1976 Archives – How Good It Is

Ladies and Gentlemen, the queen of them all. Pattie Boyd was the inspiration for a huge number of songs. Some of them went to the top of the charts, some of them weren’t released as singles, but nearly all of the songs about her are well-known, and not just because they’re about her; because they’re … Continue reading "179: Influential Women, Pt. 4–Pattie Boyd" The po...

This is an episode I wrote in the Southern Studio, so I may  have been in a better mood than usual to write it than I ordinarily am, given  the subject matter. When Blue Öyster Cult first got together, they were a college band from Stony Brook, New York. That’s not far from where I … Continue reading "174: Don’t Fear the Reaper" The post 174: Don’t Fear the Reaper appeared...

Don’t forget to leave a review on Podchaser so they’ll send some money to Wheels on Meals America through the #Reviews4Good program. Or, The Episode Where I Can’t Speak Welsh. There’s an old Doonesbury strip (Aug 1977) where rock star Jimmy Thudpucker is sitting on Bob Dylan’s porch, chatting with Dylan (who appears as a … Continue reading "112–Rhiannon" T...

Last week’s show was short, time-wise, and I promised I’d make up for it. And make up, I did, because this is one of my longer non-interview shows, clocking in at 20:30. If you listen to this show during your morning commute, you may have to circle the block a few times before going in … Continue reading "Episode 108–Books on Vinyl" The post Episode 108–Books on Vinyl...

In November of 1975, an ore freighter broke apart and went down very suddenly in a storm on Lake Superior. Singer Gordon Lightfoot thought that the story wasn’t getting enough attention and gathered some news clippings together, then used that material to write a song about the event. The song was recorded within just a … Continue reading "Episode 31–The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzg...

In the mid 1970s, George Harrison was having a rough time of it. He was still embroiled in the lawsuit over “My Sweet Lord”, he was tangled up in other legal issues caused by his breakup with his business manager, his album Extra Texture had taken a beating by the critics, and to top it … Continue reading "Episode 6: This Song by George Harrison" The post Episode 6: This Song by...