On Record: Vol. 11 - 1989: Images, Interviews & Insights from the Year in Music

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

"When G. Brown writes about you, his readers give you a chance. They listen. G.’s trusted voice is a big reason my audience grew. I’m grateful to him for including me in his writing over the years and to be part of his On Record series.” -- Lyle Lovett, Grammy-winning singer and songwriter and actor

On Record Vol. 11 – 1989 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:

• Tom Petty
• Roy Orbison
• Stevie Ray Vaughan
• Bonnie Raitt
• Neil Young
• Aerosmith;
• Bee Gees
• Paul McCartney
• Billy Joel
• The Beach Boys
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• ;Rush
• Alice Cooper
• Kiss
• Motley Crue
• David Byrne;
• The Doobie Brothers

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.