BRETT WINTERBLE SHOOTS IT WITH TED NUGENT

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THE GLORIOUS CORNER

Story By: G. H. HARDING

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Sirius/XM’s Brett Winterble

50 YEARS AG0  --- The year was 1963; the TV was on Channel 2 and The Beatles were on. It’s hard to believe that 50 years have gone by so quickly. It was interesting to see the talking heads on this morning’s Chris Matthews Show (Joe Klein, Kelly O'Donnell, the BBC’s Katy Kay and NBC’s Chuck Todd) reminiscence with remarkable clarity with host Matthews about those halcyon days. Todd, who turns out is something of a music prodigy, pontificated on the group’s legendary music prowess; though, all eventually agreed their music was timeless and totally unique. Kay’s daughter is even named Jude, and Klein’s wife was in the Sullivan audience. I was just in Las Vegas two weeks back and finally saw the Cirque du Soleil production of The Beatles’ Love. It was terrific; from start to finish. The costumes and dance sequences just over the top, yet perfectly delivered and spirited. But, the thing that made it work (and, no big surprise here) was the music. Better than ever and having been remixed by George Martin’s son Giles, seamlessly captivating. Among the highlights were George Harrison’s “Something (in the Way She Moves),”“Back in the USSR,” “Eleanor Rigby” and “A Day In The Life.”

Interestingly enough, the thing that stuck in my head was Ringo Starr’s drumming; I knew it was good back in the day, but, now, remixed and re-positioned somewhat, it was truly amazing. The show’s been running for the past five years and I know I was late, but it was worth every minute. Just for the record, I worked for Apple Records when I was going to college and as you can imagine, it was the thrill of a lifetime. It’s rather awe inspiring that some many of the kids today are into their music. It’s the best there is; I don't think they'll be anything like it ever again. 50 years later; we're still celebrating them.

WINTERBLE’S ON A ROLL --- Sirius/XM’s Brett Winterble has had quite the week. He talked to Ted Nugent (all Nuge …all the time); Michael Bolton; and Boz Scaggs. Nugent ignited a firestorm of controversy when he reminisced about killing some 455 pigs with a rapid fire machine gun. As you can imagine, everyone picked up this story and according to Winterble producer David Salidor (our resident pasha), “They were calmly talking about gun control, a Nuge-favorite when he blurted out this story, which, as you can see, made for some terrific ink.” Bolton, who’s got a memoir out, The Soul of It All, was quite candid in his talk; about the frustrations in his business. He started in the business when he was 13 and had his first recording out when he was 14. He did 9 albums for 4 different labels and was 34 when he tasted his first real success. Winterble asked him the reason for his success and he said ‘He didn't have the word quit in his vocabulary.” Asked whether he'd do it all over again … he said probably not. Brutally honest for sure. Boz, as we revealed last column, has his first new album out in 5 years, Memphis … which is just great. Says Salidor, “In the next few weeks we look forward to having Clive Davis on; Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein from IFC’s brilliant Portlandia, and a few surprises.” We will stay tuned!