By Louie Ferrera

The guest star is a time honored tradition in rock and roll. Whether it’s during a live performance or in the recording studio, the appearance of an unannounced guest is always a pleasant surprise. I’ve seen thousands of concerts, from intimate nightclubs to baseball stadiums and have been lucky to be on hand many times when a surprise guest appeared, turning an ordinary show into a memorable evening. For this essay, I’m going to focus on the guest star on record. What follows aren’t necessarily the “best” guest appearances, but rather the ones that always give me a jolt, no matter how many times I’ve heard them.

Hungry Heart

Artist: Bruce Springsteen

Guests: Flo & Eddie

The Boss had a big hit with this rollicking tune from his 1980 2LP set The River largely due to the backing vocalists. Best known as the singers for 60’s hit makers The Turtles and later as members of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention, Flo & Eddie (Mark Vollman and Howard Kaylan) were a great choice for this record. Hungry Heart has that classic E Street Band sound, driven by a solid organ/piano combination and Clarence Clemmons’ baritone sax. Bruce sings a verse and chorus then here come Flo & Eddie on verse #2. Their soaring “Ahhhhhh, Ah, Ah” behind Bruce’s vocal really makes this tune fly. They harmonize perfectly with Bruce on the chorus too. Danny Federici’s spot on organ solo leads us into a key modulation, followed by the last verse/chorus. Bruce improvises on the fade out with Flo & Eddie in the background. It all adds up to one perfectly crafted pop song.

Day After Day

Artist: Badfinger

Guest: George Harrison

Badfinger was by far the most successful band on the Beatles Apple label, scoring several Top 40 hits in the early 1970’s. On Day After Day the band gets a little help from one of the Fab Four himself. With his mega hit My Sweet Lord, George Harrison debuted a distinctive slide guitar style that became a signature sound for him throughout his solo career and is the key to why Day After Day is such a powerful song.

Great artists have a distinctive style, whether it’s Vincent’s brush strokes or Elvis’ hip shaking. So it is with George’s slide playing. After about two notes of this song’s intro you know it’s George Harrison. His playing on Day After Day is inspired and oh so sweet, George was clearly feeling it during this session. Much like his solos on Beatles records, George wastes not a note throughout this song and gets right to the point. My favorite moment is during the third verse when vocalist Pete Ham and George do a nice back and forth. While the song builds to a crescendo, Pete sings a line and George answers it each time with a soaring slide guitar line. The song ends here as  George brings us in for a gentle landing with another solo on the outro.

Teach Your Children

Artist: Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

Guest: Jerry Garcia

In the early 1970s, Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia was a defacto member of Bay Area cosmic cowboy band The New Riders of the Purple Sage. The New Riders often opened for The Dead with Jerry handling pedal steel guitar duties. He’s also featured on their eponymous debut album. 

In the winter and spring of 1970, CSNY were in San Francisco recording their soon to be landmark album Deja Vu. The SF music scene was one big happy family back then so it’s no surprise that Jerry was recruited to play pedal steel on Graham Nash’s Teach Your Children. From the intro to the outro, to the fills and the sweet, succinct solo midway through the song,  Jerry is clearly the focal point here. His playing is lilting and lyrical and perfectly captures the mood of the song.  Much like his work with The Dead, Jerry knows just what notes to play and when to play them. Simply stated, Jerry Garcia’s playing on Teach Your Children single handedly turns an ordinary pop song into one of the most beloved songs in the CSNY canon.

Billion Dollar Babies

Artist: Alice Cooper

Guest: Donovan

Shockmeister Alice Cooper and hippie dippie folk singer Donovan make an unlikely pair on the title tune from Alice’s blockbuster 1973 album. Rumor has it that Donovan was working on a project in an adjacent studio and popped in unannounced to see what Alice and the boys were up to. His appearance on Billion Dollar Babies was totally impromptu. Donovan affects a ghoul-like quality to his otherwise sweet voice which fits the mood of this dark song and is the perfect compliment to Cooper’s sinister snarl. The two singers trade verses throughout the song and do a nice back and forth on the chorus too. The twin electric guitars, a trademark of Alice’s band back then, help to round out an outstanding, one-off track.

Paradise By The Dashboard Light

Artist: Meatloaf

Guest: Phil Rizzuto

This tune, from Meatloaf’s debut album, is about a pair of teenagers hoping to “go all the way” in the backseat of a car and features by far the most unusual guest appearance ever on a rock and roll record. 

This rocking Jim Steinman composition kicks off with a ringing guitar riff by producer Todd Rundgren and it’s all up from here. Meatloaf’s bombastic lead vocal is the centerpiece of the song as he recounts the details of his night of sexual awakening when he sings; “We were barely 17 and we were barely dressed.” About halfway through, he repeats over and over the line; “We’re gonna go all the way tonight” and the band slips into the background. That’s when the “play by play” begins.

Phil Rizzuto, aka “The Scooter” was a Hall Of Fame shortstop for the New York Yankees from 1941-1956. When his playing career ended, he became the voice of the Yankees, announcing the games on radio and tv. And so it goes for Paradise By The Dashboard Light. As the song slowly builds towards its climax the band is accompanied by the grunts and groans of the two lovers as they go about their backseat groping. Rizzuto takes us on a tour around the diamond, giving the “play by play” as the boy goes from “1st base” to “2nd base” and so on. The band cooks, the groans grow louder, the boy has “Home” in sight, Rizzuto exclaims, “Holy cow I thinks he’s going to make it!” So do we until vocalist Ellen Foley shouts, “Stop right there!!” We’re left wondering if our hero is thrown out at the plate or if he indeed hits a “home run”.  Phil Rizzuto on a rock and roll record? Brilliant!

Comes A Time

Artist: Neil Young

Guest: Nicolette Larson

Comes A Time is one of Neil Young’s most beloved and enduring albums. It’s a return to the gentle acoustic based sound of the Harvest era and contains some of his most introspective and heartfelt songs. However, what really makes this record special are the harmony vocals of Nicolette Larson. Her sweet/smoky voice is the perfect compliment to Neil’s ragged but right lead vocals. Their blend is simply spot on and CSN tight. From the achingly beautiful Already One to Ian Tyson’s Canadian classic Four Strong Winds, and of course the title tune, Nicolette takes these songs to a new level every time her harmonies kick in. There’s one electric song on the album, Neil graciously turns the spotlight over to his singer on the gritty rocker Motorcycle Mama as they trade verses throughout. Nicolette Larson’s appearance on Comes A Time is not so much as a guest star, but rather a collaborator.

You’re So Vain

Artist: Carly Simon

Guest: Mick Jagger

This song was a #1 hit for Carly Simon from her 1972 album No Secrets. It features one of the greatest guest appearances of all time in the person of Mr. Mick Jagger.

The band wastes no time in setting up a slinky, rocking groove. A rumbling bass riff gives way to some percussive acoustic guitar chords and piano. Carly then comes in with the immortal line; “You walked into the party like you were walking onto a yacht.” Conventional wisdom has it that this song is about actor Warren Beatty but it could very well be about our guest star, given his well earned reputation as a ladies man.

All good things are worth waiting for so it goes that we get a verse, chorus and a second verse before Mick makes his first appearance on the second chorus. This is the point where the song really takes off. The band is in high gear, Mick and Carly are perfectly in synch with Jagger’s electric charisma taking this song to new heights. Would I have loved to have been a fly on the wall at this session!

You’re So Vain is one of those songs that I never want to end. Even the fade out is great as we get to hear Mick sing the chorus once all by himself. Mick Jagger is uncredited on the album. Does it matter? You’d have to be from Mars to not recognize one of the most distinctive voices of all time.

Writing about music is kind of like trying to describe colors to a blind person. You’ve just got to experience it yourself. I encourage you to go to your favorite music streaming service and make a playlist of these songs so you can really hear what I’m talking about. Enjoy!