Joe Boyd has spent more than six decades as a producer, label executive, and writer whose influence extends far beyond the studio. From producing Nick Drake's luminous folk albums to working with Fairport Convention, Pink Floyd, and R.E.M., Boyd has shaped some of the most enduring recordings in modern music history.

But Joe Boyd isn't just a behind-the-scenes architect of sound—he's also a chronicler of the music he loves. In his 2007 memoir, White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s, he offered an insider's perspective on a transformative era, while his latest book, And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey Through Global Music, published in 2024, takes readers across continents in search of the traditions that continue to shape contemporary sound. From Cuba to Mali, from Brazil to Bulgaria, Boyd traces the connections that bind global music together and celebrates the artists who keep these traditions alive.

On today’s episode Justin Richmond talks to Joe Boyd about working with famed Warner Brothers CEO Mo Ostin in the ‘60s. He also talks about the exhaustive research he did in writing his latest book and why he decided to pinpoint three specific Global regions as the genesis for all popular music. And Joe recalls how he came to produce the seminal 1973 documentary on Jimi Hendrix.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite songs from Joe Boyd HERE.

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Cuba and Its Music

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