The Paul Leslie Hour

On this episode of The Paul Leslie Hour, we're in the presence of a legend. For 50 years, Charlie McCoy has worked as a session player. He's in great demand. In addition to his 41 solo albums, he's done more than 12,000 recording sessions. Charlie McCoy has worked with Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel as well as countless country artists. A harmonica player, guitarist,...

Singer-songwriter, recording artist Gary Morris was born on December 7, 1948. Today is his birthday! Morris has had more than two dozen chart singles, including the 1983 Top 10 song, "Wind Beneath My Wings." Most of his work could be classified as country, but he's also had a serious acting career. He played Jean Valjean in a Broadway production of Les Misérables as well as a production of Puccini...

The acclaimed jazz and pop vocalist Gabrielle Stravelli joins Paul to talk about her first major album of distinctive original songs "Dream Ago" produced by David Cook. Called an "outstanding singer" by the Wall Street Journal and "hotter than the equator" by The Village Voice, Gabrielle Stravelli is an emerging sensation in New York's jazz and supper clubs, who is gathering recognition and a foll...

Bill Anderson is known in the world of country music for his unprecedented body of work including 40 studio albums, along with seven no.1 singles. Sometimes known as Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, has been awarded Songwriter of the Year 6 times, has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for more than 50 years and is an inductee in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Also unprecedented is the fact that Bill A...

Dub Cornett and Victoria Lily Shaffer are the producers of the new unscripted comedy show "Bill & Brian Doyle-Murray's Extra Innings," with a new episode every Monday exclusively on Facebook Watch. Viewers get to see brothers Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray interacting with the fans and players of minor league teams at games across the country. Behind the scenes, the producers of "Extra Inn...

Elizabeth Cook had an incredible concert in Atlanta at the Variety Playhouse and the very next day she comes in for a face-to-face interview on The Paul Leslie Hour. Cook is one of the preeminent country music singer-songwriters. We talk about plenty in this episode: her Florida roots, hundreds of appearances on the Grand Ole Opry, friendship with David Letterman and the importance of honesty. Sup...

Charlie Daniels is a certifiable legend in music. Last year he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and this year he's released a book about his life. Entitled "Never Look at the Empty Seats: A Memoir," the Grammy award-winning Charlie Daniels who has sold more than twenty million albums and is known for such songs as "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" is as down to earth as they come. I...

Jillian Cardarelli is a singer-songwriter from Boston, Massachusetts who went to Nashville to pursue her dream of being a country music singer-songwriter. In a short time, her work ethic and talent has allowed her to share the stage with the classic and contemporary singers of country music. Rolling Stone put her in the list of the 10 New Country Artists you need to know. Whether in the recording...

This interview with Travis Turk was recorded on April 17, 2017. It was held onto to await the release of the Jimmy Buffett collection "Buried Treasure." It may strike you what a voice Travis Turk has. It's probably not a surprise that he has had so much success as a voice over talent. In fact, sound has played a very big part in his life. He's worked as a radio disc jockey, an audio engineer and w...

How important is it to have fun? If you’re Mike Veeck, the special guest on this episode of The Paul Leslie Hour, it’s one of the most important things in the world. Mike Veeck applies fun to everything he does. He’s a speaker, enterepeneur, college professor, minor league baseball team owner, restauranteur and all around idea-man. His first book entitled “Fun is Good” tells how the philosophy of...

The guest on this episode of The Paul Leslie Hour, is Vanessa Perez, a classical pianist, performing and recording artist, born in the United States, but raised in Venezuela. Perez has released critically acclaimed records and performed internationally. In this interview, she takes us into her world, a life of passion and art. Recently, Vanessa Perez has embarked on a new live performance project...

We want you to meet a cellist named Jan Vogler, his classical music foundation, infectious passion and ability at his instrument are some of the reasons he is seen and heard performing with the most celebrated conductors and orchestras around the world. In addition to performing the cello in concert, the German born Jan Vogler is fruitful as a recording artist on SONY records, with many releases a...

Melora Hardin is an actor, singer and director known to many for playing the character "Jan Levinson" on the hit sitcom "The Office," but her artistic experience is expansive! She's graced the television and film screen as well as the stage. Acting, dancing and directing are just a few of her talents. Then, there's her musical side. A singer-songwriter, she's a concert performer and a recording ar...

Shozan Jack Haubner is the pen name of a Zen monk who wrote the book Single White Monk: Tales of Death, Failure, and Bad Sex as well as Zen Confidential . He joins us on The Paul Leslie Hour to talk about the dual interests of writing and the practice of Zen. Many topics are discussed, including misconceptions about Buddhist monks and the positives of being "a nobody." Support The Paul Leslie Hour...

Larry Bastian has lived a storied life. Farming, being a cowboy, working as a biologist are all a part of the tale. His family had farmed the San Joaquin Valley in California since the late 1800s. Larry Bastian is known for his songs. Legendary recording artists like George Jones, Buck Owens, Tammy Wynette, and Conway Twitty have recorded his songs. Bastian is heavily associated with Garth Brooks...

Bruce Cockburn is a prolific Canadian singer-songwriter and recording artist with more than 300 songs in his catalog. His songs have been recorded by the likes of Dan Fogelberg, the Jerry Garcia Band, Barenaked Ladies, Ani DiFranco, Jimmy Buffett, k.d. lang and many others. This interview discussed many things including his most recent 33rd album "Bone on Bone." Support The Paul Leslie Hour by con...

Hey. It's Me. A great singer cannot be limited to a singular style, like jazz or country. Singer, recording artist and actress Renee Olstead is an example of this. Known by many for nostalgic interpretations of American Songbook standards, the Texas-born Olstead is exploring the emotional sounds of country music. Her latest single "Help Me Make It Through the Night" is generating considerable exci...

Barbara Gaines, the longtime Executive Producer of David Letterman's late night show checks in and gives an honest and compelling behind the scenes look at the wildly popular comedy/talk show. We talk about her background, the predecessor to "Late Night with David Letterman": the morning show "The David Letterman Show." We're joined by a very special surprise guest who adds incredible insight. Sup...

Nashville singer-songwriter Amanda Colleen Williams is inspiring and for the first time ever tells her entire story. A compelling performing and recording artist in her own right, her songs have also been recorded by the likes of Garth Brooks and George Jones. Support The Paul Leslie Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-paul-leslie-hour

Fats Domino was on my mind all day. The legendary Fats Domino passed away yesterday at 89 years old. He sold more than 70 million records and is credited as being one of the founding fathers of Rock 'n Roll. This interview from 2009 showed him to be a simple and down home kind of guy. He liked to play his piano and cook. Here is my interview and recollections of meeting Fats Domino in person at hi...

Bill Scheft has written jokes for some of the most well known people: Actors, Comedians, and even a United States President. He's written several novels including: The Ringer, Time Won't Let Me, Everything Hurts and Shrink Thyself. Bill Scheft was a writer for David Letterman from 1991 to 2015. Support The Paul Leslie Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-paul-le...

Author Lawrence Grobel is interviewed about his life as a journalist who has spoken in-depth with people like Al Pacino, Marlon Brando and Barbra Streisand. Support The Paul Leslie Hour by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-paul-leslie-hour

For lovers of traditional country music (that’s me) it just doesn’t get any better than Charley Pride. I recall taking a friend of mine to see Charley Pride in concert and at one point looking over and seeing tears of joy streaming down his face. That’s not an exaggeration, but as Pride says in this interview he’s “in the business of feelings, lyrics and emotions.” If that’s what Charley Pride is...

Natalie Goldberg is the author of many books, the most recent being The Great Spring: Writing, Zen and This Zig Zag Life . She is most known for her book Writing Down the Bones , which changed the way we look at writing. The book sold more than a million copies and has been translated into 14 languages. Her recent book The Great Spring: Writing, Zen and This Zig Zag Life is a collection of short e...

Delaney Buffett and Katie Corwin are the filmmakers behind Coffin Watson Pictures, creators of the web comedy series "City of Angles" as well as the short documentary film "The Spring" about actors who play mermaids at a tourist attraction in Central Florida.