Lost Notes: Groupies

An audio folk story examining the tradition of Black watermelon long-haulers, who drive to farms in the South for watermelon and sell them in Black neighborhoods around the US.

KCRW’s acclaimed music documentary podcast, Lost Notes, returns for its fourth season. Co-hosts Novena Carmel (KCRW) and Michael Barnes (KCRW / KPFK / Artform Radio) guide you through eight wildly different and deeply human stories, each set against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of LA’s soul and R&B scene of the 1950s-1970s. Support KCRW’s original programming like Lost Notes by donating or becoming a member.

This season of Lost Notes kicked off with the story of “Tainted Love” – and, more specifically, the story of its original singer, Gloria Jones. Despite a fascinating and wide-ranging career that stretched over decades, Gloria largely suffered the indignity of being a one-hit wonder who never even enjoyed having that one hit for herself. But as anyone who heard our episode knows, Gloria Jones was responsible for so much amazing music … with a life story to match.

Now, we conclude our season by hearing it all from Gloria herself, from the original recording of “Tainted Love” to her songwriting career at Motown and her life with Marc Bolan of T. Rex – as well as the 60th anniversary of that legendary and iconic song. Gloria sat down with Michael Barnes at KCRW in July of 2024.

KCRW’s relationship with Fela Kuti goes back to 1980, when KCRW’s Tom Schnabel and Roger Steffens were connected with the mighty Afrobeat innovator while he was still imprisoned in Nigeria. Six years later, once Fela was free and clear to tour internationally, he came to Los Angeles and visited KCRW in person, again with Tom Schnabel.

The connective tissue between these two events is Sandra Izsadore, who returned to KCRW for the first time in decades to talk with Lost Notes co-host Michael Barnes about meeting Fela in LA in 1969, and her essential role in the creation of the Afrobeat genre. It’s safe to say that without Sandra, there would have been no Fela as we came to know him soon thereafter. And that’s no exaggeration.

KCRW’s acclaimed music documentary podcast, Lost Notes, returns for its fourth season. Co-hosts Novena Carmel (KCRW) and Michael Barnes (KCRW / KPFK / Artform Radio) guide you through eight wildly different and deeply human stories, each set against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of LA’s soul and R&B scene of the 1950s-1970s. Support KCRW’s original programming like Lost Notes by donating or becoming a member.

On Wednesday, July 17, Lost Notes welcomed the legendary Larry Mizell to KCRW’s Annenberg Performance Studio for an incredible evening of stories and music about his pioneering work with his brother Fonce in 1970s Los Angeles.

Anyone who’s been keeping up with the show will already know about the Mizell Brothers  … but if you’re new to the family, we encourage you to stop right now and back up to our episode on Larry and Fonce Mizell from earlier in the season.

The Mizells’ story is so rich and amazing that it deserves to be heard from the very beginning. And if you know their story, then this week’s episode is going to be extra-special. Today we bring you our live, in-person conversation with a man who, along with his brothers, helped create the sound of Los Angeles in the 1970s: Mr. Larry Mizell.

While we're off this week, we want to introduce you to a new show made by our pals over at Maximum Fun. It’s called Primer – and it’s all about exploring music from outside the English-speaking world. This season is all about Japanese City Pop and features artists like Tatsuro Yamashita, Hiroshi Sato, Taeko Onuki, Haruomi Hosono, Mariya Takeuchi. We'll catch you back here for more Lost Notes in July.

Lost Notes brings you behind-the-scenes conversations with Nia Andrews and Terrace Martin about the legendary Reggie Andrews.

Lost Notes examines the legacy of Reggie Andrews, a world-class musician, producer, and mentor who changed the lives of countless young musicians in South LA.

Andrews spent more than four decades in the LAUSD school system, teaching and mentoring generations of notable musicians: Kamasi Washington, Terrace Martin, Cameron Graves, Ronald Bruner Jr. and his brother Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner, Patrice Rushen, Gerald Albright, Ndugu Chancler, Rickey Minor, The Pharcyde, Syd from the Internet, Tyrese Gibson, and hundreds more – taking them from South LA to the Hollywood Bowl stage and far beyond.

Lost Notes celebrates the life of Ruth Dolphin, who went from being a terrified widow with four kids to the mother of an LA musical empire.

Lost Notes presents a story about Soul Train, the Slauson Shuffle, and what’s lost – and found – when a regional dance suddenly belongs to the world.

Lost Notes introduces a pair of brothers - one from NASA, the other from Motown - who launched an entire musical universe from their Hollywood Hills hideout.