Chronicles of Rock

In September 1981, Genesis recorded their 11th album. And for the first time, they utilized guest musicians and the newly developed drum machines. They adapted their sound to the rising New Wave move…

35 years ago, after a triumphant performance at a music festival in Wisconsin alongside many other rock & blues greats, the 35 year old Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash, thus cutting sho…

In the summer of 1975, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band released an album that saved their careers. In jeopardy of being dropped by their record company, they came up with a masterpiece of an …

Following the immense success of the concept album/rock opera Tommy, Pete Townshend had an even more ambitious project in mind for the Who's next studio album -- one that would connect the band and l…

In August 1977, Emerson, Lake and Palmer brought a very ambitious concert tour to Montreal, to Olympic Stadium backed by a 60-piece orchestra. But before the tour began, the three bandmates lived and…

43 years ago, a band from Birmingham, England, became a sensation with an album that fused Bowie & Roxy Music influences with American soul & funk, and delivered it with a sunny sheen that helped mak…

In the early 1980’s, rock’s New Wave washed away many of the bands from the previous decade. But one Canadian band adapted and rode the tide to even greater success. For their 8th album, Rush pared d…

It may well be the greatest album in the career of one of rock’s greatest bands. With the help of a brand new guitarist recruited from John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and through recording sessions at t…

With Ozzy Osbourne performing what looks to be his final concert ever, Randy looks back at one of the most infamous concert moments of Ozzy's remarkable career -- the time he bit into a bat onstage. …

In 1970, just months after their debut album had been released, four lads from Birmingham re-entered the studio to record a follow-up. It took them less than a week, but its impact would be eternal, …

On July 3, 1971, Jim Morrison passed away while in Paris. But the exact circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. Randy Renaud returns to that day to revisit the events on this week's editi…

One November night in 1973, a group of musicians without even a band name yet, performed 3 songs live on CHOM. Soon after a recording contract followed, and then a debut album that would make the nam…

In late February, 1974, the first album from a brand-new Montreal band was released. It would help launch a Montreal musical renaissance, and lead to that band getting an invitation to tour Europe wi…

It was a bold move, and a desperate one, when David Bowie, struggling to make a go of it as a rock musician, adopted a pseudonym and donned a wild outfit in 1972. It was the birth of Ziggy Stardust, …

50 years ago this month -- June 5, 1975 -- Pink Floyd were in the studio working on a new song for the next album -- a long, epic song written in honour of their former leader and principal songwrite…

40 years ago, after building a stellar reputation as one of rock's most unique and critically acclaimed bands, Simple Minds reached a new level, becoming one of the globe's biggest bands. It started …

In late May 1997, former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl, embarked on a new phase of his career by releasing an album with a new band he called Foo Fighters. It proved to be a massive success and helped …

After disappointing sales for Weezer's second album, leader Rivers Cuomo went into complete isolation and wrote an incredible 121 new songs -- 10 of which were recorded for the band's next album, pro…

40 years ago, Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits released their 5th album, Brothers In Arms, recorded with radically new recording technology and a new form of music delivery called "the compact disc." T…

One April evening 60 years ago, John Lennon and George Harrison ingested something that they'd never experienced before, and didn't even know they were consuming. It would be the start of a wild nigh…