On Record

The On Record series presents rare archival images and insightful interviews by long-time popular-music journalist and radio personality G. Brown.

“G. Brown’s writing is informed, perceptive and incisive, often tinged with his hilariously irreverent sense of humor. He has an abiding respect for music and those who create it. All of these attributes reveal themselves in his On Record collections.” – Bruce Hornsby, Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and virtuoso pianist

On Record Vol. 10 – 1983 covers bands at their commercial peak (Genesis, the Police), U2’s first international hit (“War”) and David Bowie’s biggest success (“Let’s Dance”). It also includes Prince, Bryan Adams and Def Leppard—actsthat finally start to make it big in 1983. In this year Kiss appeared without makeup (Lick It Up), Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All broke ground for the trash-metal genre, and Quiet Riot’s Metal Health became the first heavy-metal album to hit No. 1. The second British Invasion, plus the year in country, hip-hop and jazz are also covered.

Interview-based profiles of more than 100 artists and bands include:

• JOURNEY
• ZZ TOP
• DEF LEPPARD
• U2
• THE POLICE
• EURYTHMICS
• STEVIE NICKS
• DONNA SUMMER
• LINDA RONSTADT
• BILLY JOEL
• BRYAN ADAMS
• JOHN COUGAR MELLENCAMP
• DONNA SUMMER
• ROBERT PLANT
• DEF LEPPARD
• BARBRA STREISAND
• MÖTLEY CRÜE
• STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN
• STYX
• LIONEL RICHIE

About the Series:

Colorado Music Experience founding director and author G. Brown covered popular music at The Denver Post for 26 years, interviewing more than 3,000 musicians, including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, and Kurt Cobain, all of whom recounted their escapades and reminisced about what their time on the charts meant to them personally and musically. Over the decades, G. also amassed an archive of close to 15,000 rare promotional photos.

Each volume of the On Record series presents nearly 200 rare archival images and 100 interviews with an array of performers from that year. To date, Colorado Music Experience has released 10 volumes in this year-by-year, comprehensive look at the evolution of popular music from 1978 to 1998. 

Proceeds from book sales benefit Colorado Music Experience, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.