Vinyl Tap podcast with Randy Bachman

This week on Vinyl Tap we get right to the heart of rock and roll…. Randy Bachman has put together a playlist that's going to be a bit of a mixed bag.  There will be songs with “Heart” in the title from Huey Lewis, The Eagles, Pat Benatar,  Rush and others. The playlist will also include musicians opening their hearts in support of important causes… big and small.  They use their talent and fame and hearts to help others. 

On this Vinyl Tap podcast Randy Bachman turns the volume to 11 and plays some Power Trios! Rock at its most basic… drums, bass and lead guitar.  Add a vocal and you've got a rock and roll recipe for success. The playlist includes Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Rush, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughn and many more!

This time on Vinyl Tap we'll continue with another important instrument in pop music - the piano! On this podcast we'll hear some of the best in a lineup that includes Bruce Hornsby, Blue Rodeo, ELO, Gino Vannelli, The Doors and Eddie Van Halen.

This time on Vinyl Tap we'll listen to another important instrument in pop music.  As you know, Randy Bachman has a real passion for guitar… driving rhythm and hot solos are what he calls rock and roll. But often bands will include piano, organ, or keyboards to beef up their songs. On this podcast we'll hear some of the best in a lineup that includes Bruce Hornsby, The Guess Who, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles, The Band, Little Richard, Elton John, Billie Joel and many more. This ain't your Grandma's parlour… the piano rocks this time on The Tap!

This week, Randy Bachman turns the spotlight on women who rock! Wanda Jackson is known as the “Queen Of Rockabilly” and shared the stage with many of the top acts in the fifties.  In 2011 she released an album with Jack White of the White Stripes.  It included the song “Shakin' All Over” which was a breakout hit for Randy and the Guess Who. This week the Vinyl Tap trip through time looks at some of the other women who rocked and many who still do. The playlist includes Heart, Joan Jett, Alanis Morissette, Stevie Nicks, Pink, Pat Benatar, Janis Joplin and many others.

This week on the Tap, Randy Bachman has put together a second class playlist,  That is, a collection of tunes that never made it to #1 on the charts,  A song writer or band can produce a perfect hit song but no matter what they try it just can't crack the top spot.  You will be surprised at some of the tunes that didn't. On the flip side, Randy has a bunch of Canadian tunes that DID reach #1.To find out who did or didn't top the charts, be sure to tune in to the Tap!

The Fender Stratocaster, or “Strat”, came from the evolution of the Telecaster guitar.  The Telecaster was the first solid-body electric guitar with a sound that worked and was readily adopted by musicians. It was heavy and a bit clunky so some changes were made including cutting away some of the body as well as adding a third pickup. The Stratocaster was born. This week Randy introduces us to the pop world's most iconic guitar as well as some of the people who made it famous. Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Kim Mitchell, Buddy Holly and others make the playlist. Tune in for a sampler of the guitar that rocks the world on the Tap.

Last month Randy was invited to join the Rock Legends Cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.  It was a great few days with music happening all day and into the night. Apart from concerts, meet and greets and other events he was invited to sit down with Sal Cirrincione for a wide-ranging one on one interview. Sal is a radio veteran who has been on at least 10 Rock Legends Cruises. When he's not a sea he is at home in New Jersey.   That happens in part two of The Tap. The first hour of the show features Randy playing some of the tunes he loves to listen to.

This week on Randy Bachman's Vinyl Tap everything is alright. Randy points out that those words have a couple of meanings… if you're concerned about someone you might ask, “is everything alright?” But, if it's a Sunday night and you're rocking to some great tunes, “everything is alright!" Helping convince us that everything is alright, this week we've got artists including The Beatles, The Who, April Wine, Elton John, Blind Faith, U2, Free and so many more. Even the kids are alright!

This week on Vinyl Tap, the time machine takes us all the from Canada to way down under… Australia. Over the years there has been a huge amount of music that has come out of Oz and rocked the world.  Canadians have also had success in the land down under and Randy has a mix of both this week. So if you've had enough of winter, journey to the other side of word where summer sun is shining and be sure to tune in to the Tap  

On this week's edition of the Vinyl Tapcast Randy Bachman finishes up his short sampler of Canadian rock. Randy calls it the “CamJam” and the playlist features some of the best artists who have been  rockin' the world from north of the 49th for about the past  fifty years. This week we'll hear from Red Ryder, Lighthouse, Jeff Healy, Amanda Marshal, Bryan Adams, Big Sugar, Rush, Trooper and many more.

This week on The Tap Randy Bachman begins a Canadian Rock Jam! Canadian artists have had chart success ever since the fifties and the music just keeps getting better and better.  To celebrate some of the best music in the world Randy plays rock and roll, northern style. Featured artists include Bryan Adams, April Wine, Alanis Morrissette, Arkells, Kim Mitchell, Triumph, Alannah Myles, The Guess Who, and many more!  

This week the Vinyl Tap Time Machine takes us on a tour of the huge influence the Blues had on pop music. Musical tastes have changed a lot over the years but just like in the beginning you can still hear shades of the Blues in modern rock and roll. Randy Bachman shares some rules for the Blues and a whole lot of great music on The Tap!

This week Vinyl Tap features a Texas Jam. Randy Bachman is rockin' and rollin' with music that comes out of Texas that is blues, rock, R & B and a little bit of twisted country. We'll also hear from some of the Canadians who are living in Texas so don't miss the Texas Jam and tune in to the Tap.

This time Randy has a playlist guaranteed to get you on the dance floor with a whole show featuring musical mash-ups. It's amazing how some songs go together so well while others can feel like a bit of a stretch. But where else are you going to hear Amy Winehouse together with Queen?  Or how about Adele mixing it up with AC/DC? Maybe Blondie and the Doors is your combination…

This week on a seasonal edition of Vinyl Tap, Randy Bachman is Ho-Ho-Home for the holidays.   Randy once again indulges in his inner "Secret Santa" and brings us the gift of a show featuring some of his holiday favorites.   He is taking care of Christmas with a whole program of songs perfect for rockin' around the Christmas tree or roasting chestnuts by an open fire.  The potpourri playlist includes jingles from The Eagles, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Cockburn, he Barenaked Ladies, Colin James and Randy himself along with many others.

This week on The Tap we've got drums, drums and more drums! In the early days of rock and roll a drum kit might have a kick drum, a snare, a tom-tom and a few cymbals. As rock evolved, so did drumming.  Rush's Neil Peart had a kit that sometimes included thirty drums!! The playlist this week includes Neil along with other drummers including John Bonham, Keith Moon, Dave Grohl, Ginger Baker, and many others.

This week on the Tap it's all about the bass. The bass might not be the star of a rock and roll track but you sure miss it when it can't be heard.  It's the glue that helps lock up the guitar and drums. And sometimes, it's the what carries the tune. Randy has put together a playlist that features bass, bass and more bass…with tracks from The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Police, Cream, The Beatles, Queen and many more.  So crank up the low end, turn up the volume and be sure to tune in to the Tap!

Christopher Walken featured in one of the best Saturday Night Live sketches and kicks off our show this week with … “More Cowbell!” Randy has put together an entire playlist of songs that feature cowbell and even more cowbell.  We'll hear from The Stones, Santana, BTO, Mountain, Free, War and many others.

This week on Vinyl Tap Randy Bachman brings us some of the greatest rock and roll screams and screamers. They are intense, edgy and really kick up a song's energy.  The playlist includes BTO, Joe Cocker, Deep Purple, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Cream and many more.

This week Randy invites you to tune in to the Tap once again.  You won't want to miss part two of our trip through the evolution of Power Trios…The playlist includes Cream, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Mountain, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, April Wine and many more.

This week on Vinyl Tap Randy Bachman turns the volume to 11 and plays some Power Trios! Rock at its most basic… drums, bass and lead guitar.  Add a vocal and you've got a rock and roll recipe for success. The playlist includes Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Rush, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughn and many more. Be sure to tune in to the Tap for some power trios!

This week the Vinyl Tap time machine takes us back to a show that Randy Bachman calls “Homegrown”. The show features music that's been written in Canada by Canadian writers and it has been been done by artists all over the world. The playlist features music by Buffy St Marie, Neil Young, Tom Cochrane, Robbie Robertson, Leonard Cohen, Paul Anka and many other top Canadian song writers.  If you want to hear some great music that's ‘homegrown' be sure to tune in to the Tap!

This week the Vinyl Tap time machine takes us back to 1970. Protests against the war in Vietnam continued. The tragic shooting at Kent State happened and Neil Young wrote the song “Ohio”. But there was good news as well…It was the year that the first Earth Day was celebrated. The playlist this week includes Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Chicago, Led Zeppelin, Santana, The Stones, Badfinger and more. And it was a big music year for Randy… the Guess Who had world-wide hits with American Woman and No Sugar so he did what any artist would do when they had success… he quit the band.  It's a rock and roll tour of 1970 so be sure to tune in to the Tap!

This week the Vinyl Tap the time machine takes us back to another big year in rock… 1969. It was the year Neil Armstrong and his crew stepped out onto the surface of the moon. Public Broadcasting began in the US and a computer network system called ARPNET was created and would become the basis of the internet. The Beatles gave their final public show in London  Some other big music events took place including a gathering of over three hundred thousand for a festival in Woodstock, New York. Our playlist this week incudes some of the acts from Woodstock… Jimi Hendrix, Crosby, Stills Nash and Young, Creedence, The Who, Sly and the family Stone and many others. So, make one small step and be sure to tune in to the Tap!

This week the Vinyl Tap journey takes us to the deep south. Its 1970 and the new decade opened with a new sound.  The Allman Brothers rocked onto the music scene with a guitar-driven band that drew its influence from rock and roll, country and southern blues. More and more bands began to fill the airwaves with what we know as southern rock and the playlist this week includes some of the best… Lynyrd Skynrd, Molly Hatchet, 38 Special, ZZ Top, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, BTO and more. So, for a musical trip through the deep south and beyond be sure to tune in to the Tap!

Wanda Jackson is known as the “Queen Of Rockabilly” and shared the stage with many of the top acts in the fifties.  And she's kept on rockin' her whole life…releasing an album in 2011 with Jack White of the White Stripes. In 2021 Wanda released “Encore”, an album produced by Joan Jett. Wanda was 82 years old. This week the Vinyl Tap trip through time looks at some of the other women who rocked and many who still do. The playlist includes Heart, Joan Jett, Alanis Morissette, Stevie Nicks, Pink, Pat Benatar, Janis Joplin and many others. You oughta know we are gonna hit you with our best shot so be sure to tune in to The Tap!  

This week, the Vinyl Tap time machine lands in another important year in the growth of rock and roll.  It's 1968. There was lots happening in the world… not quite a time machine but Boeing did launch the first 747 jumbo jet. TV history was made when Star Trek's James Kirk shared an on-screen kiss with Lieutenant Uhura. The winter Olympics were held in France and broadcast for first time on colour TV and the Beatles released the White Album. Other musical artists of note that year included Cream, The Zombies, Traffic, The Kinks, Bob Seger, Steppenwolf and the Rolling Stones.  We'll here them plus many others this week so jump on your magic carpet for a ride back to 1968 and be sure to tune in to The Tap!  

This week, the Vinyl Tap time machine lands in another important year in the growth of rock and roll.  It's 1968. There was lots happening in the world… not quite a time machine but Boeing did launch the first 747 jumbo jet. TV history was made when Star Trek's James Kirk shared an on-screen kiss with Lieutenant Uhura. The winter Olympics were held in France and broadcast for first time on colour TV and the Beatles released the White Album. Other musical artists of note that year included Cream, The Zombies, Traffic, The Kinks, Bob Seger, Steppenwolf and the Rolling Stones.  We'll here them plus many others this week so jump on your magic carpet for a ride back to 1968 and be sure to tune in to The Tap!  

The Vinyl Tap time machine is still in 1967 as we feature more of the great music made that year. As Randy Bachman reminds us,  1967 and the “summer of love” was a time of change.  And a bit of science fiction as well.   Montreal hosted the world for Expo '67.  The first issue of Rolling Stone magazine came out.  The Beatles created Sgt Pepper. The first human heart transplant was performed. Woodstock was still two years away.  So was the Apollo moon landing. And the music was great.  We'll from The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Traffic, Jefferson Airplane, The Moody Blues, The Guess Who and many others. Come along for a magical mystery tour when you tune in to The Tap!

This week, the Vinyl Tap time machine takes us way, way back to 1967 and the summer of love. A movement began that year that would take the world by storm.  As many as one hundred thousand hippies gathered in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco and began a culture of free love and free spirit… kind of free everything in fact. Musicians quickly added a soundtrack to what was going on and most of the key players appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival. On the Tap this week we'll hear from Cream, The Who, The Beatles, The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, Hendrix and many more. Turn on and drop out if you want, but be sure to tune in to The Tap!

The Vinyl Tap tour through the decades continues with more of the best music from 1966. It was a big year… Star Trek began on TV and the Beatles played their last public show in San Francisco 56 years ago! Some of the great music we'll hear this week comes from the Beatles, the Hollies, the Kinks, the Yardbirds, Loving Spoonful, and of course from Canada, a couple of tidbits from the early Guess Who. We're going back again to 1966 where it is still summer in the city so be sure to tune in to the Tap.

This week Randy begins something new on Vinyl Tap. Over the next weeks the Vinyl Tap time machine will travel through the years and bring us some of the greatest hits and some of Randy's favorites from year to year.   The playlist is sure to bring back great memories as we begin in 1966, right at the start of what we now call classic rock.    Music from Cream, The Stones, Beatles, Beach Boys, Byrds, Guess Who and many more. Hold on tight for a ride you won't forget when you tune in to the Tap.

What an incredible summer Randy Bachman has had! The real excitement began on July first when he went to Japan and finally got his 1957 Gretsch 6120 guitar back…tune in for more of that story. Gretsch guitars suddenly became popular when Chet Atkins endorsed them in the mid-fifties.  Since then, they've been played by George Harrison,  Pete Townsend, Brian Setzer, Neil Young, Angus Young, and of course me. It's the return of the prodigal Gretsch so be sure to tune in to The Tap!

This week on Vinyl Tap everything is alright. Those words have a couple of meanings… if you're concerned about someone you might ask “is everything alright”? But if it's a summer night and you're rocking to some great tunes, “everything is alright”! Helping convince us that everything is alright this week we've got artists including The Beatles, The Who, April Wine, Blind Faith, U2, Free and so many more. Even the kids are alright so be sure to tune in to The Tap!

This week on Vinyl Tap Randy shares a bunch more songs that he thinks are misnamed. A song may have a perfectly good title, yet the listeners pull a line from the chorus, or verse and call it that. Think about it… who doesn't call the Who's Baba O'Reilly “Teenage Wasteland”? And sometimes even the songwriters do it on purpose.  Led Zeppelin's “D'yer M'aker” never mentions those words. The playlist of misnamed songs this week includes Cream, The Band, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Rolling Stones and many more. So, after the gold rush, meet up under the bridge and be sure to tune in to The Tap!

On Vinyl Tap this week we explore the mystery of misnamed songs. Songwriters struggle to find the best melody, the perfect lyrics and finally, the cherry on top… a memorable song title. And yet many times, the listeners call the song something completely different! This has even happened to me…  Our playlist of misnamed songs this week includes tunes from Dishwalla, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Green Day, Sam Roberts and many others. So, call it what you will but be sure to tune in to The Tap!

This week the Vinyl Tap time machine is heading to the other side of the world for a stop in Australia.   AC/DC is probably the best-known rock and roll band from down under.  They've been blasting their three-chord rock to world for nearly fifty years.  But they are definitely not alone.  Australians embraced rock and roll right from the beginning.  It wasn't long before a unique Oz music scene developed. This week's playlist features some of those acts including the Easybeats, The Bee Gees, Rick Springfield, Men at Work, INXS, Midnight Oil and others including Canadian artists who had success down under. So, for those who are about to tune in to the Tap, we salute you! 

On Vinyl Tap this week our look at the piano in rock and roll continues. Early rock piano players drew from Jazz, rhythm and blues and boogie-woogie for their inspiration.  As technology changed, so did musical tastes and the piano along with other keyboards became a huge part of progressive rock. And still a song just might need the versatility of 88 keys to make it sparkle. The playlist this week includes, Van Halen, Blue Rodeo, Spencer Davis Group, ELO, Gino Vanelli, The Doors and many more.

This week on Vinyl Tap we'll turn our attention to the south.  After a whole month of great Canadian music the time machine is set for Texas.  The Texas Jam ran from 1978 to 1988 on the July 4th weekend.  The Jam featured some of the best rock and roll out of the Longhorn State as well as many touring bands.  BTO played the Jam in 1986 and I've got a great story about that gig.

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