I KilledPink FloydsPig
Inside Stories ofSex, Drugs and Rock & Roll
For ewor d
by SammyHagarBeau Phillips
Seattle, WashingtonPortland, OregonDenver, ColoradoVancouver, B.C.
Scottsdale, ArizonaMinneapolis, Minnesota
Copyright 2014 by Beau Phillips
ISBN: 978-1-59849-168-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014908215
Printed in the United States of America
Design: Soundview Design Studio
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, in part,
in any form, without the permission of the author.
Requests for such permissions should be addressed to:
Peanut Butter Publishing943 NE Boat StreetSeattle, Washington 98105206-860-4900
www.peanutbutterpublishing.com
Table of Contents
Forewordby Sammy Hagar ........................................ vPreface ............................................................................. viiAcknowledgements ........................................................... xi
Chapter 1Chapter 11Paul McCartney and the
Girl in the Black Beret ...............................75Chapter 12iii
Chapter 17Sorry, Dickey Betts,
We Drank All Your Beer ..........................127Chapter 18iv
Foreword
I grew up listening to rock radio. The louder the better.
I cut my teeth on bands like Led Zeppelin, the Stones and the Who. Hearing them on the radio inspired me to play guitar and sing. Man, theres no greater feeling than hearing your baby blasting out of car radio speakers, knowing that thousands of other people are listening.
Over the years, rock radios been great to me. Along the way,Ive visited lots of radio stations and made some great friends.Without radios help, I wouldve been parking cars for a living.
Whenever I hit Seattle, Id stop in to see Beau Phillips and the crazies at KISW. They gave me a shot and played my songs since day one. Ill never forget that.
Trust me, Beau has seen all of the wildness that went on backstage. And this book is loaded with amazing stories. So, grab a margarita and lets rock!
Sammy Hagar
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Preface
Once upon a time, rock gods ruled the earth.
The ground trembled as they swept from town to town, announcing their presence with thunderous chords. Legions of rock disciples flocked to their leaders. Ever devoted, they proudly wore shirts honoring their gods, emblazoned with a single name.
Zeppelin. Floyd. Clapton. Bruce. Ozzy. Slash.
This book celebrates the titans who shaped rock music for a generation, and beyond. Its a peek backstage during the decadent era of sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Youll get to know the bands that dominated the airwaves when rock was great. When air was clean. When gas was cheap. When Michael Jackson was black. When SNL was funny. When disco sucked.
A rock renaissance began to simmer in 1979, and it took fans on an exhilarating, seat-of-the-pants ride that lasted into the mid-90s. After years of marshmallow-soft hits and mind-numbing disco, rock stormed back with a vengeance. In a flash, the rock gods swung their hammers and wiped out disco with a single blow. They elbowed aside placeholder artists like Debbie Boone, Leo Sayer and Andy Gibb, ending their careers.
The rock gods punctuated the 1970s with a loud, hard exclamation point.
All of the planets aligned in 1980 as record labels, concertpromoters, music stores and radio stations all feasted on atasty smorgasbord of rock goodness. Wave after wave oficonic rock albums swarmed the FM dial and held the Billboardmusic charts in their brawny grip. Music fans reveled in an
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enchanted wonderland of Pink Floyd, Van Halen, Rush,Bob Seger, Tom Petty, the Who, ZZ Top, Ozzy Osbourne,the Stones, Queen, Ted Nugent, Bruce Springsteen, AC/DCand the list goes on. For fifteen blissful years, thosesuperstars were in their prime and released the finest albumsof their careers. Meanwhile, new rock gods emerged,including U2, Guns Roses, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Journey,Pat Benatar, Scorpions and the Police.
Rock fans gorged themselves. It was like standing in front of a musical fire hose, not wanting to miss a drop.
During this glorious era, rock ruled and every corner of the music industry thrived. What made this a uniquely special time was the spirit of cooperation. There was a perfect storm of exciting bands, prolific record labels, savvy concert promoters and destination record stores. But radio was the driving engine behind this rock revolution. Popular stations were the megaphone that evangelized to the masses and helped break artists on a national scale. Radio stations, labels, stores and promoters banded together to expose great, new music. This pay-it-forward collaboration had never existed before, and sadly will never happen again.
But it sure was fun while it lasted.
As the manager of influential rock stations and senior VP atMTV Networks, I witnessed the musical explosion from theinside. I was a fly on the wall when the almighty rock godstoured the land and built empires that have stood for decades.
This book will take you behind the music with funny, profound and outrageous stories. Over the years, I hung out with bands backstage, onstage and under the stage. Occasionally, I got invited into the inner sanctums of bandsdressing rooms, hotel suites, limos, tour buses and private planes. As you might imagine, I collected some amazing storiesand I borrowed some great tales from friends.
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I had a birds-eye view of rock & roll craziness that would make your head spin. If youre ready, Ill take you on a guided tour and introduce you to rocks biggest superstars. Youll take a red-eye flight with Keith Richards. Youll have beers with AC/DC, throw TVs with Led Zeppelin and party with Van Halen. Youll tear up hotel rooms with Joe Walsh and play golf with Jimi Hendrixs dad.
So strap in, and enjoy the adventure!
Acknowledgements
Beau Phillips would like to thank:His sons - Julian Bogel, Rory Bogel and Ross Bogel.
Laurie Cantillo, for her love and editing. Also David Cantillo, and Zach and Taylor Parsons.
Those who created the stories: Sammy Hagar, Robert Plant,Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend,Pink Floyd, Van Halen, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Sting, DavidLee Roth, AC/DC, Paul McCartney, ZZ Top, Joe Walsh,Smokey Wendell, Journey, Bryan Adams, the FabulousThunderbirds, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Sheryl Crow,Madonna, Loverboy, Foreigner, Joan Jett, Bob Geldof, Al andJimi Hendrix, Pat Benatar, Bon Jovi, Jeff Beck, Sam Kinison,Lynyrd Skynyrd, Def Leppard, Bob Dylan, Dickey Betts,RATT, Ted Nugent, Jimmy Kimmel and Randy Bachman.
Story Contributors: Sal Cirrincione, Tim Sabean, John Lassman, Dave Hamilton, Tony Scott, Larry Sharp, Sky Daniels, Watts Wacker, Joe Wade Formicola, Joe Bevilacqua and Greg Gillispie.
His co-conspirators: Steve Slaton, Lee Abrams, John Bauer,Ken Kinnear, Mike Flicker, Gary Crow, Mike West, Bob Rivers,Cathy Faulkner, Scott Jameson, Robin Erickson, Steve West,Jim Carey, Andy Schuon, John Parikhal, Kirk Stirland, DavidHazan, John and Cathy Langan, Joshua Simons, John Paul,Tim Maranville, Larry Harris, Dave Richards and the currentgang at KISW, Bo Roberts, Stan Foreman, Larry Reymann,Judy Libow, Paul Rappaport, Mark Gorlick, Jim McKeon,Robert Nesbitt, Doug Cooper, Debi Lipetz, Jane Norris, JeffKragel, Ron Woodward, the late Lester Smith and Steve Young.