SIDEMEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT VOL. 1

SIDEMEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT shines a light on the guy standing to one side of the lead singer.  Some of the artists showcased on VOL. 1 basked in the light, and others stepped quickly back into the shadows.

Songwriter P.F. Sloan was also a performer, but it was his songs that first put him in the spotlight; having written the #1 hit Eve Of Destruction among others.  Here he’s playing that very song with a little help from his friends Frank Black and Buddy Miller (one of the all-time greatest sidemen!)

Ringo Starr was my favorite Beatle when I was a kid—which lead to my big sister pushing a thumbtack into his forehead & through the cover of our first Beatle’s album.  Luckily the record was always being played and escaped unscathed.  Ringo was allotted one track an album with his former group.  Comfortable with the fact that a drummer is almost always a sideman, he continues to share the spotlight today, in concert, and on his albums.  To fellow fans of the ringed one, here's a great interview with Ringo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=GVgUBZnm_KQ

Another drummer who enjoyed a long career centerstage is Sandy Nelson—here playing his best-known song as a solo artist.  The Stray Cats’ Lee Rocker got a turn up front for Drink That Bottle Down in the band’s first go-round, but here he belts out the Eddie Cochran classic Twenty Flight Rock.  His latest album, 2021’s Gather Round is worth a listen!

This edition also features artists who were in bands so packed with talent that each could have lead the band in a pinch, had everyone else lost their voice: Randy Meisner, Jim Messina, Andrew Gold, Joey Holland, Johnny Marr, J.D. Souther, & The Georgia Satellites’ Rick Richards (here with The Western Sizzlers).

Ian McLagan had an amazing career backing others—most notably The Rolling Stones, and is joined here by Ronnie Wood, who did the same.  The Faces were la veritable rock & roll AAA team.  The Jayhawks are one of my favorite bands—they've gotten short shrift on Jokonky—which I vow to change.  Until then, here’s Tim O'Reagan’s These Things from his solo album.

Bringing it home are southern rocker Les Dudek (who once dated Cher), Skunk Baxter, & Andy Taylor!

Here’s today’s question:  What is the most heinous musical offense that you know of committed by a sibling (your own, a famous musician's, or by a friend's sibling?). There’s still a hole in Ringo’s head on my album (and as we all know, he’s already got blisters on his fingers).

Another Stinky Production