Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Part One:Paul and Scott pay tribute to ZZ Top's Dusty Hill, talk about bands with unchanging lineups, delve into the particulars of magnificent Songcraft beards, and take a closer look at Billboard's Christian music charts.  Part Two:Our in-depth conversation with David CrowderABOUT DAVID CROWDER:David Crowder is a phenomenally successful singer, songwriter, and musician in Christian music. He first rose to prominence with The David Crowder Band, which introduced church communities to songs such as “O Praise Him,” “Here is Our King,” and “How He Loves,” which has earned nearly 60 million streams on Spotify. The five-time Grammy nominee began a genre-bending solo career under the mononymous stage name Crowder in 2012, and has released four albums and a string of Top 10 singles including “I Am,” “Come As You Are,” “Forgiven,” “All My Hope,” “Red Letters,” and “Let it Rain.” Other staples from the Crowder songbook include “Open Skies,” “Everything Glorious,” “This I Know,” and “I’m Leaning on You.” Crowder has collaborated with a range of artists, including Chris Tomlin, Tauren Wells, Riley Clemmons, Maverick City Music, Marty Stuart, and Emmylou Harris, and has earned 16 GMA Dove Awards. His most recent album, Milk & Honey hit #1 on the US Christian charts, and the lead single “Good God Almighty” became his first song to hit #1 on all four Billboard Christian music charts. 

SUMMARY:Our guests on this episode of Songcraft are Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, best known for co-writing and producing nearly every Janet Jackson hit. They’ve worked with a who’s who of artists, earning them 26 Billboard #1 R&B hits, 16 Billboard #1 pop hits, more Producer of the Year Grammy nominations than anyone in history, and a place in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. We’ll chat with them about their varied career, and their new first-ever album under their own names, entitled Volume One. PART ONE:Fan mail and the hardest job in the world.PART TWO:Scott and Paul chat about the idea of the celebrity producer, and how Jam & Lewis might have set a new mold. PART THREE:Our in-depth interview with Jimmy Jam & Terry LewisABOUT JAM & LEWISWith 26 Billboard #1 R&B hits and 16 Billboard #1 pop hits to their credit, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are perhaps the most influential and successful songwriting and production duo in modern music history. With a total of 41 Top 10 hits in the US, Jimmy and Terry were named ASCAP Songwriters of the Year a record-breaking nine times. They are perhaps best known for their work with Janet Jackson, beginning with the Control album, which earned the duo a Grammy for Producer of the Year. Between 1986 and 1994 they scored thirteen #1 songs with Janet on either the R&B or pop chart, including “What Have You Done For Me Lately,” “Nasty,” “When I Think of You,” “Control,” “Let’s Wait Awhile,” “Miss You Much,” “Rhythm Nation,” “Escapade” “Love Will Never Do (Without You),” “The Best Things in Life Are Free,” “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “Any Time, Any Place,” and “Again,” which earned Jimmy, Terry, and Janet an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. Jimmy and Terry got their start as musicians with Morris Day and the Time, the Prince-produced band whose biggest hit was the Jam and Lewis-penned “Jerk Out.” They made the transition to a successful songwriting and production team working with the S.O.S. band, which landed a #2 R&B hit with “Just Be Good to Me.” From there, they made their mark on pop and R&B hits for decades to come. In addition to their work with Jackson, the duo wrote and produced the #1 pop singles “Human” by Human League, “Romantic” by Karyn White, “Thank God I Found You” by Mariah Carey, and the Boyz II Men singles “On Bended Knee” and “4 Seasons of Loneliness.” Additional R&B chart toppers include “Encore” by Cheryl Lynn, “Fake” by Alexander O’Neal, “Everything I Miss at Home” by Cherelle, “Sensitivity” by Ralph Tresvant, and the Johnny Gill singles “Rub You the Right Way” and “Wrap My Body Tight.” Other highlights from their catalog include New Edition’s “If It Isn’t Love” and “I’m Still in Love With You,” “No More Drama” by Mary J. Blige, Robert Palmer’s hit pop cover of their Cherelle single “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On,” and recordings by Gladys Knight & The Pips, Barry White, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Usher, Spice Girls, Aretha Franklin, Charlie Wilson, Ledisi, Sting, Elton John, Beyonce, Rihanna, Rod Stewart, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Gwen Stefani, Willie Nelson, and many others.Always versatile, the duo has earned Grammy awards for Best R&B Album for Chaka Kahn’s Funk This, Best Gospel Song for Yolanda Adams’ “Be Blessed,” and Best Dance Recording for Janet Jackson’s #1 pop and R&B hit “All For You.” Additional Jackson hits that were written and produced with Jam and Lewis include the Janet and Michael Jackson hit “Scream” and the #1 singles “Together Again,” “I Get Lonely,” “Doesn’t Really Matter,” and the Nelly duet “Call On Me.”In total the team has earned over 100 gold, platinum, multi-platinum and diamond album certifications from the RIAA, have received more Producer of the Year Grammy nominations than anyone in history, earned the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award, and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. They’ve recently released their first album under their own names, which is called Volume One. 

SUMMARY:Our guest on this episode of Songcraft is Georgia native and Best Americana Album Grammy nominee Brent Cobb. The self-described songwriter-singer joins us to chat about his dual career as an artist and as a behind-the-scenes tunesmith for Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, and others. PART ONEPaul and Scott dissect the difference between a guitarist and a guitar enthusiast. PART TWO:Scott's in-depth interview with Brent CobbABOUT BRENT COBB:Georgia native Brent Cobb began his music career in Los Angeles working with his cousin Dave Cobb and Shooter Jennings. He later found himself in Nashville where he landed a staff songwriting deal and started getting his songs recorded by artists such as Luke Bryan, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, and many others. He eventually signed an artist deal with the Elektra Records imprint Low Country Sound, scoring a Top 20 country album with Shine On Rainy Day. The LP earned a Grammy nomination for Best Americana Album. His follow-up release, Providence Canyon earned Brent a spot touring with Chris Stapleton. His most recent release, Keep ‘Em On They Toes, marks his return to Georgia and his most personal album to date. We recently caught up with Brent via phone where he called in from a semi-quiet corner of a hotel hallway at Disneyworld where he was vacationing with his family.  

SUMMARY:Our guest on this episode of Songcraft is Richard Marx, who is best known for writing and recording hits such as “Don’t Mean Nothing,” “Hold on to the Nights” and “Right Here Waiting.” But that’s only part of the story. As a songwriter, Marx has written #1 hits for other artists, ranging from Kenny Rogers to Josh Groban to NSYNC to Keith Urban. He’s sold more than 30 million albums as an artist, earned the Grammy Song of the Year as a writer, and, with the publication of his new memoir on July 6th, is now an author with many amazing stories to tell.    PART ONE:Scott and Paul talk about the new Songcraft T-shirts, and wonder if Richard Marx is perhaps in an elite club whose only other members are the Bee Gees. PART TWO: Our in-depth conversation with Richard MarxABOUT RICHARD MARXGrammy-winning performer Richard Marx has sold more than 30 million albums as an artist, but if you only know him from late 1980s ballads such as “Hold on to the Nights” and “Right Here Waiting,” you only know part of the story. A prolific songwriter, Marx has landed fourteen songs at the top of various Billboard charts, and has written a #1 single in each of the last four decades. His genre-crossing songwriting success includes “What About Me” and “Crazy,” which Kenny Rogers carried to the top of the Adult Contemporary and Country charts, respectively; “Edge of a Broken Heart,” a hit for the female metal band Vixen; “This I Promise You,” a Top 5 pop single for NSYNC that stayed at #1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart for 13 weeks; Josh Groban’s debut single “To Where You Are,” which also reached #1; and “Dance With My Father,” which Richard wrote with the song’s performer, Luther Vandross, and which earned the pair the prestigious Grammy Song of the Year award in 2004. Additionally, Richard has scored three major hits with Keith Urban: the Top 5 “Everybody,” and the #1 singles “Better Life” and “Long Hot Summer.”  Despite all his songwriting success, however, Marx is best known as a singer and performer who today jokes about his 80s hairstyle and of-the-era drum sounds. But the songs are undeniable, all of which Marx wrote and produced himself. His debut self-titled album yielded four Top 5 singles: “Don’t Mean Nothing,” “Should’ve Known Better,” “Endless Summer Nights,” and “Hold on to the Nights.” His follow-up, 1989’s Repeat Offender, was even more successful, going quadruple-platinum and earning two number one Billboard pop singles, “Satisfied” and “Right Here Waiting,” in addition to the Top 5 “Angelina.” More hits followed, including “Keep Coming Back,” “Hazard,” “Take This Heart,” “Now and Forever,” and “Until I Find You Again.” In addition, Richard’s songs have been integral to a number of successful film soundtracks. He earned a Grammy nomination for his contributions to St. Elmo’s Fire; scored a Top 10 pop hit with “Surrender to Me,” which Ann Wilson of Heart and Robin Zander of Cheap Trick recorded for the movie Tequila Sunrise, and wrote “At the Beginning,” a hit duet for the film Anastasia that Richard performed with Donna Lewis. Over the course of his career, Richard’s songs have been recorded by Barbra Streisand, The Tubes, Sarah Brightman, Monica, Natalie Cole, Michael Bolton, Paulina Rubio, Emerson Drive, Chicago, Billy Ray Cyrus, Vince Gill, Kenny Loggins, LeAnn Rimes, Celine Dion, Julio Iglesias, Berry Manilow, Daughtry, Vertical Horizon, Lifehouse, Dave Koz, Jennifer Nettles, Ringo Starr, and many others. His memoir, Stories to Tell, is available July 6 from Simon & Shuster. 

SUMMARY:Our guest on this episode of Songcraft is musician, rapper, poet, activist, and singer-songwriter Michael Franti, who is best known for his work with his group Spearhead. He joins us to discuss the evolution of his music, the creation of hits such as “Say Hey (I Love You)” and “The Sound of Sunshine,” and his most recent album, Work Hard & Be Nice. PART ONE:Scott and Paul get into some serious grammar nerd stuff about implied punctuation in lyrics, how incorrect sentence construction often works better in lyrics, and what the heck Bryan Adams really had in mind when he wrote "Heaven."PART TWO:We chat about our friends at Pearl Snap Studios, address Scott's "Zoom yelling," and tee up for the main event...PART THREE:Scott's in-depth interview with Michael FrantiABOUT MICHAEL FRANTISocially conscious and genre-bending artist, musician, rapper, poet, activist and singer-songwriter Michael Franti launched his career with early groups such as Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, whose debut release was listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. He went on to form Spearhead, which evolved from hip-hop to incorporate influences including jazz, soul, funk, rock, reggae, and folk. The 2008 Michael Franti & Spearhead album All Rebel Rockers was his first to hit the Top 40 on the Billboard album charts on the strength of the single “Say Hey (I Love You),” which was also a Top 20 hit on the pop chart. He went on to release a string of albums that hit the Rock Albums Top 5, including The Sound of Sunshine, All People, and SoulRocker. His most recent album is called Work Hard & Be Nice, which was released during the pandemic in the summer of 2020. In addition to his work as an artist and activist, Michael is the owner of a yoga resort hotel in Bali called Soulshine, from which he joined us for this interview. 

Summary:Our guest on this episode of Songcraft is Marty Dodson, who has written #1 singles such as “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven” for Kenny Chesney and “Must Be Doin’ Something Right” for Billy Currington. The Nashville hitmaker joins us to discuss his songwriting journey, and give us further insight into Songtown, the songwriter community he co-founded to provide quality resources for aspiring professionals.  Part One:Scott and Paul talk about their favorite music podcasts of the moment.Part Two:Our in-depth interview with Marty Dodson.About Marty Dodson:One of the rare Nashville songwriters who actually grew up in Nashville, Marty Dodson changed careers as a young adult to dedicate himself to his passion for writing songs. Much of his success came in the country world with singles such as Rascal Flatts’ Top 10 hit “While You Loved Me,” Carrie Underwood’s “Songs Like This,” Kenny Chesney’s multi-week #1 hit “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven,” Charlie Worsham’s debut single “Could It Be,” Blake Shelton’s “Doing it to Country Songs.” and two Billy Currington chart-toppers, “Must Be Doin’ Something’ Right” and “Let Me Down Easy.” Never one to limit himself to a single genre, Marty has also collaborated with Tom Higgenson of the rock band Plain White T’s, which recorded two of his songs, and has had his compositions recorded by everyone from Joe Cocker, who had an international #1 with Marty’s “Fire It Up,” to Cho Yong Pil, a South Korean superstar who had a multi-week #1 with Marty’s song “Bounce.” In addition to his writing, Marty is the co-founder of Songtown, a creative community of aspiring writers that provides blog posts, webinars, podcasts, and even books, including two co-authored by Marty: Song Building: Mastering Lyric Writing, and The Songwriter’s Guide to Mastering Co-Writing.

SUMMARY: Bridget Kearney and Rachael Price of the band Lake Street Dive join us to talk about a career that’s earned them top 20 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, a half dozen singles on the AAA chart, massive critical praise, and a brand new album on Nonesuch Records called "Obviously" that elevates the band’s pop, rock, R&B, and jazz influences into a perfectly unique blend that's equal parts retro and contemporary. PART ONE:Paul & Scott read listener mail, talk Patreon perks, and tell you how to get your very own Songcraft T-shirt! PART TWO:Our in-depth conversation with Rachael and Bridget of Lake Street DiveABOUT LAKE STREET DIVE:Lake Street Dive’s tight harmonies and wide-ranging tastes in pop, rock, R&B, and jazz blend together to create a cohesive sound that celebrates retro influences with a contemporary attitude. Formed at the New England Conservatory of Music in 2004, the group has released seven studio albums, issued two EPs, and charted a half dozen singles on Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart including “Call Off Your Dogs,” “Good Kisser,” “Shame Shame Shame,” and “Hypotheticals.” The latter is off their most recent album on Nonesuch Records, titled Obviously. The group has appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, Conan, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and NPR’s Tiny Desk series. They’ve earned many millions of YouTube views with their innovative interpretations of covers songs, as well as with originals such as “What I’m Doing Here,” “You Go Down Smooth,” “Mistakes,” “Side Pony,” and “Bad Self Portraits.” Lead singer Rachael Price and bassist Bridget Kearney join us to talk about their songwriting process and the evolution of the band.  

PART ONE:Scott & Paul chat about making records, and dive way too deep on how every Songcraft guest is connected.PART TWO (30 minute mark):Our in-depth interview with Todd SniderABOUT TODD SNIDER:Celebrated singer-songwriter Todd Snider has continued the troubadour legacy of mentors like John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, while putting his uniquely clever, wry, sly, and often irreverent spin on folk, rock, country, and Americana. Launching his career on Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Records, Snider has spent more than two decades touring relentlessly, both on his own and with legendary artists such as Emmylou Harris. Along the way he’s made a splash with fan favorite songs such as “Talking Seattle Grunge Rock Blues,” “Alright Guy,” “Can’t Complain,” “Beer Run,” “Statistician’s Blues,” and “Play a Train Song.” He has released well over a dozen albums, including The Devil You Know and Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables, both of which were named to Rolling Stone’s list of the Top 50 Albums of the Year. He also formed the group Hardworking Americans, and published a memoir called I Never Met a Story I Didn’t Like: Mostly True Tall Tales. His songs have been covered by Garth Brooks, Gary Allan, Mark Chesnutt, Tom Jones, Jerry Jeff Walker, Billy Joe Shaver, Elizabeth Cook, Warren Haynes, Loretta Lynn, and Elvis Costello. His experimental new funk-influenced album is called First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder.

SUMMARY:Dan Nigro has already taken 2021 by storm as the co-writer and producer of Olivia Rodrigo’s global smash hit “Drivers License.” He joins us to talk about his development as a writer, his success with Freya Ridings and Conan Gray, and how he’s experiencing this moment as pop music’s new songwriting superstar. PART ONE:Scott and Paul chat about how oddly "adult" pop music was in the '80s.PART TWO:Our in-depth interview with Dan NigroABOUT DAN NIGRO:Songwriter and producer Dan Nigro is having a major moment. Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single “Drivers License,” which he co-wrote and produced, made her the youngest artist in history to debut at the top of the Billboard pop chart. A global sensation, the song not only stayed on top of the US chart for two full months, but reached number one in the UK, Japan, and more than 20 other countries. It set a new streaming record on Spotify with over 15 million plays in a single day. Prior to his years-long overnight success, Dan began his musical life as the leader of indie rock band As Tall as Lions before transitioning to songwriting and producing. His resume includes “Cameo Lover” by Kimbra, “Mercy” by Lewis Capaldi, “Castles” by Freya Ridings, “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” by Caroline Polachek, and “Heather” by Conan Gray. In addition to those songs, which have nearly 300 million combined views on YouTube, Dan has written and/or produced for Sky Ferreira, Kylie Minogue, Billy Idol, Little Boots, Carly Rae Jepsen, Zella Day, Finneas, and many others. His latest single, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Deja Vu,” was released less than two weeks prior to this episode and is already a Top 10 pop hit, indicating that the team of Rodrigo and Nigro is here to stay. 

SUMMARY: Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and four-time Grammy nominee Nancy Wilson of Heart joins us to chat about self-penned classics such as "Crazy on You," "Magic Man," "Barracuda," and "Never," as well as her work scoring films, and her upcoming debut solo album, You and Me. PART ONE: Paul and Scott chat about demos, their friends at Pearl Snap Studios, the grand finale of their Women's History Month series, why Nancy Wilson paved the way for little girls to aspire to great guitar heights, and what one Heart song each of them plans to blast after the interview. PART TWO: 9:02 markOur in-depth interview with Nancy WilsonABOUT NANCY WILSON:Four-time Grammy nominee and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Nancy Wilson is best known for her work in the band Heart, which she and her sister Ann helped propel to rock superstardom in the 1970s, thanks to self-penned classics such as “Crazy On You,” “Magic Man,” “Dreamboat Annie,” “Barracuda,” “Little Queen,” “Heartless,” “Straight On,” “Dog & Butterfly,” and “Even It Up.” In the mid-1980s they reinvented themselves as mainstream radio hitmakers with a string of successful singles, including “What About Love,” “Never,” “These Dreams,” “Nothin’ at All,” “Alone,” “Who Will You Run To,” “There’s the Girl,” “All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You,” and “Stranded.” Though she has sold over 35 million albums worldwide as a member of Heart, Nancy’s songwriting efforts extend beyond the confines of the band. She has written songs and scores for films, including Say Anything, Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous, Vanilla Sky, and Elizabethtown. She is also a founding member of the bands The Lovemongers and Roadcase Royale. Though she previously released a solo acoustic set called Live At McCabe’s Guitar Shop, Nancy’s debut studio album as a solo artist, You and Me, will be released on May 7th.