Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Grammy winner and two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee (as a member of both The Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash) chats about his remarkable career, including producing the debut album for then-girlfriend Joni Mitchell, the song he wrote as a message to George Harrison, his magical connection with Jerry Garcia, the song Jackson Browne forced him to finish, the writing partner with whom he has the best chemistry, and why he's blown away by Marc Cohn, Shawn Colvin, Saraj Jarosz, and Jason Isbell.

The guys pay tribute to Little Richard before welcoming Caitlyn Smith, who found her way to Nashville as a songwriter before signing with Monument Records and earning a nod as one of Rolling Stone’s “10 New Artists You Need to Know.” Caitlyn’s list of hit songs that have been recorded by other artists includes “Wasting All These Tears” by Cassadee Pope, “You Can’t Make Old Friends” by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, and “Like I’m Gonna Lose You,” a multi-platinum hit for Meghan Traino

Peter Frampton talks about David Bowie giving him his very first job; Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones getting him into a recording studio for the first time; stumbling into session work thanks to George Harrison; writing two massive hits in the same day; how the loneliness of stratospheric success impacted his songwriting; and the inside stories of classics such as "Baby, I Love Your Way," "Show Me the Way," "Do You Feel Like We Do," "I'm in You," and many more.

Scott and Paul pay tribute to ten of the songwriters and composers whose lives were claimed by the COVID-19 virus through mid-April, 2020, including: Manu Dibango ("Soul Makossa"), Joe Diffie ("New Way to Light Up an Old Flame," "My Give a Damn's Busted"), Alan Merrill ("I Love Rock 'n' Roll"), Ellis Marsalis ("Dear Dolores"), Adam Schlesinger ("That Thing You Do," "Stacy's Mom"), and John Prine ("Angel From Montgomery," "Love is on a Roll"). Plus, they take a moment to remember Bill Withers.

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."

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

Top 5 singles from Ed Hill’s catalog include "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" for Reba, “Runnin’ Behind” and “Find Out Who Your Friends Are” for Tracy Lawrence, “Be My Baby Tonight” for John Michael Montgomery, “It Matters to Me” for Faith Hill, “Whatever You Say” for Martina McBride, “Songs About Me” for Trace Adkins, “How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls” for George Strait, and “Most People Are Good” for Luke Bryan. He's earned a Best Country Song Grammy nomination and was named 200

Grammy nominee and neo-soul singer songwriter Allen Stone, described by USA Today as "a pitch perfect powerhouse" joins us to chat about 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.

Featuring Chris Butler, who wrote the new-wave holiday classic "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses, Randy Brooks, who penned the always-polarizing “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” Chris Eaton, who wrote Amy Grant’s “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.

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.

The Afrojack, P!nk, and Kesha collaborator explains 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; 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.