The Bob Lefsetz Podcast

James McMurtry has a great new album "The Horses and the Hounds" that addresses the world from an adult perspective. We discuss the life of a modern troubadour, releasing music to generate publicity and ticket sales, for McMurtry it's all about the live show. Despite being self-deprecating, James oozes with insight. This is a chance to get into the head of one of our foremost singer-songwiters. Le...

The Fat Rat is the king of gaming music. He's got over 5.5 million YouTube subscribers and over 2 billion streams on YouTube and Spotify. Find out how a musician from a small city in Germany conquered the music business, going from Berlin to America and ultimately back again, signing to Universal and then leaving, finding he makes more money independently and can do whatever he chooses artisticall...

Paul Anka is a raconteur who tells us not only about his new album, but his writing process and 60+ years in the business, from bus tours with Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers to the Copa to Vegas to writing the theme song for "The Tonight Show" and "My Way" for Frank Sinatra. This is history come alive, with a lot of insight baked in, you'll dig this. Learn more about your ad-choices at https:...

Suzi Quatro is a trip! You're gonna dig this podcast even if you've never heard any of her hit singles or seen her on "Happy Days" or read any of her books or seen her on stage or listened to her radio show... Suzi is open and honest about everything, displaying her Detroit roots despite living in the U.K. for decades. Suzi needed to make it, and she's still out there doing it. It was a blast talk...

John Hall had hit records with his band Orleans, was voted Ski Instructor of the Year at Hunter Mountain, and ultimately was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for two terms...and in between he was one of the driving forces behind No Nukes! We discuss John's activism as well as his musical history, how he moved to New York City and after a number of record deals ultimately struck it rich...

Ann Wilson, vocalist extraordinaire, is the lead singer of Heart. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know food luminary Andrew Zimmern from TV shows like "Bizarre Foods" on the Travel Channel and "What's Eating America" on MSNBC. Here we address all the issues in today's food world, from the pay of restaurant help to the quality of ingredients to the ability of food to heal our nation. Plus, we get Andrew's personal story, his interest in the culinary world from a young age, his descent into...

Rod Argent started out in the Zombies, for which he wrote the classics "She's Not There," "Tell Her No" and "Time of the Season." After the band broke up Argent formed a group under his own name and with Chris White composed their Top Five hit "Hold Your Head Up." Then with partner Peter Van Hooke he produced Tanita Tikaram's multi-platinum album "Ancient Heart" with its MTV staple "Twist in My So...

Patrick Spence is the CEO of Sonos. We discuss the creation of products, the marketing thereof, the company's place in the landscape as well as Patrick's history at BlackBerry! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Rapino is CEO and President of Live Nation. Need I say more? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harry Wayne Casey is "K.C." of K.C. and the Sunshine Band. He co-wrote and co-produced the first worldwide disco hit, "Rock Your Baby," and then followed it up with five number ones and a number two with his own group. K.C. worked his way up from record store clerk to label employee to international hit artist...on an independent label! Here we get the history as well as insight into the whirlwind...

Rick Beato has 2.42 million subscribers to his YouTube channel "Everything Music":  https://bit.ly/3hD3MNH  He has scores of videos with more than one million views, his "Top 20 Acoustic Guitar Intros Of All Time" has 13 million views! Rick teaches you how to play the songs and analyzes why they're great or why they're not. Pull up his page, but be prepared to go down the rabbit hole, as we do in...

Judy Collins was so upfront and honest she blew my mind. Judy talked in-depth about Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan and also spoke about her alcoholism and her son's suicide. I can see why Stephen Stills wrote "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"...and we cover that too! What a refreshing alternative to those who are snooty or reticent, you talk to Judy and you're immediately her friend, you could s...

Legendary ZZ Top guitarist Billy F. Gibbons has a new solo album, "Hardware." We discuss its making in the desert as well as Mexican food, hot sauce, automobiles, travel, "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" and so much more. Billy is quite the raconteur and you'll want to hear him opine on multiple topics, it's like hanging with a good friend! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnet...

A man who needs no introduction... Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merck Mercuriadis runs the most talked about company in music today, Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which has raised money to purchase the publishing catalogs of such luminaries as Jack Antonoff, Shakira, Steve Winwood, Nikki Sixx, Neil Schon, Mark Ronson, LA Reid, Dave Stewart, Chris Cornell, Chrissie Hynde, Carole Bayer Sager...and even half of Neil Young's! We cover Merck's history, his theory in starti...

Bloomberg's Brad Stone is the expert on Amazon, he's written today's best selling book "Amazon Unbound" and 2013's "The Everything Store." Tune in to hear discussion of Jeff Bezos, the management processes of Amazon, the warehouses, third party sellers, AWS, Prime Video, hardware and more. This is the definitive statement! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com Se...

Jonathan Taplin started out as the road manager for the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and Judy Collins and then he became the tour manager for the Band. Along the way he worked with Bob Dylan and the Band at the Isle of Wight and helped produce the Concert for Bangladesh. Subsequently, Taplin produced Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" and brokered the sale of Disney and... Tune in to hear what was really ha...

Shelly Banjo, Bloomberg's New York Bureau Chief, is the #1 expert on TikTok. Here we cover the company's birth, its algorithm, how music is picked and used, record companies' involvement, how much money creators make...TikTok is where hits start today, you need to listen to this! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

Dexter Holland is the lead singer and songwriter for the Offspring. We discuss his upbringing in Orange County, the formation of the band, his education, his Ph. D., his reaction to the band's "overnight" success with "Come Out and Play," label deals, his plane and... Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Freston was CEO of MTV Networks and then Viacom and is presently Chairman of the One Campaign, as well as an advisor to Vice and other companies. Tom is a fount of knowledge and insight, and he's down to earth and friendly. It's one thing to be a manager of people, quite another to be able to deliver live. We cover Africa, Afghanistan, Tom's upbringing, his clothing company in Asia and, of cou...

Jimmy Kimmel is just funny. Add his superior intellect and you know why he's successful. Furthermore, he makes you feel included, like his best friend. We cover Jimmy's roots in Brooklyn as well as Las Vegas, his radio career, his discovery as a TV personality by Fred Silverman to "Win Ben Stein's Money," "The Man Show," Crank Yankers" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Jimmy pulls no punches, either on his...

Steve Cropper is literally a living legend. Guitar player, producer, writer...Cropper has had a hand in some of the most iconic tracks of all time, from "Green Onions" to "In the Midnight Hour" to "Knock on Wood" to "Dock of the Bay" to... We chart Steve's history from Missouri to Memphis, from the Mar-Keys to Booker T and the MGs, from Jim Stewart to Tom Dowd to John Lennon and the Blues Brothers...

Slava Rubin was a cofounder and CEO of crowdfunding platform Indiegogo and in addition to being a founder and managing partner of investment firm humbition, he is now executive chairman of Vincent Alternative Investments, check it out:  www.withvincent.com  We discuss Slava's history, but we also go deep into alternative investments, i.e. NFTs and other assets you can purchase all or just a slice...

Dan Penn is a living legend who co-wrote "I'm Your Puppet," "Dark End of the Street," "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man," "Cry Like a Baby" and he produced the Box Tops' legendary hit THE LETTER! Dan recently released his first solo album in years, "Living on Mercy," and it's amazingly satisfying, check it out. And listen to this podcast to hear Dan's story, from Muscle Shoals to Memphis, he was there...