The Great Song Podcast

It's THE iconic Easter jam of the 20th Century, and we're gonna talk ALL over it. We're getting in the weeds with CCM legend Don Francisco about his signature hit, the royalties and fame it didn't bring, and the famed Dolly Parton cover thereof. It's a special Easter early release--enjoy "He's Alive!" Plus: - Eat your heart out, Hotel California! - “If you don’t g...

This Greatest Hits episode originally aired in October 2021. A fan-favorite guest, a fan-favorite band; what could be better? Oh, maybe the funniest bit ever to grace the show. Enjoy our re-release of "Magic" from Season 8's Magic Month. -- Longtime friend and guest co-host Joey Abbott joins the boys to continue Magic Month with one of the greatest hits from one of the greatest Ameri...

(Original air date Feb. 10, 2021 - Season Seven Opener) We kick off Season 7 with one of the biggest American rock bands in history, and one of their most iconic albums! Plus we chat with the album's titular inspiration, CCR drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford! In this episode: - The “Do Not Play on Radio” list CCR landed on - How CCR’s Woodstock performance almost got derailed by a paper rock - Fogerty...

Whitney Houston becomes our first official two-time covered artist, and it's only fitting that we enlist the help of our only two-time multi-artist guests! George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam , aka Boy Meets Girl (" Waiting For a Star to Fall ," writers of " How Will I Know " and " I Wanna Dance With Somebody ") talk with us about their original intentions for one of Whitney Houston’s breakout hits...

This is a Greatest Hits episode, which means it's a re-airing of an episode that was significant for the show, one of our favorites, or one of yours!  Original air date: Sep. 23, 2020, Episode 606 Our first Greatest Hits episode represents a turning point episode for the show--our interview with the absolutely brilliant Rupert Holmes! This episode started something momentum-wise, became an in...

One of the most prolific prog progenitors in the world--the incomparable Neal Morse of the Neal Morse Band, Transatlantic, Flying Colors and so many more--joins the program this week to talk about the making of his sprawling epics, working with long-time collaborators like Mike Portnoy and Randy George, and how the heck does he remember how to play all this stuff? Be sure to check out Cinema Snack...

The premier hard-rock power trio The Winery Dogs have just released their highly-anticipated third record, and we've got frontman and guitarist Richie Kotzen (who you may remember as the incredible guitarist featured in our Patreon-exclusive Poison episode) to tell us about the process of writing, jamming, and making musical magic with bandmates Mike Portnoy and Billy Sheehan. Let the wizardry com...

Name the most successful Seattle acts of the 1990's and there's one name that you may initially forget to include--but right up there among the Nirvanas and the Soundgardens sits a quirky power-pop trio whose 1995 debut took over MTV and the pop-rock landscape. As they gear up for a new high-quality re-release of that iconic debut album, Presidents of the United States of America's Chris Ballew an...

Season 11 kicks off with a bang and a big ol' tongue! Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones joins Rob and JP for some conversations about auditioning for the Stones some 30 years ago, playing for Sting, and flexing on Miles Davis. Plus: Apostrophes and parentheses galore! “Oops, we recorded this in the wrong key.” Pick up the phone! “At least we had the music:” The impact of losing Charlie Watts and...

From the studio that brought you The Great Song Podcast, it's Cinema Snack Bar! Rob and Zeke will be bringing you the movies you love and the foods that helped make them what they are. You'll learn fun facts and stories, recast each movie with the guys, and maybe learn a new recipe! Episodes launch March 7. Subscribe now!  Spotify Apple Podcasts

This. Friggin. Guy. Wayne Kirkpatrick is one of THE hit songwriters of modern music history. You've heard his work sung by the likes of everyone from Garth Brooks and Eric Clapton to Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant, with a little Chris Gaines and Little Big Town thrown in just for fun. From pop to CCM to country and even Broadway, the mega-hits just keep coming from an absolute legend with the pen,...

“It’s everything I hate about the Titanic song, but slower.” Yes yes yes, it's Rivalry Week once again--when we typically go head to head. But this season...there's a twist. Rob and JP are BOTH taking on a worldwide smash. "You Raise Me Up," which you may know from from funerals, weddings, and awful tributes of all kinds, is this season's target, and we're going to give you the full story of its c...

One of the finest songwriters on this here planet (and JP's #SpotifyWrapped top artist!) joins us this week to talk about writing, bowling, and note-taking in the digital age. It's a serious geek-out week for our boy JP, so enjoy the even higher level of enthusiasm as we chat with Andy Gullahorn! --- Join us on PATREON for early access, extended interviews, weekly reaction mini-sodes, full bonus s...

This week we're dissecting one of Rob's favorite albums, the Meat Puppets 1994 album Too High to Die , the album that, along with Nirvana's Unplugged in New York , cast the band into the national spotlight. Meat Puppets drummer and band historian Derrick Bostrom joins us for a thorough, if curmudgeonly, conversation about the band's penchant for weirdness, frustrations with the industry, and hopes...

Lester Chambers is part of the legendary Chambers Brothers, whose blend of folk, rock and psychedelic soul broke minds and barriers from the 1960s on, and who are at the forefront of Questlove's award-winning 2021 documentary, Summer of Soul. This week we're covering The Chambers Brothers' absolutely iconic track "Time Has Come Today" in all its 11-minute glory, and spotlighting Lester's current i...

An American classic song deserves and American classic guest, so we had to bring in the big guns--Uncle Dave Barnes returns to the third man chair to help us break down the John Cougar Mellencamp stalwart, "Jack and Diane." We'll break down the song into its best and funniest bits, and get into our usual shenanigans, which are even more shenanigany than usual with Dave in the room. Plus: - Hot Tak...

It's time to spend a little time with the breezy rock boys from San Diego! Yes indeed, Jon Foreman of Switchfoot is here to talk about the band's newest release, this is our Christmas album, his changing methodology over 25 years of recording and touring, and his beloved Padres. All that and more, including: Al Pacino’s cat! A bag of yams! “God doesn’t need a lawyer; your job is to be honest.” Tha...

The inescapable hit from the album that was almost literally off the charts, Norah Jones' "Don't Know Why," was written by today's guest, Jesse Harris! We'll talk all things Jesse with him, including his brand-new album, Silver Balloon. Plus the hard-hitting coverage of Norah Jones and the phenomenon that was her debut album Come Away With Me, and: Rob sings the wrong lyrics a hundred times! “Woul...

Our most special guest of all time—Rob’s amazing wife Crystal—joins the show as we celebrate and dive into Rob and Crystal’s new EP, “Wedding Songs and Love Stories,” available today at your favorite streaming service, as well as on Bandcamp. Get the album at robandcrystal.com or https://robandcrystalalley.bandcamp.com . Album graphic design by the incomparable Zeke Tucker . @zeketucker on Instagr...

Yacht rock time once again at The Great Song Podcast, and we’re sailing the high seas of Destin, Florida(?) with the captain of our hearts, Sir Bertie Higgins! This absolute earworm will have you reaching for the margarita mix and grilling shrimp by the basket, swaying with an old love. Plus: How this song is an auditory message in a bottle that really worked! The top 5 movie quotes of all time “I...

Just get past your initial reaction and admit you love this song. You do, we do, and that's fine. Now that we've said it out loud, let's dig into an era-defining hit from the glam rock days, with co-writer Alan Hewitt of...The Moody Blues? Yep! We'll cover all that and more, including pie chat, ghost guitarists, and more Harriet Beecher Stowe than you’d probably expect. Credit to “Full in Bloom” f...

The greatest hard rock bassist of ALL TIME joins the show to celebrate five years of The Great Song Podcast! Billy Sheehan's cred is unquantifiable, and his work with David Lee Roth, Steve Vai, Mr. Big and SO many others proves it without a doubt. Billy sits down with us to talk about the new project from Talas, his career and style, and much more. Get ready for a wild ride! Thanks for listening,...

Episode 10.08 ’70s September closes with one of the greatest hits of the decade, “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl),” and we’ve got writer/singer/guitarist Elliot Lurie here to tell us about the true Brandy, the massive integration of the song into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and much more! Join us on PATREON for early access, extended interviews, weekly reaction mini-sodes, full bonus shows, and mo...

It's time for an XL episode, because we couldn't choose just one song to help us chronicle the 50+ year career of the band that created the Americana genre. Founding Dirt Band member John McEuen joins us as we talk about a handful of our favorites from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Also: Rob’s terrible Norm Macdonald impression Sparsely-worded choruses galore! “And we wondered what took so long.” “H...

An all-time rock monster of a song, and a perfect '70s rock gem, Mountain's "Mississippi Queen" stands tall as a peak (pardon the pun) example of what American rock music could be. And there's a great story to the song, which we'll learn courtesy of Mountain's own Corky Laing, who brought the song to the band. Plus: “When I play Mississippi Queen, I think of Jesus Christ” Guitar pickup ash trays!...