Thomas made his mark in 1976 as lead vocalist on the mega-hit “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” with The Elvin Bishop Band.
On the Rockin’ on the Riverfront stage, Thomas will be backed by the band Starship featuring Mark Abrahamian (lead guitar), Jeff Adams (bass, vocals), Phil Bennett (keyboards, vocals) and Darrell “Pelican” Verdusco (drums, vocals).
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Rick Derringer and the Classic Rock All Stars Friday, July 25th,
8 p.m.Vocalist, entertainer and guitar-legend Rick Derringer was just 17 years old when his band, The McCoys, recorded the number one hit "Hang on Sloopy" in 1965, knocking "Yesterday" by The Beatles out of the top spot.
The McCoys had enjoyed four years of successful touring when Derringer merged his talents with Johnny Winter in 1969, forming Johnny Winter And ("And" referring to The McCoys). Derringer was the only producer of all gold and platinum Winter Brothers recordings.
In 1971, Derringer was featured on three records, one of which featured the first version of Derringer's hit single, "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo."
From there, Derringer appeared on numerous albums with artists such as Alice Cooper, Cyndi Lauper, Barbra Streisand and Kiss, to name a few. Additionally, he discovered Weird Al Yancovic, producing music for his Grammy-winning parody albums and videos.
During the ’90s, Derringer recorded four blues CD's and was selected to be the producer, writer and performer for the World Wrestling Federation LP's. Hulk Hogan's theme song, "I Am A Real American," was written and performed by Derringer as a part of this project.
In 2001, Derringer ventured back into rock ‘n’ roll with Vanilla Fudge superstars Carmine Appice and Tim Bogert. Together, they produced a recording of intense synergy – "D B A" (for Derringer, Bogert & Appice).
Derringer ventured into a whole new musical world in 2002 – smooth jazz. Interest in Derringer’s hit “Free Ride" grew quickly on the radio, and the second single, "Hot and Cool," showed Derringer’s ease of adaptability to smooth jazz. His wife Brenda is featured as co-writer on three new songs and arranger/singer on the title cut.
After more than four decades, Derringer is still going strong.
Members of the Classic Rock All Stars include the following: Jerry Corbetta, Peter Rivera, Mike Pinera and Dennis Noda.
Jerry Corbetta is founder, keyboardist and former lead singer of the melodically and lyrically-oriented "Green-Eyed Lady" group Sugarloaf. Besides the often heard and much-praised "Green-Eyed Lady," the group found gold with "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" in February 1975. Life after Sugarloaf was just as artistically lucrative for Corbetta when he released a solo album for Warner Bros. In 1979, Corbetta joined Frankie Vali & The Four Seasons and he still found time to write hit songs for Grace Jones, Belinda Carlisle and the Roberta Flack/Peabo Bryson duo who recorded the love-song classic "You're Lookin' Like Love to Me," which went gold and climbed right to the top of the charts. Corbetta has thrived as a performer, writer and record producer since the ’80s.
Peter Rivera, former singer and drummer for the ’70s supergroup Rare Earth, recorded more than 17 albums and had top 10 hits with songs like "Get Ready" and "I Just Wanna Celebrate." Rivera also recorded the two-record set, "Rare Earth in Concert," which went double platinum, and "Willie Remembers" and "Ma" that went gold. With Rivera on the drums and at the microphone on lead vocals, Rare Earth sold more than 25 million records. Rivera has been called the “premier rock drummer/vocalist of the ’70s.”
Mike Pinera, former lead singer and guitarist for Iron Butterfly and Blues Image, received his first gold record for the Blues Images' "Ride Captain Ride," a classic radio mainstay, which he wrote and sang. After Blues Image split, he joined Iron Butterfly, the first group ever to be awarded a platinum album. Their legendary hit, "In a Gadda Da Vida," stayed on top of the charts for 56 consecutive weeks. Pinera later went on to discover and produce Black Oak Arkansas, resulting in a gold album. He also contributed his talent to Alice Cooper for two tours and two albums.
Dennis Noda is a funky rockin' bassist with a high visibility factor. His early musical career found himself in Cannibal & the Headhunters, who achieved international acclaim with the hit "Land of a Thousand Dances." He later went on to become an in-demand musician performing with Edwin Starr, Al Wilson, Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night), Joey Molland (Badfinger), Bobby Kimball (Toto) and numerous others. Noda served as music director for Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees, Otis Day and the Knights and for several tours of the 30 Years of Rock 'n' Roll Show, where he became friends with Pinera, Corbetta and Rivera.
Eventually, Corbetta, Rivera, Pinera and Noda joined forces to create the Classic Rock All Stars.
The Guess Who, the band that became Canada's first international rock music superstars, began in 1962 in Winnipeg as the band Chad Allen & the Reflections. Including members Randy Bachman (guitar), Jim Kale (bass) and Garry Peterson (drums), Chad Allen and the Reflections recorded a cover of "Shakin' All Over" released by Quality Records in 1965. The song was a number one single in Canada and reached number 22 in America. Burton Cummings joined the group that same year, replacing the keyboard player and sharing lead vocals.
Quality Records released the group's first single and album, Shakin' All Over, in a plain white record jacket with only the question "Guess Who?" written on it. The marketing ploy capitalized on curiosity and the promise of another British Invasion band. It worked. After selling two million copies, the band had its trademark name: The Guess Who.
Experimenting with the sounds of freedom, psychedelic and garage rock that were filtering across the border from Minneapolis, The Guess Who eventually moved there to record. The song "His Girl" gave the band a Top 20 hit in England, an offer to sign with London-based King Records and the opportunity to tour. After recording a promotional album for Coca-Cola and appearing on the TV show Let's Go, the homecoming of The Guess Who was marked by the sale of their Quality Records contract for $1,000 to Nimbus 9, owned by producer Jack Richardson.
Richardson believed so strongly in The Guess Who that he mortgaged his home to finance the recording of the album, Wheatfield Soul, which was released in 1968. The first single, "These Eyes," reached number one in Canada, earning the band a U.S. contract with RCA Records. Heralded as the beginning of the Canadian Invasion, "These Eyes" reached number three in America in 1969 with total sales of more than one million copies. Their second album for RCA, Canned Wheat Packed by The Guess Who, also released in 1968, contained the Top 10 hits "Laughing" (the B-Side of "These Eyes") and "No Time," as well as Top 40 hit "Undun."
Ironically it was "American Woman" from March of 1970 that gave The Guess Who a number one single in the U.S., unseating The Beatles for three weeks straight. The Top 10 album, also entitled American Woman, contained the hits "No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature" (the B-Side of "American Woman"). The popularity of the band earned them an invitation to perform at the White House before Prince Charles and the President and Mrs. Nixon, although she requested that the band not perform "American Woman." It was during the peak of this success that Randy Bachman decided to leave the band (replaced by guitarists Kurt Winter and Greg Leskiw).
Over the next few years, the group continued to chart with the singles "Albert Flasher," "Rain Dance" and "Clap for the Wolfman," which reached number six, and the album Greatest Hits. After 10 years with the band, Burton Cummings left in 1975 to pursue a successful solo career. The original members of The Guess Who appeared sporadically over the ensuing years. Jim Kale and Garry Peterson continued the band with new members through the late 7’0s. Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings toured together in 1983. There was a brief reunion from which an album and concert video were released in 1985. Finally, the band appeared together when they were inducted into the Canadian Recording Arts & Sciences (CARAS) Hall of Fame in 1987.
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Kansas Friday, August 8th, 8 p.m.A highly successful American band in the mid-to-late ’70s, Kansas combined British-style progressive rock with elements of early ’70s heavy metal and classical music, while maintaining a hard rock edge. Instrumentally, the music of Kansas is noted for the ubiquitous presence of violin as a lead instrument, dual lead guitars, extensive orchestration and melodic interplay and tight playing. Kerry Livgren's philosophical/spiritual lyrics are well-rendered by Steve Walsh's strong, smooth vocals, often sung in duet with violinist Robby Steinhardt.
From the beginning, Kansas achieved success by playing only their original music. This "garage band" from Topeka was discovered by Wally Gold who worked for Don Kirshner and released their first album in 1974.The original line-up, which remained constant for nearly 10 years, featured Steve Walsh on vocals and keyboard, Kerry Livgren on guitar and keyboard, Robby Steinhardt on violin and vocals, Dave Hope on bass, Rich Williams on guitar and Phil Ehart on percussion. Songwriting duties were shared by Livgren and Walsh, with occasional contributions from other band members.
Kansas' first self-titled album features "Journey from Mariabronn" and "Death of Mother Nature Suite." Kansas also exhibited its blues side on tunes such as "Can I Tell You" and "Bringin' it Back," a J.J. Cale composition, notable as a rare song recorded by Kansas but not authored by a band member. The contrast between symphonic works and more earthy compositions would pervade many Kansas albums. The semi-acoustical ballad, "Lonely Wind," fit neither camp, but was the band's first single.
Kansas finally became a major attraction with their fourth album, Leftoverture, on the strength of the hit single "Carry on Wayward Son." Leftoverture represents the maturation of the band's sound –interlocking melodies, tight playing and almost fugue-like sections combined into a crisp fusion of hard rock and progressive influences. Most of the album received heavy play on FM stations.
Having achieved stardom with Leftoverture, Kansas followed up with the even more successful Point of Know Return, spearheaded by the haunting acoustical piece "Dust in the Wind." Audiovisions was the last production of the original band line-up.
Kansas parted ways in 1984 as Livgren and Hope left to form the Christian rock band AD. Walsh, Ehart and Williams re-founded Kansas in 1986, adding acclaimed guitarist Steve Morse and bass player Billy Greer from Walsh's now defunct band, Streets. Their release, Power, saw Kansas re-enter the spotlight, as the soft ballad "All I Wanted" received extensive play on Top 40 radio.
Since 1991, Kansashas toured fairly steadily, playing small-to-medium venues all over the country. In April of '91, Kansas added violinist/guitarist David Ragsdale. After a few months of U.S. touring, Morse dropped out, leaving the band with its current line-up.
Currently, the members who make up Kansas are: Phil Ehart (drummer), Billy Greer (bass guitar, vocals), David Ragsdale (violin, vocals), Steve Walsh (lead vocals, keyboards) and Richard Williams (lead and acoustic guitar). Overall, the band has produced eight gold albums, two triple platinum albums, one platinum live album and a million-selling gold single, "Dust in the Wind." Kansas appeared on the Billboard charts for more than 200 weeks throughout the ’70s and ’80s and played to sold-out arenas and stadiums throughout North America, Europe and Japan. "Carry on Wayward Son" was the number two most played track on classic rock radio in 1995 and went to number one in 1997.
Spanning three decades, Blue Öyster Cult has a long and storied history. The band got its start in the late ’60s on Long Island, NY as Soft White Underbelly (each member had been involved in bands previously in high school and college) before ending up in the “right place at the right time” to create the beginnings of Blue Öyster Cult.
Long Island native Donald Roeser and Albert Bouchard (of Watertown, NY) met at Clarkson College in Potsdam, NY. The two were introduced by a mutual friend, Bruce Abbott (who later co-authored “Golden Age of Leather” with Roeser). With Abbott and two other friends, they formed The Disciples and played college parties and local beer halls. The next year, the band regrouped and played the same circuits as Travesty (named after the Blues Project album). Through all this, their studies fell by the wayside, and both Bouchard and Roeser decided to quit college to concentrate on playing music full-time.
Eventually Travesty broke up and Roeser and Bouchard took separate paths for a while. Roeser went back to Long Island, and Bouchard took a musical opportunity in Chicago. After the move, the band fizzled and Bouchard returned to New York and joined Roeser. In the meantime, Roeser had been jamming with local musicians and had met a person that would become very influential in their future: Sandy Pearlman.
Pearlman became interested in rock music around the time of the British Invasion and was a pioneering voice of rock criticism, opening a new field for creative writers like Lester Bangs. Both Pearlman and his friend, Richard Meltzer, were contributors for seminal magazine Crawdaddy!, the first magazine that dedicated itself to analysis of rock music and its culture.
Allen Lanier came into the fold by way of guitarist John Wiesenthal. Lanier had accepted employment at a film company at which Wiesenthal was also an employee. After becoming acquainted, Wiesenthal invited Lanier out to Long Island to meet and jam with the loose group of musicians he played with and eventually, he began to play with them regularly.
An old house near Stony Brook College became ground zero for the formative band and casual jams with whomever happened to be hanging around began to turn into rehearsals with a core band, which included Wiesenthal, Roeser, Bouchard, Lanier and Andrew Winters, a school friend of Roeser. The year was 1967.
Pearlman (along with Meltzer and Wiesenthal) had been students at Stony Brook and were becoming increasingly involved in the music scene. When he heard the formative combo, he instantly recognized the talent at work. He had an idea for a band and thought that this group of musicians had the chops to put that idea into play. The musicians saw that Pearlman’s contacts and stature in the local (and increasingly national) scene could help them spawn a career and an alliance was formed.
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Foreigner Friday, August 22nd,
8 p.m.Formed in 1976, Foreigner is no stranger to meteoric global success. Signed to Atlantic Records, Foreigner's debut self-titled 1977 album was a spectacular success worldwide, yielding the quintessential hard rock hits, “Feels Like the First Time” and “Cold as Ice,” assuring the band’s passport to superstardom.
Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, Foreigner was universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world, racking up scores of smash hits, multi-platinum albums and sold out tours. From “Hot Blooded” and “Jukebox Hero,” to “Waiting For a Girl Like You,” Foreigner's thrilling mix of blustery blues and impeccably crafted pop continues to captivate generation after generation of music fans.
Now in 2008, it feels like the first time…again! Foreigner is celebrating four decades of music making, regrouping with an exciting, brand new lineup. Led by the group's creative brainchild, chief songwriter, musician and producer, Mick Jones, the band includes veteran members, keyboardist Jeff Jacobs and rhythm guitarist Tom Gimbel. New recruits include bassist Jeff Pilson, drummer Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin’s son) and vocalist Kelly Hansen.
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