Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Aerosmith were one of the most popular hard rock bands of the '70s, setting the style and sound of hard rock and heavy metal for the next two decades with their raunchy, bluesy swagger. The Boston-based quintet found the middle ground between the menace of the Rolling Stones and the campy, sleazy flamboyance of the New York Dolls, developing a lean, dirty riff-oriented boogie that was loose and swinging and as hard as a diamond.
In the meantime, they developed a prototype for power ballads with "Dream On," a piano ballad that was orchestrated with strings and distorted guitars. Aerosmith's ability to pull off both ballads and rock & roll made them extremely popular during the mid-'70s, when they had a string of gold and platinum albums. By the early '80s, the group's audience had declined as the band fell prey to drug and alcohol abuse. However, their career was far from over -- in the late '80s, Aerosmith pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in rock history, returning to the top of the charts with a group of albums that equaled, if not surpassed, the popularity of their '70s albums.
In 1970, the first incarnation of Aerosmith formed when vocalist Steven Tyler met guitarist Joe Perry while working at a Sunapee, New Hampshire, ice cream parlor. Tyler, who originally was a drummer, and Perry decided to form a power trio with bassist Tom Hamilton. The group soon expanded to a quartet, adding a second guitarist called Ray Tabano; he was quickly replaced by Brad Whitford, a former member of Earth Inc. With the addition of drummer Joey Kramer, Tyler became the full-time lead singer by the end of year. Aerosmith relocated to Boston at the end of 1970.
After playing clubs in the Massachusetts and New York areas for two years, the group landed a record contract with Columbia Records in 1972. Aerosmith's self-titled debut album was released in the fall of 1973, climbing to number 166. "Dream On" was released as the first single and it was a minor hit, reaching number 59. For the next year, the band built a fan base by touring America, supporting groups as diverse as the Kinks, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Sha Na Na, and Mott the Hoople. The performance of Get Your Wings (1974), the group's second album and the first produced by Jack Douglas, benefited from their constant touring, spending a total of 86 weeks on the chart.
Aerosmith's third record, 1975's Toys in the Attic, was their breakthrough album both commercially and artistically. By the time it was recorded, the band's sound had developed into a sleek, hard-driving hard rock powered by simple, almost brutal, blues-based riffs. Many critics at the time labeled the group as punk rockers, and it's easy to see why -- instead of adhering to the world music pretensions of Led Zeppelin or the prolonged gloomy mysticism of Black Sabbath, Aerosmith stripped heavy metal to its basic core, spitting out spare riffs that not only rocked, but rolled. Steven Tyler's lyrics were filled with double entendres and clever jokes, and the entire band had a streetwise charisma that separated it from the heavy, lumbering arena rockers of the era. Toys in the Attic captured the essence of the newly invigorated Aerosmith. "Sweet Emotion," the first single from Toys in the Attic, broke into the Top 40 in the summer of 1975, with the album reaching number 11 shortly afterward. Its success prompted the re-release of the power ballad "Dream On," which shot into the Top Ten in early 1976. Both Aerosmith and Get Your Wings climbed back up the charts in the wake of Toys in the Attic. "Walk This Way," the final single from Toys in the Attic, was released around the time of the group's new 1976 album, Rocks. Although it didn't feature a Top Ten hit like "Walk This Way," Rocks went platinum quickly, peaking at number three.
In early 1977, Aerosmith took a break and prepared material for their fifth album. Released late in 1977, Draw the Line was another hit, climbing to number 11 on the U.S. charts, but it showed signs of exhaustion. In addition to another tour in 1978, the band appeared in the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, performing "Come Together," which eventually became a number 23 hit. Live! Bootleg appeared late in 1978 and became another success, reaching number 13. Aerosmith recorded Night in the Ruts in 1979, releasing the record at the end of the year. By the time of its release, Joe Perry had left the band to form the Joe Perry Project. Night in the Ruts performed respectably, climbing to number 14 and going gold, yet it was the least successful Aerosmith record to date. Brad Whitford left the group in early 1980, forming the Whitsford-St. Holmes Band with former Ted Nugent guitarist Derek St. Holmes.
As Aerosmith regrouped with new guitarists Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay, the band released Aerosmith's Greatest Hits in late 1980; the record would eventually sell over six million copies. The new lineup of Aerosmith released Rock in a Hard Place in 1982. Peaking at number 32, it failed to match the performance of Night in the Ruts. Perry and Whitford returned to the band in 1984 and the group began a reunion tour dubbed Back in the Saddle. Early in the tour, Tyler collapsed on-stage, offering proof that the bandmembers hadn't conquered their notorious drug and alcohol addictions. The following year, Aerosmith released Done with Mirrors, the original lineup's first record since 1979 and their first for Geffen Records. Although it didn't perform as well as Rock in a Hard Place, the album showed that the band was revitalized.
After the release of Done with Mirrors, Tyler and Perry completed rehabilitation programs. In 1986, the pair appeared on Run-D.M.C.'s cover of "Walk This Way," along with appearing in the video. "Walk This Way" became a hit, reaching number four and receiving saturation airplay on MTV. "Walk This Way" set the stage for the band's full-scale comeback effort, the Bruce Fairbairn-produced Permanent Vacation (1987). Tyler and Perry collaborated with professional hard rock songwriters like Holly Knight and Desmond Child, resulting in the hits "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," "Rag Doll," and "Angel." Permanent Vacation peaked at number 11 and sold over three million copies.
Pump, released in 1989, continued the band's winning streak, reaching number five, selling over four million copies, and spawning the Top Ten singles "Love in an Elevator," "Janie's Got a Gun," and "What It Takes." Aerosmith released Get a Grip in 1993. Like Permanent Vacation and Pump, Get a Grip was produced by Bruce Fairbairn and featured significant contributions by professional songwriters. The album was as successful as the band's previous two records, featuring the hit singles "Livin' on the Edge," "Cryin'," and "Amazing." In 1994, Aerosmith released Big Ones, a compilation of hits from their Geffen years that fulfilled their contract with the label; it went double platinum shortly after its release.
While Aerosmith was at the height of their revitalized popularity in the early '90s, the group signed a lucrative multi-million dollar contract with Columbia Records, even though they still owed Geffen two albums. It wasn't until 1995 that the band was able to begin working on their first record under the new contract -- nearly five years after the contract was signed. The making of Aerosmith albums usually had been difficult affairs, but the recording of Nine Lives was plagued with bad luck. The band went through a number of producers and songwriters before settling on Kevin Shirley in 1996. More damaging, however, was the dismissal of the band's manager, Tim Collins, who'd been responsible for bringing the band back from the brink of addiction. Upon his firing, Collins insinuated that Steven Tyler was using hard drugs again, an allegation that Aerosmith adamantly denied.
Under such circumstances, recording became quite difficult, and when Nine Lives finally appeared in the spring of 1997, it was greeted with great anticipation, yet the initial reviews were mixed and even though album debuted at number one, it quickly fell down the charts. The live A Little South of Sanity followed in 1998. Three years later, Aerosmith strutted their stuff on the Super Bowl halftime special on CBS with the likes of Mary J. Blige, Nelly, *NSYNC, and Britney Spears, just prior to issuing their heart-stomping Just Push Play in March 2001. Next up for the band was a blues album, Honkin' on Bobo, released in 2004, along with two live album/DVDs, You Gotta Move and Rockin' the Joint. Another greatest-hits collection, Devil's Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith arrived in 2006.
From there, Aerosmith entered a period of volatility. A world tour followed in 2007 and the group attempted to record a new studio album with producer Brendan O'Brien but the sessions were never finalized. Instead, another tour followed in 2009, this time a supporting jaunt for Aerosmith's own special edition of the Guitar Hero video game. This tour proved to be ill-fated, with Steven Tyler suffering a leg injury in June, then falling off the stage in August, leading to the cancellation of the subsequent dates. As 2009 came to a close, Joe Perry released a solo album called Have Guitar, Will Travel as Tyler announced that he was planning on "working on the brand of myself," which included working on an autobiography and a solo album, along with a stint in rehab to wean himself off painkillers prescribed due to his stage injuries.
Before Tyler embarked on solo projects, he returned to the band for a series of concerts in 2010, in the midst of which it was announced that the singer would be a new judge on the televised singing competition American Idol. Perry voiced his dissatisfaction in the press but Tyler's time on American Idol helped raise the band's profile, while providing a platform for Tyler's memoir, Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? The book performed better than his two solo singles -- 2010's "Love Lives" and 2011's "(It) Feels So Good" -- singles that did not wind up signaling his departure from Aerosmith. Tyler continued to tour with the band and in 2011 they recorded a new album with producer Jack Douglas, the man who helmed their classic '70s LPs. Originally scheduled for release in summer of 2012, Music from Another Dimension! wound up being pushed back to that year's holiday season, by which time Tyler had departed his judgeship on American Idol.

There are so many interesting stories that never get told about musical groups and it’s silly that in this time and age we have to depend on a machine to tell us things that might not be correct at all. In this case the band The “Hollies”, it is them and the Rolling Stones which are one of the few bands that have never disbanded and continue to record and perform.
The Hollies in1961 were known as the Four Tones, then the Deltas and finally the Hollies. On April 16-23 of 1965 they made their first visit to America and by September 18 they began their first U.S. tour in Chicago along side the Yardbirds. On September 17,1965 the song “Bus Stop” is the groups U.S. break through song and hits #5.
Almost 2 years in the writing and finished during rehearsals at a TV studio the song is finally finished, “Carrie Anne” hits #3 in the U.K. Buy June the 25th 1969the group records “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother” with Elton John on piano, by 1970 that song hits U.S. # 7 and sells a million copies.
On September of 1972 their  album “Distant Light” makes U.S. #21 and the song “Long cool woman in a black dress”, a Creedence Clearwater Revival-styled is released as a single and hits #2 and earns the Hollies another gold disc for over a million copies sold.
By August of 1974 “The air that i breath” hits U.S. # 6 and becomes another million seller, collecting yet another gold disc. But then just like a lot of musical groups, the Hollies also suffered their part downfall as they were ripped off by their manager Michael Cohen and the Hollies were nearly bankrupt. Although there is very little scandal in the Hollies biography and people would think that there is nothing worth while talking about, Alllan Clarke really had a very serious drinking problem and went into rehab in 1979.
We’ll find out how a 19 year old Jewish kid who had written already 3 songs for the Yardbirds, came up with a hit song for the Hollies.
Find out more on the “Hollies” as we feature them as Artist of the Month on KWMC 1490 AM ‘Classic Hits Station” and the Little Red Rooster Show. And of course all information and known and unknown facts about the artist of the month are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are entirely produced and managed by Javier Martinez Sr.

A band that started out in 1970, and within ten years Queen gathered popularity and became one of the biggest stadium rock bands in the world.
As some people think that rock stars dedicate their entire life to music and not good in studies. A big blow to such misconception is the Queen band.
Except for Freddie Mercury, every other band member has a post graduate degree. A degree doesn’t make you smarter, but educated. In the U.K. charts alone, Queen managed to have a total of 26 years on the album charts, which is more than any other artist to date.
In 1981, Queen set a new Argentine record in Buenos Aires for the most people at a single concert with 300 thousand fans attending the performance. And also only in the U.K. Queen’s “Greatest hits” album spent a total of 1,024 weeks in the chart. Estimated number of  Queen’s albums sold are from 170 million to 300 million, making them one of the world’s best selling music artist. In September of 1982, the band performed their last two concerts in the U.S. with Freddie on lead vocals.
They stopped touring North America as their popularity began to wane. their fall in popularity In North America has been attributed to a homophobia.
At some shows of the bands 1980 American Tour, fans tossed disposable razor blades on stage: they didn’t like this identity of Freddie Mercury----what they didn’t like was as a brazenly gay rock”n”roll hero and they wanted Mercury to shave that off. Not much interesting information for a band that was so big in the 1980’s but they paid their dues.
Find out more on “Queen” as we feature them as artist of the month on kwmc 1490 AM and the “Little Red Rooster Show”. also remember that all interesting facts and information are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr.

On September 8-10, 1965 the Daily Variety newspaper and the Hollywood Reporter ran an ad in the paper to look for a cast of members for an up coming TV series.
It read, Madness!! Auditions. Folk and Roll musicians- singers or acting roles in TV series. Running parts for 4 insane boys, ages 17-21. Have courage to work. Must come down to interview.
Out of 437 applicants, three were chosen for the cast, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Mickey Dolenz. Michael Nesmith was the only one who saw the ad in the paper. Peter Tork was the last one to be chosen. Davy Jones was already signed to a long term contract to appear in TV and films with Screen-Gems and Columbia  pictures which would be their record label in September of 1964. Stories have always been told that the Monkees never played their own instruments, but actually they did but their producers didn’t let them. Mike Nesmith was a skilled guitarist and bassist and Peter Tork played several stringed instruments and keyboards and also Mickey knew how to play the guitar and Davy Jones could play the drums. This is the band that was created and we know them as “The Monkees”.
Davy Jones was picked as the lead vocalist which the other three didn’t like, but Nesmith said that it was Mickey Dolenz voice that was distinctive in the band. And yet after so many rumors, the Monkees did play their own instruments. But remember they were hired as actors not musicians, that’s why the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame will not induct them in the Hall of Fame.
Another great rumor is that Charles Manson had also auditioned for an acting role but that is not true, Charlie was serving a federal prison sentence at the time in 1965. Find out more on the “Monkees” as we feature them as artist of the month, on the Little Red Rooster Show and KWMC’s Classic Hit Station 1490 AM.
And as always all information and known facts are by Wendy Johnson and all Artist of the Month shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr.

Nov. 1968 George Harrison becomes the first Beatle to issue material independently of the group with the album soundtrack for the film “Wonderwall”. 
On March 12, 1969 he and his wife Patti are arrested and charged with possession of 120 joints of Marijuana. By December of 1970 after releasing the album “All things must pass” he is the first to secure a charting top album and sells 3 million copies worldwide. The album is co-produced by Phil Spector and Harrison is backed by such musicians as Ringo Starr, Ginger Baker, Billy Preston, Badfinger, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan. By Dec. 26, 1970 “My sweet lord” hits #1 giving Harrison a second accolade as the first ex- Beatle to have a chart topping single. The song was originally given to Billy Preston and the song sells for over 5 million copies worldwide. 
On March of 1971, Bright Tunes who owns the copyrights to the song “He’s so Fine” by the Chiffons makes a claim that “My sweet lord” plagiarizes the song “He’s so fine”. Harrison claims that the song is inspired by the Edwin Hawkin Singers song of “Oh Happy Day”, which makes more sense. But on Sept. 7,1976 district judge Richard Owens orders Harrison to pay $587,000.00 dollars. Although not too many people knew about Harrison’s talents, it is interesting to know that he played several instruments, no fewer than 26. Such instruments included the Sitar, guitar of course, four string guitar, bass guitar, arp bass, violin, piano, auto harp, Moog synthesizer, harmonica, tamboura, marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, now that’s a lot of instruments. Now Harrison known as the quiet ex- Beatle, should be known as the unfaithful ex-Beatle. As troubles brewed with the Beatles in the latter years, Harrison was so upset with the band but kept all feelings inside of him. Buy that time he had an affair with Ringo’s ex- wife. Gorge Harrison actually had hundreds of affairs, just too many to talk about. 
Find out more on George Harrison as we feature him as Artist of the month on KWMC”S 1490 AM classic hits station and the “Little Red Rooster Show”. And as always and still , all known facts and stories are by Wendy Johnson and still all shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr.

Out of Galveston Texas, but raised since infancy in East Los Angeles California Barry White sang in church choir and learned to play a variety of musical instruments in hid early teens. In 1960 he joined an R&b quintet, the Upfronts, nothing came out of that venture.
By 1964 Barry arranges Bob and Earl’s song of the “the Harlum Shuffle”. In 1968 Barry while working for the Mustang label discovers the female vocal trio “Love Unlimited” and becomes their manager and producer. By 1972 having signed “Love Unlimited” to Uni Records, he produces “Walkin in the rain with the one I love”, which # 14 in both the U.S. and the U.K. charts and sells over a million copies. By 1973 Barry starts recording as a solo artist.
His song “I’m gonna love you just a little more” hits U.S. #3 and becomes a million seller and earns a gold disc. By 1974 the song “Never gonna give you up” gets to #7 and earns another gold disc. By September of 1974 “Can’t get enough of your love baby” hits #1 and is his third million seller. By 1975 “You’re the first, the last, my everything” is Barry’s 4th gold record. And then here comes the rumors, Barry has often been credited with playing piano at age 11, on Jesse Belvins 1956 hit single “Goodnight My Love”. However in an interview in 1995, Barry denied writing or arranging the song. He believes the story was an exaggeration by journalists. While Barry and Jesse Belvin did live in the same neighborhood, Belvin was 12 years older than Barry. And now the other side of Barry White, songwriter, recording engineer, piano and keyboard player Bass player, singer and thief. Barry’s brother was murdered in a clash with a rival gang in 1983, and White himself was jailed for 4 months at the age of 16 for stealing $ 30,000.00 worth of Cadillac tires.
Find out more on Barry White as we continue with more artist of the month shows on KWMC 1490 AM and the “Little Red Rooster Show”. Still all information and known facts are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr.

It’s that time of the year once again, at least for 2020, it is Christmas time. It’s  the time for being with family and friends and also remembering our loved ones that are no longer with us, but still in spirit. It’s a time for cooking up traditional foods and traditional snacks.
Every country celebrates a little bit different. how did everything get started here in the U. S. ?. Christmas was declared a federal holiday here in 1870. But it was being celebrated in the U. S. in the mid 17th century by Puritans in northern U. S. ,like New England and Pennsylvania who celebrated the birth of Christ. Although Jesus is the reason for the season, society has lost that connection. Year after year we pay more attention to our personal gains than to understand the meaning of Christmas. Almost every business in the world is trying to sell you anything for just pure profit and they use a little fat man dressed in red to lure you into their place of business.
They put these ideas in your head that you need to buy something because that’s what it’s all about. Do we even dare talk about the musical part of this holiday, yes it’s the same old songs every year because radio now makes you think that what they play, is all there is. Even the major Radio Stations complain about their own musical formats, but still they don’t change. Do you really think that there were only 200 Christmas songs recorded, let’s say between 1955 to now. And it doesn’t make any difference until what year even after 2020, all newer artists in any kind of music format , are still just re-recording the same songs from the baby-boomer generation. That’s why at KWMC 1490 i don’t follow that format. There are so many good Christmas songs out there that you have never heard before.
And whether they are sad songs, funny songs, upbeat songs, soft ballad songs, adult songs and even children’s songs ,they  are out there. Why listen to the same ones over and over. It would be like celebrating your birthday everyday. Gets boring, but if you listen to the little red rooster show on KWMC 1490 AM, you won’t get that. And another reminder, remember that this year things are gonna be a bit different, so celebrate cautiously and please stay safe. And while you’re celebrating, remember the cause of it all. It’s CHRIST- mas.
All our artist of the month and special presentation shows as well as all known facts and stories are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr. Have a very joyous holiday, from all of us at KWMC 1490 AM radio ,the “Classic Hits Station”.

He is the only three time inductee to the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. Once as a solo artist and separately as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream. Eric Clapton grew up believing that his grandmother and her second husband were his parents, and that his mother was actually his older sister.
By 1967, fans of the emerging blues- rock sound in the U.K. had begun to portray Clapton as Britains top guitarist, however he found himself rivaled by the emergence of an acid rock infused guitarist who used wailing feedback and effects petals to create a new sound for his instrument. Claptons jealousy was so great that one night while playing a gig he got lost for a while, band members finally found him outside sitting smoking a cigarette and complaining to his band mates as to why nobody had told him that the guitar player on stage at the time was that good. The new kid playing guitar before Clapton was Jimi Hendrix.
So many stories about certain artist who have been around for a while and you never get to hear all of them. Everyone knows that Clapton played guitar on the Beatles “While my guitar gently weeps”, that is true , but he also played on other song on the Beatles “White Album”. More interesting is when John Lennon considered asking Clapton to join the Beatles, but that never happened because of McCartney’s jealousy. this of course was at the time when George Harrison had quit the Beatles for a short time.
Still in other ventures along with his friend George, Clapton helped  out on many of Harrison’s solo albums, Clapton went on largely uncredited for his contributions due to contractual restrains. And there’s always those little unknown facts that never get told about some artists, like for example, did you you know that Eric studied stained glass design or that it was his grandparents that gave him his first guitar. And finally like with so many artists, groups, bands or solo artists, it comes to a point when you have made your mark and things come to an end, and then you’re just in the way.
Find out more on Eric Clapton as our next Artist Of The Month on KWMC 1490 AM and the LITTLE RED ROOSTER SHOW. All stories and known facts are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr.

William Martin Joel. nicknamed the Piano Man after his first major hit an signature song of the same name, has led a successful music career since the 1970’s. 
Here we go again. Wikipedia says that Joel took part in two - short lived bands. the one time group called the Hassles and the other group known as Atilla, but he also played with another group called the Echoes,who later became the Emeralds and the Lost Souls. Joel also played in sessions for tv Ads, including Chubby Checker and for Bachman Pretzels. He attended Hicksville High School until 1967,but he did not graduate with his class, he had missed a crucial English exam after playing a late night gig at a piano bar the evening before. Not having enough credits to graduate he decided to go into his musical career,still in 1992 he submitted essays to the school board in lieu of missed exams, they were excepted and he was awarded his high school diploma 25 years later. 
In his teens he played on a demo version of “Leader of the Pack”, which became a major hit for the group “The Shangri-las. One thing of interest, while he is known as the piano man, the song “A Matter of Trust”, is the only song where Joel plays guitar while in concert. Another interesting fact about Joel is that after being bullied by some mean kids he decide to take up boxing lessons and went on to win some Golden Gloves amateur fights. He gave up the sport after a broken nose. Though he wasn’t a performer yet, he wanted to be in the crowd for the Jimi Hendrix performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, but he decided to leave after a day and a half because of the lack of bathrooms got too much for him to stand.
Find out more about Billy Joel on KWMC’S 1490 AM Classic hit station. And as usual all known facts and stories of interest are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr.

​Her debut performance came one Sunday when she was 10 years old, when a singer scheduled to perform at her church did not show up.
The Priest,who knew from her parents her fondness for singing,invited her to perform instead- expecting,at least an amusing spectacle .But to everyones surprise,the voice that bellowed out of her tiny body that Sunday morning was overwhelmingly powerful and beautiful. At least that’s one story.
Later people would find out that her voice actually had to be amplified in the recording studio and really wasn’t all that powerful. Our featured artist this month is non other than the queen of disco,” Donna Summer”.she was the first artist to have three consecutive double albums reach #1 one the U.S. Billboard 200 chart. Wikipedia! oh boy here we go again, will they ever learn.
They say that when Donna took a demo tape to Groovy Record Label that they made a mistake on the label and instead of printing Donna Sommer, they printed her name as Donna Summer and the name stuck. But actually it was during a show introduction on stage that the MC forgot her last name and remembered that it was season name and said ,ladies and gentlemen , Donna Summer,maybe after that the studio might have made the same mistake. Donna Summer, actually Donna Sommer through marriage,her real last name is Gaines. When Casablanca Blanca released Donnas greatest hits volume 1 and 2 in 1979,it was said that the album was mixed different,each song ran into the next one,no silence in between ,and that it was the first time that such an album would be made. That is also not true, if you remember the cheap record label of K-Tel Records,they were already releasing records with the song over lapping into each other, and that was before Donna Summer. Then again i guess people at Wikipedia never heard the Beatles Abbey Road album, that also over lapped into the next song.
Find out more about Donna Summer on our next artist of the month on the all new Classic Hits Station KWMC 1490 AM. And as usual all stories and known facts of artist of the month are by Wendy Johnson and all shows are produced by Javier Martinez Sr.