'60s '70s '80s - Warm, Candid, Classic, Rock Interviews with Music Legends - A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

Drummer Michael Shrieve’s story reads like a rock-and-roll fairy tale — the kind of musical journey that blends youthful serendipity with restless creativity, and a lifelong appetite for pushing boundaries.
Before he was a name on Santana’s classic albums or a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, he was a kid with sticks and big dreams.
Born in California, Shrieve grew up deeply drawn to music. As a teenager he played in his first serious band and gigged around backing rhythm and blues acts — even sitting in with seasoned performers like B.B. King and Etta James.
At just 16, a pivotal moment came when he sat in during a jam at San Francisco’s famed Fillmore Auditorium. His playing caught someone's ear — Santana’s manager Stan Marcum — setting the stage for his astonishing ascent.
At 19, Shrieve met Carlos Santana in a studio and was invited to join the band on the spot. It was a leap that would change his life.
Almost immediately after joining, Shrieve found himself at the center of one of rock’s defining moments: Santana’s performance at Woodstock in August 1969.
Barely 20 years old, his explosive drum solo on “Soul Sacrifice” became one of the enduring visual and sonic highlights of the event’s documentary.
Between '69 and '74, Shrieve played on Santana’s first seven albums: Santana (1969), Abraxas (1970), Santana III (1971), Caravanserai (1972), Welcome (1973) and Borboletta (1974), plus the live album Lotus (1974).
He wasn’t just a timekeeper. On Caravanserai he co-produced and co-wrote four tracks, helping guide the band into more experimental, jazz-infused territory. His work helped broaden the possibilities of rock percussion, drawing on influences from jazz greats and Latin rhythms alike.
By the mid-'70s, Shrieve was ready to expand his musical palette beyond Santana. He left the band to pursue solo projects and relocated to London.
One of his first ventures was Automatic Man , a group that blended rock with progressive and funk elements.
He then joined the avant-garde fusion supergroup Go, alongside formidable musicians like Steve Winwood, Stomu Yamashta, Klaus Schulze and Al Di Meola. The band released multiple albums and toured, diving deep into jazz, electronic and world music textures.
Throughout the late ’70s and ’80s Shrieve stayed busy, playing with Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve (with Neal Schon and Sammy Hagar) and contributing to albums by artists as diverse as The Rolling Stones (Emotional Rescue, 1980) and Roger Hodgson of Supertramp. He also collaborated on Richard Wahnfried projects with electronic composer Klaus Schulze and recorded his own electronic music.
After leaving Santana, Shrieve didn’t slow down — he reinvented himself again and again. Beyond rock and fusion bands, he became a composer and session player whose credits include work with Mick Jagger, George Harrison, Pete Townshend, Andy Summers, Jaco Pastorius and many others.
He also ventured into film music, composing scores for movies including Tempest and Apollo 13, and continued collaborations with musicians across genres.
In 1997 he reunited with former Santana members — Neal Schon, Gregg Rolie, José Areas and Michael Carabello — in Abraxas Pool, a project that revisited and re-imagined elements of the classic Santana sound.
Shrieve’s contributions were formally recognized when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 for his work with Santana, and later honored with Guitar Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. He’s also been cited by Rolling Stone as one of rock’s greatest drummers.
In 2016, he briefly reunited with the original Santana lineup for the album Santana IV, again marking his deep connection to the music that made his name.
Today, Michael Shrieve remains a vibrant artist. His band Spellbinder, blends jazz and improvisatory rock; he works on ambitious solo projects like Drums of Compassion; and continues to collaborate with forward-thinking musicians across genres.
Michael joins us today to share his story.

Frankie Miller has one of those voices that stops you mid-sentence — gritty, soulful, aching, and unmistakably real.
It’s the sound of lived experience, shaped by smoky pubs, late nights, hard miles on the road, and a deep love of rhythm and blues.
Born Francis Miller in 1949, in Glasgow, Scotland, Frankie grew up in a working-class environment where music wasn’t a luxury — it was a lifeline.
As a teenager, Frankie was already soaking up American blues and soul records, falling hard for artists like Muddy Waters, Otis Redding, and Ray Charles.
Those influences never left him. You can hear them in every rasp, every shout, every tender moment in his singing. By the late 1960s, he was fronting his own band, building a reputation as a formidable live performer around the UK. Long before the record deals and chart success, Frankie was earning his stripes the old-fashioned way — on stage, night after night.
His big break came in the early '70s when he signed to Chrysalis Records. His debut album Once in a Blue Moon (1972) immediately showcased his emotional range and powerful voice.
The album also revealed something else: Frankie wasn’t just a belter — he was a storyteller. Songs like “I’m Falling in Love” hinted at the soulful depth that would define his career.
Over the next decade, Frankie Miller released a run of albums that firmly established him as one of the great blue-eyed soul singers of his generation. Records like High Life (1974), The Rock (1975), and Full House (1977) blended rock, soul, and blues with effortless confidence. The Rock in particular is often cited as a high point — raw, energetic, and brimming with personality. It also helped cement his reputation internationally, especially in the United States, where his sound resonated deeply.
Frankie’s songwriting talent didn’t go unnoticed either. In fact, some of his most famous songs became hits for other artists. “I Can't Change It" was covered by artists like Ray Charles.
Rod Stewart also became a close friend and champion, recording several Frankie Miller songs and helping introduce his music to an even wider audience. It was clear: musicians loved him as much as fans did.
Despite the success, Frankie never chased trends or tried to polish away the rough edges that made him special. His voice remained raw and honest, often sounding like it might crack — and sometimes it did — but that vulnerability was exactly the point. He sang like someone who meant every word.
Then, in 1994, everything changed. Frankie suffered a massive brain hemorrhage that left him unable to speak or sing, abruptly ending his performing career. It was a devastating blow, not just to fans, but to the music world as a whole. One of rock and soul’s most distinctive voices was suddenly silenced.
In the years that followed, Frankie’s wife helped him through a long and difficult recovery. While he would never return to the stage, Frankie’s spirit — and his music — endured.
Fellow musicians rallied around him, and albums like Frankie Millers Double Take where Elton, Rod, Willie Nelson and others duetted with him, helped reintroduce his catalogue to new listeners while honoring his immense influence.
Today, Frankie Miller is remembered not just for his powerful voice, but for his authenticity. He was never a glossy superstar or a carefully manufactured rock icon. He was a singer’s singer — admired by peers, respected by critics, and adored by fans who recognised something deeply human in his music.
Frankie Miller’s songs still feel alive because they come from a place of truth. Whether he was roaring through a blues rocker or whispering through a tender ballad, he sang like a man laying his heart on the line.
Joining us this week is Scottish author, Davy Arthur who has recently penned a book to honour Frankie. You can pick up the book 'Long Way Home' - The Frankie MIller story here. It's published by New Haven

On this week’s A Breath of Fresh Air, Sandy welcomes a man whose songs have woven themselves into the fabric of several generations.
Tommy James, the legendary frontman of Tommy James & The Shondells, joins us for a deep, revealing conversation about the highs, the heartbreaks and the astonishing twists behind one of the most successful hit-making careers of the 1960s and beyond.
Tommy’s journey is the kind of story Hollywood couldn’t invent — though they’re certainly trying, with his bestselling memoir Me, the Mob and the Music currently being adapted for the big screen.
He takes us right back to his childhood in Niles, Michigan, where loving rock ’n’ roll meant picking up a guitar, forming a band and hoping the magic would follow. It did — but not in any way Tommy expected.
He talks us through the incredible moment when Hanky Panky, a forgotten B-side recorded years earlier, suddenly blew up in Pittsburgh after a bootlegger pressed tens of thousands of copies.
One minute Tommy was playing small clubs; the next he and his band were national chart-toppers. That whirlwind success swept him straight into the arms of Roulette Records — a label run by the charming but notoriously dangerous Morris Levy, a man later revealed to have deep ties to the Genovese crime family.
Tommy opens up about the complicated relationship that followed: the protection, the pressure, the creative freedom, and the financial exploitation that kept millions of dollars out of his hands.
In this wonderfully open chat, Tommy revisits the creation of the monster hits that still light up dance floors today.
He tells Sandy how I Think We’re Alone Now reinvented the band’s sound, how a flashing neon sign inspired the name for Mony Mony, and how Crimson and Clover marked a bold new chapter in studio experimentation — a leap that helped Tommy move from AM pop dominance to the era of FM album rock.
He describes the excitement of breaking musical ground, the thrill of hearing his songs explode on radio, and the constant sense of danger swirling around Roulette’s offices.
Sandy and Tommy also explore the cultural shifts that shaped his era: the rise of psychedelia, the breakup of The Shondells, and the changing landscape of the record business as artists were suddenly expected to deliver albums with artistic depth, not just hit singles. He recalls touring America in the late ’60s, his surprising involvement in Hubert Humphrey’s presidential campaign, and the little-known story of why he turned down Woodstock — a decision that has fascinated fans for decades.
Today, Tommy remains as passionate and creative as ever. With new music, a thriving fan base, and an extraordinary life story headed for film adaptation, he’s enjoying a well-deserved renaissance.
His music still pulses through movies, TV, commercials and global radio, connecting across generations and reminding listeners why these songs have never stopped mattering.
This episode is a joyful, eye-opening, often jaw-dropping journey through one of the most colourful careers in rock ’n’ roll. If you love the artists who shaped the soundtrack of our lives — the stars of the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s — then settle in. Tommy James has stories you’ll be telling your friends for days.

In this deeply personal and wonderfully candid episode, we’re joined by one of rock’s most recognisable and influential drummers: Liberty DeVitto.
For three decades, Liberty was the rhythmic engine behind Billy Joel — the man whose explosive, intuitive playing powered classics like “Only the Good Die Young,” “Movin’ Out,” “You May Be Right,” “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” and so many more. But as you’ll hear, his story is so much bigger than the music that made him famous.
Liberty opens up about his Brooklyn upbringing, marked by a tough home life and a school system that didn’t quite know what to do with a kid like him.
He talks about the teacher who dismissed his dreams outright, and the moment that changed everything: seeing the Beatles on television and suddenly realising what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
From there, Liberty takes us on a vivid journey through the early days — the basement rehearsals, the bar gigs, the scramble to get noticed — until fate put him in the same room as a young Billy Joel.
The chemistry was instant, electric, and undeniable. Liberty reminisces about the early records where the band was still finding its voice, the Stranger sessions where everything clicked, and the whirlwind that followed as Billy Joel became one of the biggest artists on the planet.
Of course, success rarely comes without friction.
Liberty speaks honestly about life inside the Billy Joel band, the tight-knit camaraderie, the touring madness, the studio magic, and the growing tensions that eventually fractured the group.
He doesn’t shy away from the painful parts — the confusion, hurt, and years of silence after he was let go. But he also shares the long path back toward healing, forgiveness, and ultimately reconciliation with Billy after fifteen years apart.
Along the way, he talks about fatherhood, sobriety, personal growth, and the rediscovery of joy through new creative partnerships and projects — including his heartfelt work with the band The Slim Kings and his passion for mentoring young musicians.
This conversation is full of humour, honesty, vulnerability, and wisdom, offering a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the life of a man who helped shape some of the most iconic songs of the ’70s, ’80s, and beyond.
Whether you’re a longtime Billy Joel fan, a drummer, or simply someone who loves a good story of resilience and reinvention, this episode delivers in spades.
Settle in — Liberty DeVitto’s journey is one you won’t forget.
For more about Liberty head for his website https://libertydevitto.com/
I hope you enjoy his story.

In this episode, I finally get to sit down with a man I’ve been chasing for more than four years — the incomparable Ian Gillan of Deep Purple.
If you grew up on classic rock the way I did, you already know exactly what a monumental figure he is. Ian’s the powerhouse vocalist who helped define the sound of hard rock, pushed the limits of vocal technique, and gave us some of the most enduring songs in modern music history.
But this isn’t your typical rock-star chat. Ian opens up about everything — from hearing Elvis for the first time and singing as a boy soprano to scraping by with half-broken instruments, makeshift drum kits, and a single pair of trousers he rotated with Roger Glover.
He talks candidly about those early club days in Germany, the magic of the transistor radio, and how the surf-rock craze swept through London in the mid-60s.
We dive right into the evolution of Episode Six, the songwriting partnership with Roger Glover, the birth of Deep Purple’s legendary hard-rock sound, and the incredible creative chemistry that powered albums like In Rock, Fireball, and Machine Head.
Ian shares what it was really like inside the whirlwind of fame — the money, the mayhem, the distractions, the growing pains, and the moment he realised the band’s unity was starting to fracture.
He also reflects on the pressures of success, the importance of staying true to your artistic identity, and why he ultimately walked away from one of the biggest bands in the world. It’s raw, honest, funny, nostalgic, and full of the kind of stories only Ian Gillan can tell.
If you love Deep Purple, classic rock history, behind-the-scenes stories, or simply a great conversation with a remarkably self-aware and entertaining storyteller, this episode is going to be a treat.
Tune in and step inside the life, the voice, and the unstoppable spirit of Ian Gillan.
To learn more about Ian head to:
Ian Gillan (official site) www.gillan.com
Deep Purple – official band site deep-purple.com deep-purple.com
Deep Purple – Ian Gillan’s page on band site deep-purple.com/band/ian-gillan/ deep-purple.com