Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Scott and Paul call up Matraca to get the lowdown on 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.

Gary gives us 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; the way he accidentally got Faith Hill a record deal; and how he went from country hitmaker to collaborating with Carole King, Kenny Loggins, and the American Idol team.

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; 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. 

John stops by Songcraft World Headquarters to talk about how Disneyland became his musical proving ground; the "slightly devious" way he got Chris Hillman to co-found the Desert Rose Band; 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 Rodney Crowell, JD Souther, Peter Frampton, and other greats; and how he became a Django Reinhardt disciple and the American master of  gypsy jazz. 

Ep. 94 - ROBERT EARL KEEN ("The Road Goes on Forever")

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Mark D. Sanders gives the inside scoop on 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.

Ep. 92 - DENNIS MATKOSKY ("Maniac")

Ep. 91 - WOODY BOMAR ("We Did But Now You Don't")

Randy stops by Songcraft to talk about 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; and the Bachman-Turner Overdrive hit that ripped off an Antonín Dvořák classical piece only to then be ripped off by The Doobie Brothers.

Ep. 89 - BETH NIELSEN CHAPMAN ("This Kiss")

Songcraft heads 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; 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.

Ep. 87 - BRUCE SUDANO ("Bad Girls")

Scott & Paul chat with the Yale-educated "hillbilly poet" about why he wishes Richie Havens hadn't covered his song at Woodstock; 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 "Jackson" the iconic song actually refers to.

Ep. 85 - TONY BANKS of Genesis ("Land of Confusion")

Ep. 84 - DON McLEAN ("American Pie")