Posts From Jeff Tamarkin

Remembering Marty Balin, Jefferson Airplane/Starship Singer

The singer, who co-founded the Airplane in 1965, and later joined the offshoot band Jefferson Starship and went on to a solo career, died in 2018 at 76

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Randy Bachman of the Guess Who & BTO: Interview

In our extensive conversation, the Canadian rock great tells the story of his biggest hits with two legendary classic rock bands

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‘Smiley Smile’: The Beach Boys Album That Wasn’t Supposed to Be

Their followup to ‘Pet Sounds’ was a quick replacement for an abandoned masterpiece-to-be. Some fans didn’t love it, but in time its reputation has grown.

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Byrds: ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo’ @50—Concert Review

They didn’t dare bill it as a Byrds reunion, but to those fans who caught a show on one of the year’s most talked-about tours, that’s exactly what it was.

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David Clayton-Thomas Interview: His Early Years With Blood, Sweat & Tears

DCT: “I had to go back to Canada to renew my visa. A couple of days later I got a call. ‘Do you want to try out for the band?’ I said, ‘You’re damn right.’”

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The Beatles’ Forgotten Top 20 Hit: A ‘Sweet’ Story

A top 20 hit in the U.S., yet it has received virtually no radio airplay in decades and is almost never mentioned in accounts of the band’s early days.

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The Spencer Davis Group’s ‘I’m a Man’: Admit It, You Don’t Know the Lyrics

The teenaged singer of this British band, Steve Winwood, had a voice like no other. But what exactly was he singing in this hit?

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Jimmy Webb Interview: Hits & Misses

In part two of our chat with the legendary songwriter, we discuss the unpredictability of writing a hit song and how the art of songwriting has changed.

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Greenwich Village in the ’60s, With Sebastian, Muldaur, Melanie: 2018 Concert Review

On a lovely summer NYC night, as stellar artists paid tribute to a special time and place, getting together didn’t seem like such a crazy idea at all.

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David LaFlamme, Leader of San Francisco’s It’s a Beautiful Day, Dies

Formed in 1967, the band, led by violinist/singer LaFlamme, was a regular attraction at the Fillmore and other San Francisco venues.

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