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This week it’s my pleasure to welcome my pal, ex-Spoons and Honeymoon Suite keys player Rob Preuss back to the show. Rob called in from his home in Queens, NY with a playlist that has a special meaning to him.

As always, Rob brings impressive insights and great stories to the conversation, including his interaction with Ted Templeman during the recording of Honeymoon Suite’s Racing After Midnight album, the time when Doobie Brothers’ Michael McDonald hummed melody ideas into his ear, and how having less can be so much more.    

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Lots of musical things happened in 1981. One of those things was Rush’s release of their most popular record, Moving Pictures. Just a few years before that, they were almost dropped from their record label.

This week on NSTS we look at the leadup to the Moving Pictures album, how it came together. and all of the amazing intricacies that went into it – including the physical impacts Tom Sawyer’s drum tracks had on Neil Peart, who the people are on the album cover, and what the triple entendre (not just double) cover artwork really means and who was behind it.  

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So much great stuff happened at the beginning of the 80s that I just had to continue going through it this week on NSTS.

In 1981 MTV changed the musical landscape forever, Blondie helped to bring rap into the mainstream spotlight with Rapture, and Ozzy bit the heads off of two doves in a meeting with record executives, kicking off a long list of misdeeds that would include biting the head off of a bat, snorting ants, urinating on the Alamo, and so much more. And it’s all right here on this week’s show, check it out.  

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John, Bon, and Bonzo: we lost three rock icons in the year 1980. Former Beatle John Lennon, AC/DC singer Bon Scott, and Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham all departed in the same year. 

This week on NSTS we continue our look at 1980, focusing on these three figures – shedding light on a new theory of how Scott may have really died, the bizarre backstory of Lennon killer Mark David Chapman, and why Bonzo’s headmaster said he would either be a garbage man or a millionaire.   

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The 80s marked a time when music and commerce would become indelibly intertwined – record companies did away with old artist development models in favour of capitalizing on a growing talent pool. And with MTV now providing a visual aspect to accompany a song, music would rely on image like never before.

This week on NSTS we look at the bigger, brighter, and money-driven music of the 1980s, starting right at the beginning – in 1980. The creation and impact of the Sony Walkman, why one-hit wonders proliferated in the 80s, who The Rolling Stones’ Angie was about, the tragic death of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis, and more. Don’t miss it.

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Legendary Blood Sweat & Tears frontman and Grammy winner David Clayton Thomas joins me from his home this week to chat about his new record Say Somethin’.

We also talk about the songs that make his skin vibrate, and some of the artists on his list are actually friends and collaborators, including the great Roberta Flack. Fantastic discussion with one of the true greats.      

Thomas’ playlist:

Ray Charles – Unchain My Heart

Marvin Gaye – What’s Goin On

Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly

Otis Redding – Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

Percy Sledge – When A Man Loves A Woman

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In late 1969, The Rolling Stones gave fans a free concert in response to criticism that their concert tickets had been too expensive. They were joined by a select number of other acts at Altamont Speedway in California and the concert become a festival, fashioned after Woodstock.

It would be anything but. Hells Angels acted as security, and Altamont would be remembered not for peace and love, but instead for destruction, murder, and ‘the end of innocence’.  And a subsequent assassination attempt of Mick Jagger in New York.   

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A lot of important things happened in 1969, and one of those things was the Woodstock music festival.

This week on NSTS we take a close look at Woodstock’s three days of ‘peace and love’ – the chaos it faced in hosting more than four hundred thousand people, the artists that showed up (along with the ones that didn’t), and how it came to be known as a pivotal moment in defining a countercultural generation.  

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1969 was a crazy year. Led Zeppelin scared the hell out of people with their heavy rock debut(s), and Charles Manson scared people in a much different way. And The Beatles broke up, which may have scared one or two people.  

Join me as I examine the above in detail, including Zeppelin’s tendencies to ‘borrow’ from old blues artists, Manson’s bizarre relationship with Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson, and the shocking way in which Beatles classic Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da was actually written.

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There have been times when I wasn’t sure we would hit this milestone. But here we are, almost three years after the very first episode of No Sleep ’til Sudbury aired, at episode number 150. Wow.

To celebrate, I went through the last 50 shows and put together some moments I thought represented the show at its best – insightful musical conversation, laughs, tears, and great musical performances. I regret not being able to use all of the material, as I’ve had so many incredible guests, conversations, and performances, but this isn’t a bad rendering. Thanks to all my loyal listeners around the world – this episode is for YOU. Enjoy, and stay safe!  

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