The Great Song Podcast

One of the most gut-punching songs of the 21st Century is about the Man of Steel admitting he's not so strong, and it comes from a band that's not really a band. Does that about cover it? Very special interview with Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik about the song, its rise to international popularity after the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, and so much more. Also: - The Rock-a-Fire ex...

American Idol Season XIV standout and runner-up Clark Beckham joins us to talk about his funky, fun single "Must Be Hard Being You," life beyond Idol, and more, including: - The tightest band Clark has ever heard - Clark’s heart is gripped by dinosaurs - Clark and JP were basically roommates - “You’re a bad mofo, and I’m too old to be full of crap.” Want MORE show? Join us on PATREON for weekly re...

Restless Heart was a country music sensation, but they weren't always beloved by the powers-that-be. We'll talk about it with frontman Larry Stewart in a very fun interview episode centered around their beautiful, classic love song, "I'll Still be Loving You." Also in this episode: - 80s Country and Wendy’s - A borrowed riff? - How baseball and mono joined forces to bring Larry Stewart into the mu...

Our excitement for being back together for Season 6 couldn’t be contained in just one episode—we had to bring along Peaches and Herb to explain how we really feel! The soul classic “Reunited” is a delight for friends and lovers everywhere, and we’re super pleased to dig into it and interview Peaches herself! In this episode: - Dino and Freddie trying to corner the Grammy Best Song market! - Our ne...

Season 6 starts with a bang! Neil Diamond, the Jewish Elvis, gives us one of the most iconic singalongs of all time, and yer boys are back to break it down. In this episode: - Neil’s almost-stage-names, the * better*  of which is “Noah Kaminsky” - Red Sox lore and a what-if baseball scenario - Why Neil Diamond took 20 years between talk show appearances, and a piece of disaster audio you CANN...

To give you something to chew on between seasons, we present our dive into the music of classic '80s movie Ernest Goes to Camp! We'll dig into our favorite songs and tidbits, plus: - The actor from the film who turned out to be a total fraud, - How one of us spent a weekend with an onscreen character, and - The CCM supergroup connected to this movie's soundtrack. Plus we'll be announcing the start...

Very special guest Dave Barnes returns to co-host our Season Five Finale! This week we cover Southern Rock’s magnum opus, “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd—aka Bro-hemian Rhapsody. In this episode: -Yeah yeah, southern rock, but…wait, they’re pros! - The tragic plane crash that devastated Skynyrd, and how it almost killed Aerosmith too - The other mega-hit the piano from Freebird was played on - An un...

The penultimate episode of Season Five hits us right in the middle of the feels with one of our all-time favorite songs, and one that couldn't be more relevant for the moment in which we find ourselves. "Show the Way" by David Wilcox is full of hope, and we hope if you aren't yet familiar with him that you'll come to love him through this song and our subsequent interview. Oh by the way, David is...

The happiest, most commercial song of the 2010s is the divisive topic for our 6th installment of Rivalry Week. Rob loves it; JP hates it--it's the absolutely ubiquitous "Best Day of My Life" by American Authors. Grab your banjo and sing along! In this episode: - JP hits Rob with a SERIOUS flurry of knockout blows - The Milennial Whoop!  - The actual best days of our lives - Famous Stutters in rock...

It's Rivalry Week time once again, and this season we kick off with a song JP loves and Rob HATES. It's Edwin McCain's smash ballad, "I'll Be." Let us know who you side with! Join our Facebook group for weekly threads and fun discussions! facebook.com/groups/greatsongpod Twitter/Instagram: @greatsongpod Archives and merch at greatsongpodcast.com.

"All the girls in the world beware!!!" As a happenstance, our episode for the week of Memorial Day in the US brings us a classic from the kings of Assembly-Line Rock, Grand Funk Railroad, and we've got a riveting interview with Grand Funk guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Mark Farner! Also in this episode: - The Mount Rushmore of Dad Bands  - The Shea Stadium record Grand Funk holds over the Bea...

The storyteller's storyteller give us the ultimate song about fathers and sons. Grab your tissues for Harry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle." In this episode: - One of the most charitable artist-activists of all time - The tragic end of Harry’s life - Our list of “dad songs” - Covers by Johnny Cash, Ugly Kid Joe, and…DMC? As always, leave us a review to help the show get in front of more folks, and...

One of our all-time favorite artists and writers, CCM legend Nichole Nordeman, joins us to talk about her life and career. Check out her latest projects at nicholenordeman.com! In this episode: - The Enneagram 9: Feeling, seeing, and writing all sides of the thing - You can always find a more interesting word! - What it’s like to have Prince cover one of your songs As always, leave us a review to...

What can you say about Mariah Carey? She’s one of the most revered and celebrated artists in history, and arguaby the greatest singer of all time. - ‘90s R&B, man.  - Mariah’s embarrasing “Aaron Rodgers at the NFL Draft”  moment” - Feel the beats, lose the meats!    - Y’all know JP was in a Mariah Carey video? - Rob might ruin this song for you.  As always, leave us a review to help the show get i...

Very special guest Dave Barnes returns to co-host this episode on one of the all-time greats from the 1980’s, Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World!” Also in this episode: - Roland Orzabal is not who you think he is! - Dave Barnes, King of the Quick Aside(TM), and a surprising foray into Frozen 2 - The shuffle. The shuffle? THE SHUFFLE. - We play a new game called “Tears OR Fears” -...

Out on bail, fresh out of jail…and that’s just JP!  This week is our love letter to one of the most mind-blowing collaborations of all time…2Pac and Dr. Dre’s “California Love!” In this episode:   - “So much rhyming!”    - What exactly is G-Funk?     - Special appearances by Casey Kasem and Shaq   - J-Flexx Anderson and the world of hip hop ghost-writing   - Tupac auditioned for WHAT movie role??...

It’s one of the great misheard lyrics of all time: “Wrapped up like a douche, another runner in the night.” This week we go straight to the source: Chris Thompson, lead singer of Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, joins us to talk about the song, the weird methodology of Manfred Mann, and yes of course, being the mouthpiece of maybe the most oft-misheard lyric in rock history. -  Chris’s odd audition for...

Canada’s greatest export Nickelback is the topic today, and we can’t wait to talk about the fresh maple syrup that is their legendary track, “Photograph.” In this episode: - Chad Kroeger, the original Tiger King? The lead singer’s obsession with big cats and holding live tigers while he tracks vocals. - Finding inspiration in the grimy places: using a thesaurus and words like “sludge” and “scumbag...

The one and only Diva of Divas, Aretha Franklin, is up to the mic today, with her legendary classic, “Respect.” We’ll talk about Aretha’s history (and her shared birthday with Rob), her music, her writing and arranging chops and of course that inimitable voice! Also in this episode: - Opening acts who topped their headliners - What award SHOULD be named after Aretha Franklin - Songs that spell out...

This week we celebrate one of the literal greatest guitarists and musicians to ever pick up the instrument, not to mention his status as a legendary singer and performer of pop and R&B. The genius and range of George Benson—jazz legend, R&B icon and international sex symbol. Also in this episode: - We guess at the first names of some of the band members because JP messed up the margins  - Writer B...

It's a nice day to start again! This week we talk about Billy Idol's hit "White Wedding," its roots and origin, and overall awesomeness. Plus a special guest interview with Billy's bassist Phil Feit! Also in this episode: - What do British rednecks sound like? - Former Billy Idol bassist Phil Feit tells us about the song, beating out 75 other players to join Billy's band, and about studio and road...

It's the most adorable song of the 1990's on this week's episode! Bob your head and feel the warm hug that is "I Love You Always Forever," a song that is somehow amazing even though its title feels like it was made up by a random song generator that translates from English to Korean and back. In this episode: - We award this song the 1st ever (and highly prestigious) Cal Naughton Jr Memorial Bride...

It’s the perfect intersection of Valentine’s month and Black History Month—Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” is without a doubt one of the greatest love songs ever penned, and Al Green is without a doubt one of the smoothest dudes to ever pick up a mic. Also in this episode: -We play a round of “Who’s the Reverend” - Modern vs Classic Production, and the coolness of not feeling the need to sound bi...

The pop hit that made David Bowie a mainstream star and introduced Stevie Ray Vaughan to the world is our topic this week, and we've put on our red shoes, which are obviously a metaphor for...systemic racism? Oh, wait. I mean, of course. Also in this episode: - The original version of "Twist and Shout" sucks super bad! - Rob does an astonishingly awful job of identifying “cowbell songs” - We tremb...

Happy Valentine's Day! We’re celebrating 100 episodes with a very special in-studio guest: artist and songwriter extraordinaire Dave Barnes! We had the privilege to pick the brain of one of modern Country and Christian music’s most prolific and successful songwriters (Blake Shelton’s #1 smash “God  Gave Me You” is among his bevy of hits, which inludes cuts from Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, a...