I don’t subscribe to Sirius/XM satellite so I never hear the Howard Stern show when it’s on. However, there are times when Stern’s best celebrity interviews end up on YouTube and then I catch plenty of material and details I would never have heard otherwise. It’s always good stuff and Howard gets the fun stories and revelations out of everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Paul McCartney to Pamela Anderson with ex-hubby Tommy Lee and even Dolly Parton.
One of the other highlights from Stern’s shows is when pop, rock and country music stars perform their best known songs and even cover tunes in Howard’s studio. Here are some of my favorite performances that have taken place in recent years on Stern’s show.
Sammy Hagar & the Circle doing “Finish What You Started.” Sammy and his players do this Van Halen classic up well but there’s also a fun story about the writing of that track.
Don Henley doing “The Boys of Summer. Henley did an extensive visit with Howard and then played “Desperado”, “Please Come Home for Christmas” and the 1984 gem “The Boys of Summer.” As Don said, this is a more thoughtful version of that hit song.
Brandi Carlile covering the Elton John classic “Madman Across the Water.” The country music singer-songwriter shares with Howard her Elton fandom then does a fine read on this Elton oldie. Brandi reminds me of Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl in that she is a major musicologist and advocate of songs and artists who were on the scene many years before she was.
The Highwomen playing Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.” This supergroup is made up of Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires. Four years ago, they put out their own record with great songs like “Redesigning Women” and “Crowded Table.” On Stern’s show they did up “The Chain” and did it damn well, captivating for sure.
Bruce Springsteen going solo on “Tougher Than the Rest.” ‘Tougher’ is in my top 5 of favorite Springsteen songs. In this clip, Bruce plays the song on the piano but also does a detailed explanation of how he wrote the track and what it means. So damn good!
So, there’s 5 cuts to enjoy. I look forward to sharing more of the best of music that comes from Howard Stern’s shows.
NEXT BLOG: A Few things on my mind.