8-17-26
Austin’s own Eric Johnson was born! He’s 72 today. A guitarist, vocalist, and composer, Johnson is best known for his guitar skills, having played music across many genres, including rock, blues, jazz fusion, soul, folk, new age, classical, and even country. Born right here in ATX, he grew up studying piano with his musically inclined family, which naturally fed into his musical development.
–
He’s a UT attendee, although he never graduated, travelling to Africa with his family during his early 20s instead. Johnson recorded his debut album Seven Worlds in the mid to late 70s, but contract disputes didn’t allow for its release until 1998. During this time he worked as a session musician for Cat Stevens, Carole King, Christopher Cross, and many more well known acts. Johnson continued performing locally in Austin during this time, but he didn’t get another break until 1984 when Warner Bros Records signed him. It was around this time that he also had a breakthrough performance on Austin City Limits that was recorded and later released on CD/DVD. Although his release with Warner Bros, Tones, received critical acclaim, it did not sell well. Johnson moved to Capitol Records shortly thereafter, releasing his certified platinum record Ah Via Musicom, wherein his Grammy-award winning single “Cliffs of Dover” was included (and we played it, of course).
8-18-26
Tuesday marked the 40th anniversary of the release of Bon Jovi’s third studio album Slippery When Wet. Released on Mercury Records here in the states all the way back in 1986, this album saw the band take on a more mainstream sound than their first two heavier records. The band wrote around 30 songs and auditioned them to local teenagers in New Jersey and New York, basing the album track listing and order off the teens’ rankings. The title went through a number of changes, ending up on its current iteration due to a chance visit to a strip club in Vancouver, involving a routine that ended with a nude dancer in a soapy shower. Lead guitarist at the time, Richie Sambora, was quoted as saying “That energized us through the whole project. Our testosterone was at a very high level back then.” The album went on to achieve great success, producing a string of hits, including a few we offered up on today’s Blue Plate Special, and helped cement Bon Jovi as a bona fide classic rock act.
8-19-26
Styx and Chicago performed at Moody Center this evening. We rocked “25 or 6 to 4” from Chicago’s second album, as well as “Lady” and “Come Sail Away” by Styx.
8-20-26
Robert Plant, Phil Lynott, and Dimebag Darrell all had birthdays, so we rocked some Zeppelin, Lizzy, and Pantera.
Robert Plant, lead singer and lyricist of Led Zeppelin for their entire career, has widely been considered one of the greatest singers in rock music. He influenced the style of his contemporary rock’n’roll peers at the time, including Geddy Lee of Rush, Ann Wilson of Heart, and good ol’ Sammy Hagar. Jeff Buckley, Jack White, Freddie Mercury, and Axl Rose have all cited Plant as an influence on them as well. Plant helped shape one of rock ‘n’ roll’s defining features – the voice – by implementing a bit of blues cadence and exaggerating with a “high range, an abundance of distortion, loud volume, and emotional excess” as quoted by the Encylopedia Britannica.
Phil Lynott, co founder, vocalist, bassist, and songwriter for Thin Lizzy, was known for his bass playing style, utilizing a pick-based technique. A native of England and Ireland known for imaginative lyrics, Lynott helped paint pictures of the working class and numerous characters drawn from Celtic culture. Plus, in my opinion, “The Boys Are Back In Town” is one of the most iconic songs of all time that describes a very specific, exciting event – hometown reunions. You’ll have to guess which song we played, though, because we chose something different!
“Dimebag” Darrell Lance Abbott, guitarist and cofounder of Pantera (and Texas native by way of Ennis, TX), is often considered one of the greatest heavy metal guitarists of all time. His dad was a country music producer, so you could say Dimebag was already in the industry essentially when he started learning guitar at age 12. Pantera released their debut album Metal Magic four years later in ’83 when Darrell was only 16. Originally a glam metal rocker, he went by the name Diamond Darrell until a few more releases. It wasn’t until their first ever major label release in 1990, Cowboys From Hell, where Dimebag introduced a bit of groove metal to their sound, refining it with each new release until their third under a major, Far Beyond Driven, which debuted in the top slot on the Billboard 200 in ’94. Following a breakup with Pantera after tensions with the band reached a breaking point, Dimebag founded Damageplan with his brother Vinnie, his heavy metal band based in Dallas. They only released one album prior to Darrell’s unfortunate demise at the hands of a deranged fan. December 8, 2004, as Damageplan performed in Columbus, Ohio, a man rushed the stage and shot Darrell several times. The band’s head of security also lost his life while trying to protect the band, as well as another fan who rushed to their aid. A venue employee was also killed while trying to stop the gunman while reloading.
8-21-26
Friday was LA Lloyd’s birthday! We celebrated with three bands from LA: Motley Crue, The Doors, and David & David. LA Lloyd is a rock legend hailing from the Carolinas, and he was originally a rock format program director in San Antonio before moving to Austin to helm KLBJ-FM. Unfortunately, he’s moved on from us in that capacity, following a decision from our previous corporate overlords. But LA still loves rock, and he refuses to give up the music he loves and helped shape him into the radio rock legend he is today.
He still runs LA Lloyd’s Rock 30 Countdown, a countdown of the week’s top contemporary rock, which is syndicated across the country. He stopped by on the morning show recently too, and if you’d like to catch up with him please give that episode a listen. Find it on the site or on our free app. It streams on Spotify and Apple as well. And check out the Rock 30 Countdown every Saturday at 9PM. There’s always a rockstar hosting the show with him, and it’s a great way to keep up with the modern rock scene. I can’t believe how many radio legends I’ve been able to work with in my time in radio. LA Lloyd is one of them, and it was an honor to work with him.
