January 10, 1948: Donald Fagen was born.

Along with his pal Walter Becker, Donald is part of the gruesome twosome (so called by their friend Michael McDonald) known as Steely Dan.

Perhaps no individual in rock & roll other than Frank Zappa has written more nonsensical, yet eminently likeable, lyrics than the funky Fagen.

Here’s Steely Dan playing one of my favorites, “Kid Charlemagne.”

Happy 79th Rock & Roll Birthday to Little Richard, the artist formerly known as Richard Penniman.

Where would we be if not for the Architect of Rock & Roll? One of the original inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Little Richard helped define the sound that became known as Rock & Roll. Scores of classic rockers, from Dylan to Bowie to Jagger to Fogerty to McCartney, have cited him as being both the earliest and most significant influence on their music.

I still get chills when I hear his scorching vocals on “Good Golly, Miss Molly, “Lucille” and “Long Tall Sally,” knowing they were recorded before I was even born.

Thanks so much for making all this possible, Little Richard!!

After posting the amusing video of “One Toke Over the Line” from the Lawrence Welk Show, it’s only appropriate that we follow up with Brewer & Shipley’s classic version of the tune.

The funniest part of all this is then-Vice President Spiro Agnew labeled Brewer & Shipley as subversives due to this song. I think that qualifies as Rock & Roll Nonsense

I had The Beatles for breakfast this morning. Specifically, the album Meet the Beatles, which was released here in the United States 47 years ago today.

What a classic! Here are my thoughts on this Desert Island Disc, which I recorded exactly one year ago today.

Enjoy the video and have fun!

Happy Birthday, Neil!

As we all know, Neil freakin’ rocks…and here he is live at Madison Square Garden.

Hey friends, I am incredibly grateful for all your help in the Mutual of Omaha ‘Aha Moment’ campaign.

Mutual just announced the winners and I am both delighted and honored to be one of their national TV commercials for 2011. At this point we don’t know any specifics, other than the fact that I won.

Since my ‘aha moment’ occurred at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I feel a sense of obligation to return to the scene of the crime later this month before publishing the book about my ‘aha moment.’

And as far as I’m concerned, it only makes sense to have Terry Stewart, president of the Rock Hall, write a blurb for the back cover and then debut the book at the Hall.

I’m truly grateful to be living this groovy dream.

Spectacular doesn’t feel like a strong enough superlative to describe last night’s Alan Parsons Live Project’s performance at the majestic Pabst Theater. The band is doing only two shows in the US this year, and we are so grateful they chose Milwaukee for one of them.

For the last month I’ve played a bunch of APP for the kids, and they’ve been totally diggin’ it, so they were as stoked as my wife and I were about this show.

Due in large measure to some scheduling challenges, Alan’s Live Project has some new band members this time around. Guitarist Alastair Greene, drummer Danny Thompson, Todd Cooper on sax and bassist Guy Erez all fit in seamlessly. It’s not surprising that he added such skilled folks…after all, who wouldn’t want to play with a musical genius? Fortunately, the extraordinarily energetic and gifted vocalist P.J. Olsson is still part of the band, as is the groovy Manny Focarazzo (who also plays on the Happy Together tour) on keyboards. P.J. does such an incredible job of interpreting Alan’s songs and has become one of my favorite singers.

It was electric from the opener, which was the rambunctious title cut from the Desert Island Disc “I Robot.” Alan is a consummate bandleader who gives every member ample opportunity to shine, and shine they did all night long, beginning with this spankin’ instrumental.

The jams were spicy and spacey, and the lava lamps dotting the stage added to the feeling of psychedelia. Alan has an enormous catalog of splendiferous tunes, and many of them made an appearance during the two-hour plus set. “Damned If I Do,” “Don’t Answer Me” and a killer “(The System of) Dr. Tarr and Professor Fether” followed the opener and left us breathless. The classics continued with “Luciferama,” “Breakdown,” featuring Todd Cooper on vocals, “The Raven,” “Time” and “I Wouldn’t Want to be Like You.”

This is also the first tour ever that they’re playing “The Turn of a Friendly Card” in its entirety, and it clocked in at a glorious nineteen minutes. Additionally, we heard the brand new “All Our Yesterdays,” which sounds like vintage Parsons.

Among the many highlights was “Don’t Let It Show,” which starts off as such a gentle, sweet tune before erupting into a raucous jam. Another was the outlandish “Psychobabble,” which included a little “Twilight Zone” action in the middle.

It wouldn’t be an Alan Parsons show without the psychedelic “Sirius” leading into “Eye In The Sky,” which served as the set closer. It’s hilarious that every time I hear “Sirius” I expect them to begin introducing the starting lineups for a game, as several sports teams use it to juice up the crowd before player introductions.

The encores were the absolutely beautiful “Old and Wise” and a tasty romp through “Eye In The Sky,” which left us grinning from ear to ear.

What more can I say? It was a smokin’ freakin’ show!

As an added bonus, my family and I spent about an hour visiting with the band members after the show. What a wonderful group of really nice folks…I was so impressed that they each expressed sincere interest in my daughters’ musical exploits, offering encouragement and a willingness to watch their videos and provide feedback. These cats definitely defy the stereotype of wild and crazy rock stars.

I’ll be interviewing Alan next week, so stay tuned to hear what this rock legend has to say.

On this date in Rock and Roll History forty-three years ago, The Beatles released “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” here in the United States, the day after it was released in the UK.

I distinctly remember my brother Bill bringing this Desert Island Disc home. For starters, the cover art is absolutely spectacular. When our kids started asking about those big huge black CDs several years ago, this was the first album I brought out to begin teaching them about cover art.

“Sgt. Pepper” picked up where “Revolver” left off in terms of experimentation, and later won four Grammys after spending fifteen weeks atop the Billboard charts. I’m convinced these two albums back-to-back were as good as any pair ever released.

I had “Sgt. Pepper” for my Rock & Roll breakfast today and, although I typically don’t get into that “best ever” nonsense, any list of the greatest albums has to include this one.

I had the Steve Miller Band for my Rock and Roll Breakfast today. Specifically, the song “Serenade.”

Typically, my fantabulous wife and kids are out the door before 7:00 AM, and I head into the office and pick a tune or an album to set the vibe for the day. Today, it was Stevie “Guitar” Miller and his groovy tune “Serenade” off my Desert Island Disc Fly Like an Eagle.

The line I particularly love in this song is, “Wake up, wake up, wake and look around you. We’re lost in space…” This lyric could just as easily have been written by the Buddha. I’m amazed at the number of folks who spend the majority of their lives on autopilot and never really wake up and live the joyful life we came here to this third rock from the sun to experience. I’ve certainly been guilty of that more times than I can count, but this tune always jolts me back into the precious present and reminds me that the only time we ever have to groove is NOW.

It also reminds me that I get to see Steve Miller for the umpteenth time this summer as he returns home to do a show with the great Dave Mason in August.

Rock and Roll Lives!

I had the Jefferson Starship for breakfast this morning. Specifically, the album Dragonfly.

This is another beloved Desert Island Disc. What a fantastic way to kick off the day rockin’ out to “Ride the Tiger.” Every time I hear this song I’m reminded of being at Milwaukee County Stadium on May 26, 1978, and seeing them open with it. Kanter was dressed in white and Gracie was in black. I’m getting goose bumps as I write this. That was an utterly amazing show.

I’m don’t think the band ever produced a better album than this one, and it is definitely my favorite Starship lineup. I’m including Marty Balin as part of the lineup, although he contributed only one song and didn’t officially join the band until the next year. That one song, “Caroline,” is a quintessential Balin ballad.

The record represents the beautiful blend of tempos and tunes that characterized the Jefferson Starship. The highlights of this record include Robert Hunter’s tremendous lyrics on “Come to Life,” Papa John Creach’s funky violin kicking off “Devil’s Den” and the breathtakingly alluring “Hyperdrive.”

I don’t usually do this, but I think I’m gonna listen to it again.