Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Today we are revisiting one of our favorite early episodes of Broken Record with the legendary producer, Nile Rodgers. Over the course of his five decade-long career, Nile Rodgers has performed on, written, and produced some of the greatest dance songs of all time, including Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out,” Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky,” and Madonna’s “Like A Virgin.”

Back in Fall of 2018, Nile met up with Bruce Headlam at the same New York City recording studio where 35 years earlier, Nile recorded the Let’s Dance album with David Bowie. This time around, Nile brought his famed disco funk band Chic to the interview to perform live renditions of their classic hits including, “Le Freak,” “Good Times,” and “Everybody Dance.” So all the music you will hear in today’s episode was recorded live, just for us.

In between performances, Nile shares exhilarating stories from his life, including how he found salvation as a young jazz guitarist whose teenage mom struggled with heroin addiction. Nile also talks about the night he played old James Brown tunes with Prince and Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood at a small club in London. And he explains what it was like going clubbing with Madonna as her star was starting to explode in the mid-’80s.

You can listen to a playlist of some of our favorite songs produced by Nile Rodgers HERE.

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Kaytranada’s futuristic, soulful disco sound is suddenly everywhere—including on his new hit song “Twin Flame” with Anderson .Paak. The Haitian-Canadian DJ/producer got his start as a teenager by uploading J. Dilla and Flying Lotus-inspired beats to SoundCloud. In 2012 his edit of Janet Jackson’s “If” exploded and became a massive viral hit. In the 10 years since, Kaytranada has remixed dozens of records and released two studio albums, including the Grammy award-winning Bubba.

On today’s episode Rick Rubin and Kaytranada sit down to talk about how using technology unconventionally can lead to creating an entirely new sound. Kaytra also explains the anxiety he felt as an up-and-coming hip-hop producer who could never quite connect with an MPC drum machine. And he talks about what it’s like rocking stadiums as the opening DJ on the Weeknd’s worldwide tour.

You can listen a playlist of our favorite Kaytranada songs here.

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Today we are featuring a chat with two members of the Nashville-based string band, Old Crow Medicine Show—lead singer Ketch Secor and drummer Jerry Pentecost. Since forming in 1998, Old Crow has helped preserve folk and blues songs that often pre-date World War II. Old Crow has also released a number of their own songs, and in the folk tradition, put their own spin on their favorite artists’ tunes. Their most successful song to date, the platinum-certified “Wagon Wheel,” was written around a Bob Dylan chorus Ketch heard on an old Dylan bootleg.

On today’s episode Bruce Headlam talks to Ketch Secor and Jerry Pentecost about Old Crow’s latest album, Paint This Town. They share  how they’re raising awareness around the major contributions black musicians like Ray Charles and DeFord Bailey have made to country music. And then Ketch recalls Old Crow’s early days when they went through what he calls “hillbilly bootcamp” learning how to make whiskey, farm tobacco, and shoot groundhogs.

Listen to a playlist of some of our favorite Old Crow Medicine Show songs HERE.

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Today we are featuring a conversation with the world’s preeminent banjo player, Béla Fleck. Over the course of his four-decade career, Béla has won numerous Grammys in a variety of surprising genres including Jazz, Latin, Pop, and Classical. Last year, his latest release, My Bluegrass Heart, scored the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album.

In addition to Béla’s innovative style and expert technique, he is also an advocate for keeping the banjo’s rich historical tradition alive. In 2008, Béla made a pilgrimage to Africa to trace the origins of the banjo in the documentary Throw Down Your Heart.

On today’s episode Bruce Headlam talks to Béla Fleck about growing up in New York City where he first fell in love with the banjo while watching the Beverly Hillbillies. Béla also talks about how jazz giants like Chick Corea and Charlie Parker influenced his highly technical style. And, Béla explains why he believes the banjo is far superior to the guitar.

Listen a playlist of some of our favorite Béla Fleck songs HERE.

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Nilüfer Yanya is a 27-year-old singer/songwriter from West London. After several years of hitting small stages with her guitar, Nilüfer broke through in 2016 with a series of soulful, indie-pop EPs and singles. Justin Richmond spoke with Nilüfer in April, just after her performance at Coachella, about the release of her second album, PAINLESS. The album’s tracks are laden with electronic drums and raucous guitar. They play like a diary entry, wrenched with heartbreak, loss, and hope.

On today’s episode Nilüfer talks about the collaborative songwriting process she has with her producer, Will Archer and friend, saxophonist, Jazzi Bobbi. She also recalls how she wrote her first songs as a 10-year-old, and how she always dreamed of being a guitarist in a band, rather than a solo act.

Hear a playlist of all of our favorite Nilüfer Yanya songs HERE.

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Swedish-born singer Neneh Cherry’s four-decade-long career has ricocheted between a number of genres including hip-hop, jazz, and trip-hop. Her first single in 1988, “Buffalo Stance,” cemented her standing as a no-nonsense Black feminist voice in contemporary urban music. This year Neneh released her sixth album, “The Versions.” It’s a collection of cover songs of some of Cherry’s biggest hits, and is performed exclusively by female artists including Robyn, Sia, and Neneh’s daughter Tyson.

On today’s episode Bruce Headlam talks to Neneh Cherry about her bohemian upbringing in Sweden, New York and London with stepdad Don Cherry, the famous jazz trumpet player. Neneh also recalls how she first met The Slits, the legendary all-girl punk group. And why despite scoring her first big hit with a cheeky rap verse, she never considered herself a real MC.

Hear a playlist of all of our favorite Neneh Cherry songs HERE.

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Today on the show, we're welcoming Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter, Lyle Lovett. Lovett follows in the footsteps of Texas troubadours like Guy Clark, Walter Hyatt, and Townes Van Zandt.

In 1986, Lovett helped lay the foundation for the alternative country and Americana movements with his debut, self-titled album. Since then, he has continued to light up country music with a rich blend of country, big band, blues, folk, and jazz. All of those sounds are on display in 12th of June—his first new album in a decade.

On today’s episode Lovett speaks to Bruce Headlam about his new album, a project rooted in home and family, which makes sense considering at 64 years-old, he's a new dad to twins. Lovett also shares stories of his early days playing gigs around Texas A&M.

Hear a playlist of all of our favorite Lyle Lovett songs HERE.

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Today we have a fun follow-up to last week’s episode with Johnny Echols from the band Love. This week we’ll hear Rick interview the last two living members of The Doors—guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore—about coming up in the LA rock scene alongside the band Love, who The Doors idolized and then later eclipsed.

The Doors formed in 1965 and burned white-hot, releasing six albums in five years, until the death of their larger than life lead singer, Jim Morrison. In their brief time as a band, The Doors quickly became one of the biggest acts of the late 60s. Their anti flower-power appeal was accentuated by Jim Morrison’s heavy, brooding lyrics, and keyboardist Ray Manzarek’s frenzied organ licks.

On today’s episode Rick Rubin talks to Robby Krieger and John Densmore about their tumultuous history with Jim Morrison—who John refers to as a “Kamikaze drunk.” Both Robbie and John recall LSD-fueled stories from their early gigs with The Doors. And the role Acapulco Gold played in Jim Morrison’s songwriting process.

Hear a playlist of all of our favorite Doors songs HERE.

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Today we’re closing out Black Music Month by celebrating one of Rick Rubin’s favorite albums of all time—Forever Changes by the band Love. Formed in 1965, Love was a groundbreaking, interracial L.A. group. While their name isn’t usually mentioned alongside historic psychedelic bands like The Byrds or The Grateful Dead, Love’s influence is vast. Their charismatic, fashion-forward black frontman, Arthur Lee, inspired Jimi Hendrix’s look, and in the mid-60s Love was one of the hottest bands in Hollywood.

In 1967 Love recorded their third album, Forever Changes. It was the last album for the original core group with guitarist Johnny Echols and co-writer Brian McClean. The album ushered in an entirely new sound for the band, combining Baroque sounding strings with horns and folky instrumentation with poetic lyrics.

On today’s episode we’ll hear some of Rick Rubin’s conversation with Detroit rapper Danny Brown, who like Rick, places Love’s album Forever Changes at the very top of his greatest albums of all time list. Then, we’ll hear Rick in conversation with Love’s lead guitarist Johnny Echols about the intense turmoil surrounding the recording of Forever Changes. Echols—who grew up straddling both Black LA and the psychedelic strip—explains how Love was responsible for getting The Doors their record deal, only to be quickly overshadowed by The Doors mainstream success. Echols also recalls first meeting the Beatles when they were an opening act for Little Richard.

Check out our playlist for this episode here!

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Today we’re continuing our celebration of Black Music Month with the incredible jazz legend, Sonny Rollins. Rollins is an American tenor saxophonist and composer who is widely regarded as one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. Sadly, now at 91 years-old, Rollins no longer plays as a result of pulmonary fibrosis. Fortunately for us though, he's able to look back over an eight-decade career that started at the beginnings of Bebop, and included playing with the Rolling Stones, and performing on stages all over the world.

On today’s episode, Justin Richmond talks to Sonny Rollins about one of his first big gigs in 1949 playing alongside other jazz icons like Bud Powell and Fats Navarro. He also explains why he no longer actively listens to music, and for the first time ever, Rollins talks about how Charlie “Bird” Parker is the reason he kicked drugs.

Subscribe to Broken Record’s YouTube channel to hear all of our interviews: https://www.youtube.com/brokenrecordpodcast and follow us on Twitter @BrokenRecord.

You can also check out past episodes here: https://brokenrecordpodcast.com.

Hear over nine hours of our favorite Sonny Rollins-featured songs HERE.

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