Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Growing up in Greenwich Village, New York, John Sebastian cut his teeth on American roots music. He formed the Lovin’ Spoonful in the mid-1960s, blending folk, blues, country, rock, and pop to create a string of seven consecutive Top 10 hits, including “Do You Believe in Magic,” “You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice,” “Daydream,” “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind,” Summer in the City,” Rain on the Roof,” and “Nashville Cats.” Each of them was written or co-written by Sebastian, and two of his compositions - “Summer in the City” and “Do You Believe in Magic”- are listed in Rolling Stone magazine’s ranking of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” In 1976 he scored a #1 solo hit with “Welcome Back,” the theme song to the popular TV show Welcome Back Kotter. He has continued to create engaging roots-oriented sounds with his celebrated J-Band. The Lovin’ Spoonful was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and Sebastian became a member of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2008. His songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, B.B. King, Sarah Vaughan, Quincy Jones, John Mellencamp, Dolly Parton, Tom Petty, Elvis Costello, the Everly Brothers, Isaac Hayes, Flatt & Scruggs, Art Garfunkel, the Bee Gees, The Mamas and the Papas, Bell and Sebastian, Rumer, and many others. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Find a Way to Care is John Mayall’s 64th official album, and the most recent release from the 81-year-old singer, keyboardist, guitarist, harmonica player, and composer who’s been dubbed the “Godfather of British Blues.” The Grammy-nominated Mayall is a renowned band leader, with several veterans of his group, the Bluesbreakers, going on to find success in their own right. A short list of those who passed through his band includes Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce, who went on to form Cream; Peter Green, John McVie, and Mick Fleetwood, who later formed Fleetwood Mac; Andy Fraser, who formed Free; and Mick Taylor, who went on to join the Rolling Stones. Other notable guitarists who’ve spent time in Mayall’s band include Walter Trout, Coco Montoya, Sonny Landreth, Buddy Whittington, and former Canned Heat member Harvey Mandel. Between 1966 and 1971 Mayall released eleven albums that hit the Top 40 on the UK chart, three of which also reached the Top 40 on the Billboard chart in the U.S. Though he has covered songs by many of his heroes, Mayall’s albums have relied primarily on original material. His own compositions have been recorded by a range of artists, including Richie Havens, Georgie Fame, Them, Mott the Hoople, Dion & the Belmonts, Motorhead, Joe Bonamassa, Albert King, Eric Clapton, Uriah Heep, and the duo of Eric Burdon and Jimmy Witherspoon. Mayall’s album Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton appears on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” and he was named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by the Queen of England in 2005. BB King once said, “John Mayall, he was the master of it. If it wasn't for the British musicians, a lot of us black musicians in America would still be catchin' the hell that we caught long before." Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Part 2 of 2: Hailing from Lubbock, Texas, Mac Davis began his music career working for Vee Jay Records and Liberty Records in Atlanta. Relocating to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, he became a staff songwriter for Nancy Sinatra’s music publishing company. His early songwriting success came when Elvis Presley recorded several of his songs, including “A Little Less Conversation,” “Memories,” “Clean Up Your Own Backyard,” “Don’t Cry Daddy,” and “In the Ghetto.” Soon his songs were being recorded by O.C. Smith, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Glen Campbell, Ray Price, and Bobby Goldsboro, who enjoyed a major hit with Mac’s “Watching Scotty Grow” in 1971. Thanks to his success as a songwriter, Davis signed an artist deal with Columbia Records, and later Casablanca Records, scoring thirty-three charting singles between 1970 and 1986. Most of those hits were written by Davis himself, including “I Believe in Music,” “One Hell of a Woman,” “Stop and Smell the Roses,” “It’s Hard to be Humble,” “Texas in My Rearview,” “Hooked on Music,” “You’re My Bestest Friend,” and the Grammy-nominated #1 pop hit, “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me.” He was named both the the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year in 1974, hosted his own NBC variety show from 1974 through 1976, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000, and joined the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He’s a three-time Grammy nominee with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he continues to write, most recently collaborating with - and having his songs recorded by - Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Bruno Mars, and Avicii.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Part 1 of 2: Hailing from Lubbock, Texas, Mac Davis began his music career working for Vee Jay Records and Liberty Records in Atlanta. Relocating to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, he became a staff songwriter for Nancy Sinatra’s music publishing company. His early songwriting success came when Elvis Presley recorded several of his songs, including “A Little Less Conversation,” “Memories,” “Clean Up Your Own Backyard,” “Don’t Cry Daddy,” and “In the Ghetto.” Soon his songs were being recorded by O.C. Smith, Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, Glen Campbell, Ray Price, and Bobby Goldsboro, who enjoyed a major hit with Mac’s “Watching Scotty Grow” in 1971. Thanks to his success as a songwriter, Davis signed an artist deal with Columbia Records, and later Casablanca Records, scoring thirty-three charting singles between 1970 and 1986. Most of those hits were written by Davis himself, including “I Believe in Music,” “One Hell of a Woman,” “Stop and Smell the Roses,” “It’s Hard to be Humble,” “Texas in My Rearview,” “Hooked on Music,” “You’re My Bestest Friend,” and the Grammy-nominated #1 pop hit, “Baby Don’t Get Hooked on Me.” He was named both the the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year in 1974, hosted his own NBC variety show from 1974 through 1976, was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000, and joined the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2006. He’s a three-time Grammy nominee with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he continues to write, most recently collaborating with - and having his songs recorded by - Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Bruno Mars, and Avicii.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

One of the most successful and prolific writers and producers of all time, Desmond Child’s songs have resulted in nearly six dozen Top 40 singles on Billboard’s pop, rock, country, and R&B charts. His band Desmond Child & Rouge attracted the attention of Paul Stanley. He partnered with Child to write “I Was Made For Loving You,” which became a major hit for KISS in 1979. Desmond first collaborated with Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora for Bon Jovi’s 1986 album, Slippery When Wet. That partnership resulted in the #1 hits, “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.” Desmond has appeared as a co-writer on every Bon Jovi album since, co-writing additional hits such as “Bad Medicine,” “Born To Be My Baby,” “This Ain’t a Love Song,” and “(You Want To) Make a Memory.” He formed a similar alliance with Aerosmith, with whom he wrote the hits “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” “Angel,” “What It Takes,” and “Crazy.” He co-wrote Joan Jett’s “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and all of the tracks on Alice Cooper’s wildly successful Trash LP, including the hit single “Poison.” Not limited to the rock world, Child began branching out, co-writing pop songs such as Michael Bolton’s “How Can We Be Lovers,” as well as co-writing and producing “Just Like Jesse James” and “We All Sleep Alone” for Cher. In the late 1990s, he returned to his Latin roots, joining forces with Ricky Martin and scoring with several singles, inluding the #1 worldwide smash, “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” Among the many others artists who’ve recoded his songs are Cyndi Lauper, Megadeth, Ratt, Hanson, Robbie Williams, Roxette, Boyzone, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Bonnie Tyler, Hilary Duff, Vince Neil, Lindsay Lohan, Jonas Brothers, Meat Loaf, Scorpions, Sebastian Bach, INXS, Kelly Clarkson, Joss Stone, and Weezer. He was inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008 and is the Chairman and CEO of the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pop and R&B legend Bill Withers released nine albums between 1971 and 1985 that included such classic songs as “Lean on Me,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Grandma’s Hands,” “Use Me,” “Lovely Day,” and “Just the Two of Us.” Though he stepped away from the limelight in the mid-1980s, his songs have become classics that have withstood the test of time and been covered by iconic artists including Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Gladys Knight, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Paul McCartney, Ike & Tina Turner, Smokey Robinson, Al Green, The Staple Singers, Diana Ross, Neil Diamond, Sting, Linda Ronstadt, Roberta Flack, Buddy Guy, Barbra Streisand, and George Benson. Additionally, his music has been sampled by Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, L.L. Cool J, Tupac Shakur, R. Kelly, and Kanye West. Withers was in the inaugural class of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, and is a nine-time Grammy nominee. He won three Grammy awards for Best R&B song for “Ain’t No Sunshine” in 1971, “Just the Two of Us” in 1981, and the Club Nouveau cover of “Lean on Me” in 1987. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nashville native Jaren Johnston co-founded the rock band American Bang which released one album for Warner Bros. He went on to form the Cadillac Three, a Southern rock-infused trio that was named one of the “10 New Artists You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone Country in 2014. While finding success with his own self-described “country fuzz” sound, Johnston forged a second career as a behind-the-scenes songwriter for top country artists. Since 2012, he has seen more than a half dozen of his songs hit the country Top 10, four of which have climbed to the #1 position. He has co-written the songs “You Gonna Fly” and “Raise ‘Em Up” for Keith Urban, “Southern Girl” and “Meanwhile Back at "Mama’s” for Tim McGraw, “Days of Gold” and “Beachin’” for Jake Owen, “Sunshine and Whiskey” for Frankie Ballard, “Don’t It” for Billy Currington, and “The South,” a Top 40 hit for his own band, which featured guest appearances by Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley, and Mike Eli. Additionally, his songs have been recorded by Sara Evans, Lonestar, Danielle Bradbery, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Terri Clark, Meatloaf, Loverboy, Lynyrd Skynrd, and more. His music has been nominated for two Grammy awards and two Academy of Country Music awards, and it seems he’s just getting started. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Felix Cavaliere began his music career playing with Joey Dee and the Starliters (of “Peppermint Twist” fame), before forming the Rascals in early 1965. They signed with Atlantic Records and were redubbed the Young Rascals, scoring their first major hit with the #1 single “Good Lovin’.” Beginning in the summer of 1966, the band released a string of fourteen consecutive Billboard charting singles written or co-written by Cavaliere, including the hits “You Better Run,” “I’ve Been Lonely Too Long,” “Groovin’,” “A Girl Like You,” and “How Can I Be Sure.” Changing their name back to the Rascals in late 1967, the group’s unbroken streak of Cavaliere-penned hits continued with “A Beautiful Morning,” “People Got to be Free,” “A Ray of Hope,” and more. By the mid-1970s, Felix teamed up with Todd Rundgren who produced a couple of his solo albums, including the Top 40 pop hit, “Only a Lonely Heart Sees.” In recent years he has collaborated with legendary guitarist and songwriter Steve Cropper on the albums Nudge it Up a Notch and Midnight Flyer. The New York continues to make music from his adopted home base in Nashville. Cavaliere is in the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His music has been recorded by Wilson Pickett, Booker T & The MGs, The Ventures, Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Dionne Warwick, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Mathis, Dusty Springfield, Three Dog Night, Judy Garland, Gloria Estefan, Keb’ Mo’, Shelby Lynne, and many more. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Best known as the writer of classic Eagles hit such as “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and “Already Gone,” Jack Tempchin is a prolific Southern California troubadour. Emerging from the San Diego folk scene, Tempchin became a fixture in L.A.’s Laurel Canyon music community in the late 60s and early 70s where he formed personal and musical alliances with Jackson Brown, J.D. Souther, Glenn Fry, and others. Following his songwriting success with the Eagles, Jack’s band The Funky Kings scored with “Slow Dancing” a Tempchin-penned composition that went on to become a Top 10 pop single for Johnny Rivers and a Top 10 country hit for Johnny Duncan. In the 1980s he and former Eagle Glenn Frey collaborated frequently, co-writing Glenn’s hits “I Found Somebody,” “The One You Love,” “Smugglers Blues,” "You Belong to the City," and more. In the 1990s he found success in the country field when his songs were recorded by artists such as George Jones, Sammy Kershaw, Patty Loveless, and Trisha Yearwood. As an artist, Jack has released a half dozen studio albums and a handful of live records. His most recent EP, Room to Run, is available now via iTunes and Spotify, and his new album Leaning to Dance will be released this summer. Additionally, Jack has recently launched a series of online videos called "Go Write One," which is designed to inspire people to create their own songs. We assume he knows what he’s talking about because, in addition to the artists already mentioned, Jack’s songs have been recorded by Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Wilson Phillips, Buck Owens, Tanya Tucker, the Desert Rose Band, Dwight Yoakam, Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers, and the list goes on and on....  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Bobby Braddock has written more than a dozen #1 country hits, including standards such as Tammy Wynette’s “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” and George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” which is frequently ranked as the greatest country song of all time. George Jones began finding success with Braddock’s songs in the 1970s with hits such as “Nothing Ever Hurt Me (Half As Bad As Losing You)” and “Her Name Is…” Jones and his then-wife, Tammy Wynette, also scored with Bobby’s “We’re Not the Jet Set” and “Golden Ring,” while Tammy found solo success with “Womanhood” and “They Call It Making Love.” Other Braddock-penned hits from the 1970s include “I Believe the South is Gonna Rise Again,” which Tanya Tucker took to the Top 20, “Something to Brag About,” which Mary Kay Place and Willie Nelson took to the Top 10, and “Come On In,” which was a hit for Jerry Lee Lewis in 1978. Bobby continued to reach the #1 position in the 1980s (“I Feel Like Loving You Again” and “Faking Love” by T.G. Shepard), the 1990s (“Texas Tornado” and “Time Marches On” by Tracy Lawrence), and the 2000s (“I Wanna Talk About Me” by Toby Keith and “People Are Crazy” by Billy Currington). He earned the CMA's Song of the Year award in both 1980 and 1981. He was, at the time, the youngest person inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1981, and he was honored with the BMI Icon award in 2011. Additionally, he discovered Blake Shelton and produced or co-produced Shelton's first five albums. Braddock was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011, and was just inducted into the national Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015. He is the only living person to have written #1 country songs in five consecutive decades. His second memoir, entitled Bobby Braddock: A Life on Music Row will be released in the fall of 2015. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.