My Ian Hunter Story

By Ecklebob Chiselfritz

About a hundred years ago I saw Ian Hunter at Rockford, Illinois Speedway. Cheap Trick were the headliners as they were hometown boys and had just broken big nationaly with their album In Color and Black and White. Heart was on the bill too. They were on the charts with Dreamboat Annie. Well, Ann and Nancy Wilson came out smoking with Kick it Out and another one or two Zeppelin inspired songs since that's where they got their musical chops from and then...Ann Wilson asked the audience to get mellow for the next tune. Mellow?!? Probably Dog and Butterfly. Because what teenage boy doesn't go to a concert to drink beer and maybe do a couple other illicit substances and..be mellow...while he's far from home? I have never heard a Heart song since that doesn't make me remember that day.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Ian Hunter came on before Heart.

I still think that's a crime.

But at the time Heart was charting higher than Hunter and he didn't have breasts.

He had just released his album Welcome to the Club. It's a freaking classic.

He came out. Sat at the piano. Looked at the sky. Said, "It looks like rain. I don't care. I'll go back to my trailer. I already got paid."

Then he gave his famous Mott the Hoople laugh and rocked his ass off.

This vid features the late Mick Ronson on lead guitar. Ronson made David Bowie a star with his guitar work on the album Ziggy Stardust.

Enjoy.