Rock Vocal Mastery: Graham Bonnett on Shaping a Music Legend
“Don’t copy anyone. Find your own voice and let it be natural. Don’t force it.”
Today my guest is rock music vocalist Graham Bonnett. Since his early teens, Graham has become synonymous with his powerful voice which has been heard in many songs over the decades. Graham has recorded with some of the best rock acts in the world including Rainbow and Alcatrazz. Graham is super active and still tours with his own band nowadays. I was delighted to have Graham on as a guest and take the opportunity to ask how he manages to keep his amazing voice in perfect condition, so I hope you are sitting comfortably and happy to stay with us.
We got underway with me explaining to Graham how I became such a fan of his music (00:16), then I asked how he found his unique voice (02:49), and who influenced him as a young musician in London (03:48). We then touched on how he managed to develop his vocals when working on some of his recordings in the late 1960s (05:51), we then talked about how he experienced a crisis from losing his voice (09:91), about joining rock band Rainbow (13:07), and touring for the first time in his career (14:55). Towards the second half of our conversation, we talked about the recording techniques for the Rainbow album Down to Earth (19:17), modern recording and performing using digital editing (24:56), and what methods Graham uses to keep his voice in good shape (27:56), what album or project holds a special place in his heart (29:00), and the future of rock music (34:21). At the end of our conversation, I asked Graham if he has any advice for emerging rock vocalists (42:36), and what new projects he is working on (47:08), before ending with me asking Graham what he is listening to at the moment (51:32).
Show Notes
- Graham on YouTube Music
- Graham on Wikipedia
- Rainbow on Wikipedia
- Alcatrazz on Wikipedia
- Since You’ve Been Gone by Alcatrazz
- Graham on Instagram
- For more, hear my conversations with Midge Ure, Simon Ellis and Gerry Leonard
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