Rock & Roll High School With Pete Ganbarg
Pure Tone Music
Season 5: New episodes arriving January 16th, 2026!Rock & Roll High School is an interview series that tells the story of contemporary music one artist at a time - in their own words.Hosted by Pete Ganbarg--------------------------------------About Pete:Pete Ganbarg has been doing major label A&R for over 35 years. He's a 2X Grammy award winning record producer as well as a member of the board of directors of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Pete has held senior A&R positions at Atlantic, Arista, Epic and SBK/EMI and is currently the president of Pure Tone Music.As a music publisher, Pete operates Songs With A Pure Tone and Margetts Road Music, joint ventures currently in partnership with Warner Chappell Music. Songs published by Pure Tone include 2024's Grammy winning Record of the Year, "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus, the global #1 "Ordinary" by Alex Warren, as well as hits by Benson Boone, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, OneRepublic, Charli XCX, Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran, Andy Grammer, Lizzo, Beyoncé, and more.Pete is the recipient of two Grammy Awards for his role as producer on the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Dear Evan Hansen and the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Jagged Little Pill. At Atlantic, among the artists and projects that Pete has overseen are twenty one pilots, Halestorm, Jason Mraz, Christina Perri, Melanie Martinez, Skillet, GAYLE, Brett Eldredge, Matchbox Twenty & Rob Thomas, Theory Of A Deadman, and Icona Pop; as well as the Original Broadway Cast Recordings of Hamilton, Mean Girls, Jagged Little Pill, Dear Evan Hansen, and the multi-platinum Billboard No. 1 soundtrack album The Greatest Showman.Pete began his A&R career in 1989 at SBK Records. In 1997, he joined Clive Davis at Arista Records, where, as Senior Director of A&R, he conceived and A&R’d Santana’s 30x platinum worldwide, nine-time GRAMMY-winning album, Supernatural. Additionally, Pete was named International Music Person Of The Year in 2023 by the music industry organization MUSEXPO.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 28, 2022 • 1h 4min
Peter Asher
GRAMMY-Award winning producer, manager, and recording artist Peter Asher joins this week to share stories from his remarkable 50+ year career in music. Starting out as half of the duo Peter & Gordon and armed with a new song from his sister’s boyfriend Paul McCartney, “A World Without Love” became a worldwide #1 hit before Peter turned 21. Later as the head of A&R at The Beatles’ label Apple Records, Peter’s first signing was James Taylor who he later produced and managed. Peter would also go on to produce and manage Linda Ronstadt, win 3 Grammy Awards (including twice for Producer of the Year) and in 2015 was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to the British music industry.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 21, 2022 • 1h 3min
Peter Frampton
Grammy-winning guitar icon Peter Frampton joins us this week to discuss his start as a young musician alongside fellow school classmate David Bowie; the world famous rock stars - Bill Wyman, Keith Moon, and Ray Davies - who mentored him as a teenager; playing as a studio musician on George Harrison’s classic album All Things Must Pass; and of course all the stories behind Frampton Comes Alive, his legendary 1976 release that is still one of the best-selling live albums of all time.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 7, 2022 • 1h 6min
Jeff Barry (Legendary Songwriters Of The Brill Building Era)
Two brand new, exclusive interviews this week with two of the most legendary songwriters of all time - both members of the Rock & Roll and Songwriters Halls Of Fame - Jeff Barry and Barry Mann. Both are synonymous with the iconic Brill Building era of the 1960’s but their evergreen hits continued well into the decades of the 70’s, 80’s and beyond. The songs written by Jeff (with his then-wife Ellie Greenwich and others) and by Barry (with his wife Cynthia Weill and others) are still heard literally every day all over the world. Jeff tells us all about the iconic hits he wrote like “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Be My Baby” and “River Deep Mountain High,” as well as his work with Phil Spector, Bert Berns and Norman Lear. Barry shares how he and Cynthia met, winning Grammy’s Song of the Year in 1987 for “Somewhere Out There” and creating the most performed songs of the entire 20th century, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jul 7, 2022 • 1h 19min
Barry Mann (Legendary Songwriters Of The Brill Building Era)
Two brand new, exclusive interviews this week with two of the most legendary songwriters of all time - both members of the Rock & Roll and Songwriters Halls Of Fame - Jeff Barry and Barry Mann. Both are synonymous with the iconic Brill Building era of the 1960’s but their evergreen hits continued well into the decades of the 70’s, 80’s and beyond. The songs written by Jeff (with his then-wife Ellie Greenwich and others) and by Barry (with his wife Cynthia Weill and others) are still heard literally every day all over the world. Jeff tells us all about the iconic hits he wrote like “Da Doo Ron Ron,” “Be My Baby” and “River Deep Mountain High,” as well as his work with Phil Spector, Bert Berns and Norman Lear. Barry shares how he and Cynthia met, winning Grammy’s Song of the Year in 1987 for “Somewhere Out There” and creating the most performed songs of the entire 20th century, “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jun 23, 2022 • 1h 24min
David Coverdale (Whitesnake/Deep Purple/Coverdale Page)
This week we’re joined by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and lead singer of Whitesnake and Deep Purple David Coverdale. David takes us from his early days as a music student and gleaning inspiration from the likes of Sly Stone and Donny Hathaway to joining Deep Purple thanks to an ad in Melody Maker and forming Whitesnake, creating some of the most memorable songs and videos of the 1980’s. Learn more about David’s love of social media and how much more he has in store for his careerSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Jun 9, 2022 • 1h 25min
Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna)
Classic rock and jam band pioneer, GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Jorma Kaukonen of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna joins us this week to walk us through his remarkable 60 year career. Listen as Jorma takes us through his very first band with childhood friend Jack Casady (still his Hot Tuna bandmate today!) his relationship and recordings with Janis Joplin plus the monumental influence of Jerry Garcia on Jefferson Airplane. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
May 26, 2022 • 1h 30min
Patrice Rushen
This week we’re joined by the award-winning singer, pianist, music educator, and composer Patrice Rushen. Known for her fusion of jazz, pop, funk, soul and R&B, Patrice discusses the influence of her high school music teachers, getting to play with Jazz legends at Prestige Records, the importance of community over competition in the music industry, her close bond with Prince and the advice she got from legendary producer Quincy Jones. Plus, find out what iconic group played her high school prom.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
May 12, 2022 • 1h 25min
Stevie Van Zandt
Musician, performer, songwriter, producer, author, activist and so much more - Stevie Van Zandt joins us this week as one of the top authorities on then history of rock and roll. Tune in as Stevie discusses the transformational experience of watching the Beatles on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’, working with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, co-starring on The Sopranos and much more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Apr 28, 2022 • 56min
Eddie Levert (The O'Jays)
Eddie Levert of the legendary R&B group The O’Jays joins us for a candid conversation about the hard work behind the group’s success, working with iconic songwriting duo Gamble & Huff, and how the group’s sound laid the foundation for artists like Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak/Silk Sonic. Hear about the remarkably speedy creation of their huge hit “Love Train,” the story of “For The Love Of Money,” “Now That We Found Love,” “Backstabbers” and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Apr 14, 2022 • 1h 17min
Clive Davis
Clive Davis, a music industry titan, has played a pivotal role in the careers of legends like Whitney Houston and Bruce Springsteen. In this conversation, he shares insights into identifying talent and the art of song selection. Davis reflects on his transformative journey, the influence of streaming, and the importance of collaboration in music. He also candidly discusses missed opportunities and offers valuable life lessons on resilience and adaptability. Celebrate his incredible legacy as he approaches his 90th birthday!
