Nick Rotundo Music

🎸🏆 50 YEARS AGO… WE WON THE DAMN THING! 🏆🎸

July 1976.

America was celebrating its Bicentennial. Gas was about 60 cents a gallon. Bell-bottoms were everywhere. Nobody had a cell phone, Facebook, YouTube—or the slightest clue what an “algorithm” was. 😂

And somewhere in Hamilton, Ohio, a bunch of young rock & rollers named MIDNIGHT LIGHTNING entered a Battle of the Bands…

…and walked out with FIRST PLACE! 🏆🤘

Yep. 50 YEARS AGO. 🤯

That young guitar player included yours truly, Nick Rotundo, along with my bandmates Steven C. Bohlen and Andy Herold.

We weren't thinking about making history. We were young musicians doing what young musicians have always done:

🎸 Turn the amps up.
🥁 Make some noise.
🔥 Play our asses off.
🏆 And apparently… WIN THE BATTLE OF THE BANDS!

This plaque has somehow survived five decades, countless bands, gigs, guitars, amplifiers, hairstyles—and probably a few decisions best left undocumented. 😂🍻

But looking at it today means a whole lot more than it did when I was a kid.

Because that plaque represents something that never went away.

The love of playing guitar.
The love of a great band.
The thrill of getting onstage.
And that crazy lifelong love affair with ROCK & ROLL. ❤️🎸

From Midnight Lightning in 1976 to Nick Rotundo Music in 2026, there have been a hell of a lot of miles traveled along the way.

Different bands. Different guitars. Different stages.

But that kid who just wanted to PLAY ROCK & ROLL?

He's still in here. 💪🤘😎

So here's to Steve Bohlen, Andy Herold, Midnight Lightning, the Hamilton Teen Community, the Hamilton Parks & Recreation Department, and everybody who was there for one very cool night in the summer of 1976.

🏆 HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY TO OUR BATTLE OF THE BANDS WIN! 🏆

Who would've thought that 50 years later I'd still be cranking up guitars and raising hell?

Actually…

Anyone who knew me probably would've. 😂🎸🔥

ROCK & ROLL DOESN'T COME WITH AN EXPIRATION DATE. 🤘

If you love the stories, music and memories from the golden age of rock, FOLLOW NICK ROTUNDO MUSIC. We've got a whole lot more history to dig up. 💪🎸😎

#1976

🚨🎸 **WTF?! I THINK I JUST FOUND A PIECE OF CINCINNATI OHIO ROCK HISTORY!** 🎸🚨

I’m still trying to wrap my head around this one…

While going through some old FURY material, I opened a box and found what appears to be the **ORIGINAL 1983 1/2-INCH STEREO MASTER TAPE** for the self-titled **FURY “Black Album,”** recorded at **QCA Studios in Cincinnati, Ohio!** 🤯📼🔥

The tape box is actually marked:

📼 **FURY**
🎚️ **MASTER**
🎚️ **STEREO**
🎚️ **2-TRK**
🎚️ **TAILS**
🎚️ **NO OUTTAKES**

That is an **absolutely incredible piece of local rock history!**

For those who may not know the story…

🎸 **WHO WAS FURY?**

FURY was formed in **Hamilton, Ohio, in 1978**, originally by guitarist **Nick Rotundo** and drummer **Jimi Dee Gadd**, later featuring **Don Delph on vocals** and **Pat Bishop on bass**.

By the early 1980s, FURY had become part of the hard rock/heavy metal scene here in Southwest Ohio — four young guys from Hamilton trying to make some serious noise. 🤘

And in **1983**, we went into **QCA Studios in Cincinnati** to record the album that became known as the **FURY Black Album**.

🎚️ **AND HERE’S WHERE THE STORY GETS EVEN CRAZIER…**

Those sessions were produced and engineered by the late **Bill Halverson** — a man whose recording history included working with some absolutely legendary names in rock, including **Cream, Eric Clapton, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Led Zeppelin**.

Think about that for a second.

Bill Halverson came to Cincinnati and helped **four young rock musicians from Hamilton, Ohio** capture our music.

And now, more than **43 YEARS LATER**, I may be holding the actual finished stereo master from those sessions in my hands. 😳

Here is a Link to one of the song on the album:

Potted Delite https://open.spotify.com/track/3fTlxbMqefOhxuwZht9m1P?si=ea0b668c390c4f8c

📼 **WHY THIS TAPE IS SO IMPORTANT**

The markings **MASTER / STEREO / 2-TRK** indicate that this isn't simply a rehearsal tape, cassette dub, rough mix or multitrack reel.

This appears to be the **finished two-track stereo album master** — the final mixed recording from which the album production process could proceed, including preparation of the original vinyl release.

In other words…

🔥 **THIS MAY BE THE CLOSEST THING THAT EXISTS TO THE ORIGINAL SOUND OF FURY IN THAT CONTROL ROOM IN 1983.** 🔥

And THAT leads to the really exciting part…

🚨 **I AM NOW PURSUING HAVING THIS ORIGINAL 1/2-INCH MASTER PROFESSIONALLY DIGITIZED.** 🚨

The first priority is preserving the tape correctly and transferring it using the proper professional equipment without risking damage to something that has survived for more than four decades.

And if the tape is intact and the transfer is successful…

🤘 **I'M GOING TO REMASTER THE FURY BLACK ALBUM.** 🤘

Not from an old vinyl record.

Not from a cassette.

Not from some later-generation copy.

**FROM THE ORIGINAL 1983 MASTER.**

For me personally, this isn't just another old reel of tape.

I wrote the music.
I played the guitars.
I was standing in QCA Studios when those tracks were recorded.

And somehow, after all these years…

**THE MASTER SURVIVED.** 📼🔥

1983 ➡️ 2026.

**FURY may be coming back to life.**

Stay tuned, because I'm going to document what happens next.

🤘🎸 **WHO WOULD WANT TO HEAR THE FURY BLACK ALBUM REMASTERED DIRECTLY FROM THE ORIGINAL 1983 MASTER TAPE?**

Drop a 🤘 in the comments if you're in.

#1983

⚡ 49 YEARS AGO TODAY — EDDIE VAN HALEN RECORDED “ERUPTION” ⚡

On September 8, 1977, a 22-year-old Eddie Van Halen walked into Sunset Sound in Hollywood and laid down a piece of guitar history that would permanently change the way players looked at the instrument.

🎸 “Eruption.”

And the wild part? It wasn't originally intended to become a featured track on Van Halen's debut album.

Producer Ted Templeman heard Eddie running through the solo he had already been performing live and realized they needed to capture it. Producer Templeman said to Engineer Donn Landee "Roll Tape... Landee replied: " Already Rolling". What began simply as “Guitar Solo” became the blistering 1-minute, 42-second “Eruption,” placed immediately before “You Really Got Me” on Van Halen I.

One take. Raw. Explosive. Revolutionary.

But in classic Eddie fashion, he apparently wasn't completely satisfied with it.

In later interviews, EVH said he felt he could have played it better, even pointing out that there was a mistake in the upper half of the original recording.

Think about that for a second… 🤯

A recording that generations of guitarists have studied note-for-note, slowed down, rewound, practiced endlessly—and Eddie heard a mistake. 😂🎸

That's part of what made EVH so special. He wasn't thinking about becoming a guitar legend that day.

He was just playing.

And 49 years later, we're still talking about it. ⚡

👇 GUITAR PLAYERS: Where were YOU the first time you heard Eruption? And did it completely change the way you looked at the guitar?

🤘 Follow Nick Rotundo Music for more classic-rock history, guitar stories and the musicians who changed everything.

🎸 EDDIE VAN HALEN — BEFORE THE LIGHTS CAME ON…

Sometimes the coolest rock & roll photos aren’t taken onstage.

Here’s Eddie Van Halen sitting down with a pen and paper, apparently putting together the set list — just another night in the life before he walked out and changed the temperature of the room. ⚡🎸

The Winston Cigarettes… the Schlitz Malt Liquor… the handwritten notes… this photo is practically a time capsule from another era of rock & roll.

Long before smartphones, tablets and digital production sheets, sometimes it really was this simple:

A pen. A piece of paper. A guitar player. And a show to play.

🤘 Who here would have loved to be sitting at that table watching Eddie put the night's set together?

Follow Nick Rotundo Music for more classic-rock history, guitar stories, rare moments and the musicians who made this music legendary. 🎸⚡

🔥🎸 **EVH’S WRIST CURL WAS ABSOLUTELY INSANE.** 🎸🔥

Seriously… **LOOK AT EDDIE’S LEFT WRIST.** 👀

Most guitar players would take one look at that angle and immediately start searching for an orthopedic surgeon. 😂🤘

But for **Eddie Van Halen**, this was just another day at the office.

That incredible flexibility—combined with his huge stretches, unorthodox fingerings, tapping, rhythm playing and seemingly effortless technique—was part of what made Eddie unlike **any guitarist before him.**

And then there’s that gorgeous **BLACK & YELLOW STRIPED EVH GUITAR.** 🖤💛🔥

The guy didn't merely play guitar.

**He attacked it. He reinvented it. And somehow he made impossible things look natural.**

🎸 **GUITAR PLAYERS:**
Take a close look at that wrist position.

👉 Could YOU get your hand into that position and still play? 😂
👉 Have you ever tried any of Eddie's crazy stretches or fingerings?
👉 What EVH riff or solo still blows your mind every time you hear it?

**DROP IT IN THE COMMENTS.** 👇🤘

And if you're one of the many people discovering **Nick Rotundo Music** through this post…

🔥 **FOLLOW NICK ROTUNDO MUSIC** for more Eddie Van Halen, classic rock history, legendary guitar moments, performances and stories from the music we grew up with. 🎸🤘

🎸 **GEAR I ACTUALLY USE & RECOMMEND**

Want some of that classic EVH Black & Yellow attitude hanging around your own neck? 😎👇

👉 https://amzn.to/3UqvbJC
**EVH Striped Series Guitar — Black with Yellow Stripes**

I personally use this guitar for gigs, recording and NRM content. 🤘🎸

**As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra and helps support the videos, music and content here at NRM.** 💪💰🎸

🖤💛 **LONG LIVE EDWARD VAN HALEN.** 🖤💛

🎸❤️ **TWO OF MY FAVORITE 6-STRING GIRLS…** ❤️🎸

Some guys collect cars. Some guys collect watches.

**Me? I’ve always had a weakness for girls with six strings.** 😁🤘

Meet two longtime members of the NRM family:

🔥 **Fender Stratacoustic** — when it’s time to clean things up, kick back and let an acoustic do the talking.

🔥 **EVH Wolfgang Special** — when subtlety is completely overrated and it’s time to turn the damn amp UP. 😎🔥

Two totally different personalities. Two completely different jobs.

And I wouldn’t want to be without either one. 🎸❤️

👇 **GUITAR PLAYERS — YOUR TURN!**

If you could keep **ONLY TWO guitars** from your collection, which two are making the cut?

Drop the **brand/model** in the comments. Bonus points for posting a picture of your favorite 6-string girl. 😁🤘🎸

And if classic rock, guitars, gear, great performances and rock & roll history are your thing…

👉 **FOLLOW Nick Rotundo Music** and join the growing NRM rock & roll crew! 💪🤘😎