Robert Cray - Smoking Gun

This is the music video to the song "Smoking Gun" by Robert Cray. It was first released in 1986 on Cray's album "Strong Persuader". The album was Cray's fifth album and it became his breakthrough album into mainstream recognition. On it's release as a single in 1987 "Smoking Gun" reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The music video show clips of Cray performing at various shows throughout the beginning of his career. The year and place of the performance clips are displayed at the beginning of each clip which is quite nice in my opinion.
The song also appeared on Cray's 2010 release "Cookin' in Mobile" which was a live CD/DVD release.
It's a great crossover song, and Cray's solo towards the end is amazing.

Enjoy ; )

Johnny Winter - Mojo Boogie (J. B. Lenoir)

This is a live performance by blues guitarist Johnny Winter playing his rendition of the classic blues tune "Mojo Boogie". The song was released in a studio recorded version by Winter in 1986 on his album "Third Degree". This performance is from Barcelona in 1991.
The song was originally written and recorded by Chicago blues legend J. B. Lenoir. Lenoir's version of the song is a bit simpler, on the guitar front that is, but the singing and the blues feeling of it is amazing. The guitar doesn't solo on this version, instead a saxophone solos in stead. (Original version embeded below)

Winter added his slide playing to this song and it fit perfectly. He's just a master with that slide and it really fits with this song, his speed is just amazing. It's a great performance by Winter!

Enjoy ; )

Eric Johnson - Zap

This is a live performance by guitarist Eric Johnson playing one of his instrumental songs. It's titled "Zap" and it was first released on Johnson's "Tones" album and it was this track from the record was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1987.
This concert footage is from a concert in Austin Texas. It's a great rocking instrumental song performed to excellence by Johnson.

Enjoy ; )

Queen – Tie Your Mother Down

This is a live performance by British rock band Queen performing their classic song “Tie Your Mother Down” live at Wembley from 1986.
The song is written by guitarist Brain May who wrote it on holiday in Tenerife where he came up with the riff to the song on an acoustic Spanish guitar. He sung the lyrics “tie your mother down” on top of it, but at this time he considered these lyrics a joke. In a radio interview May has admitted that the main riff for the song was inspired by Rory Gallagher’s “Morning Sun” that he recorded with his first band Taste from their 1970 “On The Boards” album.
It’s a great rock ‘n’ roll song with a catchy and excellent riff that drives the song all the way through. A great song and a great performance.

Enjoy ;-)

Robert Palmer Addicted to Love

This is a performance from 80's rock king Robert Palmer. The song was released in 1986 on Palmer's "Riptide" album, and got very popular due to a video featuring fashion models playing the instruments, and Palmer singing. A classic 80's music video, cheesy and corny. You can say that Palmer rose to success through videos very much the same way ZZ Top did. The song is known for it's catchy guitar riff and a drum opening in 7/4 rhythm, the rest of the song is in 4/4 rhythm. The song did very well in the charts.
It's a great performance, and everyone really grooves. The guitar solos are good, and the drummer really gets the audience going. A good performance, of a good song.

Charts (1986)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks	1

Enjoy ; )