Billy Corgan Recalls Getting Hit on by Kathie Lee Gifford
Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was a guest on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show Tuesday (Dec. 1) and during the course of the conversation with Stern, Corgan recalled his 1997 appearance on Live With Regis and Kathie Lee and one very distinct memory from that guest spot.
“It was awesome. They were really sweet but … she starts hitting on me during the show,” Corgan told Stern. “I was like wow, Kathie Lee is hitting on me, this is amazing.” As seen in video of the 1997 appearance below, the talk show host compliments Corgan on his chrome-dome look, telling the singer, "The grass never grows on the playground. You're looking very fine."
It might seem like an odd guest turn, especially at the height of Smashing Pumpkins' '90s success, but Corgan himself actually initiated the appearance. He told Stern, “I would sit on the couch and watch them every morning. I literally think I wrote the riff to ‘1979’ … watching Regis and Kathie Lee … I had my people call their people and said I’d love to come on.”
While on the 1997 episode, Corgan was still promoting Smashing Pumpkins' double album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, so '1979' had yet to be released. Still, within the chat, the singer revealed to Regis Philbin, "I usually write songs in the morning. I get up around 8 or 9 o'clock. You have an indirect influence on this album." He pointed to "Thirty-Three" as a song that might have had some tie to a morning viewing session of the weekday talk show. "A lot of times I would just get up in the morning and put on your show and it just kind of relaxes me," said Corgan.
The chat concludes with Corgan obviously making a fan in Kathie Lee Gifford, who gifts him two of her own albums and asks him about possibly directing her next video.
Watch the chat with Stern as well as the original interview with Regis and Kathie Lee below. Smashing Pumpkins just released another double album, with Cyr now available at this location (As Amazon affiliates, we earn on qualifying purchases).
Howard Stern Speaks to Billy Corgan About His Live With Regis & Kathie Lee Appearance (SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show)
Billy Corgan's 1997 Live With Regis & Kathie Lee Interview
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