Leon Russell


  • Summer Jam 1973: When 600,000 Fans Rocked Watkins Glen

    Watkins Glen, New Yorkโ€”July 28, 1973. This date marks an unparalleled event in rock history. The Summer Jam at Watkins Glen wasnโ€™t just a concert; it was a colossal phenomenon that shattered records and set new standards for music festivals. Promoted by Shelly Finkel and Jim Koplik, the festival attracted an estimated 600,000 to 800,000…

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 10 โ€” From Badfinger to Bangladesh

    George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh was an unqualified success, and the first-ever pop concert for charity.

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 9 โ€” Badfinger’s Tragic Story Begins

    Badfingerโ€™s new album was both falling behind schedule and becoming more expensive, and the label rejected the initial session tapes

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 7 โ€” Bobby Whitlockโ€™s Key to the Highway

    Having completed a tour in England that featured George Harrison and Eric Clapton as guest guitarists, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends returned to America to help Clapton finish his solo debut and embark on a four-month tour to support the album.

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 6 โ€” On the Road With Eric Clapton

    The band, according to member Bobby Whitlockโ€™s autobiography, had already gotten kicked off the Elektra label when it was touring, due to Delaneyโ€™s drunken antics with label owner Jac Holzman. Delaney & Bonnie manager Alan Pariser, who was close friends with Harrison, arranged for the group to be the opening act for Blind Faith, aka…

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 5 โ€” Mad Dogs & Englishmen

    In our last episode, Joe Cocker had just fired the members of his Grease band after recording his newest album, Cocker! His manager, Dee Anthony, was looking forward to returning to the U.S. to promote the highly anticipated album that featured Cocker originals and unreleased Beatles songs.

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 4 โ€” Gimme Shelter!

    Somewhere between the release of the album Accept No Substitute in July of 1969 and November of that year, Elton John began working on his second album. After the lackluster debut of Empty Sky, Elton made his mark with his self-titled second album, Elton John, featuring the tune โ€œYour Song,โ€ a beautiful ballad that remains…

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 3 โ€” The British are coming!

    Last we heard, producer David Anderle and recording engineer John Haeny had given British producer Glyn Johns a test pressing of Delaney & Bonnieโ€™s new album, Accept No Substitute, which wound up in the hands (and ears) of George Harrison.

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  • Rock Chronicles, Part 2 โ€” The adventures of Delaney & Bonnie

    Last you heard from me, husband-and-wife singing duo Delaney & Bonnie were working on their album Home, their first recording on the Memphis-based Stax label, between February and November of 1968. The general idea in the minds of the Stax executives was to create an album that would introduce the world to the โ€œfirst white…

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  • The Jay Jay French Connection, Episodes 36-40

    Episode 36 This weekโ€™s guest, Scott Benarde, is author of the book โ€œStars of David: Rock โ€˜nโ€™ Rollโ€™s Jewish Stories.โ€ In his book Scott focuses on how Judaism influenced the life & the art of many individuals in Rock n Roll. Scott combines his passion for Judaism, journalism and rock โ€˜nโ€™ roll โ€“ the result:…

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