Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

We're celebrating our 10th anniversary all year by digging in the vaults to re-present classic episodes with fresh commentary. Today, we're revisiting our 2020 conversation with David Crosby and our 2023 conversation with Graham Nash.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Americana Award winner and Grammy nominee Hayes Carll chats about the development of his songwriting and the highly personal nature of his latest album, We're Only Human.   PART ONEPaul and Scott talk about the unfortunate history of songs about rock & roll.PART TWOScott's in-depth conversation with Hayes CarllABOUT HAYES CARLLSinger, songwriter, and Americana mainstay Hayes Carll hit the scene in 2002 with his independently released debut album, Flowers & Liquor. The follow-up, Little Rock, featured songs co-written with Ray Wylie Hubbard and Guy Clark, and became the first self-released album to top the Americana chart. Moving to Lost Highway Records for his third album, Hayes won Song of the Year for “She Left Me for Jesus” at the Americana Music Awards. Soon after, he was honored with the Americana Music Association’s Emerging Artist of the Year recognition. As he continued to release new music, other artists began recording Hayes’s songs, including Kenny Chesney, Brothers Osborne, and Lee Ann Womack, whose recording of “Chances Are” earned Hayes a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song. To date, he has released nine studio albums, two of which—Lovers and Leavers and What It Is, hit the top 10 on Billboard’s folk album charts. His most recent album, We’re Only Human, was released this summer.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're celebrating our 10th anniversary all year by digging in the vaults to re-present classic episodes with fresh commentary. Today, we're revisiting our 2021 conversation with Dan Wilson. ABOUT DAN WILSONSongwriter, singer, musician, producer and acclaimed visual artist Dan Wilson is a Minnesota native and Harvard graduate who launched his music career with the band Trip Shakespeare, which was signed to A&M Records. He went on to co-found the rock band Semisonic, whose platinum-selling Feeling Strangely Fine album yielded the singles “Secret Smile,” “Singing in My Sleep,” and “Closing Time,” a chart-topping hit that earned Dan a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song. He went on to reinvent himself as a behind-the-scenes hitmaker, earning a Song of the Year Grammy for co-writing “Not Ready to Make Nice” with the group then known as The Dixie Chicks, and writing three songs on Adele’s multiplatinum 21 album: “Don’t You Remember,” “One and Only,” and “Someone Like You,” which became an international hit and earned Dan an Album of the Year Grammy for his production work. Wilson has also found success in Nashville, co-writing Dierks Bentley’s number one hit “Home” and earning yet another Album of the Year Grammy nomination for Taylor Swift’s Red LP, for which he co-wrote and produced the song “Treacherous.” Dan’s long list of collaborators includes Carole King, Rachel Yamagata, Jason Mraz, Gabe Dixon, Weezer, Keith Urban, Josh Groban, James Morrison, P!nk, Leann Rimes, John Legend, Chris Stapleton, Panic! At the Disco, Cold War Kids, Noah Cyrus, Leon Bridges, Celine Dion, and many others.In addition to his acclaimed Words and Music by Dan Wilson solo concerts, he launched a social media series called Words & Music in Six Seconds. The series, which focuses on “forging collaborative relationships, seeking a community, testing out ideas in front of an audience, and writing better songs,” was turned into a deck of 75 cards, designed by Dan, that distill his insights from nearly three decades of writing, performing, and collaborating with the world’s greatest musical artists. You can get your own set and find out more about Dan’s amazing career at danwilsonmusic.com.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Five-time Grammy winner, ACM Poet's Award honoree, and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Mary Chapin Carpenter opens up about her process and reflects on her approach to the craft. PART ONE:Paul and Scott geek out hard on Elvis and legendary songwriter Doc Pomus. PART TWO:Our in-depth conversation with Mary Chapin CarpenterABOUT MARY CHAPIN CARPENTERMary Chapin Carpenter is a five-time Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter and performer who has been nominated 18 times in categories ranging from country to Americana to folk to general Record of the Year. Making a name for herself with hits such as “Down at the Twist and Shout,” “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her,” and “Shut Up and Kiss Me,” she has won two CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards, two ACM awards, and is one of only a small handful of women who have been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Additionally, she received the Americana Music Association’s “Spirit of Americana Free Speech Award” and was honored with the Academy of Country Music’s Poets Award in 2023. Her most recent album, Personal History, which was released this summer, is her most autobiographical project to date.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're celebrating our 10th anniversary all year by digging in the vaults to re-present classic episodes with fresh commentary. Today, we're revisiting our 2017 conversation with Vince Gill. ABOUT VINCE GILLMulti-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Vince Gill launched his solo career in the mid-1980s, hitting the Top 10 on Billboard’s country singles chart a remarkable 25 times. All but one of those hits was written or co-written by Gill, and a dozen of his compositions have been nominated for either CMA Song of the Year, ACM Song of the Year, or the Best Country Song Grammy. These include “When I Call Your Name,” “Look At Us,” “Pocket Full of Gold,” “When Love Finds You,” “High Lonesome Sound,” “If You Have Forever in Mind,” “Feels Like Love,” and “Threaten Me With Heaven.” “Go Rest High on That Mountain” won both the CMA Song of the Year and the Best Country Song Grammy, while “I Still Believe in You” won the Best Country Song Grammy, as well as both the CMA and the ACM’s Song of the Year awards. Though he’s won four in total, Vince is the only songwriter to ever win three consecutive Song of the Year awards from the CMA. He has won more Grammy awards, with over 20 trophies, than any male country performer in history. These include two Best Country Song wins, as well as a 2017 win for Best American Roots Song for “Kid Sister,” which was recorded by Gill’s band, The Time Jumpers. He has won eight ACM awards and 18 CMA awards, including Vocalist of the Year five years in a row and Entertainer of the Year two years in a row. Other highlights from his long list of hit singles include the #1 hits “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away,” “One More Last Chance,” and “Tryin’ to Get Over You.” In addition to writing his own material, Vince’s songs have been recorded by Loretta Lynn, Bob Seger, John Denver, Mary Chapin Carpenter, John Prine, Willie Nelson, Michael McDonald, LeAnn Rimes, and Alabama, who topped the country charts with his “Here We Are.” Vince was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2014, he was named a BMI Icon, one of only twelve country writers ever honored with the prestigious award. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tyson Ritter, lead vocalist of The All-American Rejects, dives into his songwriting evolution, revealing how personal growth shapes his craft. He discusses the creation of hits like "Dirty Little Secret" and the joy of spontaneity in music, while reflecting on the pressures of authenticity in the industry. The conversation also touches on their new single "Sandbox," exploring themes of helplessness and empathy in modern relationships. Ritter's insights reveal a deep connection to both his art and the fans who inspire it.

We're celebrating our 10th anniversary all year by digging in the vaults to re-present classic episodes with fresh commentary. Today, we're revisiting our 2019 conversation with Valerie Simpson of Ashford & Simpson. ABOUT VALERIE SIMPSONSix-time Grammy nominee Valerie Simpson is best known as one half of the songwriting, production and performing duo of Ashford and Simpson, which she formed with musical partner and eventual husband Nick Ashford after they met at a church in Harlem, New York, in the early 1960s.  After early successes with Aretha Franklin’s recording of “Cry Like a Baby” and Ray Charles’ recordings of “Let’s Go Get Stoned” and “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” Nick and Valerie signed with Motown Records, first as songwriters, where their early successes included the hit singles “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Your Precious Love,” recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. They soon began both writing and producing for the duo, with hits such as “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “You’re All I Need to Get By,” “Good Lovin’ Ain’t Easy to Come By,” and “What You Gave Me.” Additional writing and production credits at Motown came with hits by The Supremes, The Marvelettes, The Miracles, Gladys Knight, and Diana Ross, who found success with “Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand)” “Remember Me,” “Surrender,” and a remake of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” that topped both the pop and R&B charts.   In addition to writing #1 hits such as Quincy Jones’s “Stuff Like That” and Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” after their Motown period, Ashford and Simpson began releasing their own recordings as a duo, landing nearly 40 songs on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Their list of Top 10 hits as artists, includes “It Seems to Hang On,” “Found a Cure,” “Love Don’t Make it Right,” “Street Corner,” “Outta the World,” “Count Your Blessings,” “I’ll Be There For You,” and “Solid.”   Ashford and Simpson were the recipients of the ASCAP Founder’s Award, which is the highest honor bestowed by the organization. They were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, named among Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time, and provided the inspiration for the establishment of the Soul Train Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award. Following Nick’s untimely death in 2011, Valerie has continued to write, record, and even appear on Broadway in the acclaimed musical Chicago. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Two-time Grammy winner and songwriting superhero Patty Griffin joins us for a wide-ranging discussion about her craftPART ONEReflecting on the lives of recently-departed songwriters Alan Bergman and Ozzy Osbourne, which might be the only time those two were discussed in the same conversation! PART TWOOur in-depth conversation with Patty GriffinABOUT PATTY GRIFFINPatty Griffin is a singer’s singer and a songwriter’s songwriter. With a catalog of finely-crafted selections that includes “Let Him Fly,” “One Big Love,” “Top of the World,” “Rain,” “Long Ride Home,” “Heavenly Day,” “Up to the Mountain,” “Ohio,” and many others, she has carved out a space as one the most respected artists and songwriters of the last 30 years. The seven-time Grammy nominee and two-time winner blends folk, blues, and other roots music traditions into her own unique style. Patty has received the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting, and her songs have been covered by a long list of artists that includes The Chicks, Solomon Burke, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Miranda Lambert, Kelly Clarkson, Bette Midler, Martina McBride, Maura O’Connell, and others. Patty’s eleventh, and most recent, studio album is called Crown of Roses.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We're celebrating our 10th anniversary all year by digging in the vaults to re-present classic episodes with fresh commentary. Today, we're revisiting our 2023 conversation with Robert De Leo of Stone Temple Pilots. ABOUT ROBERT DE LEORobert De Leo is best known for his work in Stone Temple Pilots. Collaborating with lyricist and vocalist Scott Weiland, Robert wrote or co-wrote the music for many of the group’s classic songs, including “Plush,” “Creep,” “Wicked Garden,” “Vaseline,” “Interstate Love Song,” “Big Bang Baby,” “Down,” “Hollywood Bitch,” and “Between the Lines.” Outside of their music in Stone Temple Pilots, Robert and his brother Dean have also written and recorded songs for their band Talk Show, as well as Army of Anyone, which is a collaboration with Filter frontman Richard Patrick. Since the death of Weiland and subsequent lead singer Chester Bennington, the De Leo brothers and drummer Eric Kretz continue to make music as Stone Temple Pilots with current vocalist Jeff Gutt. At the time of our conversation, Robert had released his debut solo album, Lessons Learned, a deeply personal collection of original songs. Featuring a handful of guest singers, it’s a different sound than listeners might expect from De Leo, exploring the vibes of Laurel Canyon, Americana, roots music, and a healthy dose of one of Robert’s musical heroes, Glen Campbell. In this episode you’ll hear a lot of great new music and gain a deeper appreciation for some of the amazing Stone Temple Pilots catalog as Robert grabs his guitar and breaks down some of those classics in mind-blowing depth. This is one of our favorite Songcraft conversations, and you definitely won’t want to miss it.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason chats about his early days in Traffic, writing the classic "Feelin' Alright?", working with Delaney & Bonnie, and so much more. PART ONEScott and Paul chat about Dave Mason's unique role in the rock & roll pantheon.PART TWOOur in-depth conversation with Dave Mason.ABOUT DAVE MASONAfter recording background vocals with The Spencer Davis Group on such hits as "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man," Dave Mason became a founding member of the British rock group Traffic alongside Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood. He wrote some of the band’s best-known songs, including “Hole in My Shoe” and “Feelin’ Alright?” which went on to be covered in a memorable version by Joe Cocker. After touring and recording with Delaney & Bonnie (who recorded Dave’s song “Only You Know and I Know”), he joined an early version of Eric Clapton’s Derek & The Dominos. Dave soon left to pursue a solo career, beginning with the Alone Together album. He has released three Gold-certified solo albums and one Platinum album, Let It Flow, which featured the hit “We Just Disagree.” In addition to his solo releases and a duet album with Mama Cass Elliot, Dave has appeared on such legendary recordings as “Street Fighting Man” by the Rolling Stones, “All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix, “Listen to What the Man Said” by Paul McCartney and Wings, as well as George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass album. In the 1990s Dave spent time as a member of Fleetwood Mac, contributing original songs to the band’s Time album in 1995. He has recorded with Michael Jackson, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Donovan, Phoebe Snow, and many others. Dave was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic and, in 2024, published his memoir, Only You Know and I Know.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.