The Average White Band played their last concert in December 2024, but their legacy lives on.

The band broke through in 1975 with four hits, beginning with Pick Up the Pieces (#1 illboard, #4 Canada). They followed that with Cut the Cake, If I Ever Lose This Heaven, and (the often sampled) School Boy Crush.

What is truly impressive about the band’s accomplishments is that in the spring of 1975 they were the first British act to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Pick Up the Piece), while their second album (AWB) topped both the Pop and R&B album charts.

This week, I share my Sit Down with Onnie McIntyre, an original member of The Average White Band. During our 2016 interview, he shared his (and the band’s) love of American R&B and the musical influence of the a not so average band.

The interview originally ran on Oldies Without Borders.

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Copyright Peter J. Maurin, The Vinyl Professor. Published under Creative Commons License: Attribution/Non-Commercial Use.

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Oldies Without Borders

It’s “Music History with a Twist.”

Oldies Without Borders is a weekly deep dive into pop music: the hits and forgotten 45’s that were released on vinyl from the early 1950’s to the 1980’s.

It’s been on the air since May 2002.

If it was released on vinyl, cassette, or 8-track, I play it.

I also chat with the people that made the music, with full interviews posted here at VinylProfessor.blog.

It currently airs on the following community radio stations in Ontario: INDI 101-5FM (Hamilton), Halton Hills Online Radio (Georgetown), and Sunview 102 (Goderich).

Click on LinkTree to listen live or to listen to past episodes on demand on Mixcloud

I also curate a Facebook group that remembers old Top 40 charts (CKOC, CHAM, and CHIQ) from Hamilton, Ontario. It’s called Steel City Top 40 Surveys – Check it out if you can!

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