Founded in 1972, Orleans were popular in the mid-to-late 1970’s when 9 of their songs charted – 2 earning them Gold records. With over 12 studio albums, the band continues today led by original member Lance Hoppen. Multi-award winning program director Ray White caught up with Lance, before the bands show in August 2019, to talk about the paradigm shift that Orleans has experienced with the passing of his brother Larry and the Retirement of John Hall. He also fills us in on the new band members and the recording of their latest effort – No More Than You Can Handle along with his first solo effort – Conjuring. Still going strong after forming 55 years ago, we also feature the latest from The Who, who just released Who. Closing out the year, and decade, Classic Artists Today brings you the latest music news and more from many of your favorite Legacy bands.
Ray's passion for music and the musicians, started as a youth listening to transistor radios under the covers at bedtime. The bands and performers he liked, he followed throughout their career. In 2005 he was fed up with the evolution of a majority of the music the radio stations were playing and began investigating the bands he grew up listening to in the 1960's, 70's and 80's. Radio wasn't playing any of those band's "new" songs, just the "classic" hits. Researching the industry for a year, Ray launched Classic Artists Today syndicated radio show - featuring "new" songs by "classic" artists and included interviews and classic tracks too. The show was carried by several dozen radio stations in the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Caribbean. Featuring Rock/Pop musicians and bands, Ray and the show won several awards from New Music Weekly magazine. With the success of these shows, he launched Coool CAT syndicated radio show, 5 years later, featuring Soul/R&B/Smooth Jazz/Blues performers and bands. In 2017, Ray starting producing his show in a 30-minute podcast format. Today, you can hear his work at Sittin' In With The CAT and Sittin' In With The Coool CAT. The legacy continues!
