Songcraft: Spotlight On Songwriters

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 a

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 Y

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 sco

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 a

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 t

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 a

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 professiona

EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott and Paul start the festivities off with a very important discussion about which artists carry their wallets on stage. PART TWO - 07:30 mark Scott and Paul call up Dennis, who reveals the major compliment he once got from Barry White; how the first song he ever co-wrote became a hit for Diana Ross; the shocking original lyrics for “Maniac” that were inspired by serial killer John Wayne Gacy; how an earthquake that totaled his house led to an important career change; why he isn’t necessarily proud of the story behind one of his major country hits; what he looks for in a co-writer; and how his early musical leanings were shaped by the two Philadelphias: Pennsylvania and Mississippi. ABOUT DENNIS MATKOSKY Dennis Matkosky is best known for co-writing “Maniac,” which was included on the Flashdance soundtrack and became a #1 pop single that earned Golden Globe, Academy Award, and Grammy nominations. Matkosky took home a Grammy award for Best Album of Original Score for a Motion Pic

EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE In celebration of Father's Day Scott and Paul discuss the influence their dads had on their musical development. Plus, you'll hear a recording of Paul's late dad, Dr. Tom Duncan, singing his only known original song! PART TWO - 09:13 mark Woody Bomar's in-depth interview SYNOPSIS Scott sits down in Nashville with his dad to get the story about how one of Roy Orbison's bandmates became Woody's guardian angel; why he got shot at on the way to a gig; how he went from pitching Kris Kristofferson's songs to writing #1 hits of his own; why he signed a young teenager named Taylor Swift to her first publishing deal; the reason he says his first cut might actually be his last; and what inspired him to write an album's worth of songs about Route 66 after an exciting career working with country music's biggest names.  ABOUT WOODY BOMAR Woody Bomar began his music career as a songwriter, landing two #1 hits with Conway Twitty’s “We Did But Now You Don’t” and Jim Glaser’s “You’re Getting to M

PART ONE Scott and Paul reveal the winner of their latest contest. Find out who's getting an autographed copy of Steve Dorff's memoir! PART TWO - 02:39 mark Is "Stutter Rock" a thing? The guys connect some dots and dig into a surprisingly pervasive trend in music history. PART THREE - 8:05 mark Scott and Paul's origin story - including a particularly disappointing night backstage at a Guess Who reunion show PART FOUR - 12:52 mark Randy stops by Songcraft World Headquarters to talk about his new George Harrison tribute album; how The Guess Who got its name by accident; his Alex Trebek connection; how he bluffed his way into musical success; why his approach to songwriting is all about borrowing and re-purposing; the '60s band he thought was even better than The Beatles; what he spent all his money on instead of drugs; the Bachman-Turner Overdrive hit that ripped off an Antonín Dvořák classical piece only to then be ripped off by The Doobie Brothers; and why one of his biggest hits was an inside joke with hi

PART ONE Scott and Paul announce the five Patreon supporters who are getting signed copies of Billy Edd Wheeler's memoir. Then they fill you in on how you can snag one of two signed Beth Nielsen Chapman CDs for yourself! PART TWO - 02:45 mark The guys talk about cover songs that have become better known than their original versions. PART THREE - 12:34 mark Scott and Paul's in-depth conversation with Beth Nielsen Chapman Beth stops by Songcraft International Headquarters to chat about her new record; how a traumatic childhood field trip set her on a path of creative reflection; why one of her songs took 18 years to complete; the movie that inspired her to start writing songs again after she quit for four years; why a chance encounter with a Beach Boy inspired her to move to Nashville; how she got commissioned to write songs for Willie Nelson; the unusual way Trisha Yearwood discovered one of her songs and made it a hit; and how a song deeply personal song about losing her husband to cancer became an inspira

PART ONE Scott and Paul let you in on how you can score your own autographed copy of Steve Dorff's new memoir, I Wrote That One, Too. PART TWO - 02:45 mark Mother's Day is coming up soon! Paul counts down 5 of his favorite songs about moms before Scott lists 5 of his favorite songwriters who are also mothers. PART THREE - 12:11 mark Scott and Paul head over to Steve Dorff's house to get the inside scoop on why he sees color when he hears music; the reason that knowing how to write a great song is only half of songwriting success; how he accidentally wound up playing piano on a classic soul record; what he did to make Dusty Springfield throw a chair at him; how he bluffed his way into film scoring; the time he wrote one of the most iconic TV show theme songs of all time in just 15 minutes; and why he hears Boys II Men in his head when George Strait sings one of his biggest hits. ABOUT STEVE DORFFSteve’s Dorff’s songs have been recorded by hundreds of artists, earning him nominations for six Emmy awards and thr

PART ONE Scott and Paul pay tribute to a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member who recently passed away. PART TWO - 02:55 mark Like it or not, tax day is upon us! The guys each pick three of their favorite songs about money or taxes. PART THREE - 10:55 mark Scott and Paul's in-depth conversation with Bruce Sudano Bruce comes over to hang out with Scott and Paul at Songcraft world headquarters, where he explains how he hounded Tommy James into giving him a shot; why he says he became a "cocky self-assured arrogant jerk" before he figured out how to be a good songwriter; the reason "Bad Girls" was almost a Cher song; the controversy that erupted when Michael Jackson recorded his song; why Donna Summer went on "The Tonight Show" to help save Bruce's parents' marriage; how his 30 year love story with the disco queen influenced his songwriting; and why he thinks he might be at the end of a creative streak. Bruce Sudano is a Brooklyn-born songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist who first hit the scen

PART ONE Scott and Paul have some fun talking about artists who look just like they sound - and those who don't! PART TWO - 11:23 mark The guys talk about their Patreon page, Billy Edd Wheeler's new book, and how five lucky listeners can score a free signed copy for themselves. PART THREE - 18:00 mark Scott and Paul's in-depth conversation with Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Billy Edd Wheeler Scott & Paul chat with the Yale-educated "hillbilly poet" about how Pat Boone covering his song gave him a crash course in music business shenanigans; why he wishes Richie Havens hadn't covered "High Flyin' Bird" at Woodstock; the reason legendary songwriter Norman Gimbel said he'd never make any money; the advice Jerry Leiber gave him about how to write lyrics; why he felt like a "man without a country" while appealing to both commercial country audiences and playing at the Newport Folk Festival; the time he picked up the phone to discover Elvis on the other end of the line; and a big revelation about which

Grammy winner Tony Banks is the co-founder and keyboardist of Genesis, which helped define prog rock in the ‘70s with lead singer Peter Gabriel and emerged as a pop powerhouse in the ‘80s after drummer Phil Collins took over the lead vocalist role. Banks and Mike Rutherford were the only two musicians who were members of the band throughout Genesis’ entire history from the late 1960s through the early 2000s. He is a co-writer of Genesis classics, including “The Knife,” “The Musical Box,” “Supper’s Ready,” “Firth of Fifth,” “Follow You Follow Me,” “No Reply at All,” “That’s All,” “Invisible Touch,” “Throwing it All Away,” “Land of Confusion,” “Tonight Tonight Tonight,” “In Too Deep,” “No Son of Mine,” “I Can’t Dance,” and “Hold On My Heart.”     In addition to releasing five solo albums, Banks began scoring films in the late 1970s, including a British horror movie called The Shout, a science fiction film entitled Starship, and Quicksilver, staring Kevin Bacon. It was his work on the Faye Dunaway film The Wick

Best known as the writer and performer of “American Pie,” Don McLean and his songs have hit the Billboard pop, country, and adult contemporary charts nearly twenty times. Staples of his catalog include “Vincent (Starry Starry Night),” which hit #12 in the US and landed at the top of the UK chart; “Castles in the Air,” which charted twice with different versions in 1971 and 1981; and “And I Love You So,” which was covered by Bobby Goldsboro, Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, Glen Campbell and Elvis Presley. McLean’s compositions have been covered by Madonna, Fred Astaire, James Blake, Chet Atkins, Garth Brooks, George Michael, Harry Connick Jr., Josh Groban, Ed Sheeran, and others. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2004 and received the BBC Folk Music Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. “American Pie” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002 and was named one of the Top 5 Songs of the 20th Century by the Recording Industry Association of America and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Bob DiPiero has written 15 #1 hits, including “Southern Voice” for Tim McGraw, “If You Ever Stop Loving Me” for Montgomery Gentry, “Blue Clear Sky” for George Strait, “Daddy’s Money” for Ricochet, “The Church on Cumberland Road” for Shenandoah, “Money in the Bank” for John Anderson, “Little Rock” for Reba McEntire, and “American Made” for The Oak Ridge Boys. Neal McCoy’s recording of his song “Wink” stayed at #1 for 4 weeks in 1994 and was named BMI’s most performed country song of the year. Other highlights from DiPiero’s catalog include Faith Hill’s “Take Me As I Am,” Reba McEntire’s “Till You Love Me,” George Strait’s  "Cowboys Like Us" and Vince Gill’s “Worlds Apart, which was named Song of the Year at the Country Radio Music Awards in 1997. Other artists who’ve recorded Bob’s songs include Garth Brooks, Toby Keith, Travis Tritt, Rhett Akins, Billy Ray Cyrus, Patty Loveless, The Mavericks, Marty Stuart, Darius Rucker, Etta James, Martina McBride, Neil Diamond, Trace Adkins, Steve Wariner, Lonestar, Tra

Four-time Grammy nominee Matthew West’s major label debut album, Happy, brought him to national attention in 2004, earning him five Dove award nominations, including Pop/Contemporary  Album of the Year, Song of the Year for the single “More,” and New Artist of the Year. He has gone on to score nearly twenty Top 10 hits on Billboard’s US Christian chart, including Dove award Song of the Year nominee “Only Grace,” “You Are Everything,” “The Motions,” which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Song,  “Strong Enough,” “Forgiveness,” which was another Grammy nominee for Best Contemporary Christian Music Song,  “Hello My Name Is,” and “Grace Wins,” which reached  #1 status for a record-setting 17 weeks at Christian radio. He has written songs for other artists, including Rascal Flatts, Scotty McCreery, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, and Casting Crowns, who earned Matthew yet another Best Contemporary Christian Music Song Grammy nomination for “Jesus, Friend of Sinners.” He has been named ASCAP’s Christian Mus

Though he is now a Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer, the British-born Roger Cook began his career in the UK, first making a splash on the US charts with The Fortunes’ Top 10 hit recording of “You’ve Got Your Troubles.” Additional US singles in that era included the Top 10 hits “Green Grass” by Gary Lewis & The Playboys, “I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman,” by Whistling Jack Smith, and “Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again” by The Fortunes.  In 1972 Cook scored with two different versions of “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing,” an international hit that began as a groundbreaking commercial jingle for Coca-Cola before becoming a successful single for The Hillside Singers and then The New Seekers. Later that year he topped the charts with The Hollies’ “Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress).” He and longtime songwriting partner Roger Greenaway were named British Songwriters of the Year two years in a row for 1971 and 1972 at the Ivor Novello awards in the the UK. In the mid-1970s, Cook moved to Nashville, whe

A legendary recording artist and songwriter for the Memphis–based Stax label, William Bell first found success with his own recording of “You Don’t Miss Your Water,” a song that would go on to be covered by Otis Redding, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Byrds, and others. He found chart success in the ‘60s and ‘70s with additional self-penned singles, such as the Top 20 hits “Everybody Loves a Winner,” “A Tribute to a King,” “Private Number,” and “Tryin’ to Love Two,” which hit #1 on the R&B chart and #10 on the pop chart. His Top 10 R&B hit “I Forgot to Be Your Lover” went on to be covered by Billy Idol as the Top 10 pop hit, “To Be a Lover,” and was reinvented once again when Jaheim sampled it in “Put That Woman First,” a Top 5 R&B hit and Top 20 pop hit in 2004. In 2016 Bell returned to the re-formed Stax label to release This Is Where I Live, an album of primarily original songs that featured William’s own interpretation of “Born Under a Bad Sign,” which was originally recorded by Albert King and went on