Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott and Paul do a little housekeeping, including sharing listener-submitted additions to their "terrible artist mashup" game from last episode, announcing the winner of the signed Lamont Dozier CD contest, and sharing more information about our friends at Pearl Snap Studios.   PART TWO - 6:28 mark Mike stops by Songcraft World Headquarters to talk about the outside-the-box method he used to build an early following among college students; why he devoted himself to learning to play piano and guitar AFTER he'd scored a major hit; the reason he hates having a coffee table in the recording studio; why he originally told Adam Levine that Maroon 5 couldn't have "Sugar;" the surprising ways that Merle Haggard and Hank Williams, Jr. inspired "I Took a Pill in Ibiza;" and the reason Mike's label isn't allowed to hear his albums until they're finished. Plus, Mike performs two songs live and acoustic that will challenge what you think you know about him!  ABOUT MIKE POSNER Singer-songwriter, record producer, and poet Mike Posner emerged from the Detroit music scene to build a grassroots following by releasing mixtapes during his college years. After signing with Clive Davis’ J Records he broke through to national prominence with the double Platinum-selling Top 10 single “Cooler Than Me.” Subsequent hits as a solo artist include the Platinum-selling singles “Please Don’t Go” and “Bow Chicka Wow Wow,” which featured Lil Wayne. Posner is perhaps best known for the worldwide hit “I Took a Pill in Ibiza,” which has been streamed more than two billions times (with a b!), and was the second most-streamed song of 2016. “I Took a Pill in Ibiza” earned Mike a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year and turbocharged his reputation as an in-demand songwriter and collaborator. In addition to his own artist output, Posner is a behind-the-scenes songwriter of “Beneath Your Beautiful,” a #1 UK hit by Labrinth, “Boyfriend,” a multi-Platinum single for Justin Bieber, and “Sugar,” another multi-Platinum chart-topping hit for Maroon 5. Other artists who’ve released songs by Posner include Big Sean, Talib Kweli, Pharrell Williams, 2 Chainz, Wiz Khalifa, Nelly, T.I., Snoop Dogg, Avicii, Iggy Azalea, Nick Jonas, Cher Lloyd, and more. Beyond his solo work and his songwriting and production collaborations with other artists, Posner is also one half of the alternative hip hop duo Mansionz. He has released a book of poetry, Teardrops and Balloons, as well as a poetic spoken word album called I was born in detroit on a very, very, very, very, very, very, very cold day. Mike’s most recent single is “Song About You,” which is a prelude to his forthcoming studio album, which will be released in January on Island Records.

PART ONE Scott and Paul reveal their pick for the "other" greatest songwriter of all time to complete the list of 100 they introduced on the last episode. And they remind listeners how to enter the contest to win an autographed Lamont Dozier CD.  PART TWO - 5:14 mark The guys reveal their new favorite game of combining two artist names to create music you wouldn't want to hear. R. Kelly Clarkson? Jars of Clay Aiken? Days of the New Kids on the Block? Come on, you know you want to go down this rabbit hole with us... PART THREE - 13:45 Want to create professional demos of your original songs? We can help! PART FOUR - 15:23 Scott and Paul call up the always-interesting Kinky Friedman, who reveals the identity of the person he believes deserves credit for starting country music's outlaw movement; what Waylon Jennings said when he saw Kinky walking down the street with his laundry; how he ended up receiving the Male Chauvinist Pig of the Year Award from the National Organization for Women; the way Nelson Mandela embraced one of his songs; the advice Willie Nelson gave him that changed his life; the reason he writes about Jesus so much; and why he says you've got to be miserable to write great songs. ABOUT KINKY FRIEDMAN Always provocative and often insightful, singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, and politician Kinky Friedman, along with his band the Texas Jewboys, brought the spirit of Lenny Bruce to country music. Called the Frank Zappa of country, Friedman raised eyebrows with politically incorrect fare such as “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed,” “Homo Erectus,” “They Ain’t Makin’ Jews Like Jesus Anymore,” and “Asshole From El Paso.” Self-stylized as a profane Will Rogers, Kinky’s persona as a cigar-chomping raconteur often overshadowed his considerable skills as a songwriting craftsman. From the sharp social commentary of “We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to You” to strictly serious fare such as “Rapid City, South Dakota,” “Dear Abbie,” and “Lady Yesterday,” his knack for keen observation and tightly constructed songs attracted the attention of admirers such as Billy Joe Shaver, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan, who invited Kinky and the Texas Jewboys to join his legendary Rolling Thunder Review tour. Dylan once said, “I don’t understand music. I understand Lightnin’ Hopkins. I understand Lead Belly, John Lee Hooker, Woody Guthrie and Kinky Friedman.” Friedman eventually set songwriting aside and built a reputation as a celebrated mystery novelist. He went on to become a columnist for publications such as Rolling Stone and Texas Monthly and has published a long list of fiction and non-fiction books. He even ran for Governor of Texas in 2006 under the campaign slogan “Why the hell not,” eventually coming in fourth with nearly a half million votes.  In 2018, Kinky the songwriter returned with his first album of new original material in nearly four decades. Circus of Life spotlights the chops of a master songwriter who never lost his touch.

SUPER-SIZED DELUXE DOUBLE EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott and Paul celebrate their 100th episode by looking back on the origins of Songcraft and answering Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time by counting down their own list of the 100 OTHER Greatest Songwriters of All Time.  PART TWO - 19:37 mark The guys revisit their love of Pearl Snap Studios in Nashville. PART THREE - 21:44 Scott and Paul chat about the search to find a writer for the 100th episode who's written at least 100 Top 10 hits on the Billboard charts. Plus, find out how to enter to win a signed copy of Lamont Dozier's new CD, Reimagination. PART FOUR - 26:26 Scott and Paul catch up with Lamont and proceed to be blown away by his amazing stories of  punching a time clock as a staff songwriter at Motown; an inside look at the company's weekly "quality control" meetings; the secret behind the unusual percussion on "Nowhere to Run;" what happened when Marvin Gaye forgot to learn "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" before the recording session; why Diana Ross was pissed off when she cut the vocals for "Where Did Our Love Go;" which of Lamont's classics came about as a result of getting caught in a compromising situation at a no-tell motel; the time one of his Four Tops hits knocked one of his Supremes hits out of the #1 spot on the pop chart; the muse who inspired "Bernadette" and "I Hear a Symphony;" and what skills he believes are necessary for a long career as a songwriter. ABOUT LAMONT DOZIER Lamont Dozier, along with brothers Eddie and Brian Holland, wrote and produced more than 20 consecutive singles recorded by the Supremes, including ten #1 pop hits: “Where Did Our Love Go,” “Baby Love,” “Come See About Me,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Back in My Arms Again,” “I Hear a Symphony,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “Love is Here and Now You’re Gone,” and “The Happening.” Other Top 5 singles they wrote for the Supremes include “My World is Empty Without You” and “Reflections.” In addition to their hits with the Supremes, Holland, Dozier, and Holland helped further define the Motown sound by writing major pop and R&B hits such as “Heat Wave,” “Nowhere to Run,” and “Jimmy Mack” for Martha and the Vandellas, “Mickey’s Monkey” for the Miracles, “Can I Get a Witness” and “You’re a Wonderful One” for Marvin Gaye, and “(I’m A) Road Runner” for Junior Walker and the All Stars. The trio found particular success with The Four Tops, who scored hits with their songs “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch),” “It’s the Same Old Song,” “Reach Out I’ll Be There,” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” and “Bernadette.” Additional hits include “Crumbs Off the Table” for Glass House, “Give Me Just a Little More Time” for Chairmen of the Board, “Band of Gold” for Freda Payne, and Dozier’s own recording of “Why Can’t We Be Lovers.” Hit cover versions of his songs by rock artists include “Don’t Do It” by the Band, “Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)” by the Doobie Brothers, “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” by James Taylor, and “This Old Heart of Mine” by Rod Stewart. With hits spanning multiple decades, Dozier also co-wrote “Two Hearts” with Phil Collins, earning a #1 pop hit, a Grammy award, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar nomination. Dozier is in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is the recipient of the prestigious Johnny Mercer Award for songwriting, as well as the BMI Icon award. Lamont Dozier was additionally named among Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott turns the microphone around to ask Paul about the four songs he co-wrote on the album that just debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 album charts behind Paul McCartney and Eminem. PART TWO - 6:58 mark Scott and Paul call up Jeff Hanna to get the inside scoop on the early days of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band when Jackson Browne was playing kazoo; how Jeff first got into writing songs during the era when he was playing in Linda Ronstadt's backup band; why he didn't want his record label to release "Mr. Bojangles" as a single; how "yacht rock" made its way into the Dirt Band; the time Steve Goodman kicked his butt in racquetball with a chemo pump in his arm; how one of their singles flopped but became a hit record 5 years later when they released the exact same record again; the reason he and his wife, Nashville Songwriter's Hall of Famer Matraca Berg, set co-writing aside; and how it's possible that Jeff never met one of his "Bless the Broken Road" co-writers until they showed up at the Grammy awards together. ABOUT JEFF HANNA Jeff Hanna is a founding member of the pioneering country-rock and American roots music institution, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. As a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist with the group, Jeff has found success with songs such as “Buy For Me the Rain,” “Mr. Bojangles,” “House at Pooh Corner,” “An American Dream,” and the #1 country singles “Long Hard Road,” “Modern Day Romance,” and “Fishin’ in the Dark.”    As a songwriter, Jeff has written or co-written many of the Dirt Band favorites, including “Bayou Jubilee,” “Make a Little Magic,” “Fire in the Sky,” “Face on the Cutting Room Floor,” “Partners, Brothers, and Friends,” “Baby’s Got a Hold on Me,” “I’ve Been Lookin’,” and “Down That Road Tonight.” Hanna has found songwriting success outside the band with songs such as “High on Love,” which was a Top 20 country hit for Patty Loveless and “Bless the Broken Road,” which Rascal Flatts took to the top of the country chart in 2005. The latter earned Jeff a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year and a Grammy win for Best Country Song. The CMA Album of the Year honoree and four-time Grammy winner saw his band’s legendary Will the Circle Be Unbroken album inducted into the Library of Congress’s National Recording Archive and the Grammy Hall of Fame. He continues to tour with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and has been a consistent presence in the group for more than 50 years.  

PART ONE Scott and Paul go down the rabbit hole of why it's just not the same when certain famous musicians aren't accompanied by their indispensable musical compatriots. PART TWO - 8:15 mark Scott and Paul call up Matraca to get the lowdown on why she wanted to marry songwriter Red Lane when she was four years old; how she ended up with her first hit after crashing Bobby Braddock's party and sneaking into his music room; why she begged Deana Carter NOT to release "Strawberry Wine" as her first single; which of her songs she believes was partially inspired by Harlan Howard from beyond the grave; and why she doesn't want to be in the room with the producer or artist the first time she hears their version of one of her songs. ABOUT MATRACA BERG Matraca Berg landed her first #1 country single as a songwriter when she was just 18 years old. She went on to earn well over a dozen more Top 10 hits by artists such as Patty Loveless (who found success with “I’m That Kind of Girl” and “You Can Feel Better”), Trisha Yearwood (who scored with “Wrong Side of Memphis,” “XXX’s and OOO’s,” and “Everybody Knows”), and Deana Carter (who hit #1 with “We Danced Anyway” and “Strawberry Wine,” the latter earning the award for CMA Song of the Year). Other hits from the Matraca Berg songbook include Reba McEntire’s “The Last One to Know,” Martina McBride’s “Wild Angels,” The Dixie Chicks’ “If I Fall You’re Going Down with Me,” and Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter’s hit duet, “You and Tequila.” The list of others who’ve recorded Matraca’s songs includes Linda Ronstadt, Dusty Springfield, Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn, Ray Price, and Randy Travis. In addition to her success on the mainstream country charts, Berg is what All Music calls “an unclassifiable but utterly classy singer/songwriter and recording artist.” Her debut album, Lying to the Moon, spawned two Top 40 singles and earned her an ACM nomination for Top New Female Vocalist. Her Sunday Morning to Saturday Night album was named one of the Top 10 albums of the year by Time magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and USA Today, while The Dreaming Fields has earned rave reviews from Rolling Stone, NPR, The New York Times, and others. Berg has received three Grammy nominations for Best Country Song, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008, and received the prestigious ACM Poet’s Award in 2017. 

PART ONE Scott and Paul give a shout-out to their latest Patreon supporter before revealing their respective Top 5 favorite live albums of all time - a topic suggested by Songcraft listener Bob Hunt! PART TWO - 15:17 mark Scott and Paul call up Gary (with a slightly wonky phone connection) to get the lowdown on how a chance meeting at a French castle led to writing more than two dozen songs with a Beatle; why he thinks growing up on show tunes made him a better country writer; how attending the Woodstock festival changed his life; the poignant true story of his father's death that unexpectedly became a hit song; how he accidentally got Faith Hill a record deal; the Tim McGraw hit he wrote that got shelved for 7 years because his publisher hated it; why he says all songs are love songs; and how he went from country hitmaker to collaborating with Carole King, Kenny Loggins, Richard Marx, Desmond Child, and the American Idol team. ABOUT GARY BURR Gary Burr first found songwriting success when Juice Newton scored a Top 10 pop hit with “Love’s Been a Little Bit Hard on Me.” The floodgates soon opened on a remarkable string of Top 5 country hits, including “That’s My Job” for Conway Twitty, “Watch Me” for Lorrie Morgan, “Sure Love” for Hal Ketchum, “One Night a Day” for Garth Brooks, “I Try to Think About Elvis” for Patty Loveless, “Till You Love Me” for Reba McEntire, “Can’t Be Really Gone” for Tim McGraw, “To Be Loved By You” for Wynonna, “On the Side of Angels” for LeeAnn Rimes, “Out of My Bones” for Randy Travis, and many others. Burr eventually returned to his early pop success, scoring a hit with “Nobody Wants to Be Lonely,” which Ricky Martin and Christina Aguilera took to the top of the Latin charts. Additionally, he wrote Kelly Clarkson’s first hit, “Before Your Love,” which was the best-selling single the year it was released. He also wrote Clay Aiken’s “This is the Night,” which hit #1 the following year. Burr has collaborated with Carole King, both as a songwriter and as a member of her touring band. Similarly, he has worked as a backing musician with Ringo Starr and has co-written more than two dozen songs with Ringo that have appeared on the former Beatle’s albums in recent years. Burr and his wife, singer/songwriter Georgia Middleman, are currently in a band with Kenny Loggins called Blue Sky Riders. In addition to those mentioned, Burr’s songs have been recorded by Neil Diamond, Billy Ray Cyrus, Don Williams, Ricky Skaggs, Faith Hill, Lisa Loeb, Keith Urban, Kenny Rogers, Night Ranger, George Jones, Joe Cocker, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lady Antebellum, and others. Gary was twice named Songwriter of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association, has been named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. 

EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott and Paul announce the winner of the signed John Jorgenson CD contest. PART TWO - 2:46 mark As the lyrics say, "There'll be sad songs to make you cry." Paul and Scott each run down the top 3 songs that have made them do just that. PART THREE - 12:56 mark The immensely likeable Mary Lambert stops by Songcraft World Headquarters to talk about how Jewel inspired her to start playing coffee houses at the age of 13; the year she went from performing to audiences of 15 people to the Grammy stage; the ways in which a history of trauma and abuse has shaped her artistically; why songwriting is her connection to God; the reason co-writing was very jarring to her; why she cried for six hours before Madonna wiped away her tears; and how a failed co-writing session with a runner-up from "The Voice" led to a very important relationship.  Singer, songwriter, and spoken word artist Mary Lambert is best known for writing and performing the chorus for “Same Love,” a major hit for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. The first Top 40 song in history to advocate for marriage equality, “Same Love” was named one of the Top 10 singles of 2012 by influential music critic Robert Christgau. The multiplatinum hit earned Mary a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year as well as an MTV Video Music Award. She went on to sign with Capitol Records as a solo artist, releasing the Billboard Top 20 single “She Keeps Me Warm,” followed by “Secrets,” which reached #1 on the Billboard dance chart and was certified Gold. Her most recent EP, Bold, further solidifies her reputation as an uncompromising singer-songwriter who celebrates vulnerability, honesty, and social awareness. She has been an advocate for mental health issues and was featured in JC Penney’s influential “Here I Am” ad campaign.

EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott and Paul chat about genres of music that are virtually represented by a single artist. PART TWO -  8:23 mark Find out how you can win a signed John Jorgenson CD and hear some great bloopers and outtakes from our interview! PART THREE - 10:41 mark John stops by Songcraft World Headquarters to talk about why he asked his school band teacher to assign him to the hardest instrument; how Disneyland became his musical proving ground; the "slightly devious" way he got Chris Hillman to co-found the Desert Rose Band; how his group the Hellecasters navigated the writing process with three guitar-slinging superstars; what he learned from watching Elton John write songs; why he turned down auditions to tour with Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen; how he ended up collaborating with Brad Paisley, Rodney Crowell, JD Souther, Peter Frampton, and other greats; and how his Django Reinhardt obsession led to his becoming the American master of  gypsy jazz.  ABOUT JOHN JORGENSON Named “one of the most respected guitarists in the world” by the Los Angeles Times, John Jorgenson is a musician and composer who is not easily pigeonholed. The three-time ACM Guitarist of the Year first rose to prominence as a founder of The Desert Rose Band, which landed eight Top 10 singles on the Billboard country chart between 1987 and 1990. He went on to co-found The Hellecasters, an instrumental guitar trio whose debut release earned Album of the Year honors from Guitar Player magazine. In the 1990s Jorgenson spent six years touring and recording in Elton John’s band and released a collaborative instrumental album with Elton’s longtime guitarist Davey Johnstone. In the following decade Jorgenson firmly established himself as a preeminent interpreter and innovator in a different genre, earning the official designation as the “US Ambassador of Gypsy Jazz.” The John Jorgenson Quintet has released a handful of highly regarded gypsy jazz albums while John has continued to record with artists such as Bonnie Raitt, John Prine, Bob Seger, Barbra Streisand, Kenny Chesney, Earl Scruggs, Luciano Pavarotti, Amy Grant, Lionel Richie, and many others. In 2006 Peter Frampton won the Best Instrumental Album Grammy for Fingerprints, which featured a song performed and composed with Jorgenson called "Souvenirs de Nos Pères (Memories of Our Fathers)" In 2009 Jorgenson took home a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance for his work alongside fellow pickers James Burton, Vince Gill, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert, and Steve Wariner on Brad Paisley’s “Cluster Pluck.” “If there’s one guitar player I’d like to be,” Paisley has said, “it would be John Jorgenson.” In 2015, John released Divertuoso, a three disc album that features his three current performing bands: The John Jorgenson Electric Band, The John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band, and the gypsy jazz of the John Jorgenson Quintet.

PART ONE Scott and Paul talk about Randy Poe, Texas, and their favorite songwriters from the Lone Star State. PART TWO - 20:52 mark Robert Earl Keen comes by Songcraft World Headquarters to chat about the Marty Robbins song that set him on his path as a kid; why he wants his songs to be provocative; the book Lyle Lovett gave him that jump started his career; what Steve Earle said that convinced Robert to move to Nashville; how having only $20 in his pocket led to writing his most classic song; which of his albums made him feel like he’d been accepted into the mainstream; and why he kept delaying making a bluegrass album. ABOUT ROBERT EARL KEEN Regarded as one of the purest singer-songwriters in the Texas tradition, Robert Earl Keen is a true pioneer, and one of the most consistent practitioners of the Americana genre. While studying English at Texas A&M University, Keen linked up with fellow aspiring songwriter Lyle Lovett. The pair analyzed songs and worked on their craft together, writing tunes such as “Front Porch Song” which each included on his respective debut album. After the release of the West Textures album in 1989, Keen hit the road with songwriting giants Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. It was another Texan, Joe Ely, who recorded two of Robert’s songs on his highly lauded 1993 release Love and Danger that brought Keen to the attention of a wider audience. With a canon of classic songs that includes “The Road Goes on Forever,” “Corpus Christi Bay,” “Gringo Honeymoon,” and “Merry Christmas From the Family,” Keen built a diverse following that ranges from rowdy college kids to dyed-in-the-wool folkies. Live performance has been an important foundation of Keen’s artistry, as illustrated on the modern day classic live album No. 2 Live Dinner that was issued in 1996.  With a dozen studio albums and seven live albums under his belt, Keen has continued to explore new musical ground with a string of charting albums that includes 2015’s Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions. Reaching the Top 10 on the country chart and #1 on the bluegrass rankings, Happy Prisoner demonstrates that Keen’s track record as an artist is just as strong as the respect his songs have earned from other performers. Those who’ve covered his material include Nanci Griffith, Eddy Raven, Kelly Willis, The Highwaymen, Jack Ingram, Montgomery Gentry, Shawn Colvin, Gillian Welch, and George Strait. In 2012, Robert Earl Keen was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame.

IN THIS EPISODE: PART ONE Scott and Paul catch up on the latest Songcraft news and chat about some of their favorite songs about Nashville. PART TWO - 16:06 mark  Wanna learn how to be like Mark D. Sanders? You can start with Patreon. The guys tell you where to check it out. PART THREE - 18:13 mark Scott heads over to Mark's house in Nashville to get the inside scoop on how music helped him survive a troubled home life growing up; why he had trouble co-writing with people who had more success than he had; the co-writer who taught him he could have fun and write a song at the same time; his battles with severe depression; the demo singer he credits with boosting his career; the famous song that inspired the chord progression of "I Hope You Dance;" and the ethical reason he decided to walk away from commercial country music culture after decades of success. ABOUT MARK D. SANDERS Southern California native Mark D. Sanders moved to Nashville just before turning 30 and began building a career as a professional songwriter that eventually spawned 25 Top 10 hits, including more than a dozen #1 singles. His list of chart-topping hits includes “Mirror Mirror” by Diamond Rio, “Money in the Bank” by John Anderson, “Daddy’s Money” by Ricochet, “It Matters to Me” by Faith Hill, “No News” by Lonestar, “Heads Carolina, Tails California” by Jo Dee Messina, “Blue Clear Sky” by George Strait, “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing” by Trace Adkins, and “That’d Be Alright” by Alan Jackson. Other artists who’ve recorded Mark’s songs include Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Tracey Lawrence, Trisha Yearwood, and Guy Clark.   Sanders was named Songwriter of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association in 1995 and 1996, and ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year in 1997. Lee Ann Womack’s recording of “I Hope You Dance” earned him Song of the Year honors from NSAI, ASCAP, the ACM and the CMA, as well as a Grammy for Best Country Song and a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year across all categories. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.