Terry Real

Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne veteran Jay Ferguson had one of the most enjoyable hits of the '70s with 1977's "Thunder Island." The vocalist/keyboardist was spared one-hit wonder status with one more Top 40 single, the terrific "Shakedown Cruise" from the 1979 follow-up Real Life Ain't This Way. It's a slick, professionally performed album, but except for "Shakedown Cruise," the songs aren't terribly memorable. The high level of craftsmanship is due to the personnel involved.

"Real Love" is the 27th solo studio album by Dolly Parton. It was released on January 21, 1985, by RCA Records. The album was produced by David Malloy (best known for his work with Eddie Rabbitt), and would be Parton's last studio album for RCA Records, her label for the previous eighteen years. The album included the #1 country singles "Real Love" (a duet with Kenny Rogers that also reached #91 on the U.S. pop charts) and "Think About Love", as well as the #3 country single "Don't Call it Love" and the top twenty #17 country single "Tie Our Love (In a Double Knot)", as well as a cover of Nanci Griffith's "Once in a Very Blue Moon".

The singular blues odyssey of Mike McMillan has taken him from his native Canada to Clarksdale, Mississippi, with extended residencies in Chicago and Boston nestled between. In 1985, it also gave him a distinctive stage moniker, one he retains to this day. Since then, Guitar Mikey and the Real Thing have steadily gained renown for their distinctive high-energy sound. ''I would describe it as hybrid blues, or blues-rock,'' says Mikey. ''I'm definitely a blues guitar player, I definitely write some blues, but not everything I do is strictly blues. Some of it's got a rockier edge, some of it's got a funkier edge.'' Mikey's ferocious axe (he's fiery on slide as well as single-string leads) and impassioned vocals have never been captured more effectively on record than on this self-produced collection, cut in Clarksdale with an impressive array of musical cohorts.