​A LEGEND NEVER DIES

So, let’s get to a song. When you decide on an album order, you better be prepared that cut one, side one is what the radio stations are going to judge by. In our case, that song wasn’t the song I felt was the ‘big hit’… but in retrospect, it really worked for AOR radio in 1982.  Against all odds, KLOL, the major AOR station in Houston, and a very influential station in the world of rock, took to our track. We were out at a time where we were competing with Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Whitesnake, Joan Jett, The Scorpions and Van Halen to name a few.  If you can believe it, we charted at No.1 on this station’s playlist! We were doing so well there, and so quickly, the station asked us to headline their annual rock-fest held in the Houston Astrodome. It took about a second, and we said yes. We land in Houston and we pile into a car that took us into town to our hotel. We heard our song on KLOL multiple times as we made the drive from the airport to our hotel… it was insane. We were certainly in heavy rotation.

​We get to the Astrodome, and the other bands are playing and the place is buzzing. As the headline act, it’s finally our turn to hit the stage. We’re introduced, and we’re greeted with the roar that only thousands of anxious rockers can make… and here’s where this leads. I start the riff to “A Legend Never Dies”… and the roar went up in volume tenfold. It’s a moment I’ll never forget. I start the song by myself, the place is going nuts and they’re on our side. I’m thinking, all those years in the basement, in bars and gyms, the studio, and now I’m on stage in the Astrodome, and I see a line.. and I’m finally going to cross it. The power of radio. The show was a real thrill and went better than any of us could have imagined. As a side note, re-arrange two letters in Gendel and you get Legend. So much for my humility at the time. You had to have confidence to step into this arena, and I had it. 

I have to state here that very quickly, our reputation for our songwriting spread through a certain sector of the rock community. To make the point, the band Blackfoot, led by Ricky Medlock, currently of Lynyrd Skynyrd, covered this first song very soon after we released it. 

So, click here for the RPM version,
​And click here for the Blackfoot version.

 

​2 + 2

Short story on this one....

'2 + 2' is the second song on the debut RPM album. Besides 'A Legend Never Dies', this song got covered, as well, shortly after our debut album’s release. This time, Van Zant (formerly The Johnny Van Zant Band) recorded our song. What’s interesting is that both the Van Zants and Ricky Medlock are members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and they both independently covered our songs!  So strange, but so cool!

I hope you’ll compare both versions and share your thoughts. Of note, the guitarist on Van Zant’s recording pretty much nicked my solo note for note. They say “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”… what do you think?

For 2 + 2 by RPM, click here
For 2 + 2 by Van Zant, click here