A Breath of Fresh Air Dec 6

Let’s head to Sweden to meet that country’s most famous songwriter and guitarists, best known for his work playing with the smash hit group, ABBA. In our interview from Stockholm, Janne Schaffer talks of his experience building his own guitar in school when he was just 12 years old. He tells us stories of how his disapproving father came to a gig one night to haul him off the stage and how he had to continue practicing and playing in secret. He talks about how he formed a friendship with ABBA’s Benny Andersson and how it was, in part, his efforts that brought Agnetha and Anni-Frid into the group. Janne has a great story to tell that also includes hanging out and recording with artists like Bob Marley and Johnny Nash.

Do you remember Canadian band, The Five Man Electrical band? Perhaps not the name but definitely that 1971 anti-establishment song ‘Signs’ which made it to the top of the charts all over the world. The group featured guitarist/vocalist Les Emmerson who sadly passed away recently as a result of Covid 19. The band was originally known as the Staccatos and this week current members Steve Hollingworth and Mike Crepin tell us about not only that song, but about their other hits and their resurgence in popularity, partly due to their recent efforts to raise awareness about climate change.

We also catch up with singer-songwriter Kelly Lang whose dad was the road manager for country legend Conway Twitty. Kelly regales us with stories about performing with Sir Barry Gibb, Ronnie Milsap, Loretta Lynn and her dear friend, the late Olivia Newton John.