Songcraft: Spotlight On Songwriters

Scott and Paul catch up with Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jessi Alexander, who has a fantastic new album called Decatur County Red. The two-time Best Country Song Grammy nominee has also achieved success as a writer for other artists, including the multi-platinum single "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus, CMA and ACM Song of the Year "I Drive Your Truck,' and the Blake Shelton hits "Drink On It," "Mine Would Be You," and "Turnin' Me On." In this refreshingly honest interview, Jessi talks about everything from professional disappointment to how she keeps new ideas flowing.      American Songwriter Podcast Network

ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons has two Grammy nominations, sixteen Top 10 singles, over 50 million albums sold, and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Scott and Paul catch up with him to discuss his legendary classic rock catalog, including "La Grange," "Tush," "Cheap Sunglasses," "Gimme All Your Lovin'," "Sharp Dressed Man," "Legs," and many more. American Songwriter Podcast Network

An in-depth conversation with the two-time Grammy winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer who was a co-founder of both The Moody Blues and Paul McCartney & Wings.  American Songwriter Podcast Network

Three-time Grammy winner and ten-time nominee Shawn Colvin joins Scott and Paul to chat about her remarkable three-decade career as a pioneering folk-pop singer-songwriter.  American Songwriter Podcast Network

The Grammy Song of the Year nominee and ASCAP Song of the Year winner joins us to chat about her wide-ranging career and multi-genre songwriting success. About Wendy Waldman From recording artist to musician to backing vocalist to record producer to multi-platinum songwriter for other performers, Wendy Waldman has a diverse music industry resume. Though her father was a film and television composer who wrote the Perry Mason theme and worked on classics such as The Twilight Zone and Star Trek, Wendy was drawn to the blues and folk music at a young age. Her first serious group was Bryndle, featuring Karla Bonoff, Kenny Edwards, and Andrew Gold. Though they split up before their first album was released, all four would be instrumental in Linda Ronstadt’s success and would re-form in later years to record three albums that are now regarded as modern-day classics. Wendy’s solo career began when she signed with Warner Bros. Records and released her first album, which Rolling Stone magazine called the “singer-songwr

The Golden Globe winner joins us to chat about his bands Ima Robot (known for the Suits theme song "Greenback Boogie") and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (which Rolling Stone recognized for releasing one of the Top 10 Best Albums of the Year). Plus, Alex reflects on adding film composer to his resume, and the process of creating his eclectic new solo album, I vs. I.  American Songwriter Podcast Network

The Best Country Song Grammy nominee and BMI Country Songwriter of the Year joins us to talk about his career as a consistent Nashville hitmaker in four consecutive decades. EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul pay tribute to Songcraft guest David Olney, who recently passed away on stage at a songwriter festival. PART TWO - 5:50 mark The guys discuss how this episode was brought to you by Pearl Snap Studios in a much more literal way than ever before. PART THREE - 8:05 mark Paul and Scott call up Ed Hill to hear about how be began his musical life as an American kid with a Japanese guitar hooked on the British Invasion and playing in a Mexican band; why landing a steady gig at a famous Bakersfield nightclub made him fall in love with country music; the way he landed his first cut, which became a Top 5 hit; how he keeps his antenna up for new song ideas; what he calls the "yellow legal pad days" of songwriting; the artist who cried when the Ed Hill song he recorded hit #1 on the charts; why a record label

Grammy nominee and neo-soul singer songwriter Allen Stone, described by USA Today as "a pitch perfect powerhouse" joins us for a deep dive into his creative process. EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul catch up after the holidays and chat about the appeal of Allen Stone (and Christie Brinkley). PART TWO - 6:15 mark Paul and Scott call up Allen Stone to get the details on how a Cake album was his gateway to music outside the church; why the chemicals coursing through his veins led him to write songs of his own; why he says "everything is imitation" in songwriting; the reason he might be an X-Ray technician if he had it all to do again; why he was "super ashamed" of his debut LP; what he does to force himself to write songs; what happened when Macklemore and Ryan Lewis invited him to collaborate; why he tried not to fall in love with his now-wife; and the reason he says most pop music today has been dumbed down. ABOUT ALLEN STONE Washington state native and Seattle-based singer-songwriter Allen Stone is o

On this very special holiday episode of Songcraft, we speak with Chris Butler, who wrote the new-wave holiday classic "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses, as well as three other writers of well-known songs of the season: Randy Brooks, who penned the always-polarizing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” Chris Eaton, who wrote Amy Grant’s classic “Breath of Heaven,” and Songwriters Hall of Famer Paul Williams, who is best known for “Rainbow Connection,” but who also wrote all the songs for The Muppet Christmas Carol. Enjoy the conversations, then hear our ultimate holiday playlist, featuring 150 titles and 150 artists with no repeated songs, and no repeated performers.  EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott and Paul discuss New Year's resolutions and how their friends at Pearl Snap Studios can help with yours; explore the difference between "sad Christmas" versus "happy Christmas;" and get into a conversation about the specific holiday songs they do and don't like.  PART TWO  Scott and Paul chat with four songwr

The Golden Globe and Grammy nominee whose self-titled debut release was named one of the 100 Best Albums of the Eighties by Rolling Stone joins us to chat about his wide-ranging career, from self-penned hits as an artist such as “Someday Someway,” to co-writing the Top 10 hit "Til I Hear it from You" with the Gin Blossoms, to writing the theme for the parody film Walk Hard. PART ONE  Scott and Paul pay tribute to “Day-O” writer and former Songcraft guest Irving Burgie, who recently passed away at the age of 95; reflect on other Songcraft guests who are no longer with us; talk about the importance of Patreon in preserving the important stories of songwriters; and announce two winners of the Marty Stuart book contest.  PART TWO - 6:46 mark The guys dig deep on why nobody knows the name of lead guitar players anymore PART THREE - 14:36 mark Paul and Scott get on the phone with Marshall Crenshaw, who discusses his eclectic range of musical interests that have led him to dig in the Capitol Records vaults for forgo

The Los Angeles-based songwriter, who has written with and for artists such as P!nk, Kesha, Afrojack, Adam Lambert, Katharine McPhee, and Backstreet Boys while establishing his own celebrated artist career, joins us to talk about his life and art. EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul chat about Pearl Snap Studios, extending the Marty Stuart book contest for one more episode, and the phenomenon of "feature culture" in pop music. PART TWO -  10:44 mark The guys call up Wrabel and find out why he dropped out of Berkeley to write songs; the reason his first few years in Los Angeles were rough; how his debut international hit was born when an artist didn't show up for their writing session; why he called his manager questioning if his first single was too raw and autobiographical to actually release; the time Lady Antebellum let him down; the song he wrote with Kesha the first day the met; why he cried while recording with P!nk; and which of the Songcraft questions gave him goosebumps.  ABOUT WRABEL Singer-so

The two-time Grammy nominee Eric Clapton called “one of the great singer-songwriters” joins us to talk about everything from his 1970s classic "On and On" to writing hits like the Oscar-winning “Separate Lives” for Phil Collins, to the unexpected rootsy influences on his new album, We’ll Talk About It Later In The Car.   EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul catch up after their respective travels to New York and Italy; the new 10-CD Bakersfield Sound box set Scott produced; the winner of our Lamont Dozier contest; and instructions about our listeners' final chance to enter to win a copy of Marty Stuart's new coffee table book.  PART TWO - 6:49 mark Stephen Bishop comes by Songcraft World Headquarters to talk about the TV theme song that first made him pay attention to music; why his stepdad forbid him from playing guitar in the house; the days he faked a British accent to try to get ahead in the music business; how his friendship with Mama Cass's sister led to his big career break.; the time he fooled Qu

Marty Stuart, a five-time Grammy winner, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, collector, preservationist, and fierce defender of country music’s rich traditions joins us to discuss his career, artistic rebirth, and ongoing artistry. EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul chat about image, country music hair, Elton John’s new autobiography, and two Songcraft contests that give you the chance to win one of two new books by Marty Stuart and Lamont Dozier. PART TWO - 14:15 mark Scott sits down with Marty Stuart to find out how he left home at age 13 to hit the road; what he learned from Johnny Cash about the craft of songwriting; how he found the song that launched the best-known country music supergroup of all time; the three people he considers THE standard of country songwriting; the album that cost him a record deal, a band, a manager, and a publicist; why he had to leave “butt wiggling” songs behind; what he loved about the Dixie Chicks; how a photo of Louis Armstrong gave him a sense of mission for

Alice Randall, a Harvard-educated novelist, professor, and songwriter, is the only African-American woman to have written a #1 country hit. She joins us to talk about her career as a songwriter and so much more EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  The guys chat about why Paul has been M.I.A. and announce a new contest for a personalized signed copy of Lamont Dozier's new autobiography. PART TWO - 7:13 mark Scott gets together with Alice Randall in Nashville to find out why her dad was so driven to highlight women's contributions to music; how she concluded that country lyrics are the modern day equivalent of metaphysical poetry and 17th Century Puritan sermons; the encouragement she received from Hal David; why she spent hours studying lyrics in the basement of the Country Music Hall of Fame; the reason that Steve Earle cussed her out; why it's harder to be a woman in country music than to be black; and her theory that country music should be defined as three chords and four specific truths. ABOUT ALICE RANDALL Alice R

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Rodney Crowell joins Scott to chat about a remarkable career that has yielded classic songs such as “Til I Gain Control Again,” “I Ain’t Living Long Like This,” “Ashes By Now,” “After All This Time,” and “Shame on the Moon.” EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul chat about their friends at Pearl Snap Studios, Paul's recent ASCAP award, the Ken Burns Country Music documentary, a sad loss in the songwriting community, and how an encounter with Rodney Crowell made an impression on Paul when he was in fifth grade.  PART TWO - 12:03 mark Scott gets together with Rodney Crowell to hear why Townes Van Zandt stealing his girlfriend led to his first cut as a songwriter; how he went from making $7 a night and living in his car to landing a publishing deal; why he told his wife to take her time bailing him out of jail so he could write one of his now-classic songs; how getting rejected by Anne Murray led to getting discovered by Emmylou Harris; the song he realized he inad

Pulled from deep in our archives, we present the long-lost final interview with two-time Grammy nominee and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Curly Putman, who wrote "Green, Green Grass of Home," "He Stopped Loving Her Today," "My Elusive Dreams," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," and many others.  EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul chat about how the long-lost final interview with Curly Putman went missing and how they finally recovered it. Plus, they discuss the new Ken Burns documentary, Country Music. PART TWO - 9:24 mark Scott heads over to the now-departed songwriting legend's house to chat about the unusual instrument Curly began on; what Roger Miller said that encouraged him when he was a struggling shoe salesman; why Dottie West being late for a recording session opened a door for “Green, Green Grass of Home;” how Curly became known for killing off the characters in his songs; the reason he didn’t want to rent his house to Paul McCartney; why he thinks “He Stopped Loving Her Today” appeals to so many listene

Kendell Marvel built his career as a behind-the-scenes songwriter for Gary Allan, Chris Stapleton, Jake Owen, Lee Ann Womack, Blake Shelton, and George Strait before reinventing himself as a gritty Southern troubadour and making an album with The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach.  EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul chat about a wild news story from this past week involving a previous Songcraft guest and recognize another recent Songcraft guest for achieving an amazing milestone. PART TWO - 10:05 mark The guys call up Kendell Marvel in Nashville to find out how he got his start in honky tonk bars at the age of ten; the childhood hero who ended up recording one of Kendell's songs; the Top 5 hit that he wrote on his very first day in Nashville; who he says is the closest thing we have to Willie Nelson today; the song that he was the most excited to find out had been recorded; the country star he refers to as Eeyore; why he thinks women are making the best music in Nashville today (even though they're not recordin

The sixteen-time Grammy nominee and three-time winner joins us to talk about his remarkably varied body of songwriting from country to to rock to political songs to Americana and contemporary folk. EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul tell you how you can hear their wild story about getting ready for the Steve Earle interview, and they explain why this episode is particularly special. PART TWO - 7:12 mark Paul and Scott head over to Steve's Los Angeles hotel to get the details on how a Chicago radio station saved his career; why reading is more important than listening to records; the book Townes Van Zandt loaned him that transformed his view of writing; the concert that inspired Steve to write "Guitar Town;" what he really thinks of the "Copperhead Road" line-dancing phenomenon; the first song he wrote after a long period of drug addiction and homelessness; why bluegrass is like bebop; who he says is THE badass country singer/songwriter in Nashville today; why he's working on a new political album that

The three-time Grammy winner, two-time ACM Songwriter of the Year, and star of NBC's Songland joins us to talk about a few of his 40 #1 hits, including "Mama's Broken Heart," "American Kids," "Vice," "Body Like a Back Road," and more.  EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE  Scott and Paul put in a plug for Pearl Snap Studios! PART TWO - 3:02 mark The guys have a conversation about some of the worst cover songs of all time.  PART THREE - 12:06 mark Paul and Scott head over to Shane's Los Angeles home to get his thoughts on being in a band with LeAnn Rimes when they were little kids; why he used to pray that God would give him another dream other than songwriting; how he had to wrestle with questions of authenticity and sexual identity to discover his artistic voice; the way that Kenny Chesney anointed him that opened the floodgates of commercial success; who he calls his favorite singer of all time; which of his hits he was most shocked was released as a single; what he thinks of the critics who say “Body Like a Back Road

Matthew Sweet joins us to unpack his process of writing power pop gems like "Girlfriend," "The Ugly Truth," "Sick of Myself" and many others. EPISODE DETAILS: PART ONE Scott and Paul analyze mix tapes, cool bands, and "older brother rock." PART TWO - 5:29 mark Paul and Scott jump on the phone with Matthew Sweet, one of the nicest rock stars on the planet, to get the lowdown on how a postcard from Michael Stipe altered his musical future; why he says being a solo artist is lonely; the reason he describes the drums on "Girlfriend" as "odd." why a paralyzing fear of flying kept him off airplanes for nearly a decade; what he really thinks of being labeled "power pop;" why he was conflicted about making The Thorns album; what happened when he suggested that he and Susanna Hoffs write an album together; and the song he collaborated on with a Saturday Night Live legend that led to another SNL legend covering one of his very earliest recordings. ABOUT MATTHEW SWEET Best known for hits such as “Girlfriend” and “Sick o