Episodes
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Six-time Grammy winner, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer, and Kennedy Center honoree Amy Grant joins us to chat about the pursuit of honesty in songwriting, the stories behind some of her songs, and her catalog of modern day Christmas classics.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott chat about the idea of a "definitive" version of a Christmas song, discuss their favorites, debate about Christmas songs they love and hate, and delve into Scott's elementary school crush on Amy Grant.
PART TWO
Our in-depth interview with Amy Grant
ABOUT AMY GRANT
Perhaps the most influential pioneer of the Contemporary Christian Music genre, Amy Grant released her first album while still in high school. Her fourth album, 1982’s Age to Age, found unprecedented success with hit singles such as “Sing Your Praise to the Lord” and “El Shaddai.” Age to Age topped the Christian album chart for 85 weeks, earned Amy her first Grammy award, and became the first Christian album to be certified Platinum by the RIAA. Her 1984 album Straight Ahead spawned hits with Amy’s original compositions “Thy Word” and “Angels,” and became the first Christian album to land on the Billboard 200. By the mid-1980s, she further crossed over to mainstream success when “Find a Way,” which she wrote with Michael W. Smith, hit the Top 40 on Billboard’s pop chart. The following year, Amy reached the top of the pop chart with “The Next Time I Fall,” a duet with Peter Cetera. Her 1991 album Heart in Motion sold 5 million copies and spawned four Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including the self-penned hits “Baby Baby” and “Every Heartbeat.” That same year, she enjoyed another Top 10 pop hit as a songwriter with Michael W. Smith’s “Place in This World.” Amy continued to find mainstream success in the mid-1990s with singles such as “House of Love,” a duet with her now-husband Vince Gill, as well as the songs “Lucky One” and “Takes a Little Time,” which she wrote with Keith Thomas and Wayne Kirkpatrick, respectively.
Starting with 1983’s A Christmas Album, holiday music has been an important part of Amy Grant’s artistry. She has since released the albums Home for Christmas, which was certified three-times Platinum; A Christmas to Remember; Tennessee Christmas; and The Animals’ Christmas, a collaborative album with Art Garfunkel featuring songs by Jimmy Webb that explore the nativity story from the perspective of the animals. Amy’s original songs “Tennessee Christmas” and “Breath of Heaven” have become modern day holiday standards. Her Christmas concerts, often featuring husband Vince Gill and longtime collaborator Michael W. Smith, have become a holiday tradition.
To date, Amy has released twenty studio albums and has sold over 30 million records worldwide. Seventeen of her albums have reached #1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart, more than any other artist in history. She has won 6 Grammy awards, 26 Dove awards, and has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Amy has received honorary doctorates from two universities, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021. She was a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievement in 2022.
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Bonnie McKee chats about co-writing hits with Katy Perry, including "California Gurls" and "Roar," as well as her own artist career that has resulted in successful singles such as "American Girl."
PART ONE:
Scott and Paul share a little preview of what's to come as they prepare to celebrate Songcraft's 10 anniversary
PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Bonnie McKee
ABOUT BONNIE McKEE:
Bonnie McKee grew up as a classically trained singer and pianist, but began pursuing a pop music career while still a teen. In 2004 she released her debut album, Trouble, with Reprise Records, but soon switched her focus to working as a behind-the-scenes songwriter. She has written ten songs that have hit #1 in either the US or UK, and is best known for her work with Katy Perry, which began with the Diamond-certified and international chart-topping album, Teenage Daydream. Bonnie contributed to three songs on the album, all of which became chart-topping singles: “California Gurls,” “Teenage Dream,” and “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.).” When the deluxe Complete Confection version of the album was released, Bonnie landed two more chart-topping singles with “Part of Me” and “Wide Awake.” She went on to collaborate with Katy Perry on four songs on the follow-up album, Prism, including the Top 20 single “Birthday” and the #1 hit “Roar.” Other successful singles from the Bonnie McKee songbook include “Dynamite” for Taio Cruz, “Hold it Against Me” for Britney Spears, “C’Mon” for Kesha, and the UK chart toppers “How We Do (Party)” by Rita Ora and “I Don’t Care” by Cheryl. Additionally, she’s written songs for Cher, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Bebe Rexha, Jason Derulo, Kygo, and Adam Lambert, among others.
In 2013, Bonnie reemerged as an artist with the single “American Girl” on Epic Records. She recorded an entire album, but parted ways with the label and it was shelved. Enough tracks and demos leaked online over the years, however, that fans were clamoring for it. Now, more than ten years later, Bonnie has re-recorded the album. She combined the re-recorded tracks with the original release of “American Girl,” which has now been streamed 23 million times on Spotify. The end result is Hot City, an album more than a decade in the making. -
Missing episodes?
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Grammy nominee and four-time ASCAP Christian Songwriter of the Year Jeremy Camp dives deep with Songcraft on creativity, loss, honesty, and following the right path.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott get in the weeds on Billboard magazine's recent "100 Greatest Country Artists of All Time" list. Plus, we preview the remaining episodes for 2024 and offer a sneak peek at what's ahead for our 10th anniversary year.
PART TWO
Our in-depth interview with Jeremy Camp
ABOUT JEREMY CAMP
Between 2002 and 2024, Christian artist Jeremy Camp released fifteen studio albums, four of which have been certified Gold by the RIAA. Additionally, his 2005 album Live Unplugged has been certified double Platinum. Fourteen of Jeremy’s singles as an artist have hit #1 on Billboard’s Christian charts, including the Gold-certified “Walk by Faith,” “There Will be a Day,” “Overcome,” “Same Power,” “Christ in Me,” “Dead Man Walking,” and “Keep Me in the Moment.” Other highlights of his catalog include “Give You Glory,” “Lay Down My Pride,” “Stay,” and “I Still Believe,” which he wrote after the death of his first wife when he was just 23 years old. Jeremy has earned a Grammy nomination, five GMA Dove Awards, three American Music Award nominations, and four awards for ASCAP Christian Songwriter of the Year. In addition, Billboard magazine named him the #2 Christian artist of the decade. Jeremy’s most recent album, Deeper Waters, was released in 2024. -
Three-time Grammy nominee and pop songwriting powerhouse Justin Tranter joins us to talk about his process and his remarkable lists of hits for Chappell Roan, Fall Out Boy, Imagine Dragons, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and many others.
PART ONE:
Scott and Paul nerd out on this year's Grammy nominations
PART TWO:
Our in-depth interview with Justin Tranter
ABOUT JUSTIN TRANTER:
Nominated for Songwriter of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 2024, Justin Tranter is one of the most successful writers in pop music. The recognition capped off a ten year streak of success that includes hits such as “Centuries” by Fall Out Boy, the Selena Gomez hits “Good for You,” “Hands to Myself,” and “Lose You to Love Me,” DNCE’s “Cake By the Ocean,” “Sorry” by Justin Bieber, “Close” by Nick Jonas, “Issues” by Julia Michaels, the Imagine Dragons singles “Believer,” “Natural,” and “Enemy,” Maroon 5’s “Cold,” “Bad at Love” by Halsey, and “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan, which is nominated for Song of the Year at the upcoming Grammy Awards in 2025.
Tranter has additionally contributed to singles by artists such as Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Linkin Park, 5 Seconds of Summer, Bebe Rexha, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, and Miley Cyrus. Others who’ve drawn from the Justin Tranter songbook include Kelly Clarkson, Kacey Musgraves, John Legend, Shakira, Kesha, Christina Aguilera, Tori Kelly, Meghan Trainor, Tom Morello, The Chicks, Billy Porter, and Demi Lovato. In addition to a close songwriting partnership with Julia Michaels, Tranter’s regular collaborators include some of the biggest names in music, such as Cardi B, Sam Smith, Janelle Monae, Leon Bridges, and others.
Justin’s impressive list of accolades includes multiple GRAMMY and Golden Globe nominations, 16 BMI pop awards, including two consecutive BMI Songwriter of the Year awards, and being named a U.S. Global Music Ambassador as part of the U.S. Department of State and YouTube’s Global Music Partnership alongside Chuck D, Grace Bowers, Kane Brown, Herbie Hancock, Jelly Roll and others. -
Grammy-winning Southern roots rock duo Larkin Poe (sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell) join us to chat about their creative process and their exciting forthcoming album, Bloom.
PART ONE:
'Tis the season! Scott and Paul chat about the classic Halloween songs. Is it time for a modern day resurgence of spooky music?
PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, known to the world as duo Larkin Poe
ABOUT LARKIN POE:
Blues-based rock duo Larkin Poe is comprised of multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell. The Georgia natives began their career as an acoustic trio with their sister Jessica in 2004. That year they appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and won the Prairie Home National Teen Talent Competition. In 2008, the Lovell Sisters’ song “Distance” won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest grand prize in the country genre. That same year, their song “Time to Grow” received honorable mention in the International Songwriting Competition. After an impressive indie career that included two albums, as well as appearances at Bonaroo and the Grand Ole Opry, the Lovell Sisters disbanded. Rebecca and Megan reemerged as a duo pursuing a new sound that was steeped in the electric blues rather than acoustic and bluegrass music. Between 2010 and 2013 they released five indie EPs, two collaborative albums, and a live DVD. They released their debut album as a duo in 2014 and gained attention with the standout track “Don’t.” In 2016 they reissued their debut studio album under the title Reskinned, which included new tracks such as “Trouble in Mind.” With the 2017 album Peach, Megan and Rebecca took the production reigns and continued to build a following. The next year’s Venom & Faith reached #1 on Billboard’s Blues Album chart and earned the sisters their first Grammy nomination. Their sixth studio album, Blood Harmony, garnered another Grammy nomination, which resulted in their first Grammy win in 2024. Larkin Poe’s latest album is called Bloom and is set for release in January of 2025. -
Storytelling folk troubadour and songwriter's songwriter David Wilcox dives deep on his creative process.
PART ONE:
Paul and Scott pay tribute to the late Kris Kristofferson and Hugh Prestwood before diving in to a cringey lyrical trend that they're happy to see fade into history.
PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with David Wilcox
ABOUT DAVID WILCOX:
Emerging from the Asheville, North Carolina progressive folk scene in the late 1980s, David Wilcox signed with A&M Records and carved out a reputation as an insightful, sensitive, and often funny singer-songwriter and storyteller. His first album for the label, How Did You Find Me Here, sold over 100,000 copies on word of mouth alone. Often compared to James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake, Wilcox went on to build a dedicated following and establish himself as a songwriter’s songwriter. In 2008 he was honored, alongside Bob Dylan, with Acoustic Guitar magazine’s silver award in the singer-songwriter category. The San Francisco Chronicle called him the “darling of contemporary singer-songwriter folk” while Rolling Stone wrote that he “uses extended metaphors and beautifully detailed imagery in lyrics that are far more compassionate and philosophic than self-absorbed.” David has now released more than 20 albums. His most recent is My Good Friends, an acoustic collection that he describes as a fan-requested respite while he works on a new full band album. -
From Miley's "Wrecking Ball" to The Weeknd's "Earned It" to his own successful instrumental albums, Oscar and Grammy nominated songwriter, composer and producer Stephan Moccio gives opens up on his creative process.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott share some of your submissions for favorite lyric lines, as well as lyrics that bug you from songs you otherwise love. In addition, they pay tribute to past Songcraft guests JD Souther and Billy Edd Wheeler, who both recently passed away.
PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Stephan Moccio.
ABOUT STEPHAN MOCCIO
Stephan Moccio is an Oscar-nominated composer and a three-time Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer. His breakthrough came when fellow Canadian Celine Dion’s recording of “A New Day Has Come” made history by topping the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for 21 weeks. He went on to release Exposure, his first solo album as an artist, which hit the Canadian Top 10 and was certified Gold. Since then, Moccio has balanced his creative efforts between releasing his own projects and working behind the scenes writing for other artists.
Highlights of Stephan’s career include co-writing “I Believe” for the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 and co-writing and co-producing Miley Cyrus’s multiplatinum international hit “Wrecking Ball.” Additionally, he collaborated with The Weeknd on “Earned It,” the end-credits song for Fifty Shades of Gray, which earned the rare RIAA Diamond certification and was nominated for an Academy Award.
Stephan has also written songs for Andrea Bocelli, Avril Lavigne, Dua Lipa, James Blunt, Seal, and many more, notching seven Billboard Hot 100 hits and tallying 5 billion streams and counting. Among his solo material, 2020’s Tales of Solace yielded the single “Fracture,” what has generated over 100 million streams on Spotify. His latest release is Legends, Myths and Lavender, which was composed and recorded on the spot in the South of France.
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Electronic music pioneer Howard Jones joins us to talk about everything from classic hits such as "Things Can Only Get Better" and "No One is to Blame" to his recent live album, Live at the O2.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott remind our listeners to send in their favorite lyric line, as well as their least favorite lines from songs they otherwise love. Then Richard Evans joins us to talk about his book Listening to the Music the Machines Make.
PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Howard Jones
ABOUT HOWARD JONES
Electronic music pioneer Howard Jones first exploded on the scene in 1983 with his synthesizer-led UK Top 5 pop hit “New Song.” His debut album, Human’s Lib, reached #1 in 1984 in the UK and featured the hits “New Song” and “What Is Love?” In 1985, Howard released the follow-up, Dream Into Action, which became a Top Ten Platinum album in the US and featured the smash hits “Things Can Only Get Better,” “Life In One Day,” “No One Is To Blame,” and “Like To Get To Know You Well.” Other highlights from subsequent albums include “You Know I Love You…Don’t You?” which hit the Top 20, as well as the US hit “Everlasting Love.”To date, Howard Jones has sold over 10 million albums and continues to make new music and tour the world. His hits can be heard in high-profile television series and films such as “Stranger Things,” “Breaking Bad,” “Watchmen,” “The Carrie Diaries,” “Superstore” and “Bumblebee”. His most recent studio album is Dialogue, which was released in September, 2022, completing a trilogy of electronic releases that also includes the multimedia project Engage from 2015 and the studio album Transform from 2019. In August he released Live at the O2, which was recorded earlier this year at the famed London arena.
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Shelby Lynne is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her landmark classic album I Am Shelby Lynne, which won her a Grammy award for Best New Artist. We recently sat down with Shelby to discuss the evolution of her songwriting, from her early days in Nashville to her recent genre-defying "comeback" album Consequences of the Crown.
PART ONE
Scott and Paul talk about their favorite single lyrical lines, lyrics that bug them from songs they otherwise like, and quibble over one of Kris Kristofferson's best-known lines. Plus, they call on listeners to submit their own choices for discussion on an upcoming episode.
PART TWO
Our in-depth interview with Shelby Lynne
ABOUT SHELBY LYNNE
Shelby Lynne won the Grammy award for Best New Artist in the wake of her genre-bending and critically-acclaimed 1999 album, I Am Shelby Lynne. But it was actually her sixth studio album on an artistic path that took time to unfold. Lynne and her sister, fellow artist Allison Moorer, grew up surrounded by country music. As detailed in Moorer’s gripping memoir, Blood, they were also surrounded by violence and trauma. Both found escape through music, with Lynne signing her first recording contract at the age of 19. Initially working with legendary producer Billy Sherrill, best known for his albums with Tammy Wynette and George Jones, Shelby released a series of albums from Nashville in the late ‘80s through the mid-‘90s. She won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist Award in 1991, and was nominated for the ACM’s Top Vocal Duo of the Year honor with Faith Hill in 1996. Without any major hit singles, however, Shelby eventually took a break from recording.
After moving to Palm Springs, California, and partnering with producer Bill Botrell in 1998, she changed direction and found new footing as an uncategorizable artist committed to artistic integrity. The result, I Am Shelby Lynne, has recently been re-released in a 25th Anniversary edition. Follow-up albums Love, Shelby, Identity Crisis, Suit Yourself, and the Dusty Springfield tribute Just a Little Lovin’ were well-received precursors to Lynne launching her own record label. Her subsequent albums Tears, Lies and Alibis, Merry Christmas, Revelation Road, and I Can’t Imagine all reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk chart, as did her 2017 collaborative album with sister Allison Moorer. Shelby has recently returned to Nashville and has collaborated with Ashley Monroe, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, and others to create her seventeenth album, an unflinchingly honest exploration of heartbreak, called Consequences of the Crown. -
Three-time Grammy nominee Tayla Parx talks about her artist career and her role as a behind-the-scenes songwriter who has crafted huge hits for Ariana Grande, Panic! At the Disco, Dan + Shay, and many others.
PART ONE:
Is Dave Grohl this generation's Phil Collins?
PART TWO:
Our in-depth interview with Tayla Parx
ABOUT TAYLA PARX:
Three-time Grammy nominee Tayla Parx is both a highly regarded artist and a successful behind-the-scenes songwriter. In 2019 she won Billboard’s “Hitmaker” award, recognizing her as the first female songwriter since 2014 to have three simultaneous Top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Her hits for other artists include Panic! At the Disco’s “High Hopes,” “Love Lies” by Khalid and Normani, Dan + Shay’s country chart topper “Glad You Exist,” and the Ariana Grande hits “thank u next,” “7 rings,” and “34+35.” She has contributed to songs by Danity Kane, Fifth Harmony, Jennifer Lopez, Keyshia Cole, Mariah Carey, Jason Derulo, Chris Brown, Pentatonix, JoJo, Alicia Keys, Meghan Trainor, Demi Lovato, Fergie, Big Boi, Christinia Aguilera, Janelle Monae, Anderson .Paak, Kesha, Megan Thee Stallion, John Legend, Dua Lipa, and many others. Her songs have amassed over 15 billion streams on Spotify and have appeared on Billboard’s pop, hip hop, R&B, Latin, and country charts, where she became the fourth Black woman in history to write a #1 country song.
Born in Dallas, Parx’s family relocated to Los Angeles where she studied at Debbie Allen’s Dance Academy. Impressed with her talent, Allen encouraged Tayla to pursue acting. Her breakthrough role came with her portrayal of Little Inez Stubbs in the 2007 remake of Hairspray, and she went on to appear on several Nickelodeon shows before signing her first songwriting deal at the age of 19. As a solo artist Tayla has released three full-length albums, an EP, and a mixtape. Her most recent album is called Many Moons, Many Suns. -
Two-time Grammy nominated duo The Secret Sisters (Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle) join us to chat about their development as songwriters and reaching new creative heights with their latest album.
PART ONE:
Scott and Paul chat about Scott's recent trip to see Norah Jones and Lake Street Dive perform at Red Rocks and discuss the ways concerts have changed in recent years. Plus, they take an opportunity to gripe about the changes coming to Southwest Airlines. What does that have to do with anything? Nothing, but I guess they're the ones with the microphones!
PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle of The Secret Sisters
ABOUT THE SECRET SISTERS:
Two-time Grammy nominees Laura Rogers and Lydia Rogers Slagle, known as The Secret Sisters, are Alabama-born siblings who released their self-titled debut album on Universal Republic Records in 2010. Produced by Dave Cobb, the album featured primarily traditional songs and country music covers alongside two originals. The follow-up, Put Your Needle Down, was produced by T-Bone Burnett and found the sisters contributing more original material, including collaborations with Brandi Carlile and Dan Wilson. Both albums reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s folk chart. Their next two releases—You Don’t Own Me Anymore and Saturn Return—were co-produced by Brandi Carlile, and each earned a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. Their fifth, and most recent, studio album is called Mind, Man, Medicine and finds the sisters co-producing for the first time, alongside Ben Tanner and John Paul White, who is best known as half of the duo The Civil Wars. The album was recorded in their hometown of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, primarily at the legendary FAME Studios. -
GRAMMY-winning producer, artist, and songwriter Charlie Peacock defies categorization. Paul chats with him about everything from his early days on the Norther California jazz scene, to writing hits for the Christian music world, to producing everyone from the Civil Wars to Switchfoot.
PART ONE:
Scott and Paul talk about aging, the Rolling Stones concert Scott just saw, the centrality of energetic drummers, and other fun stuff.
PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with Charlie Peacock
ABOUT CHARLIE PEACOCK
From jazz to pop to rock to country, gospel, and Americana, Charlie Peacock is a Grammy-winning producer, artist, and songwriter who defies categorization. In addition to his own wide-ranging work as a recording artist, he has written well-known songs such “Every Heartbeat,” which was a major pop hit for Amy Grant, and “In the Light,” which is best known for the version recorded by DC Talk. He’s responsible for developing and producing the Grammy Award-winning duo The Civil Wars and the Modern Rock band Switchfoot, including their multi-platinum Top 40 pop hit “Dare You to Move.”
Peacock launched his career as an artist on the Northern California jazz scene before recording his debut album, Lie Down in the Grass, which was released by A&M Records in the mid-1980s. After a stint with Island Records, he moved to Nashville to work as an artist and producer. His 1990 album, The Secret of Time, earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Rock/Contemporary Gospel Album. In that decade, he produced nearly 50 albums for other artists, and was named the Gospel Music Association’s Producer of the Year for three consecutive years.
The long list of artists he has produced includes Nicole Nordeman, David Crowder, Holly Williams, The Lone Bellow, Al Green, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He has produced a wide range of music for film and television, including the Mandy Moore film A Walk To Remember, Chris Cornell's "Misery Chain" from the soundtrack of Twelve Years a Slave, and "Hush," the title theme to the AMC drama Turn: Washington's Spies, featuring Joy Williams and Matt Berninger of The National.
As an artist, he returned to jazz with the Love Press Ex-Curio album in 2005 before embracing vocal music once again with his 2012 album No Man’s Land. In late 2015, Peacock was appointed the Director of Contemporary Music and Industry Outreach at Lipscomb University's College of Arts and Entertainment in Nashville. An author of several books, his forthcoming memoir will explore his musical life, while his latest album as an artist, Every Kind of Uh-Oh, will be released at the end of August.
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Acclaimed genre-crossing songwriter and interpreter Madeleine Peyroux takes stock of her songwriting over the years and shares insights into the creation of her latest album.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott talk music books, the value of recording, and whether or not performers should stick to a strict or loose interpretation of a song when performing live.
PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Madeleine Peyroux
ABOUT MADELEINE PEYROUX
Madeleine Peyroux moved to Paris with her mother at the age of 12 and began singing with street musicians while still a teenager. She eventually joined the Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band, with whom she toured Europe. After being discovered by Atlantic Records she released her debut album, Dreamland, in 1996. Madeleine's commercial breakthrough came with the Gold-selling album Careless Love in 2004 and it’s single, the self-penned “Don’t Wait Too Long,” which was released by Rounder Records and topped the jazz charts. The follow-up album, Half the Perfect World, hit the Top 40 on Billboard’s US album chart. Her 2009 album, Bare Bones, was the first to feature all original material. She moved to Decca Records for the Standing on the Rooftop album in 2011 and has since released four additional studio albums. Her latest effort, Let’s Walk, features all original material and continues to showcase her masterful blending of jazz, blues, folk, pop, and more. -
Three-time GRAMMY winner and musical omnivore Bruce Hornsby chats about his wide-ranging career, from pop to bluegrass to jazz!
PART ONE:
Paul and Scott talk about their Instagram, a wild Genesis fact, and more.
PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with Bruce Hornsby
ABOUT BRUCE HORNSBY:
Thirteen-time Grammy nominee and three-time winner Bruce Hornsby has built one of the most diverse, collaborative, and adventurous careers in contemporary music. In the early 1980s Bruce was writing songs, playing sessions as a musician, and touring as member of Ambrosia and, later, Sheena Easton’s backing band. By the middle of the decade he’d formed the group Bruce Hornsby and the Range, signed a deal with RCA Records, and released his debut album, which spawned the hit singles “The Way It Is,” “Mandolin Rain,” and “Every Little Kiss.” As a result, Bruce and the band won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1987. Their sophomore album, Scenes from the Southside, spawned the hit single “The Valley Road” and included Bruce’s own version of “Jacob’s Ladder,” a song he co-wrote that became a #1 hit for Huey Lewis. In addition to his own artist career, Bruce began collaborating extensively in that era, including producing Leon Russell, co-writing Don Henley’s “The End of the Innocence,” playing piano on Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” and appearing on albums by everyone from Bob Dylan to Stevie Nicks to Willie Nelson.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s Bruce increasingly began incorporating elements of bluegrass and jazz into his music. He disbanded the Range to pursue other projects, including becoming a staple of the Grateful Dead’s touring lineup. His debut solo album, Harbor Lights, was released in 1993, and he won another Grammy that year, for Best Pop Instrumental, for composing “Barcelona Mona” with Branford Marsalis for the Barcelona Olympics. He released two additional solo studio albums in the 1990s before forming a new band, The Noisemakers, which released four studio albums between 2002 and 2016.
In that same period, he collaborated with bluegrass artist Ricky Skaggs to release one studio album and one live album, and with bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jack DeJohnette to release a jazz album called Camp Meeting. Bruce's 2014 album Solo Concerts showcased a sampling of his one-man performances. In 2019 Bruce returned to releasing studio albums as a solo artist with Absolute Zero, an album included collaborations with Blake Mills, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, and others. Among Bruce's many collaborations includes a longstanding partnership scoring films for director Spike Lee.
Earlier this year, Bruce released Deep Sea Vents, a water-themed collaborative album with the band yMusic that was released under the name Brhym. -
You might know Rachel Platten for the wildly successful "Fight Song," but she's in the middle of a renaissance that's bringing her artistry into a new era.
PART ONE:
Paul and Scott give their unfiltered responses to the new-ish 4-part Stax Records documentary streaming on Max.
PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with Rachel Platten.
ABOUT RACHEL PLATTEN:
Emmy Award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, and children’s book author Rachel Platten is best known for “Fight Song,” an anthemic power ballad that became an international Top Ten hit in 2015, was certified six times Platinum, has been streamed over a billion times, and was even adopted as Hillary Clinton's campaign theme song in 2016.
Rachel’s music career began with a self-released album in 2003, followed by a move to New York City’s Greenwich Village. She found success licensing songs for films and television before releasing her album Be Here in 2009. The single “1000 Ships” hit number 23 on Billboard’s Adult Top 40 chart. Her third full-length album, Wildfire, was released on Columbia Records and featured the successful singles “Fight Song,” “Stand by You,” and “Better Place.” The follow-up album, Waves, featured the single “Broken Glass.”Rachel issued the non-LP single "You Belong" in 2018, signaling a sonic shift away from her prior major label releases. Exploring new creative territory by embracing her struggles with mental health, Rachel has released recent songs such as “Girls,” “Mercy,” and “Bad Thoughts.” Poised to reassert herself as an artist focused on unflinching honesty and authenticity, she will release the album I Am Rachel Platten later this year.
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Nashville-based platinum-selling indie artist Judah Akers of Judah & the Lion goes deep on the five stages of grief and finding beauty in the midst of pain.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott dive deep on how Nashville has transformed into a very different kind of "Music City USA."
PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Judah Akers
ABOUT JUDAH AKERS
Judah Akers is best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of Judah & The Lion. Their debut EP, Sweet Tennessee, was released in 2013, climbing to #2 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Albums chart and the Top 15 on the Folk Albums chart. And the first full-length album, Kids These Days, debuted in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Folk Albums chart. Expanding their sound, the band released Folk Hop n’ Roll in 2015, landing in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Albums chart and the Americana/Folk Albums chart. Later that year, the song “Take it All Back” hit the top of the Alternative Songs chart for three weeks and was later certified Platinum. The follow-up single, “Suit and Jacket,” was certified Gold. Judah & the Lion’s third album, Pep Talks, hit the Top 20 on Billboard's Top 200, and the Top 5 on the Alternative Albums chart, while the singles “Over My Head” and “Why Did You Run” performed well on the Alternative Songs chart, earning them iHeart’s Best New Alternative Artist award for 2018. Their most recent album is The Process, released in May of 2024. Built around the concept of the five stages of grief, the songs are Akers’ exploration of his own mental health and life circumstances that find beauty, purpose, and even joy in the midst of the pain. -
With an ACM Top New Female Vocalist win and nearly 20 Canadian Country Music Awards, the chart-topping Carolyn Dawn Johnson chats about everything from her songwriting successes to her artist career to her co-writing with Chris Stapleton.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott dive deep on their opinions about the recently-announced Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction class of 2024.
PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Carolyn Dawn Johnson.
ABOUT CAROLYN DAWN JOHNSON
Canadian-born singer, songwriter, producer, and musician Carolyn Dawn Johnson moved to Nashville in the mid-1990s and started getting her songs recorded by artists such as Patty Loveless, Suzy Bogguss, Kathy Mattea, and Jo Dee Messina. Her breakthrough came in 1999 with Chely Wright’s recording of "Single White Female," which hit #1 on the country charts. Wright’s follow-up recording of Johnson’s "Downtime" also became a Top 5 hit. Carolyn was named Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year by Music Row magazine in 2000 and landed a record deal of her own with the Arista Nashville label. Her self-produced debut, Room with a View, hit the Top 10 in the US and earned Gold status in Canada. The singles "Complicated“ and "I Don’t Want You to Go“ were both Top 10 hits in the US. She won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist award and swept the Canadian Country Music Awards. The follow-up album, Dress Rehearsal, also debuted in the Top 10. To date, Carolyn has earned nearly 20 Canadian Country Music Awards for songwriting, performing, and producing. As an artist she has toured with Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and Merle Haggard. As a backup vocalist and musician she’s toured with Ashley McBryde, Miranda Lambert, and Martina McBride. After a hiatus as an artist she has recently begun recording new music while continuing to enjoy success as a writer, including Chris Stapleton’s "The Day I Die,“ a song Carolyn and Chris wrote together that appeared on his 2023 album Higher.
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Folkie Americana indie hero Drew Holcomb joins us to chat about the songwriting process and which of his songs he's not a fan of!
PART ONE
Scott and Paul debrief the experience of recently seeing the 74-year-old Bruce Springsteen perform with the energy of a teenager
PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Drew Holcomb
ABOUT DREW HOLCOMB
Memphis native Drew Holcomb first broke through on the national scene with the 2011 album Chasing Someday, credited to his band Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors. Subsequent studio albums, such as Good Light, Medicine, Souvenir, and Dragons hit the Top 10 on Billboard's folk and indie charts and earned Holcomb and his bandmates a loyal following. The fiercely independent group is widely regarded as a live performance powerhouse, while Holcomb's original songs have found particular resonance with music supervisors who have made them staples of film and TV show synch placements. Whether working with the band, solo, or as a duo with his wife and fellow singer/songwriter, Ellie Holcomb, Drew's literate folk-based Americana represents a craftman's approach to the songwriting process. The most recent album from Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors is called Strangers No More. -
Grammy winners and astonishingly fabulous musicians Chris Thile, Sean Watkins, and Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek join us to chat about their fresh approach to songwriting on their most recent album, Celebrants.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott chat about musical virtuosity, Beyonce, Ricky Skaggs, and the blending of musical genres.
PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Nickel Creek
ABOUT NICKEL CREEK
GRAMMY Award-winning trio Nickel Creek—mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins, and guitarist Sean Watkins—formed a group as young children in Southern California and honed their chops on the bluegrass circuit for a decade before signing with Sugar Hill Records. Their platinum-selling debut self-titled album was produced by Alison Krauss in 2000 and revolutionized bluegrass and folk music, helping usher in a new era of what we now know as Americana. The genre-bending group has earned nine Grammy nominations across categories in bluegrass, country, folk, contemporary folk, Americana, and American Roots.Each member of Nickel Creek has taken part in a number of outside projects over the years. Thile is a 2012 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and served as the host of the radio show Live from Here (formerly known as A Prairie Home Companion) from 2016 to 2020. He has also released collaborative albums with world-renowned musicians as well as six studio albums with his Grammy-winning band Punch Brothers. Sean Watkins is a co-founder of Watkins Family Hour alongside Sara, which has released three albums and maintains a long-running collaborative show in Los Angeles. Sean has also released a string of solo albums, while Sara’s extracurricular projects include the aforementioned Watkins Family Hour, as well as the Grammy-winning roots trio I’m With Her. Sara has released four studio albums and has contributed fiddle to recordings by artists such as Phoebe Bridgers, the Killers and John Mayer.
The Grammy-nominated Celebrants, Nickel Creek’s fifth studio album and first project in nine years, was recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A and released to overwhelming critical acclaim in 2023.
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Ninety-eight-year-old Songwriters Hall of Famer Alan Bergman chats with us about a wide-ranging career that started with Johnny Mercer and continues to today.
PART ONE
Paul and Scott talk about the Abba Voyage virtual concert and scare themselves with the possibilities of digital technology.
PART TWO
Our in-depth interview with Alan Bergman
ABOUT ALAN BERGMAN
Alan Bergman and his late wife Marilyn joined forces professionally in the 1950s to create one of the most successful songwriting teams of all time. Though both musicians, the pair are best known as lyricists, and they found particular success writing for the silver screen. The Bergmans earned eleven Grammy nominations, including four nominations for Song of Year. They won the Song of the Year honor for “The Way We Were” from the Barbra Streisand film of the same name. They received fifteen Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song, winning twice for “The Windmills of Your Mind” and “The Way We Were,” and earning a record-setting three nominations in a single year in 1982. The following year they won their third Oscar, for Best Original Song Score, for the Yentl soundtrack, which included Best Original Song nominees “Papa, Can You Hear Me” and “The Way He Makes Me Feel.” Other highlights from the Bergman catalog include “Nice ‘n Easy” performed by Frank Sinatra, “The Summer Knows,” recorded by Sarah Vaughn, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” which they wrote with Neil Diamond, “Someone in the Dark,” which Michael Jackson recorded for the E.T. soundtrack, and “I Knew I Loved You,” which was recorded by Celine Dion. Additionally, the four-time Emmy award winners were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and were recipients of the National Music Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award. The Bergmans held a number of executive positions in various organizations, including serving on the executive committee of the Music Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and as board members of the National Academy of Songwriters. From 1994-2009 Marilyn served as the president of ASCAP. Their songs have been recorded by Fred Astaire, Johnny Mathis, Sergio Mendes, Ray Charles, Bing Crosby, Stan Getz, Dusty Springfield, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Glen Campbell, Sting, Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, Norah Jones, and countless others. We’re thrilled to share this conversation with the now 98-year-old Alan Bergman, recorded at his home back in August. - Show more
