Songcraft: Spotlight on Songwriters

Three-time Grammy nominee and pop songwriting powerhouse Justin Tranter joins us to talk about his process and his remarkable lists of hits for Chappell Roan, Fall Out Boy, Imagine Dragons, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, and many others.

PART ONE:
Scott and Paul nerd out on this year's Grammy nominations

PART TWO:
Our in-depth interview with Justin Tranter

ABOUT JUSTIN TRANTER:
Nominated for Songwriter of the Year at the Grammy Awards in 2024, Justin Tranter is one of the most successful writers in pop music. The recognition capped off a ten year streak of success that includes hits such as “Centuries” by Fall Out Boy, the Selena Gomez hits “Good for You,” “Hands to Myself,” and “Lose You to Love Me,” DNCE’s “Cake By the Ocean,” “Sorry” by Justin Bieber, “Close” by Nick Jonas, “Issues” by Julia Michaels, the Imagine Dragons singles “Believer,” “Natural,” and “Enemy,” Maroon 5’s “Cold,” “Bad at Love” by Halsey, and “Good Luck, Babe!” by Chappell Roan, which is nominated for Song of the Year at the upcoming Grammy Awards in 2025. 

Tranter has additionally contributed to singles by artists such as Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Linkin Park, 5 Seconds of Summer, Bebe Rexha, Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, and Miley Cyrus. Others who’ve drawn from the Justin Tranter songbook include Kelly Clarkson, Kacey Musgraves, John Legend, Shakira, Kesha, Christina Aguilera, Tori Kelly, Meghan Trainor, Tom Morello, The Chicks, Billy Porter, and Demi Lovato. In addition to a close songwriting partnership with Julia Michaels, Tranter’s regular collaborators include some of the biggest names in music, such as Cardi B, Sam Smith, Janelle Monae, Leon Bridges, and others. 

Justin’s impressive list of accolades includes multiple GRAMMY and Golden Globe nominations, 16 BMI pop awards, including two consecutive BMI Songwriter of the Year awards, and being named a U.S. Global Music Ambassador as part of the U.S. Department of State and YouTube’s Global Music Partnership alongside Chuck D, Grace Bowers, Kane Brown, Herbie Hancock, Jelly Roll and others. 

Grammy-winning Southern roots rock duo Larkin Poe (sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell) join us to chat about their creative process and their exciting forthcoming album, Bloom. 

PART ONE:
'Tis the season! Scott and Paul chat about the classic Halloween songs. Is it time for a modern day resurgence of spooky music?

PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell, known to the world as duo Larkin Poe

ABOUT LARKIN POE:
Blues-based rock duo Larkin Poe is comprised of multi-instrumentalist sisters Rebecca and Megan Lovell. The Georgia natives began their career as an acoustic trio with their sister Jessica in 2004. That year they appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and won the Prairie Home National Teen Talent Competition. In 2008, the Lovell Sisters’ song “Distance” won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest grand prize in the country genre. That same year, their song “Time to Grow” received honorable mention in the International Songwriting Competition. After an impressive indie career that included two albums, as well as appearances at Bonaroo and the Grand Ole Opry, the Lovell Sisters disbanded. Rebecca and Megan reemerged as a duo pursuing a new sound that was steeped in the electric blues rather than acoustic and bluegrass music. Between 2010 and 2013 they released five indie EPs, two collaborative albums, and a live DVD. They released their debut album as a duo in 2014 and gained attention with the standout track “Don’t.” In 2016 they reissued their debut studio album under the title Reskinned, which included new tracks such as “Trouble in Mind.” With the 2017 album Peach, Megan and Rebecca took the production reigns and continued to build a following. The next year’s Venom & Faith reached #1 on Billboard’s Blues Album chart and earned the sisters their first Grammy nomination. Their sixth studio album, Blood Harmony, garnered another Grammy nomination, which resulted in their first Grammy win in 2024. Larkin Poe’s latest album is called Bloom and is set for release in January of 2025.

Storytelling folk troubadour and songwriter's songwriter David Wilcox dives deep on his creative process.

PART ONE:
Paul and Scott pay tribute to the late Kris Kristofferson and Hugh Prestwood before diving in to a cringey lyrical trend that they're happy to see fade into history. 

PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with David Wilcox

ABOUT DAVID WILCOX:
Emerging from the Asheville, North Carolina progressive folk scene in the late 1980s, David Wilcox signed with A&M Records and carved out a reputation as an insightful, sensitive, and often funny singer-songwriter and storyteller. His first album for the label, How Did You Find Me Here, sold over 100,000 copies on word of mouth alone. Often compared to James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake, Wilcox went on to build a dedicated following and establish himself as a songwriter’s songwriter. In 2008 he was honored, alongside Bob Dylan, with Acoustic Guitar magazine’s silver award in the singer-songwriter category. The San Francisco Chronicle called him the “darling of contemporary singer-songwriter folk” while Rolling Stone wrote that he “uses extended metaphors and beautifully detailed imagery in lyrics that are far more compassionate and philosophic than self-absorbed.” David has now released more than 20 albums. His most recent is My Good Friends, an acoustic collection that he describes as a fan-requested respite while he works on a new full band album.

From Miley's "Wrecking Ball" to The Weeknd's "Earned It" to his own successful instrumental albums, Oscar and Grammy nominated songwriter, composer and producer Stephan Moccio gives opens up on his creative process. 

PART ONE
Paul and Scott share some of your submissions for favorite lyric lines, as well as lyrics that bug you from songs you otherwise love. In addition, they pay tribute to past Songcraft guests JD Souther and Billy Edd Wheeler, who both recently passed away. 

PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Stephan Moccio.  

ABOUT STEPHAN MOCCIO
Stephan Moccio is an Oscar-nominated composer and a three-time Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer. His breakthrough came when fellow Canadian Celine Dion’s recording of “A New Day Has Come” made history by topping the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for 21 weeks. He went on to release Exposure, his first solo album as an artist, which hit the Canadian Top 10 and was certified Gold. Since then, Moccio has balanced his creative efforts between releasing his own projects and working behind the scenes writing for other artists. 

Highlights of Stephan’s career include co-writing “I Believe” for the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010 and co-writing and co-producing Miley Cyrus’s multiplatinum international hit “Wrecking Ball.” Additionally, he collaborated with The Weeknd on “Earned It,” the end-credits song for Fifty Shades of Gray, which earned the rare RIAA Diamond certification and was nominated for an Academy Award. 

Stephan has also written songs for Andrea Bocelli, Avril Lavigne, Dua Lipa, James Blunt, Seal, and many more, notching seven Billboard Hot 100 hits and tallying 5 billion streams and counting. Among his solo material, 2020’s Tales of Solace yielded the single “Fracture,” what has generated over 100 million streams on Spotify. His latest release is Legends, Myths and Lavender, which was composed and recorded on the spot in the South of France. 
 

Electronic music pioneer Howard Jones joins us to talk about everything from classic hits such as "Things Can Only Get Better" and "No One is to Blame" to his recent live album, Live at the O2. 

PART ONE
Paul and Scott remind our listeners to send in their favorite lyric line, as well as their least favorite lines from songs they otherwise love. Then Richard Evans joins us to talk about his book Listening to the Music the Machines Make. 

PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Howard Jones

ABOUT HOWARD JONES
Electronic music pioneer Howard Jones first exploded on the scene in 1983 with his synthesizer-led UK Top 5 pop hit “New Song.” His debut album, Human’s Lib, reached #1 in 1984 in the UK and featured the hits “New Song” and “What Is Love?” In 1985, Howard released the follow-up, Dream Into Action, which became a Top Ten Platinum album in the US and featured the smash hits “Things Can Only Get Better,” “Life In One Day,” “No One Is To Blame,” and “Like To Get To Know You Well.” Other highlights from subsequent albums include “You Know I Love You…Don’t You?” which hit the Top 20, as well as the US hit “Everlasting Love.”  

To date, Howard Jones has sold over 10 million albums and continues to make new music and tour the world. His hits can be heard in high-profile television series and films such as “Stranger Things,” “Breaking Bad,” “Watchmen,” “The Carrie Diaries,” “Superstore” and “Bumblebee”. His most recent studio album is Dialogue, which was released in September, 2022, completing a trilogy of electronic releases that also includes the multimedia project Engage from 2015 and the studio album Transform from 2019. In August he released Live at the O2, which was recorded earlier this year at the famed London arena.

Shelby Lynne is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her landmark classic album I Am Shelby Lynne, which won her a Grammy award for Best New Artist. We recently sat down with Shelby to discuss the evolution of her songwriting, from her early days in Nashville to her recent genre-defying "comeback" album Consequences of the Crown. 

PART ONE
Scott and Paul talk about their favorite single lyrical lines, lyrics that bug them from songs they otherwise like, and quibble over one of Kris Kristofferson's best-known lines. Plus, they call on listeners to submit their own choices for discussion on an upcoming episode. 

PART TWO
Our in-depth interview with Shelby Lynne

ABOUT SHELBY LYNNE
Shelby Lynne won the Grammy award for Best New Artist in the wake of her genre-bending and critically-acclaimed 1999 album, I Am Shelby Lynne. But it was actually her sixth studio album on an artistic path that took time to unfold. Lynne and her sister, fellow artist Allison Moorer, grew up surrounded by country music. As detailed in Moorer’s gripping memoir, Blood, they were also surrounded by violence and trauma. Both found escape through music, with Lynne signing her first recording contract at the age of 19. Initially working with legendary producer Billy Sherrill, best known for his albums with Tammy Wynette and George Jones, Shelby released a series of albums from Nashville in the late ‘80s through the mid-‘90s. She won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist Award in 1991, and was nominated for the ACM’s Top Vocal Duo of the Year honor with Faith Hill in 1996. Without any major hit singles, however, Shelby eventually took a break from recording. 

After moving to Palm Springs, California, and partnering with producer Bill Botrell in 1998, she changed direction and found new footing as an uncategorizable artist committed to artistic integrity. The result, I Am Shelby Lynne, has recently been re-released in a 25th Anniversary edition. Follow-up albums Love, Shelby, Identity Crisis, Suit Yourself, and the Dusty Springfield tribute Just a Little Lovin’ were well-received precursors to Lynne launching her own record label. Her subsequent albums Tears, Lies and Alibis, Merry Christmas, Revelation Road, and I Can’t Imagine all reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s Americana/Folk chart, as did her 2017 collaborative album with sister Allison Moorer. Shelby has recently returned to Nashville and has collaborated with Ashley Monroe, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, and others to create her seventeenth album, an unflinchingly honest exploration of heartbreak, called Consequences of the Crown. 

Three-time Grammy nominee Tayla Parx talks about her artist career and her role as a behind-the-scenes songwriter who has crafted huge hits for Ariana Grande, Panic! At the Disco, Dan + Shay, and many others. 

PART ONE:
Is Dave Grohl this generation's Phil Collins? 

PART TWO:
Our in-depth interview with Tayla Parx

ABOUT TAYLA PARX:
Three-time Grammy nominee Tayla Parx is both a highly regarded artist and a successful behind-the-scenes songwriter. In 2019 she won Billboard’s “Hitmaker” award, recognizing her as the first female songwriter since 2014 to have three simultaneous Top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Her hits for other artists include Panic! At the Disco’s “High Hopes,” “Love Lies” by Khalid and Normani, Dan + Shay’s country chart topper “Glad You Exist,” and the Ariana Grande hits “thank u next,” “7 rings,” and “34+35.” She has contributed to songs by Danity Kane, Fifth Harmony, Jennifer Lopez, Keyshia Cole, Mariah Carey, Jason Derulo, Chris Brown, Pentatonix, JoJo, Alicia Keys, Meghan Trainor, Demi Lovato, Fergie, Big Boi, Christinia Aguilera, Janelle Monae, Anderson .Paak, Kesha, Megan Thee Stallion, John Legend, Dua Lipa, and many others. Her songs have amassed over 15 billion streams on Spotify and have appeared on Billboard’s pop, hip hop, R&B, Latin, and country charts, where she became the fourth Black woman in history to write a #1 country song.

Born in Dallas, Parx’s family relocated to Los Angeles where she studied at Debbie Allen’s Dance Academy. Impressed with her talent, Allen encouraged Tayla to pursue acting. Her breakthrough role came with her portrayal of Little Inez Stubbs in the 2007 remake of Hairspray, and she went on to appear on several Nickelodeon shows before signing her first songwriting deal at the age of 19. As a solo artist Tayla has released three full-length albums, an EP, and a mixtape. Her most recent album is called Many Moons, Many Suns. 

Two-time Grammy nominated duo The Secret Sisters (Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle) join us to chat about their development as songwriters and reaching new creative heights with their latest album. 

PART ONE:
Scott and Paul chat about Scott's recent trip to see Norah Jones and Lake Street Dive perform at Red Rocks and discuss the ways concerts have changed in recent years. Plus, they take an opportunity to gripe about the changes coming to Southwest Airlines. What does that have to do with anything? Nothing, but I guess they're the ones with the microphones! 

PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle of The Secret Sisters

ABOUT THE SECRET SISTERS:
Two-time Grammy nominees Laura Rogers and Lydia Rogers Slagle, known as The Secret Sisters, are Alabama-born siblings who released their self-titled debut album on Universal Republic Records in 2010. Produced by Dave Cobb, the album featured primarily traditional songs and country music covers alongside two originals. The follow-up, Put Your Needle Down, was produced by T-Bone Burnett and found the sisters contributing more original material, including collaborations with Brandi Carlile and Dan Wilson. Both albums reached the Top 10 on Billboard’s folk chart. Their next two releases—You Don’t Own Me Anymore and Saturn Return—were co-produced by Brandi Carlile, and each earned a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album. Their fifth, and most recent, studio album is called Mind, Man, Medicine and finds the sisters co-producing for the first time, alongside Ben Tanner and John Paul White, who is best known as half of the duo The Civil Wars. The album was recorded in their hometown of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, primarily at the legendary FAME Studios. 

GRAMMY-winning producer, artist, and songwriter Charlie Peacock defies categorization. Paul chats with him about everything from his early days on the Norther California jazz scene, to writing hits for the Christian music world, to producing everyone from the Civil Wars to Switchfoot. 

PART ONE:
Scott and Paul talk about aging, the Rolling Stones concert Scott just saw, the centrality of energetic drummers, and other fun stuff. 

PART TWO:
Our in-depth conversation with Charlie Peacock

ABOUT CHARLIE PEACOCK

From jazz to pop to rock to country, gospel, and Americana, Charlie Peacock is a Grammy-winning producer, artist, and songwriter who defies categorization. In addition to his own wide-ranging work as a recording artist, he has written well-known songs such “Every Heartbeat,” which was a major pop hit for Amy Grant, and “In the Light,” which is best known for the version recorded by DC Talk. He’s responsible for developing and producing the Grammy Award-winning duo The Civil Wars and the Modern Rock band Switchfoot, including their multi-platinum Top 40 pop hit “Dare You to Move.” 

Peacock launched his career as an artist on the Northern California jazz scene before recording his debut album, Lie Down in the Grass, which was released by A&M Records in the mid-1980s. After a stint with Island Records, he moved to Nashville to work as an artist and producer. His 1990 album, The Secret of Time, earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Rock/Contemporary Gospel Album. In that decade, he produced nearly 50 albums for other artists, and was named the Gospel Music Association’s Producer of the Year for three consecutive years.

The long list of artists he has produced includes Nicole Nordeman, David Crowder, Holly Williams, The Lone Bellow, Al Green, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. He has produced a wide range of music for film and television, including the Mandy Moore film A Walk To Remember, Chris Cornell's "Misery Chain" from the soundtrack of Twelve Years a Slave, and "Hush," the title theme to the AMC drama Turn: Washington's Spies, featuring Joy Williams and Matt Berninger of The National.

As an artist, he returned to jazz with the Love Press Ex-Curio album in 2005 before embracing vocal music once again with his 2012 album No Man’s Land. In late 2015, Peacock was appointed the Director of Contemporary Music and Industry Outreach at Lipscomb University's College of Arts and Entertainment in Nashville. An author of several books, his forthcoming memoir will explore his musical life, while  his latest album as an artist, Every Kind of Uh-Oh, will be released at the end of August. 
 

Acclaimed genre-crossing songwriter and interpreter Madeleine Peyroux takes stock of her songwriting over the years and shares insights into the creation of her latest album. 

PART ONE
Paul and Scott talk music books, the value of recording, and whether or not performers should stick to a strict or loose interpretation of a song when performing live. 

PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Madeleine Peyroux

ABOUT MADELEINE PEYROUX
Madeleine Peyroux moved to Paris with her mother at the age of 12 and began singing with street musicians while still a teenager. She eventually joined the Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band, with whom she toured Europe. After being discovered by Atlantic Records she released her debut album, Dreamland, in 1996. Madeleine's commercial breakthrough came with the Gold-selling album Careless Love in 2004 and it’s single, the self-penned “Don’t Wait Too Long,” which was released by Rounder Records and topped the jazz charts. The follow-up album, Half the Perfect World, hit the Top 40 on Billboard’s US album chart. Her 2009 album, Bare Bones, was the first to feature all original material. She moved to Decca Records for the Standing on the Rooftop album in 2011 and has since released four additional studio albums. Her latest effort, Let’s Walk, features all original material and continues to showcase her masterful blending of jazz, blues, folk, pop, and more.