Articles by Gary Graff

Gary Graff is an award-winning veteran music journalist based in metro Detroit, writing regularly for Billboard, Ultimate Classic Rock, Media News Group, Music Connection, United Stations Radio Networks and others. Graff’s work has also appeared in Rolling Stone, Guitar World, Classic Rock, Revolver, the San Francisco Chronicle, AARP magazine, the Detroit Jewish News, The Forward and others. Graff has co-written and edited books about Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. A professional voter for the Grammy Awards and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Graff co-founded the Detroit Music Awards in 1989 and continues as the organisation’s chief producer.

Articles by: Gary Graff

We asked Jon Bon Jovi: If you could choose one final song to perform in front of an audience, what would it be?

By Gary Graff published 22 April 24

With a four-part documentary set to stream this week, Jon Bon Jovi says he's optimistic about singing again, but it's in the lap of the gods

Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson in 1977, and (inset) a turkey

"We would go in there and eat the turkeys and whatever else we found": Heart kept themselves from starving in their early days by stealing Bachman Turner Overdrive's food

By Gary Graff published 21 April 24

As Heart begin their Royal Flush tour, Ann and Nancy Wilson say that live shows are worth all the "pain, exhaustion and drama"

"Y'know, I never realised how much I really love my band": Steven Tyler talks American Idol, dysfunctional behaviour, Johnny Depp and the history of Aerosmith

By Gary Graff published 12 April 24

Somehow, Steven Tyler became a bigger star when he stepped away from Aerosmith

Jon Anderson singing onstage with (inset) Ray Davies

"We get halfway through, just before the solo, and all the power goes off on stage": The night a furious Ray Davies cut a Yes set short before aiming blows and kicks at Rick Wakeman

By Gary Graff published 3 April 24

In late 1971, Yes and The Kinks hooked up for a short run of shows in New York, but brotherly love between the bands was in short supply

Studio portraits of Joe Satriani and Eddie Van Halen

"I can't think of a Van Halen song that doesn't put a smile on my face – it's just a question of figuring out how to play them": How Joe Satriani is preparing to pay tribute to Eddie Van Halen

By Gary Graff published 29 March 24

Exclusive: we talk to Joe Satriani as the setlist for Sammy Hagar's upcoming The Best of All Worlds tour begins to take shape

"It has a kind of sense of revolutionary message but also a good sense of humour": Producer Bob Ezrin gives update on eagerly anticipated MC5 album

By Gary Graff published 9 February 24

The MC5's fourth album Heavy Lifting was originally due in 2022, and those involved are determined to see it released in the wake of Wayne Kramer's death

"Wayne was a force of nature. A soul man in a rock'n'roll body": Bob Ezrin pays tribute to late MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer

By Bob Ezrin published 8 February 24

Exclusive: Bob Ezrin, who produced the upcoming MC5 album Heavy Lifting, pays tribute to "one of the best guitar players any of us had ever heard"

Bruce Spingsteen onstage in 1995 with an acoustic guitar

"I want to make a record where I don’t have to play by the rules or have any hit singles": Bruce Springsteen on his acoustic masterpiece The Ghost Of Tom Joad

By Gary Graff published 8 November 23

Inspired by the classic novel The Grapes Of Wrath, The Ghost Of Tom Joad became a staple of Bruce Springsteen’s live shows, and led to The Boss teaming up with RATM’s Tom Morello

Bob Seger interview: "I really hope I'm not done"

By Gary Graff published 20 February 18

Bob Seger talks about the back pain that could end his career, Donald Trump, and paying tribute to departed friends

Stevie Nicks: if this band hadn't made it big, we’d still be playing the clubs

By Gary Graff published 15 February 18

Interview: Fleetwood Mac legend Stevie Nicks on stepping away from the spotlight, juggling careers, and being born to entertain

Bob Seger: the legend of the Ramblin' Gamblin' Man

By Gary Graff published 31 October 17

Detroit rock veteran Bob Seger bites the silver bullet and looks back on his early career...

A photograph of Iggy Pop on stage with Josh Homme

Post-Pop progression: What's next for Iggy Pop?

By Gary Graff published 17 November 16

With his career-high album Post Pop Depression, a hugely successful tour, and film, book and exhibition projects on the go, Iggy Pop packed more into 2016 than most. What now?

Tom Petty: "I Was Thinking, If This Goes For Five Years, That'd Be Quite A Run"

By Gary Graff published 9 November 16

The original heartbreaker on the enduring power of music, keeping things fresh for him and his audience and how his songs will go on...

Glenn Frey: a life lived in the fast lane

By Gary Graff published 19 January 16

The California sound Glenn Frey helped to establish with the Eagles was all about being relaxed. Laid back. Taking it easy. The man himself? Not so much.