​Today would have been the 64th birthday of Dan Seals, one half of England Dan and John Ford Coley, the songwriting duo that had a big hit with "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" and a minor one with "Love is the Answer." He also had a string of chart hits in country music in the '80s and '90s. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2009, but his music lives on with other "yacht rock" from an era in the late '70s when the lighter side of rock music was dominating the portion of the charts not filled with disco songs.

Despite being a softer version of classic rock music, it has been cited as an influence for dozens of rock bands including the Foo Fighters. Anyone who grew up with an inkling of memory from the '70s probably remembers some if not all of the songs on this list I put together in honor of Mr. Seals, who also happened to be a native Texan.

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​First off, Van Halen's first album in 14 years, A Different Kind Of Truth is - in the words of my friend Lisa - "better than it should be."

And I agree. The guys could have slacked off on this and coasted on their legend - however possibly tarnished in the eyes of fans - but Truth is no cash-in lightweight, or excuse to sell merch and concert tickets. But it sure makes a compelling reason to see them live in 2012.

These thirteen new songs, the group's first work with prodigal son David Lee Roth since 1984's 1984, make a raunchy, unfrozen caveman-monster of an album. This sounds like it could have been the logical follow-up to 1984, had Roth left, or been fired, or whatever the story was in each book or documentary you happen to read or see. Another close relative to Truth seems to be 1980's Women And Children First.

The band, now minus bassist Michael Anthony, have made the mother all comeback albums, sounding just as vital as ever, armed with riffs that have been stored inside a time capsule from the Reagan era. Is Anthony missed? Yes, but the new kid Wolfgang Van Halen has matured into his role opposite his father Eddie Van Halen, and is now an old hand. His backing vocal slot, where Anthony shined for years, is on the money. As for his bass playing, that is what is driving this band into now.

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​It started as a simple question: What albums would you leave your unborn children, if you knew you were on borrowed time and may not be around to show them the way. At first I asked for albums for sons, but then it grew broader, not out of needing to pacify the PC-thug in me, but to make sure everyone, regardless of gender, had a sort of Rosetta Stone of musical history in their hands.

You could leave them pristine vinyl versions of these, a collection of cassettes, or maybe just a diamond-covered flash drive, if are so inclined. As for me, I will also leave my unborn child my Rdio account. That's not a paid endorsement, that's just me being expedient.

To get some obvious picks out of the way, the entire Beatles catalog will come standard with being my child, like seat-belts in cars. As will George Strait's Strait Out Of The Box, and ZZ Top's catalog.

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Wikiepedia

​There are artists who exist, it seems, only to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Some of them are sidemen. Others are loyal musicians. But, it is rare to find a gifted songwriter and singer who willingly plays team ball when it comes to rock and roll bands and still manages to carve out an incredible career. If there is a better example than Graham Nash, who turns 70 today, I don't know who it is.

Most remember Nash as one-third of Crosby, Stills and Nash or one-fourth of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. But he was also the co-founder and principal songwriter for The Hollies until he left the band in 1968. Like many "the" bands of the day (Zombies, Box Tops, Beatles, etc.), The Hollies were a huge hit during the British invasion of the 1960s and Nash was a substantial part of that success.

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​What was the last great U2 album?

Now, before you go and get your snotty Henry Rollins quotes lined up, recall that there was a period in the mid- to late 1980s when the Dublin foursome were both the biggest and most critically acclaimed band on the planet before veering off into sonic experimentation and retreating somewhat from the public eye.

In my opinion, one can make valid "greatness" arguments for four of their albums. Some prefer the anthemic, clarion calling of War, others the muted melancholy of The Unforgettable Fire, while many would argue that 1987's The Johsua Tree was the band's perfect fusion of the earnest and the cynical.

But for some, myself included, U2's high point was achieved by the album that was both a response to post-Joshua Tree backlash and precursor to their millennial experimental forays into pop and house music: Achtung Baby.

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"Whole Lotta Love" it wasn't.

​On this day in 1965, British songstress Petula Clark reached number one on the charts with "Downtown," a pop classic with an unforgettable hook that has become a mainstay of oldies radio, film soundtracks and TV advertisements in the years since. The song even served as a plot point in an episode of Seinfeld. What a lot of people don't know, of course, is that a young session guitarist named Jimmy Page played on the recording. "Downtown" was just one of a string of hits featuring Page's studio talents before he rose to fame with Led Zeppelin.

It's not a unique story. Behind the success of every superstar, you'll often find a talented group of bandmates, collaborators and sidemen happy simply to play their roles and cash their checks. Not all of these semi-anonymous musicians are content to remain in the background, however -- some are able to parlay their skills, connections and desperation into stardom. In honor of Page's early session work, Rocks Off has assembled this list of ten performers who stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight.

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Photo by amanda@captured.pro

​You may think you've traveled a long way to get to a show, but it's unlikely you gone the distance that Stephen O'Brien has. In 2003 the Dublin, Ireland-based musician flew to Austin, primarily to catch a gig by King's X and, as an added bonus, maybe soak up the city. He must have like it because he later decided to leave the Emerald Isle and relocate permanently, gigging in a variety of musical projects and cover bands.

But the singer/bassist has gone back somewhat to his roots as the Phil Lynott stand in for Think Lizzy, a Thin Lizzy tribute band. In addition to O'Brien, the band also includes Buffalo Speedway (guitar), Brownbag Johnson (guitar) and new drummer Ron Jeffcote.

The music of the real-life Ireland-based Lizzy has seen something of a resurgence in recent years, which has seen much of their catalogue reissued in deluxe editions, a reformation of the band by guitarist Scott Gorham (they opened for Judas Priest in Houston this summer), and the recent discovery of 150 tapes that Lynott recorded featuring unheard complete original songs, jams, and covers (Lynott died in 1986 at age 36 due to complications from heavy drug use).

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​It seems to me that musical history is made up of fragments of indelible images, good and bad, that inform each person's experience. Then there are the swatches of tunes that grab you by the heart strings or the throat, making you a fan for life. But it's those moving pictures that you first remember, at least in my case.

Growing up, I remember seeing Iggy Pop crawling over that crowd at the Cincinnati Pop Festival in 1970, clad in jeans and those silver gloves, smearing peanut butter on himself. I probably saw it on MTV in the '80s. That was my image of the Stooges and Iggy for the first decade of my life. It stuck with me. That's the Iggy I know, even though today he is the consistency of shoe leather.

What's cool about some of these files, is that they act as shorthand for the artist. Elvis Presley was that hip swivel. The Beatles were locked in together, attached at the brain. And Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant? He's always been that open shirt and a haughty flip of the head.

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​Like any red-blooded American rock and roll fan, I am looking forward to the next year to be filled with Bruce Springsteen. The man has a new album, Wrecking Ball, coming on March 6, a massive tour in the planning stages, and he's set to be the keynote speaker at this year's South By Southwest in Austin in March. Last night around midnight, the first single "We Take Care Of Our Own" dropped onto his official site and the Internet.

As I type this, my right leg is tapping in time under my desk to the new single, like I'm Max Weinberg's foot wrecking a kick pedal live in concert as the band strikes up the song to open a show.

The single is your typical patriotic Boss anthem, all sweat, wonderful promise, and just the right amount of Americana references. It's almost mathematical at this point. The only thing the song is missing, is a big raunchy Clarence Clemons sax solo somewhere in the middle of the four-minute cut. Rest in peace, Big Man.

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​This week in 1976, Queen were at the top of the UK singles chart with the epic - taking that word back - operatic, glammy cut "Bohemian Rhapsody" from their November 1975 album, A Night At The Opera. The single is still one of the best-selling releases in the UK, and it even had a resurgence 1991 in the wake of lead singer Freddie Mercury's death. Wayne's World helped out a lot too.

About a year ago I wrote a piece that touched briefly on the recording of "Rhapsody", and the numerous vocal takes that Mercury recorded to create the final product. You can snag more Queen facts here too.

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