KooperKast

We answer questions including about blending the sound of horns when recording. After each question Nilly the Dog add a brief canine perspective.

We talk about the song writer Graham Gouldman, who supplied the Hollies with some great hits, including Bus Stop – when he was only 15 years old.

We  answer listener questions including about Al’s top 100 recordings web page, which we thought was missing but is right there on the website, listed under Al’s Diary around the year 2000. But this question has made us ponder how best to bring Als’ list further into the new century which we are working on. After each question Nilly the Dog says hello and woof.

 We  answer listener questions including about Appaloosa and Sweet Linda Devine, among the first albums Al produced for Columbia. You can also check our earlier episode – all about Appaloosa. After each question Nilly the Dog chimes in with a dog thought.

We talk about Robbie Robertson who just passed away. Al played with him on the road with Dylan after Newport 65, then roomed with him and played with him for the Blonde on Blonde sessions in Nashville. You can also go check our four earlier episodes just about Blonde on Blonde.

We answer questions about co-writing with Blind Willie Johnson (and we hear a bit of Blind Willie singing), about Al’s not-happening dinner party, looking for hits, and about being famous. After the episode we play the entire Blind Willie Johnson song "I Can’t Keep from Crying Sometimes", recorded in 1928 . Nilly the Dog concludes each segment with some brief pooch dog thoughts.

We answer listener questions including: a desert island record album, writing hits versus writing songs, and another take on the Allman Brothers vs Skynyrd.   After each segment Nilly the Dog adds some brief thoughts of her own.

We answer listener questions including: Libby Titus, a song of Al’s that Judy Collins once sang on TV, and putting out a single of  a Phil Ochs song as an instrumental.  After each segment Nilly the Dog adds some brief thoughts of her own.

We answer questions about Al being a mensch, his first solo album, the Allman Brothers vs Skynyrd, and Bob Dylan in person. Nilly the Dog concludes each segment with some brief pooch dog thoughts.

We talk about how many other Jews might be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (a lot more than you think, look it up, some surprises…) The wacky Alice Cooper and Al Kooper intersection, and a possible Hall of Fame reunion of Al with his buddies Bernie Taupin and Elton John.

We talk about topics ranging from the Tommy Flanders cab ride to Al’s ongoing popularity in Japan and maybe that Japan is the best place to get certain Al Kooper albums.

We ramble on about his solo albums, and then to Skynyrd. We ponder on whether this new notoriety will help get his 4 CD box set published, about hearing from friends as far back as The Aristocats, from even before The Royal Teens.

We talk about the breadth of Al’s career, starting out as a 14 year old, leading to a career if over half a century in music. We touch on how he might have stayed as a planet in Dylan’s solar system, but he wanted to be at the center of his own creative life, which took him then to things like Blood Sweat and Tears and Supersession and a lot more.

We chat about how just plain happy the news makes Al, whether he can make the ceremony in Brooklyn (not in Cleveland), a sweet listener story, and a bit about how the podcast and the new website came about.

We talk to Al about getting The Call from the Rock and Roll Hall of fame and how he never expected it, but it makes him genuinely happy.

 We answer questions about the idea of Kooper movie, about maybe not sending Al your demos, life in Queens in the old days, and a short interview with Nilly the Dog who is our canine commentator.

We answer questions about working on Dylan’s album Under the Red Sky,  Al getting tweaked with musical feedback from Dylan, life around Clive Davis at Columbia, and the great percussionist Bobbie Hall. Of course, Nilly the Dog follows each segment with canine input of her own.

We answer questions about Gary Rossington and Lynyrd Skynyrd. As always, Nilly the Dog ends each segment with her dogged thoughts.rossi

 We answer questions about Willy Clark and Clarence Reid, the Ron Wood tribute concert to Jimmy Reed, and the sound of soul music in the 70s. Nilly the Dog concludes each segment with some brief pooch dog thoughts.

We answer listener questions including: how not to go about playing This Diamond Ring, how Al might want to be remembered, the infamous phone call with Mom and Dad, and about doing one of his solo albums as a live concert. After each segment Nilly the Dog adds some brief thoughts of her own.

We answer questions about Freddy Henry, the firing of Tom Wilson, Al’s original Silvertone guitar, and that mystery song at the end of the movie King of the Corner. After each segment Nilly the Dog barks a brief comment of her own.

We answer listener questions including: what first made Al focus on Ronnie Van Zant,  about playing keyboards for Skynyrd, performing as his own act versus being in a festival, and about the passing of Mike Bloomfield. After each segment Nilly the Dog adds a brief comment of her own.

We answer – and don’t answer – some strange ones, including a mystery song of Al’s from the movie King of the Corner, composing with Charlie Colello and the weird endings of the two Crime Story seasons.

This episode covers listener questions about: Al being grumpy, Al’s role in New Morning which leads to thoughts about producing, which leads to more thoughts about Lynyrd Skynyrd. After each segment, Nilly the Dog adds a brief thought of her own.

We talk about touring, particularly about Japan where Al was very popular, so much so he had to wear a mask to get into the venue without being mobbed.