In 1978, Rod Stewarts’ Blondes Have More Fun was released, which included the hit single “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” Many consider this to be the turning point in his career, when he forsook his R&B and rock roots for a more commercial path. If such a dichotomy exists, this interview falls squarely in the earlier phase.

This interview, recorded by Dave Herman for the King Biscuit Flower Hour in Lakeland, Florida, covers the entirety of his career until that point. It starts quickly with his childhood years and his first jobs (as a professional soccer player and then gravedigger) and how he eventually left all of it behind to play music while wandering through Europe. He then goes on to talk about all of his bands, and it’s remarkably enjoyable to hear Rod reminisce both fondly (Ron Wood) and not-so-fondly (Jeff Beck) about his old band mates (this is especially true as he gets a couple of rum and cokes deep into the interview).

00:00 – Intro 00:48 – Childhood / family 01:17 – Maintaining family relations 01:42 – British tax exiles 02:33 – Perks of living in America 02:56 – David Bowie’s take on L.A. 03:45 – Hating school 04:00 – Parents’ hope for Rod 04:25 – The old soccer contract 04:55 – Grave digging 05:44 – Ending up in the music business 06:13 – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott 07:04 – Emulating Bob Dylan / leaving home 07:53 – Family reaction to being a rambling boy 08:30 – Getting thrown out of Spain 09:05 – Defining a good album / working with a band 10:07 – “I Was Only Joking” 10:54 – Who really knows Rod Stewart? 12:20 – Long John Baldry / being discovered 14:12 – The Steampacket 14:57 – Forming The Jeff Beck Group 16:18 – What Jeff Beck used to be like / stealing eggs with Ron Wood 17:30 – Who was really responsible for Led Zeppelin 18:26 – Possible reunion of The Jeff Beck Group 18:54 – The break-up of The Jeff Beck Group 20:20 – Why Ron Wood got fired from The Jeff Beck Group 20:52 – The Small Faces: Origins / Vanilla Fudge 22:17 – Climbing the musical ladder 22:46 – His original rock n’ roll aspirations 23:37 – Life after success / being a workaholic 24:09 – Playing rock n’ roll forever / predictions for the longevity of The Rolling Stones 25:09 – Leading a double-life / the break-up of The Small Faces 27:00 – The Thin album 28:20 – Covering Bob Dylan 29:20 – Writing material / “The Killing of Georgie (Part 1 and 2)” 30:59 – Not a natural songwriter 32:00 – Sway songs at soccer games / “Sailing”

In 1977, Kiss was one of the most popular bands in the world, thanks in large part to their electrifying performances. In 1978, they tried to build on this popularity through the simultaneous release of 4 solo albums and the release of a made-for-TV movie. These moves did not turn out as well as expected.

In 1979, the band was ready to get back on the road in support of their new album, Dynasty. Kiss wanted to get back to doing what they did best: creating an impressive concert experience. History tells us that this tour did not meet the band’s expectations as attendance dropped and Peter Criss left the band after the tour’s completion.

The interview recorded here for the Direct News radio show features Gene Simmons (the deeper voice) and Ace Frehley. It captures the band in the commercially oriented state of mind they were in at this point, focusing on the theatrics fans could expect at their upcoming tour. There are also hints of the band’s growing frustration as they discuss rumors of breaking up and recent criticisms from the press.

00:00 – Hi to mom / the stage set-up for the new tour 01:24 – Playing to an audience in 360 degrees 02:23 – A special guest at one of the shows 02:51 – An estimate of the tour’s cost / sparing no expense 03:25 – Breaking even / making money on tour 03:47 – Not being The Ramones / an audiovisual spectacle 04:38 – Not getting bored / playing for new audiences 05:17 – The most amazing rock n’ roll show 06:05 – Saving some tricks for the next tours 06:44 – The Kiss movie: on hold 07:54 – Making solo albums / keeping the band together 09:35 – Rumors of the band breaking up 10:07 – Gene’s favorite works of “speculative fiction” 12:12 – Invasion of the Body Snatchers 12:37 – Getting airplay on FM radio / not pleasing everybody 13:35 – Relationship with the press 14:19 – How one becomes a rock n’ roll critic 15:24 – No such thing as bad press 16:06 – Kiss as superheroes (but not characters) 17:17 – Change the outfits but not the make up

How does a man who has worked with Jean-Luc Ponty, Frank Zappa, Cannonball Adderly, Stanley Clarke, and Billy Cobham keep his career’s momentum going? By creating a Dukey Stick, of course!

As a virtuosic keyboard player, George Duke had recorded and toured with all of the above names by the time this interview was recorded in 1978. Covering jazz, rock, and everything on the spectrum in between, Duke then headed in a more straightforward funk direction with 1977’s Reach For It and its 1978 follow-up Don’t Let Go. Complete with a plexi-glass, fire-shooting, electric-rainbow-light magic wand, he was seemingly fully immersed in the funk. However, he was already working on more diverse projects and openly admits in this interview o trying to avoid being pigeonholed in any specific genre.

With such rich and varied experiences, Duke has a lot to say about music, which, along with the laid-back nature of this chat, makes for a great interview. An additional highlight is his description of a young new singer in his band, Sheila E.

00:00 – A strange, evolved, mixed audience 01:33 – 70 albums / fear of overexposure 02:56 – Reach For It / something more important than album sales 03:53 – Time: the only way to put on a good show 04:55 – Starting over as an opening act 06:07 – Getting one’s style cramped; just part of the business 07:59 – Becoming more of a visual act / the Dukey Stick 09:52 – Laser music / enhancing the music 11:52 – Letting go, going with the flow (music, love, life) 13:47 – The mistakes of critics 15:00 – The fusion argument / multi-stylistic 17:02 – Transcending the fusion argument 17:36 – The funk argument / touching someone instead of impressing musicians 19:20 – Adding simplicity to the music 20:13 – Connections to punk and politics 22:14 – “Music is a found treasure” 22:47 – 1978: a good year for music / the economy’s effect on live shows 24:19 – Don’t Let Go 25:38 – Feeling better about his singing 26:26 – New challenges 27:32 – Being oneself while wearing different hats 28:53 – Increased sophistication in Brazilian music 30:24 – The integration of music into American society 31:13 – Current tours 31:39 – Where is Shuggie Otis? 32:18 – Producing, working with Raul de Souza 33:12 – Sheila E. / youth in the group 34:39 – The next direction, with timeline 35:44 – The George Duke image / fighting the pigeonholing 37:11 – Last words / touring