played his 6,000th concert. Derek St. Holmes (original singer for the Ted Nugent band), Johnny Bee Badanjek (drummer for Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels), and Nugent's guitar teacher from 1958 Joe Podorsek all jammed on stage with
Nugent during various songs.

From: The Steve Miller Band - "Fly Like An Eagle" - 1976
> Steven H. "Steve" Miller is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who began his career in blues and blues rock and evolved to a more pop-oriented sound which, from the mid 1970s through the early 1980s, resulted in a series of successful singles and albums.
> In 1967, he formed the Steve Miller Band (at first called The Steve Miller Blues Band), with Miller also handling vocals. Billed as The Miller Band, they backed Chuck Berry on his Live at Fillmore Auditorium album released that year. In 1968, they released an album, Children of the Future, the first in a series of discs rooted solidly in the psychedelic blues style that then dominated the San Francisco scene. Boz Scaggs joined Miller for this album and the next one, before starting his solo career.
> In 1973, The Joker marked the start of the second phase of Miller's career: this work was less hard-rock oriented and simpler in composition. The album received significant radio airplay, which helped the title track reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single also hit No 1 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1990 after it was used for a television commercial.
> Miller followed up with Fly Like an Eagle in 1976, and Book of Dreams in 1977. (The songs for both had been recorded at the same time, and released over two single albums rather than one double-album.) This pair of albums represented the peak of Miller's commercial career, both reaching the top echelons of the album charts and spawning a lengthy series of hit singles, including "Fly Like An Eagle", "Rock'n Me", "Take the Money and Run", "Jet Airliner" and "Jungle Love". The Steve Miller Band co-headlined a major stadium tour with The Eagles in 1978.
> [Interviewer:] When you look back over the span of your career, what are the lasting moments, the sweetest highs?
> [Miller:] I would have to say my father's relationship with Les Paul and T-Bone Walker when I was young. Growing up in Dallas, being part of that phenomenal music scene. I found a way to do what I really wanted to do, which is so important for a kid. Near the end of college, my parents said, 'Steve, what are you going to do?' I said, 'I want to go to Chicago and play the blues.' My father looked at me like I was insane. But my mom said, 'You should do it now.' So I went to Chicago. And that was a special time. I played with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. I got to work with adults and realized music was what I wanted to do, what I loved.
> In 2009, Miller was inducted into the Woodrow Wilson High School Hall of Fame.
> At a guitar auction in 2011, Miller stated that he owns 450 guitars.

From: Pink Floyd - "Dark Side of the Moon" - 1973
> Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved international success with their progressive and psychedelic music. Distinguished by their use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, and elaborate live shows, they are one of the most commercially successful and musically influential groups in the history of popular music.
> Founded in 1965, the group originally consisted of university students Roger Waters, Nick Mason, Richard Wright and Syd Barrett. They first gained popularity performing in London's underground music scene during the late 1960s, and under Barrett's creative leadership they released two charting singles and a successful début album. David Gilmour joined as a fifth member in December 1967, and Barrett left the band in April 1968 due to his deteriorating mental health. After Barrett's departure, Waters became their primary songwriter and lyricist. With Waters, Mason, Wright and Gilmour, Pink Floyd achieved critical and commercial success with the concept albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977) and The Wall (1979).
> The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure in 1968 of founder member, principal composer and lyricist, Syd Barrett. The Dark Side of the Moon's themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett's deteriorating mental state.
> The suite was developed during live performances and was premiered several months before studio recording began. The new material was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road Studios in London. The group used some of the most advanced recording techniques of the time, including multitrack recording and tape loops. Analogue synthesisers were given prominence in several tracks, and a series of recorded interviews with the band's road crew and others provided the philosophical quotations used throughout. Engineer Alan Parsons was directly responsible for some of the most notable sonic aspects of the album, and the recruitment of non-lexical performer Clare Torry. The album's iconic sleeve features a prism that represents the band's stage lighting, the record's lyrical themes, and keyboardist Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design.
> The Dark Side of the Moon was an immediate success, topping the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart for one week. It subsequently remained in the charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988. With an estimated 50 million copies sold, it is Pink Floyd's most commercially successful album and one of the best-selling albums worldwide. It has twice been remastered and re-released, and has been covered in its entirety by several other acts. It spawned two singles, "Money" and "Time". In addition to its commercial success, The Dark Side of the Moon is one of Pink Floyd's most popular albums among fans and critics, and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest rock albums of all time..

From: Aerosmith - "Toys in the Attic" - 1975
> Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band." Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists. The band was formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, originally in a band together called the Jam Band, met up with singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano, and formed Aerosmith. In 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, and the band began developing a following in Boston.
> They were signed to Columbia Records in 1972, and released a string of multi-platinum albums, beginning with their 1973 eponymous debut album, followed by their 1974 album Get Your Wings. In 1975, the band broke into the mainstream with the album Toys in the Attic, and their 1976 follow-up Rocks cemented their status as hard rock superstars. Two additional albums followed in 1977 and 1979. Throughout the 1970s, the band toured extensively and charted a string of Hot 100 singles. By the end of the decade, they were among the most popular hard rock bands in the world and developed a loyal following of fans, often referred to as the "Blue Army".
> Aerosmith is the best-selling American rock band of all time, having sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, including 66.5 million albums in the United States alone. They also hold the record for the most gold and multi-platinum albums by an American group. The band has scored 21 Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, nine number-one Mainstream Rock hits, four Grammy Awards, and ten MTV Video Music Awards. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and were included among both Rolling Stone's and VH1's lists of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

From: Kansas - "Leftoverture" - 1976
Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on album-oriented rock charts, and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind". They currently tour in North America and Europe.
> Dave Hope (bass), Phil Ehart (drums, percussion), and Kerry Livgren (guitars, keyboards, synthesizers) formed a progressive rock group in 1970 in their hometown of Topeka, Kansas, along with vocalists Lynn Meredith and Joel Warne, and keyboardist Don Montre, keyboardist Dan Wright, and saxophonist Larry Baker.
> Ehart was replaced by Zeke Lowe and later Brad Schulz, Hope was replaced by Rod Mikinski on bass, and Baker was replaced by John Bolton on saxophone and flute. (This lineup is sometimes referred to as Kansas II, and 30 years later would re-form under the name Proto-Kaw.) In 1972, after Ehart returned from England (where he had gone to look for other musicians), he and Hope once again reformed White Clover with Robby Steinhardt (vocals, violin, viola, cello), Steve Walsh (vocals, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion) and Rich Williams (guitars). In 1973 they recruited Livgren from the second Kansas group, which then folded. Eventually they received a recording contract with Don Kirshner's eponymous label and decided to adopt the Kansas name.
> Kansas released its fourth album, Leftoverture, in November 1976, which produced a hit single, "Carry On Wayward Son", in 1977. The follow-up, Point of Know Return, released in October 1977, featured the title track and "Dust in the Wind," both hit singles.
> Leftoverture was a major breakthrough for the band, hitting number 5 on Billboard's pop album chart. Point of Know Return peaked even higher, at number 4. Leftoverture and Point each sold over four million copies in the U.S. Both "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind" were certified gold singles, selling over one million units each. "Dust in the Wind" was certified gold as a digital download by the RIAA in 2005, almost 30 years after selling one million copies as a single. Leftoverture was eventually certified five times platinum by the RIAA in 2001.

From: ZZ Top - "Tres Hombres" - 1973
> ZZ Top is an American rock band from Houston, Texas. Formed in 1969, the group consists of Billy Gibbons (guitar and vocals), Dusty Hill (bass and vocals), and Frank Beard (percussion). ZZ Top's early sound was rooted in blues but eventually grew to exhibit contemporary influences. Throughout their career they have maintained a sound based on Hill's and Beard's rhythm section support, accentuated by Gibbons' guitar and vocal style. Their lyrics often gave evidence of band's humor and thematically focus on personal experiences and sexual innuendos.
> ZZ Top formed its initial lineup in 1969, consisting of Gibbons, Anthony Barajas (bass and keyboards) and Peter Perez (drums and percussion). After several incarnations, Hill and Beard joined within the following year. Molded into a professional act by manager Bill Ham, they were subsequently signed to London Records and released their debut album. They were successful as live performers, becoming known to fans as "that little ol' band from Texas", and their 1973 album Tres Hombres, according to AllMusic, propelled the band to national attention and "made them stars". Formed in Houston on June 20, 1969. Billy Gibbons, who previously formed the Moving Sidewalks in 1966, had suggested "ZZ King" as a potential name for the band after looking at posters of blues legends Z. Z. Hill and B.B. King on his apartment wall. According to Gibbons' autobiography 'Rock + Roll Gearhead', he settled on "ZZ Top" because B.B. King was "on the top".
> Maintaining the same members for over forty years, ZZ Top has released 15 studio albums and are among the most popular rock groups, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, half of this in the United States alone. They have won three VMAs, and in 2004, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. VH1 ranked ZZ Top at number 44 in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". They have performed at many charity events and raised $1 million for the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
> Despite ZZ Top's popularity and success in the 1970s, it wasn't until the 1980s that they started winning major awards and honors. ZZ Top's music videos won awards throughout the 1980s, winning once each in the categories Best Group Video, Best Direction, and Best Art Direction. The videos that won the VMAs are "Legs," "Sharp Dressed Man," and "Rough Boy." Some of the high honors ZZ Top have achieved include induction into Hollywood's RockWalk in 1994, the Texas House of Representatives naming them "Official Heroes for the State of Texas", a declaration of "ZZ Top Day" in Texas by then-governor Ann Richards on May 4, 1991, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. They were also given commemorative rings by actor Billy Bob Thornton from the VH1 Rock Honors in 2007.
> ZZ Top also holds several chart and album sales feats, including six number one singles on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. From the RIAA, ZZ Top has achieved 4 gold, 3 platinum, and 2 multi-platinum album certifications, in addition to one diamond album. In addition to this, many of their songs have become classic rock and hard rock radio staples.

From: Yes - "Fragile" - 1971
Fragile is the fourth studio album from the English progressive rock band Yes, released on Atlantic Records. It is the first to feature keyboardist Rick Wakeman, who replaced Tony Kaye in 1971, and the first to feature cover art by Roger Dean, who would design many of the band's records. Upon its release in the UK in November 1971, Fragile hit number 7 on the UK Album Chart, which would prove its highest position there. It later reached number 4 on the US Billboard 200 during a stay of 46 weeks. Its release in the United States was held back for two months because of the chart momentum of their previous record, The Yes Album.
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs often with complex instrumental and vocal arrangements, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets. Seventeen musicians have been a part of the band's line-up, which currently comprises singer Jon Davison, bassist Chris Squire, guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, and keyboardist Geoff Downes. Yes have sold 13.5 million certified units in the United States.

From: Bachman Turner Overdrive - "Bachman Turner Overdrive II" - 1973
(2nd Album after debut: Bachman Turner Overdrive I")
> Bachman–Turner Overdrive is a Canadian rock group from Winnipeg, Manitoba, that had a series of hit albums and singles in the 1970s, selling over 7 million albums in that decade alone. Their 1970s catalog included five Top 40 albums and six Top 40 singles. The band has sold nearly 30 million albums worldwide, and has fans affectionately known as "gearheads" (derived from the band's gear-shaped logo). Many of their songs, including "Let It Ride", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", "Takin' Care of Business", "Hey You" and "Roll On Down the Highway", still receive play on FM classic rock stations.
After the band went into a hiatus in 2005, Randy Bachman and Fred Turner reunited in 2010 for a tour and collaboration on a new album. In 2010, they played the halftime show at the Grey Cup in Edmonton, AB.

From: Gary Wright - "Dream Weaver" - 1975
Gary (Malcolm) Wright is an American musician, best known for his songs "Dream Weaver" and "Love Is Alive".
Wright was born and raised in Cresskill, New Jersey. He attended Tenafly High School in Tenafly, New Jersey.
A former child actor, Wright appeared in the 1954 original Broadway production of the long-running musical, Fanny (888 performances), having originated the role of Acolyte and then subsequently replacing Lloyd Reese in the role of Cesario, the son of Fanny. The title role of Fanny was originated by Florence Henderson who later gained worldwide fame as matriarch Carol Brady in the long-running TV series, The Brady Bunch.
In 1959, Wright made his first commercial recording with Billy Markle as the duo Gary & Billy for the 20th Century Fox Records record label. The songs released were "Working After School" and "Lisa". In the 1960s, Wright went to Europe to continue studying psychology. In 1967, he joined the band Spooky Tooth as singer and keyboardist. In 1970 Wright was involved as a record producer with the Liverpool based folk music band Arrival, and he was also a member of the folk rock band Howl the Good who had played alongside Arrival at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970. During this period, he also befriended George Harrison and was invited to contribute piano to Harrison's All Things Must Pass. After Spooky Tooth split in 1974, Wright continued his solo career, culminating in his album The Dream Weaver and its title track "Dream Weaver". The single peaked at #2 for three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976, sold over one million copies. The song was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in March 1976. It has been featured in the Wayne's World feature film and soundtrack album as well as in the feature films The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and Toy Story 3 (2010).

From: "Buckingham Nicks" - "Nicks & Buckingham" - 1973. Since there has never been a Cd released...this song was
recorded from a vinyl album...if you listen close you will hear the little cracks & pops throughout.
> I discovered this album when my clock radio went off one morning - waking me for High School - and KMOD
was playing this song. Needless to say - I was mezmerized & couldn't move until it finished playing. And just as
Mick Fleetwood responded to hearing them for the first time, I too HAD to find and purchase this Album !! At the time, like most people that were instant fans of the New Fleetwood Mac sound - due to the duo joining the understaffed band - I didn't know Lindsey & Stevie had recorded an album years prior to joining. And after hearing this one song it's incredibly obvious how & why they suddenly developed that hit making - as well as History making - 'new' sound. - c.f.
> "Buckingham Nicks" was released by the Duo in vinyl form back in 1973 and was considered a flop. It's gone on to
garner cult status and is considered quite rare these days. The enclosed recording is from a vinyl album. In a Sept., 2006 
interview; Lindsey expressed an interest in finally releasing Buckingham Nicks on Cd and possibly touring with Stevie to promote the new re-release.
> Legend has it - Mick Fleetwood (His surname, combined with that of John McVie, was the inspiration for the name of
the original 1967 Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac - which then led to Bob Welch) was in a Van Nuys, California recording
studio 'Sound City' 1974 (Scouting for replacements for Fleetwood Mac as Bob Welch had retired) where they
were showing Mick the equipment by playing "Frozen Love" which had been mixed there for an American band; 'Buckingham Nicks'.  Upon hearing the duo for the first time Mick had to know
WHO THEY WERE !!
Lindsey Buckingham was coincidentally at Sound City that day recording some demos. Lindsey was quickly introduced to the drummer from the British Band,...Mick soon asked him to join Fleetwood Mac,...Lindsey agreed, on the condition that his musical partner and girlfriend, Stephanie "Stevie" Nicks, also become part of the band; Mick agreed to this, and the rest,...   is Fleetwood Mac history.

From: Paul McCartney & Wings - "Band on the Run" - 1973
> Band on the Run is an album by Paul McCartney & Wings, released in 1973. It was Wings' third album. It became Wings' most successful album and remains the most celebrated of McCartney's post-Beatles albums. It was 1974's top-selling studio album in the United Kingdom and Australia, and revitalised McCartney's critical standing.
In 2000 Q magazine placed it at number 75 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2012, Band on the Run was voted 418th on Rolling Stone magazine's revised list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. A contemporary review by Jon Landau in Rolling Stone described the album as "with the possible exception of John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band, the finest record yet released by any of the four musicians who were once called The Beatles."
It was the last McCartney album issued on the Apple Records label.
> Bored with recording in the United Kingdom, they wanted to go to an exotic locale. After asking EMI to send him a listing of all their international recording studios, Paul happened upon Lagos in Nigeria and was instantly taken with the idea of recording in Africa. Alongside the McCartneys, guitarist and pianist Denny Laine, lead guitarist Henry McCullough and drummer Denny Seiwell also were set to go. However, a few weeks before departing in August, McCullough quit Wings in Scotland; Seiwell followed suit the night before the 8 August 1973 departure for Nigeria. This left just the core of the band - Paul, Linda and Denny Laine - to venture to Lagos, along with former Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick. Upon arriving in Lagos, the band discovered a country in stark contrast from their visions of paradise. The country was run by a military government, with corruption and disease running rampant. The studio, located on Wharf Road in the suburb of Apapa, was ramshackle and underequipped. The control desk was faulty and there was only one tape machine, a Studer 8-track. While out walking one night against advice, Paul and Linda were robbed at knifepoint. The assailants made away with all of their valuables and even stole a bag containing a notebook full of handwritten lyrics and songs, and cassettes containing demos for songs to be recorded. Local Afrobeat star and political activist Fela Kuti who publicly accused the band of being in Africa to exploit and steal African music after their visit to his club. Kuti even went to the studio to confront McCartney who played their songs for him proving that they contained no local influence whatsoever. Later on drummer and former Cream member Ginger Baker invited the band to record their entire album at his place, ARC Studio in Ikeja. Though not wanting the invitation, Paul agreed to go there for one day. The song "Picasso's Last Words" was recorded at ARC with Baker contributing a percussive tin of gravel. To make up for the departed band members, Paul would play drums and lead guitar parts with Denny playing rhythm guitar and Linda adding keyboards.
> In early 1975, Paul McCartney & Wings won the Grammy award for "Best Pop Vocal Performance By a Duo, Group or Chorus" for Band on the Run. In 1993, Band on the Run was remastered and reissued on CD as part of "The Paul McCartney Collection" series with "Helen Wheels" and its b-side "Country Dreamer" as bonus tracks.
The cover photo was taken on 28 October 1973 by photographer Clive Arrowsmith against the gable end wall of the stable block in Osterley Park, Hounslow. It depicts the now iconic view of Paul, Linda and Denny plus six other well-known people dressed as convicts caught in the spotlight of a prison searchlight. They are:
- Michael Parkinson (chat-show host and journalist)
- Kenny Lynch (actor, comedian and singer)
- James Coburn (actor)
- Clement Freud (columnist, gourmet, raconteur, Member of Parliament, (Just a Minute panellist and grandson of Sigmund)
- Christopher Lee (actor)
- John Conteh (Liverpool boxer who later became World Light-Heavyweight champion)
References to the cover were to be made later by McCartney himself (in the video for "Spies Like Us", along with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd) as well as others.

From: Boston - Self Titled Debut - 1976
Boston is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s. Centered on guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Tom Scholz, the band is a staple of classic rock radio playlists. Boston's best-known works include the songs "More Than a Feeling", "Peace of Mind", "Foreplay/Long Time", "Rock and Roll Band", "Smokin'", "Don't Look Back" and "Amanda." They have sold over 31 million albums in the United States, of which 17 million are their self-titled debut album and 7 million are their second album, Don't Look Back.
This album, Boston, holds the all-time ranking as the best-selling debut album in U.S. history with over 17 million copies sold. Boston was the first band in history to make their New York City debut at Madison Square Garden. The album spawned three singles, "More Than a Feeling", "Long Time" and "Peace of Mind", all of which made the national charts. Additionally, the album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the charts for 132 weeks.
> Tom Scholz first started writing music in 1969 while he was attending MIT, where he wrote an instrumental, titled "Foreplay". While attending MIT, Scholz joined the band "Freehold," where he met guitarist Barry Goudreau and drummer Jim Masdea, who would later become members of Boston. Vocalist Brad Delp was added to the collective in 1970. After graduating with a master's degree, Scholz worked for Polaroid, where he used his salary to build a recording studio in his basement, and to finance demo tapes recorded in professional recording studios. These early demo tapes were recorded with (at various times) Brad Delp on vocals, Barry Goudreau on guitar, Jim Masdea on drums, and Scholz on guitar, bass and keyboards . The demo tapes were sent to record companies, but received consistent rejections. In 1973 Scholz formed the band "Mother's Milk" with Delp, Goudreau, and Masdea. That group disbanded by 1974, but Scholz subsequently worked with Masdea and Delp to produce six new demos, including "More Than a Feeling," "Peace of Mind," "Rock and Roll Band," "Something About You" (then entitled "It Isn't Easy"), "Hitch a Ride" and "Don't Be Afraid". Scholz played all the instruments on the demos, except for the drums, which were played by Masdea, and used self-designed pedals to create the desired guitar sound.
This time the final demo tape attracted the attention of promoters Paul Ahern and Charlie McKenzie...around the same time Masdea had decided he was unhappy and had to leave the band. Interest from those two promoters eventually led to Scholz and Delp signing a deal with Epic Records but only with the exception being - Masdea had to be replaced. Irony is indeed a strange creature. Before the deal could be finalized though, and even more irony, the band had to give a live audition for the record company executives. The duo quickly recruited Goudreau on guitar, bassist Fran Sheehan and drummer Sib Hashian to create a performing unit which could replicate Scholz's richly layered recordings on stage. The showcase was a success and the band agreed to put out 10 albums over the next six years.

From: Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV (aka: Zoso) - 1971 / One of my favorite all time Led Zeppelin songs...probably because it was a true blues song and also because it contained a lot less of Robert Plants high pitched wailing...which I never have cared too much for. - c.f.
  "When the Levee Breaks" is a blues song written and first recorded by husband and wife Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929. The song is in reaction to the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.
  It was re-worked by English rock group Led Zeppelin as the last song on their fourth album, released in 1971. The lyrics in Led Zeppelin's version, credited to Memphis Minnie and the individual members of Led Zeppelin, were partially based on the original recording. Many other artists have also recorded versions of the song or played it live.
  Led Zeppelin recorded its version of the song in December 1970 at Headley Grange, where the band used the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. The song had earlier been tried unsuccessfully by the band at Island Studios at the beginning of the recording sessions for their fourth album.
 - According to Led Zeppelin guitarist and producer Jimmy Page, the song's structure "was a riff that I'd been working on, but Bonzo's drum sound really makes a difference on that point." The famous drum performance was recorded by engineer Andy Johns by placing Bonham and a new Ludwig drumkit at the bottom of a stairwell at Headley Grange, and recording it using two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones at the top, giving the distinctive resonant but slightly muffled sound. Page later explained:
"We were playing in one room in a house with a recording truck, and a drum kit was duly set up in the main hallway, which is a three storey hall with a staircase going up on the inside of it. And when John Bonham went out to play the kit in the hall, I went "Oh, wait a minute, we gotta do this!" Curiously enough, that's just a stereo mike that's up the stairs on the second floor of this building, and that was his natural balance.
  Back in the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, Johns compressed the drum sound through two channels and added echo through guitarist Page's Binson echo unit. The performance was made on a brand new drum kit that had only just been delivered from the factory.
  Page recorded Plant's harmonica part using the backward echo technique, putting the echo ahead of the sound when mixing, creating a distinct effect.
"When the Levee Breaks" was recorded at a different tempo, then slowed down, explaining the "sludgy" sound, particularly on the harmonica and guitar solos. Because this song was heavily produced in the studio, it was difficult to recreate live; the band only played it a few times in the early stages of their 1975 U.S. Tour, before dropping it for good. However, the song was revived for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1995.
 "When the Levee Breaks" was the only song on the album that was not re-mixed after a supposedly disastrous mixing job in the U.S. (the rest of the tracks were mixed again in England). The mixing done on this song was kept in its original form.

From: REO Speedwagon - "Live: You Get What You Play For" - 1977
(One of my all-time favorite Live albums... - c.f.)
 REO Speedwagon (originally spelled R.E.O. Speedwagon) is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. Hi Infidelity (1980) contained four US Top 40 hits and is the group's best-selling album, with over ten million copies sold. Over the course of its career, the band has sold more than 40 million records and has charted thirteen Top 40 hits, including the number ones "Keep On Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling".
- Even though the early years were spent with their equipment being hauled to gigs in a friend's station wagon REO still managed to played bars and clubs all over the Midwest. The band's debut album, REO Speedwagon, was released on Epic Records in 1971. The most popular track on this record was "157 Riverside Avenue". The title refers to the Westport, Connecticut address, where the band stayed while recording in Leka's studio in nearby Bridgeport and remains an in-concert favorite.
They named the band REO Speedwagon, after a flatbed truck Called "The REO Speed Wagon", the initials are those of its founder Ransom E. Olds. Rather than pronouncing REO as a single word, as the motor company did, they chose to spell out the name with the individual letters each pronounced.

From: The Allman Brothers Band - "Idlewild South" - 1970
 The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, organ, songwriting), plus Dickey Betts (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting), Berry Oakley (bass guitar), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson (drums). While the band has been called the principal architects of Southern rock, they also incorporate elements of blues, jazz, and country music, and their live shows have jam band-style improvisation and instrumental songs.
> The band achieved its artistic and commercial breakthrough in 1971 with the release of "At Fillmore East", featuring extended renderings of their songs "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Whipping Post" and often considered one of the best live albums ever made. George Kimball of Rolling Stone magazine hailed them as "the best damn rock and roll band this country has produced in the past five years."A few months later, group leader Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident when it appears that he tried to swerve around a flat-bed truck that had pulled out onto the lower portion of a hill street as Duane had just topped it's rise and was heading down-hill toward the truck, hit a dip in the road and was thrown completely into the air - off the motorcycle - and onto the pavement where he continued to skid - with the motorcycle landing on him - into a curb. The group survived that and the death of bassist Oakley in another motorcycle accident a year later; with replacement members Chuck Leavell and Lamar Williams, the Allman Brothers Band achieved its peak commercial success in 1973 with the album "Brothers and Sisters" and the hit single "Ramblin' Man".
> Berry Oakley died from head injuries he received during a  motorcycle accident near Napier Avenue and Inverness Street, only three blocks from the site of Duane's accident the previous year. The common retelling that it was at exactly the same site as Duane's death is incorrect, as is the legend that the Eat a Peach album is named for what was being carried by the truck involved in Allman's accident. Both Duane and Berry were 24 years old.

From: Joe Walsh - "The Smoker You Drink The Player You Get" - 1973
Joseph Fidler "Joe" Walsh is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has been a member of three commercially successful bands: the James Gang, Barnstorm, and the Eagles. He has also experienced success as a solo artist and prolific session musician, especially with B.B. King and Dan Fogelberg. He holds the 54 spot in Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." Best known as a guitarist, Joe also plays keyboards, bass guitar, harmonica, bagpipes, oboe, and clarinet.
> In January 1968 he replaced Glen Schwartz as lead guitarist for the James Gang, an American power trio. Walsh proved to be the band's star attraction, noted for his innovative rhythm playing and creative guitar riffs. In particular he was known for hot-wiring the pickups on his electric guitars to create his trademark "attack" sound.
In 1971 Walsh left the Gang and formed the group Barnstorm.
Although their albums credited Walsh as a solo artist. Walsh and Barnstorm released their debut, the eponymous Barnstorm in 1972. The album was a critical success, but had only moderate sales. The follow-up The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get (1973) was titled under his own name (although officially a Barnstorm album) and was Walsh's commercial breakthrough. The first single "Rocky Mountain Way" received heavy airplay and reached #23 on the US Top 40 chart. In 1974 Barnstorm disbanded and Walsh continued as a solo artist.
> On December 20, 1975 he joined the Eagles as Bernie Leadon's replacement. His addition steered the band toward a harder-edged sound and away from their early country-style work, and he was featured prominently on their multi-million-selling album Hotel California, co-writing the Top 20 hit "Life in the Fast Lane" (with Don Henley and Glenn Frey) and "Pretty Maids All in a Row" (co-written with former Barnstorm drummer Joe Vitale).
> Joe married Marjorie Bach (sister of Barbara Bach) in Los Angeles on December 13, 2008, making him a brother-in-law of Ringo Starr.
Walsh has produced albums for artists such as Dan Fogelberg and Ringo Starr. He was a background musician (1st guitar solo) on Eagles bandmate Don Henley's 1982 hit "Dirty Laundry" (listed as such in the liner notes of I Can't Stand Still and Actual Miles: Henley's Greatest Hits). Walsh has also contributed to albums by: America, REO Speedwagon, Andy Gibb, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Steve Winwood, and on the Richard Marx hit "Don't Mean Nothing".
> Onscreen Walsh has appeared in: The Blues Brothers, RoboCop, Promised Land, The Drew Carey Show, Duckman, MADtv, Rock the Cradle and Zachariah. Jimmy Page's sunburst 1959 Gibson Les Paul, better known as his "Number 1" was originally owned by Joe Walsh and was sold to Page in 1969.

From: Steely Dan - "Do It Again" - 1972
"Do It Again" is a song by American jazz-rock group Steely Dan, which was released as a single from their debut 1972 album Can't Buy a Thrill. The single version differed from the album version, shortening the intro, outro and two instrumental sections of the song.
The original version of "Do It Again" is in the key of G minor, with Donald Fagen on lead vocals. The song uses a large amount of syncopation in the vocal melody, not particularly common in rock music of the time. The tune also features an electric sitar solo by Denny Dias.
> Steely Dan is an American rock band consisting of core members Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop. Rolling Stone has called them "the perfect musical antiheroes for the Seventies."
> The band's music is characterized by complex jazz-influenced structures and harmonies played by Becker and Fagen along with a revolving cast of rock and pop studio musicians. Steely Dan's "cerebral, wry and eccentric" lyrics, often filled with sharp sarcasm, touch upon such themes as drugs, love affairs, and crime. The pair is well known for their near-obsessive perfectionism in the recording studio, the most extreme example being that Becker and Fagen used at least 42 different studio musicians, 11 engineers, and took over a year to record the tracks that resulted in 1980's Gaucho — an album that contains only seven songs.
> Steely Dan toured from 1972 to 1974, but in 1975 became a purely studio-based act. The late 1970s saw the group release a series of moderately successful singles and albums. They disbanded in 1981, and throughout most of the next decade Fagen and Becker remained largely inactive in the music world. During this time "a cult following" remained devoted to the group.

From; Chicago - "Chicago II" - 1970
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, generating several hit ballads. They had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Second only to The Beach Boys in Billboard singles and albums chart success among American bands, Chicago is one of the longest-running and most successful rock groups in history.
> According to Billboard, Chicago was the leading US singles charting group during the 1970s. They have sold over 38 million units in the US, with 22 gold, 18 platinum, and 8 multi-platinum albums. Over the course of their career they have had five number-one albums and 21 top-ten singles.
"25 or 6 to 4," also written as "Twenty-Five Or Six To Four," is a song written by American musician Robert Lamm, one of the founding members of the rock/jazz fusion band Chicago. It was recorded for their second album, Chicago (1970), with Peter Cetera on lead vocals.
It's meaning references to a songwriter trying to write at 25 or 26 minutes to 4 in the morning. The song was edited and released as a single in June of that year, climbing to number 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and number seven on the UK Singles Chart. This recording features an electric guitar solo using a wah-wah pedal by Chicago guitarist Terry Kath, and has been included in numerous Chicago compilation albums.

From: The debut of ~ Heart ~ "Dreamboat Annie" - 1976
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada and later in the United States and worldwide. Over the group's four decade history, the band has had three primary lineups, with the constant members being sisters lead singer Ann Wilson and guitarist Nancy Wilson. Heart rose to fame in the mid 1970s with music influenced by hard rock and heavy metal as well as folk music.
To date, Heart has sold over 30 million records worldwide. The group was ranked number 57 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock". With Top 10 albums on the Billboard Album Chart in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2010, Heart is among the most commercially enduring hard rock bands in history.