Crazy Chester Radio Hour

This episode features two of the most renowned bass players in history. David Hood is the bass player of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (aka The Swampers). He’s played on hit recordings by Aretha Franklin, Bob Seger, The Staple Singers, Paul Simon, Etta James, Willie Nelson and many others. Leland Sklar is a mainstay of the Los Angeles music scene and has worked with James Taylor, Carole King, P...

Charlie Feldman is a songwriter and music executive from Birmingham, Alabama. His journey led him to Muscle Shoals where he played in a band that later became Smith Perkins Smith and wrote songs for Wilson Pickett, Mel & Tim, Arthur Alexander and Sea Level. He later worked for Screen Gems Music/EMI Publishing in Nashville, where he had a hand in placing Tony Joe White’s songs with Tina Turner, bef...

Gus Duffy is a musician and world class architect. Duffy was a member of the Four Winds, Webster’s New Word and Captain Electric and the Flying Lapels. He even briefly played drums in an early incarnation of the Jefferson Airplane. Most recently he’s been playing with the Lefty Collective, the Mid Town Quartet and the Nashville Jazz Workshop. As an artist he’s been active since 1973 and has overse...

Andreas Werner is a Blues Award winning record producer, songwriter, composer, musician and podcaster. He was mentored by some of the legendary musicians and songwriters from Muscle Shoals and Nashville and has worked with members of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, the Muscle Shoals Horns, Donnie Fritts, Buzz Cason, Scott Boyer, Tommy Talton, Eddie Floyd, Doug MacLeod, Bettye LaVette, Tony Joe W...

Returning guest Holger Petersen is a Canadian radio host whose Saturday Night Blues on CBC Radio and Natch'l Blues CKUA Radio have been long-time fixtures of the Canadian radio landscape. Petersen also founded Canada’s premier blues and roots label Stony Plain Records and the revered Edmonton Folk Music Festival. He is a member of the Order of Canada and has been honored by the Blues Foundation an...

Hans Theessink is one of Europe’s preeminent and well respected blues and roots performers. Born in the Netherlands and based in Vienna, Austria, Theessink has released a couple dozen records and has collaborated with the likes of the Holmes Brothers, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson of The Band, Terry Evans, Ry Cooder, Richard Thompson, Big Daddy Wilson and Colin Linden. His most recent album is 75 Bi...

Internationally renowned blues musician and songwriter Doug MacLeod is back on the Crazy Chester Radio Hour to talk about his new album Between Somewhere And Goodbye with album producer and Crazy Chester Radio Hour host Andreas Werner. Between Somewhere And Goodby is out now on Reference Recordings and available on Doug MacLeod’s website, your favorite independent record store and all streaming se...

Dick Waterman (1935-2024) was a legendary promotor, manager, photographer and writer who’s importance in the world of blues music can’t be overstated. In the 1960s, he was a driving force in reviving the careers of blues masters including Mississippi John Hurt, Bukka White, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Skip James, Lightnin’ Hopkins and Son House (as depicted in the 2016 documentary Two Trains Runnin...

Returning guest Mark Narmore is a songwriter, singer and musician best known for writing the number one country hit "That's What I Love About Sunday" for Craig Morgan and other hits like Shenandoah's "The Moon Over Georgia" and Blackhawk's "Like There Ain't No Yesterday" as well as cuts by Alabama, Brandy Clark, Reba McEntire and Josh Turner. Narmore grew up in Center Star, Alabama, surrounded by...

George Jackson (March 12, 1945 - April 14, 2013) was a legendary songwriter who wrote many classic songs including “Old Time Rock and Roll” (Bob Seger), “Down Home Blues” (Z.Z. Hill), “One Bad Apple” (The Osmonds), “The Only Way Is Up” (Otis Clay) and “Get Involved” (George Soulé). Born in Mississippi, Jackson is known for his association with the Muscle Shoals recording scene, first writing for F...

Ron Eoff is a bass player who was born in Oregon and raised in Springdale, Arkansas. He was a member of the Cate Brothers who worked extensively with Levon Helm before joining forces with The Band when they reunited in the early 1980s. Since moving to Nashville in the late 1980s, Eoff has recorded or played live with Jo-El Sonnier, Tracy Nelson, Delbert McClinton, Jimmy Thackery, Kevin Gordon, Pat...

Gary Baker is a songwriter, musician and producer from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Born in Niagara Falls, New York, he moved to Muscle Shoals to play with the LeBlanc Carr Band. In the 1980s he was a member of The Shooters with Walt Aldridge, Chalmers Davis, Barry Billings and Mike Dillon before launching the duo Baker & Myers with Frank J. Myers. Baker and Myers wrote the song “I Swear” which was a #...

Cindy Richardson Walker and Marie Tomlinson Lewey are background vocalists from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Collectively known as the Shoals Sisters, they can be heard on numerous recordings coming out of Muscle Shoals and Nashville. Collectively and separately they have sung on recordings by artists like Clarence Carter, Kris Kristofferson, Percy Sledge, Joan Baez, Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, Gregg...

Lenny LeBlanc is a Dove Award winning songwriter, singer and musician from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He was born in Massachusetts and raised in Florida before following his friend Pete Carr to Muscle Shoals. Carr, by that time was the lead guitar player of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section after a stint in the pre Allman Brothers band Hour Glass. LeBlanc and Carr joined forces and had a hit in 1977 w...

Earl Peanutt Montgomery is a legendary songwriter and musician from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He hails from a musical family that include brother Carl and sister Melba Montgomery. Peanutt was part of the group of musicians that established the Muscle Shoals recording scene in the early 1960s, playing on records by Arthur Alexander. He later became George Jones’ right hand man, band leader and wrote...

Tom Bones Malone is one of the world’s most recognizable horn players and one of a precious few who can play a wide array of both brass and woodwind instruments. He appeared in the Blues Brothers movie as a member of the Blues Brothers Band and was seen on TV as a member of the house bands for Saturday Night Live Band and Late Night with David Letterman. He toured and recorded with The Band and Le...

Mac Gayden is an influential guitarist, songwriter and producer from Nashville, Tennessee. He was a member of the Nashville session players collectives Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry. His playing can be heard on records by Bob Dylan (Blonde On Blonde), Kris Kristofferson, Linda Ronstadt, Tracy Nelson, John Hiatt and J.J. Cale. That’s him playing the signature wah wah slide guitar part on Cale’s...

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Spooner Oldham cut his teeth playing sessions and writing songs in Muscle Shoals before relocating to Memphis where he worked at American Sound Studio and continued his writing partnership with Dan Penn. Later he moved to Los Angeles where he worked with Bob Dylan, Linda Ronstadt and Neil Young. Oldham’s playing can be heard on Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves A W...

Doug MacLeod is an internationally acclaimed acoustic blues artist who was mentored by and cut his teeth with George Harmonica Smith, Pee Wee Crayton, Big Mama Thornton and Lowell Fulson. MacLeod is known for his first rate original songs steeped in the tradition of the blues and is considered a master of his craft. In his long career he has won several Blues Awards. His last two albums Raw Blues...

Tommy Talton is a guitarist, singer and songwriter who was a member of We The People before forming Cowboy that released four albums on Capricorn Records. He then launched a solo career that yielded a handful critically acclaimed albums including his latest one, Somewhere South Of Eden. He also recorded and performed with The Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Bonnie Bramlett, Paul...

Tommy Talton is a guitarist, singer and songwriter who was a member of We The People before forming Cowboy that released four albums on Capricorn Records. He then launched a solo career that yielded a handful critically acclaimed albums including his latest one, Somewhere South Of Eden. He also recorded and performed with The Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Bonnie Bramlett, Paul...

Will McFarlane is a guitarist from Muscle Shoals. He played guitar in Bonnie Raitt’s band in the second half of the seventies before joining the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as lead guitar player in 1980. His playing can be heard on recordings by Bobby “Blue” Bland, Little Milton, Johnnie Taylor, Etta James, Candi Staton and Joss Stone. He also released a handful of contemporary Christian albums a...

Doug Cox is a Canadian dobro player, music producer, educator and the artistic director and executive producer of the Vancouver Island MusicFest. He’s also hosted radio and TV shows and is heavily involved in the folk music scene. Doug is always encouraging interesting musical collaborations such as his Slide To Freedom albums that brought together musicians from America and India. The Crazy Chest...

Kelvin Holly is a guitar player from Muscle Shoals. He is a member of the The Decoys, The Amazing Rhythm Aces and Fathers & Sons and was also a member of Little Richard’s band and Pegi Young & The Survivors. He recorded with Gregg Allman, Bobby Blue Bland, Candi Staton, Paul Thorn, Bettye LaVette, Bonnie Bramlett and Jimmy Hall. The Crazy Chester Radio Hour is created and hosted by record producer...

Russell Mefford is a singer and songwriter from Muscle Shoals. Russell is the leader of the Fiddleworms, one of Alabama’s greatest rock bands. He also plays with Johnny Rotten Cash and Yellowhammer and has collaborated with Muscle Shoals legends Donna Jean Godchaux, Donnie Fritts and Scott Boyer. Besides making music, he’s also a third generation jeweler who develops original music related jewelry...