Cover of FRIENDS AND LEGENDS WITH SKIP MARTIN

FRIENDS AND LEGENDS WITH SKIP MARTIN

FRIENDS AND LEGENDS WITH SKIP MARTIN

By: Skip Martin
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Skip Martin, a Grammy Award winner, has dedicated his life to the rooms where music history unfolds. As former lead vocalist for Kool & the Gang and the Dazz Band, he has shared stages with the greatest artists of his generation — and built friendships that have lasted decades. Friends and Legends is the platform where these friendships are brought to life. This is not a standard interview show. Skip does not sit across from his guests — he sits beside them. These are real talks with people who were there, built something, and have stories to tell. From platinum records to personal breakthroughs. From the road to the recording studio, the journey was transformative. From the highs to the moments that tested everything. New episodes drop regularly. "Music is the sound of a soul singing." Don't play no games. Economics Music
Episodes
  • Episode 023 - Luther Vandross Stopped Sound Check to Apologize to Him (Pt 2)

    Episode 023 - Luther Vandross Stopped Sound Check to Apologize to Him (Pt 2)
    28 Oct 2026
    Friends & Legends with Skip MartinHost: Skip Martin Summary:Skip Martin and Andre O'Neil pick up where Part 1 left off, and the stories keep coming. Andre tells how Luther Vandross blamed him for walking across the stage at Atlanta's Fox Theatre when it was actually Bobby Brown, then stopped sound check the next day to apologize in front of everyone, and called him Bobby for the last two weeks of the tour. He remembers adjusting Flea's truss rod on the stairs up to the stage before the Red Hot Chili Peppers opened for the Rolling Stones at the Rose Bowl, and how Prince named him The Phantom after a string change so fast Prince never saw it happen. Skip shares how a Pac-Man machine led to Joystick, and Andre runs through Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson, John Waite and Cheap Trick, quitting Pat Benatar the same day he got the job, three weeks in South Africa building Whitney Houston's set, the day Felicia Collins got the call to join David Letterman's band, the Go-Go's and Belinda Carlisle, and working Luther and Mary J. Blige on the same festival bill. Skip's verdict: this has to be a book. Main Topics:Luther Vandross and the Bobby Brown mix-upLuther stops sound check to apologizePac-Man, Joystick and the stage passFlea's truss rod on the fourth stair at the Rose BowlPrince names him The PhantomIan Hunter, Mick Ronson and Mott the HoopleJohn Waite, Cheap Trick and the empty amphitheatersGetting and quitting the Pat Benatar job on the same dayBuilding Whitney Houston's set in South AfricaFelicia Collins and the call from the Letterman bandThe Go-Go's and Belinda CarlisleLuther and Mary J. Blige on the same bill Intriguing Quotes:"I owe Andre an apology." - Luther Vandross, as Andre remembers it"When you're dealing with a star... the star is right." - Andre O'Neil"I carried my truss rod and wrench in my underwear by my navel, so that you're not gonna catch me off guard." - Andre O'Neil"You really need to take what we're doing right now and make a biographical book on this." - Skip Martin Key Moments:[00:00] Skip welcomes Andre back for Part 2[00:44] John Waite and the Cheap Trick tour[01:12] Guitar tech for Luther Vandross[02:30] Bobby Brown walks across Luther's stage[03:10] "Why did you walk across my stage?"[05:32] Luther's apology[05:53] Luther starts calling him Bobby[06:17] Pac-Man, Joystick and the stage pass[08:23] Bass tech for Flea[10:11] The truss rod on the fourth stair[10:56] Training for a job with Prince[12:52] Prince names him The Phantom[13:30] Ian Hunter and Mick Ronson[15:27] John Waite and John Cafferty[16:11] Cheap Trick and the empty amphitheaters[16:55] Skip says write the book[17:29] Pat Benatar and Eddie Money on the same day[19:21] Forgetting the biggest names[20:12] Building Whitney Houston's set in South Africa[24:30] Three weeks at Radio City Music Hall[25:11] Cyndi Lauper and Felicia Collins[26:49] The Go-Go's and Belinda Carlisle[27:24] Luther and Mary J. Blige on the same bill[28:53] Don't play no games Notable Resources:Fox Theatre, AtlantaRed Hot Chili Peppers and the Rolling Stones at the Rose BowlIan Hunter, "Cleveland Rocks"Whitney Houston's HBO special from South AfricaCyndi Lauper, Hat Full of Stars tourThe Dazz Band, "Joystick" Connect with Skip Martin:Website: https://www.skipmartinmusic.com/Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/skipmartinmusicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/skipmartinmusic/Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/skipmartinmusicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/skipmartinmusic Watch Every Episode of Friends & Legends with Skip Martin:YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV1sm5Ou1dv5BtxzWFV3Wq8jxDi17jNhJ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    29 min
  • Episode 023 - 26 Years With Earth, Wind & Fire - And They Won't Even Make His Resume (Pt 1)

    Episode 023 - 26 Years With Earth, Wind & Fire - And They Won't Even Make His Resume (Pt 1)
    20 Oct 2026
    Friends & Legends with Skip MartinHost: Skip Martin Summary:Skip Martin sits down with his old friend Andre O'Neal, the roadie who says bands make it rock and roadies make it roll. Andre takes us back to the Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, where he worked the stage crew on rock night and jazz night and first watched Kinsman Dazz open for Spyro Gyra and Weather Report. He tells how he quit his job as Blondie's guitar tech at the height of "Call Me" to work for a Cleveland band nobody outside Ohio knew, and how he talked his way onto the crew at a red light. Skip relives the racist hotel clerk in Seaside, California and the one line from Andre that snapped him out of it. Andre reveals he was the man who put in the word that got Skip the Kool & the Gang gig in 1987, and he doesn't hold back on his 26 years with Earth, Wind & Fire. Skip recalls the Statue of Liberty review from Madison Square Garden, the two friends talk about facing cancer with the right frame of mind, and Andre admits the night Midnight Star was so good it made him cry. He signs off with why Debbie Harry and Whitney Houston both greeted him the same way: "You're that guy from Cleveland." And there's plenty more to come, from Prince to INXS. Main Topics:Bands make it rock, roadies make it rollRock night and jazz night at the Agora Ballroom in ClevelandQuitting Blondie at the height of "Call Me" for Kinsman DazzTalking his way onto the crew at a red lightPlatinum rock and roll knowledge in an R&B worldThe racist hotel clerk in Seaside, California26 years with Earth, Wind & Fire, and the meeting with Verdine WhiteHow Andre helped Skip land the Kool & the Gang jobOpening for Kool & the Gang with Let It Whip"More poses than the Statue of Liberty"Facing cancer with the right frame of mindThe night Midnight Star made Andre cryBabyface, the producer behind Midnight Star's soundWhy Debbie Harry and Whitney Houston both knew "that guy from Cleveland" Intriguing Quotes:"Bands make it rock, roadies make it roll." - Andre O'Neal"You act like you never saw a racist before?" - Andre O'Neal, as Skip remembers it"Handsome, tall, he can play the horn, he can dance and sing. What is there to know?" - Andre O'Neal"Success is all about access." - Skip Martin"Just because you get a diagnosis doesn't mean that's a destination. Destination is where your head is at." - Skip Martin"Midnight Star was so good, I cried." - Andre O'Neal Key Moments:[00:00] Skip welcomes Andre O'Neal[01:29] The Agora Ballroom, Cleveland[05:44] Guitar tech for Blondie[06:42] The red light that got him the job[08:06] Platinum knowledge[09:23] The racist hotel in Seaside[12:30] 26 years with Earth, Wind & Fire[14:09] Andre helps Skip land Kool & the Gang[15:10] Success is all about access[16:31] Let It Whip versus Kool & the Gang[18:53] More poses than the Statue of Liberty[20:21] Facing cancer[25:42] The night Midnight Star made him cry[26:43] Babyface and the Midnight Star sound[28:47] "You're that guy from Cleveland"[29:21] Don't play no games Notable Resources:The Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, OhioBlondie, Eat to the Beat eraThe Dazz Band (formerly Kinsman Dazz), "Let It Whip"Kool & the GangMidnight Star Connect with Skip Martin:Website: https://www.skipmartinmusic.com/Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/skipmartinmusicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/skipmartinmusic/Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/skipmartinmusicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/skipmartinmusic Watch Every Episode of Friends & Legends with Skip Martin:YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV1sm5Ou1dv5BtxzWFV3Wq8jxDi17jNhJ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    30 min
  • Episode 022 - Bobby Harris Says The Weeknd Still Can't Touch This Dazz Band Falsetto (Pt 2)

    Episode 022 - Bobby Harris Says The Weeknd Still Can't Touch This Dazz Band Falsetto (Pt 2)
    12 Oct 2026
    Friends & Legends with Skip MartinHost: Skip Martin Summary:Part 2 of Skip Martin's sit down with Dazz Band founder Bobby Harris picks up as Skip joins the band and they head to Motown in 1980. Bobby breaks down the monster musicians in the lineup: the Wiley brothers, who couldn't read music but could play anything they heard, and Kenny Pettus, whose falsetto Bobby says even The Weeknd never matched. He tells how Motown's head of A&R Lee Young, brother of jazz great Lester Young, sent them producer Reggie Andrews, how the band tested him and how he won them over, and how Bobby first heard Let It Whip over breakfast in Reggie's hotel room. Skip owns up to the Gilligan's Island joke that went viral, Bobby relives Skip's 3am vocal on What a Night, and the pair talk about the musicians who make you feel them and the Cleveland fans who made them. Main Topics:Skip joins and the move to Motown in 1980Invitation to Love, the first album togetherThe Wiley brothers, playing anything by earKenny Pettus and a falsetto nobody has matchedLee Young, Lester Young's brother, running A&R at MotownProducer Reggie Andrews wins over the bandThe DMX drum machine they called DamienHow Let It Whip was born in a hotel roomThe Gilligan's Island joke that went viralSkip's 3am vocal on What a NightThe Cleveland fans and radio that made them Intriguing Quotes:"Their ears were big as elephant ears. They heard it, they could play it." - Bobby Harris"Deal with a sternness, but with a soft hand." - Bobby Harris"When Clevelanders get behind you, they hold you up and they don't forget." - Bobby Harris"I just wanted to do something to be remembered." - Skip Martin"What's easy to do is not always rewarding." - Bobby Harris"They let you feel them, not their education." - Bobby Harris Key Moments:[00:00] Part 2 with Bobby Harris[00:32] Skip joins, Motown in 1980[01:08] The Wiley brothers play it all by ear[02:20] Kenny Pettus and that falsetto[04:31] Motown sends Reggie Andrews[06:03] The band tests the new producer[09:31] The drum machine called Damien[10:19] Let It Whip in a hotel room[11:31] The Gilligan's Island joke[15:07] Musicians are the messengers[17:31] The Cleveland fans and radio[21:30] Skip the balladeer[22:05] The 3am vocal on What a Night[24:41] Feel them, not their education[27:59] Don't play no games Notable Resources:Invitation to Love, the first Dazz Band album with SkipKeep It Live, featuring "Let It Whip"The People Get Ready Project, Skip's COVID era collaboration Connect with Bobby Harris and the Dazz Band:Website: https://www.thedazzband.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theoneandonlydazzbandInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedazzbandYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPtN1sSbm7vOMHVwuSKJRyA Connect with Skip Martin:Website: https://www.skipmartinmusic.com/Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/skipmartinmusicInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/skipmartinmusic/Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/skipmartinmusicYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/skipmartinmusic Watch Every Episode of Friends & Legends with Skip Martin:YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV1sm5Ou1dv5BtxzWFV3Wq8jxDi17jNhJ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    29 min
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