Nuno Bettencourt: The Funk, The Flame, and the Fender cover art

Nuno Bettencourt: The Funk, The Flame, and the Fender

Nuno Bettencourt: The Funk, The Flame, and the Fender

Listen for free

View show details

About this listen

He's been called the next Eddie Van Halen — and four decades later, he's still proving why. In this episode, Dr. Nova Starlink and Dr. Dorian Prescott take you on a sonic journey through Nuno Bettencourt's remarkable career: from Extreme's meteoric rise with "More Than Words," to his virtuoso reinventions across funk, pop, and metal — and even to the Super Bowl stage with Rihanna.

You'll hear how a Portuguese-American kid from Hudson, Massachusetts turned guitar obsession into legend, reshaped pop tours with his riffs, and stood beside icons from Steven Tyler to Ozzy Osbourne.

🔊 Featuring:

  • Nuno's origin story and influences

  • Extreme's rise and radio burnout

  • Collaborations with Janet Jackson, Steve Perry, and Rihanna

  • The making of Six and the jaw-dropping "Rise" solo

  • Why every American should know his name

🎧 Listen now — stay loud, stay curious, and keep headbanging with a hypothesis.
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.