Song Chronicles

Episode 9

Al Schmitt
Part 2

 

Song Chronicles is proud to present the second of a two-part interview with Al Schmitt. This episode, done via Zoom on August 7, took place three days after the first interview after Al emailed to say that he had some additional stories and memories he wanted to share. It’s a testament to his generosity and work ethic that Al would take the time to follow-up because he wanted to make this interview even more special even after a great first interview – which is a fascinating conversation on its own.

 

Al Schmitt has spent his 70-some year career making things better. The universally revered engineer and producer has received awards with the most notable all-time Grammy winners – and the top among engineers - as well as receiving the honored prestigious Grammy Trustee Award.

 

Al Schmitt with Tommy LiPuma and Paul McCartney

 

Al’s unrivaled resume crosses generations and genre lines. The 90-year-old master of the soundboard has worked with a seemingly endless list of musical superstars: from Miles Davis to Madonna, Quincy Jones to Nina Simone, Dolly Parton to Brian Wilson, Elvis Presley to Bob Dylan, Liza Minnelli to Luis Miguel, Kenny Rogers to Kenny G., Linda Ronstadt to Rod Stewart.

 

Al with Ray Charles

In this episode, Al shares some of his favorite moments from his illustrious career – like the time in the early ‘60s when he hung out in a hotel suite with Sam Cooke and Cassius Clay (just weeks before took the name Muhammad Ali). Cooke was helping out Clay, who just had gotten a record deal, and Al recalls how funny and irreverent to two men were - “I never laughed so hard in my life.”

 

Al had a long-running working partnership with Henry Mancini, which started with the Peter Gunn record and resulted in Al’s first Grammy for the Hatari! soundtrack. The acclaimed composer, Al reveals, had a great sense of humor as well as a great way to endear himself with session musicians – here’s a hint: it involves how doing one song past 11 pm made the musicians very happy.

 

Al at work at Capitol Studios

 

When Al was a kid, he used to play hooky from school to go see Frank Sinatra sing at the Paramount Theatre. And Sinatra was one artist that he had long to work with but never had – until producer Phil Ramone called him to engineer Sinatra’s Duets album. It was a job, Al says, he would have done for nothing. He talks about how the studio was set up for Sinatra and how the singer wanted to do this “this way” in the studio as well as what a thrill it was just to be part of Sinatra’s dinner party for three nights.

 

His Sinatra stories also involves the fabled U47 microphone, a subject close to Al’s heart because he is a self-described “microphone freak.” During this episode, Al discusses how much he enjoys mic-ing a room and trying them out in different placements, moving the band around the room. He fondly remembers his time at RCA where he would experiment in the studio every day and discover the ambience and best recording spots in the room. Al also describes his process of working with an artist to make for the most rewarding and productive recording session.

Diana Krall with Al Schmitt

 

During my conversation with Al, he speaks too about how he developed such a strong work ethic as well as his various interests outside of the studio. Additionally, he shares how he has continued working during the COVID pandemic, having recently wrapped up engineering jobs on upcoming releases by Diana Krall and Melody Gardot.

 

 

 

 

Episode 8

Al Schmitt
Part 1

Song Chronicles is proud to present the first of a two-part interview with Al Schmitt. These episodes offer a unique behind-the-scenes look - from a master of his craft –  on what happens on the other side of the glass when musicians go into a recording studio.

 

 

 

 

Al Schmitt is the definition of a living legend. During his unparalleled career, the 90-year-old engineer/producer has worked with an incredible list of musical giants: Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Sam Cooke, Barbra Streisand, Henry Mancini, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Steely Dan, Celine Dion, Queen Latifah, and more are names that only scratch the surface of a  career of the highest excellence: his knowledge and work ethic makes the greatest of greats want him at the helm. The arc spans far and wide with Frank Sinatra to Bob Dylan singing Sinatra, as well as Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole’s “Unforgettable”.

 

Al Schmitt with Niko Bolas

 

 

Now in his seventh decade at the board, Al has hardly slowed down. He has just finished mixing a new album from Diana Krall, with whom he already has earned three Grammys. In fact, Al has won more Grammys – 20 – than any other engineer and ranks among the top 15 of all-time Grammy winners.

 

During Neil Young sessions at Capitol

(Neil Young and Niko Bolas pictured) 

 

 

I met Al when he came to speak to the members of the Blackbird Academy’s audio engineering program that I enrolled myself in last year in Nashville. He came in with his good friend, and fellow producer/engineer, Niko Bolas, who I've been fortunate to know since I was 18, when I was recording at Record One in Sherman Oaks (a studio once owned by Allen Sides as part of Ocean Way), where Niko was working alongside producer/engineer, Val Garay. 

 

I spoke with Al recently, August 4, 2020, during the quarantine. We spoke via video on Zoom, talking about his illustrious career, innovative recording techniques, and the musicians who he’s worked with.

 

Al Schmitt and Steve Genewick

Al developed his love for the studio very early in his life. As a child, the New York City native hung out at the recording studio owned by his uncle, Harry Smith. Not the folklorist Harry Smith but the Harry Smith (née Schmitt) who ran the first independent recording studio on the east coast. He was starry-eyed with his uncle’s work and life. Les Paul was his “Uncle Les,” who took young Al to hockey games, boxing matches, and bar.

 

Smith instilled in Al some valuable lessons about studio work, such as: “You’ve got to treat your equipment like a Swiss watch and it’ll take care of you”. Al says that’s why you’ll never see him putting coffee and stuff like that on his console.

 

His uncle also lined up an apprenticeship for him, then 19 and just out of the Navy, at Apex Recording Studios, where he received tutelage from another of his mentors, the fabled engineer/producer Tom Dowd, who Al describes as “one of the great engineers of all time.”

 

It was at Apex too that Al ran, quite by accident, his first recording session for none other than Duke Ellington – and a very kind Duke, who told the novice engineer: “Don’t worry son, we’re gonna get through this. It’s gonna be fine.”

 

Al has become known for his clean, unembellished sound, which he developed early on when he only had a few microphones to work with. This taught him the importance of mic placement to get the sound right for a take, particularly because there wasn’t the technology yet to go back and fix a take.

 

“I've always been an experimenter with microphones and how to set up things,” he reveals. “I set up a big band one day and the next day I'd set them up exactly the opposite and I'd move them around the room until I got the best place.”

 

Al Schmitt & Niko Bolas with John McBride, visiting the students in Mark Rubel's class at The Blackbird Academy 

(we all wore ties in their honor) 

 

 

After close to a decade in New York (where he also worked at Atlantic Records and Fulton Recordings) in 1958, Al moved to Los Angeles. He was an engineer first at the highly popular Radio Recorders studio before moving over to RCA in 1963.

 

A few years later, Al convinced RCA to promote him to a producer, but there was one downside of a dream job: because of union rules, he could no longer work the board. “I could reach over and do something like on the echo or whatever, and (then they would) call me up on the carpet for touching the board.”

 

It was also time-consuming. “Eddie (Fisher) would be 2-5 (pm) and then Jefferson Airplane would be 8 ‘til 3, 4 in the morning. And by the time I got home, I'd get a little sleep. And, I'd have to come back to work because I had 11 artists that I was taking care of. So I had to do budgets. I had to hire arrangers for artists.” He quit this RCA job, but the Jefferson Airplane hired him back as their producer, persuading him to finish the album because they loved his work so much.

 

Al went on to produce several more albums for the band and for others; however, by the early 70s, he realized how much he missed engineering. So while he has continued to be a producer (on albums for Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Al Jarreau, George Benson, to name a few), the bulk of Al’s massive, and impressive, body of work has been doing what he loves best – being an engineer.

 

Not only has Al achieved great success in his prolific career – he has worked on over 150 gold and platinum albums – but he has achieved in an amazing range of genres: jazz, rock, pop, country, soundtracks, holiday music, Latin, rap, and blues.

 

 

Capitol Recording Studios, Al's second home 

 

Episode 7

Peter Case
Part 2

Peter in Venice, California with his dog Mattie

April 8, 2019

photo by Louise Goffin

"I write to know what I think" - Peter Case

 

In the follow-up to Episode 6, which was Part One of this interview, the conversation continues that took place on April 8th, 2019. To bring us up-to-date, Louise makes a Zoom call to Peter in August 2020 to find out how his music, recording and touring plans have changed, in response to the pandemic. 

When asked on the spot to give his shortlist of perfect songs, here's what he said:

Bob Dylan -Desolation Row
The Beatles- Penny Lane (Lennon-McCartney)
Hoagy Carmichael - Stardust (Hoagy Carmicheal-Mitchell Parish)
The Drifters - Up On The Roof (Goffin&King)
Otis Redding - A Change Is Gonna Come 
( Everton Bonner / John Christopher Taylor / Sam Cooke)

If you haven't listened to Part One, you can listen at the link below: 

https://www.songchroniclespodcast.com/e/episode-6-peter-case-part-1/

 

Episode 6

Peter Case
Part I

Song Chronicles is proud to present the first of a two-part interview with Peter Case.

For Peter, music is an economy of energy, a spiritual economy. His career stretches out over half a century and is still going strong. Through the experiences he's had, the different band line-ups, the travels, the epiphanies, the inspiring companions, he pours vibrancy into each new musical chapter.

Case, a native of Buffalo, New York, dropped out of high school when he was fifteen and traveled before replanting himself in San Francisco in 1973. You can see a young Peter in action during this period, in the documentary Nightshift, directed by Bert Deivert, where the director and subject wandered the streets looking for places to play, cash to earn, and food to eat while meeting with people anywhere on street corners and filming. 

In 1976, he teamed up with two other bandmates, Jack Lee and Paul Collins, to form The Nerves in San Francisco. (Jack was the sole writer of The Nerves song "Hanging On The Telephone" which was later recorded by Blondie). The band moved to Los Angeles and performed in many of LA's punk-era venues, and soon they went on a national tour opening for The Ramones and Mink Deville. They broke up in 1978.

photo by Greg Allen

 

 

 

 

The Nerves

One Way Ticket - 1977

 

 

In 1979, Peter formed The Plimsouls, which, after the release of their debut EP Zero Hour, started building a significant live following in California. They had record deals with two major record labels (Planet/Elektra in 1981 and Geffen Records in 1983). In 1982, "A Million Miles Away" was released as a 12" single and the song was a radio hit in California and in some other regions of the U.S.

 

 

 

 

 The Plimsouls

Live! Beg, Borrow & Steal  (1981)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Plimsouls - Beach Town Confidential - 1983

 

"The gimmick of the band was to have high standards", says Case.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Plimsouls lasted until January 1st, 1985 and, in this interview, Peter charts the course of the musical changes he made after the band broke up, how songs, stories and words made playing solo appealing to him, despite having to carve out a new audience after losing half of The Plimsouls fans.

 

 

 "I love The Plimsouls, but my life took off in another way. [Playing solo] enabled me to put together a lot of things that I loved...to get away from that strict environment of the four-piece rock and roll band".

Throughout his life, he'd seen performers that made deep impressions on him, such as  Lightnin' Hopkins, Simon and Garfunkel (with one guitar in 1967), Arlo Guthrie, James Taylor, John Hammond Jr., Dave Van Ronk, Pete Seeger, an under-the-radar folk singer and actor, Cedric Smith (Perth County Conspiracy), Fred Neil, Memphis Slim, Mississippi John Hurt, and more.  

Like musicians before him, Case would at times have a band ready in different towns but once he realized that what he could do solo was more unique, less turned into more: more range in the story-telling of the songs, more potency in the groove, and it worked.

Traveling light is the way to go if you're an independent musician.

Even traveling light, Peter grooves heavy.  

The Man With The Blue Post-Modern, Fragmented, Neo-Traditionalist Guitar

1989

 

 

 

He made a self-titled solo album, Peter Case, released in 1986, on Geffen Records, produced by both T-Bone Burnett and Mitchell Froom. One of the songs on it, "Old Blue Car," was nominated for a Grammy Award. Robert Palmer of The New York Times chose the album as the No. 1 release for 1986 in his year-in-review wrap-up. The album had contributions from Mike Campbell (of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers), John Hiatt, Jim Kelter, Jerry Marotta, Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds), Richard Thompson, Van Dyke Parks and included songs co-written with Victoria Williams (Peter's first wife) and T-Bone Burnett. 

1986

 

Peter describes having record deals: 
"When you're on those labels, you know, as you well know, you get that, you get that feeling of wind in your sails. That even on a failure, you're, you know, you're doing a lap. There's a certain amount of momentum that happens on those things that's not anywhere anymore". 

 

Torn Again 1995

 

In 2015, Peter released HWY 62 on Omnivore, an album filled with songs and stories, the blues, and heartfelt singing. That spiritual economy of heart and soul, with the wisdom of his years, makes Peter one of America's treasured songwriters and performers. In this interview, he tells us of the journey he took to get here. If you're a songwriter, when you listen, you'll want to take notes. 

 

Peter Case - Hwy 62 

2015

 

Lost Songs & Outside Favorites

2016

 

The songs used in this episode were used by permission.

They are found on the album titled, "Hwy 62".

For more info go to Petercase.com

 

 

 

Episode 5.

Gail Ann Dorsey

Song Chronicles is proud to present its fifth episode, a conversation with singer-songwriter, bass player extraordinaire, and dear friend Gail Ann Dorsey. 

"I think... since I was a little kid... I wanted to get out of Philadelphia. I wanted to see the world. I wanted to do these things. Honestly, the odds were not in my favor, from my background, of me achieving what I've achieved, regardless of... talent and things. But. I think I've always [had] a good daydreaming, uh, imagination thing, you know, a law of attraction thing. You think you see it, you see it, you see it, and then... it comes."

 

 I first met Gail in the early '90s in London. I reached out to her to see if she wanted to write some songs and perhaps start a duo project. The band name was going to be South of Venus. She came over and we started a song called "Femme Fatale" and then ended up demoing some other songs together in the English countryside (with recording engineer Andrew Jackson, who I'd met recording at Astoria Studio, David Gilmour's houseboat on the Thames). We were hoping to write more songs and play some gigs when she got a call from Bryan Ferry. He wanted her to go on a European promotional tour for television. I was happy for her and thought our plans would simply be delayed; but soon after, Roland Orzabal, who I'd occasionally see in the coffee shop around the corner from me, wanted her to play with Tears For Fears, so it looked like our duo plans had bitten the dust. The next thing I knew, she'd put my name in the hat to play guitar on the Bryan Ferry TV tour and I got the gig. This was the beginning of a long and cherished friendship.

 

Happy times with David Bowie

 

 

 

Louise & Gail recording for "South of Venus" in London

While traveling in Europe, we had dinner with filmmaker Pedro Almodovar and actors Rossy de Palma and Beverly D'Angelo in Madrid and went to Copenhagen, Paris, and other major cities. We made a dark Berlinesque video for Bryan of his cover of "I Put A Spell On You" and then back in London, I focused on songwriting and played some shows with an expanded line up and called it South of Venus. My hair was short then anyway, but then I dyed it blonde for a minute. Somewhere in that period of time Gail and I were called into the studio to sing backgrounds together on a Gang of Four album called Mall. I was already friends with Andy Gill. He was a beloved friend and he loved to cook and also knew all the best East End markets and wine bars. He produced some songs for me too that were never released. That was a snapshot in time, of changing busy lives going off into different directions. I was in London only another eighteen months before getting a gig opening for Swing Out Sister and decided at the end of it to stay in LA, ending my ten-year chapter as a Londoner and eventually ending up back on Lookout Mountain in Laurel Canyon. Gail, meanwhile, had done two tours with Tears For Fears, played on their records, and Roland Orzabal was mentoring her on her own solo record when she got the call from David Bowie. 

Over the years, we'd find time to meet up in LA, Woodstock & Nashville, and always we'd get right back into our groove. Gail was always fascinated with Hollywood and filmmaking, and in fact, had won a scholarship to Cal Arts and had attended film school well before her career as a signed recording artist (first for CBS and then Island) and her star side-woman singer-bassist-performer extraordinaire status with icons — none more famous than David Bowie, with whom she shared a lengthy residency from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016.

 

with David Bowie

 Gail sang lead vocals on live versions of "Under Pressure" and dueted with Bowie on other songs, including "The London Boys," "Aladdin Sane," "I Dig Everything," and a cover of Laurie Anderson's "O Superman."

 

 

 

 

Behind the Scenes at the video shoot for Bryan Ferry's "I Put A Spell On You": Gail Ann Dorsey, Rossy de Palma and Louise Goffin 

 

 

Episode 4.

Kathy Valentine

Song Chronicles is proud to present its fourth episode, a conversation with American musician, songwriter and author Kathy Valentine.

Kathy was a member of the first, and to date, only all-female band that wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top Billboard charts at #1, having one of the most successful debuts of all time. The Go-Gos sold over 7 million records. When they went on tour opening for The Police, they soon rose up the charts surpassing the headliner, with Sting breaking open a bottle of champagne for them to celebrate. 

The Go-Gos

To be in a band of young women frought with both tension and love, who stuck together through the rigors of the road and high profile promotion, defying stereotypes, brought intense challenges. The only way its band members could survive to lead healthy and successful lives was to leave behind the band that had brought them together. 

 

 Kathy’s memoir, titled All I Ever Wanted, is an inspiring and honestly told story. She’s found her way to discover her own voice as both a writer of prose and a lead vocalist, playing multi-instruments on her own songs, which she’s used to create a soundtrack to her book.

The music stands on its own as a body of work. It’s a great soundtrack!

 She tells her story without the affectations of someone trying to sound “writerly.”  

Kathy and I knew one another throughout the years at a distance but became friends when we both found ourselves expecting within months of one another. We both have 17-year-olds so we’ve known each other a while and she’s awesome.  

I'm honored to be able to present to you the first Song Chronicles stay-at-home interview ever...

 with the bad-ass, magnificent Kathy Valentine.

 

Episode 3.

J.D. Souther

Song Chronicles is proud to present its third episode, a conversation with songwriter J.D. Souther.

Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013, Grammy-nominated Souther has penned countless hits for The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Roy Orbison, James Taylor, Don Henley, George Strait, Trisha Yearwood, and Brooks and Dunn, and found success as solo artist. J.D.’s latest album Tenderness, produced by Larry Klein, connects “LA’s ‘70s golden age with the Great American Songbook,” writes Uncut, with songs that sound “like standards themselves.” 

 

J.D. Souther and Linda Ronstadt

 

J.D. Souther and Jackson Browne

Louise first met J.D. when she was a teenager living with her mom, spending a summer in Malibu. Two years later, Louise made her debut album Kid Blue, produced by Danny Kortchmar, at the iconic Sunset Sound Factory at the peak of the California singer-songwriter multi-platinum-selling era. J.D. Souther, Don Henley and Stevie Nicks sang background vocals!

In this conversation that took place July 13, 2019 at John David’s ranch in Nashville, TN, J.D. talks about his early inspiration for his classic songs; his musical upbringing; his latest album, Tenderness; and what it’s like to tour as a solo performer. The conversation feels more like reminiscing between friends than an interview, with wonderful personal stories of many '70s golden era heavyweights: Linda Ronstadt, Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Carole King, Bob Dylan, Joe Walsh, Emmy Lou Harris, Bonnie Raitt, Peter Asher, Waddy Wachtel, Warren Zevon, Don Grolnick, David Sanborn, and more. 

  

early days with Glenn Frey

 

 

 

A passionate animal lover and advocate, J.D. is also involved with Best Friends Animal Society.

 

 

with Joe Walsh - photo by Barry Shultz

 

His classic albums John David Souther, Black Rose, and Home by Dawn have been released as expanded reissues (Omnivore Recordings). As an actor, he has appeared in the TV shows Thirtysomething and Nashville, among others.

 

 

 

 

 

 *Song Chronicles is a brand new podcast series hosted by Louise Goffin. The complete 32 episodes of The Great Song Adventure podcast hosted by Louise Goffin & Paul Zollo can be found on thegreatsongadventure.com.

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

Episode 2.

Desmond Child

 

It is with great pleasure that Song Chronicles presents Grammy-Winning Producer, Recording Artist and Songwriter Desmond Child.

 

*Song Chronicles is a brand new podcast series hosted by Louise Goffin. The complete 32 episodes of The Great Song Adventure podcast hosted by Louise Goffin & Paul Zollo can be found on thegreatsongadventure.com.

     

Desmond Child, the son of Hungarian father Joseph Marfy and of Cuban songwriter Elena Casals, is a highly driven genre-defying songwriter and producer, who can easily be introduced to those not in-the-know as a "hitmaker to the stars". His credits appear on more than eighty Billboard Top 40 singles spanning five decades, including “Livin’ On A Prayer,” “You Give Love A Bad Name,” “I Was Made For Lovin’ You,” “Dude Looks Like A Lady,” “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” “Waking Up In Vegas.” and many more.

February of 2020, Nashville TN, in a Charlotte Avenue storefront building filled with instruments and books, Desmond sat down with Louise Goffin and talked about some of the songs he's been a part of writing, artists he's collaborated with, and how real-life circumstances inspired some of the songs that became part of the zeitgeist of popular culture. In this engaging conversation, Child reveals his great love of his family, his passion for working towards a better future for songwriters and not least, leading the way forward toward a more open-minded world for his two sons. Desmond has no shortage of gratitude for his creative and varied life, partnered alongside his loving husband ("people like me because they like him!") and it's easy to see how his spontaneity and truthful read of those around him gifts him with a knack for drawing out the archetypal themes wanting to be written in the room, collaborating with artists who are searching to find something they truly want to sing about. 

A graduate of New York University, once upon a time, Child and Maria Vidal, along with Myriam Valle and Diana Grasselli, formed Desmond Child & Rouge, recording two albums for Capitol. Next moves led him to collaborate with Paul Stanley of KISS and create two of the band's most enduring hits: “I Was Made for Lovin’ You” and “Heaven’s On Fire.” A winning streak had begun.

From Aerosmith to Zedd, his songs have been recorded and performed by a wide variety of both entertainers and collaborators, defying genre limits, with superstars as diverse as Bon Jovi, KISS, Cher, Joan Jett, Alice Cooper, Barbra Streisand, Michael Bolton, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, Meat Loaf, Cyndi Lauper, Christina Aguilera, Sia, Mickey Mouse and Kermit the Frog.

 

 

with Joan Jett

Songwriters Hall of Fame

 

"Desmond is a slave-driving slut" - Alice Cooper

 

 

with husband Curtis Shaw

 

 

left to right: Jon Bon Jovi (born John Francis Bongiovi Jr.), Cher, Desmond Child, Steven Tyler  

 

 "Lady Liberty"

performed by

Barbra Streisand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steven Tyler (Aerosmith)

 

 

 ^KISS

 

 

 

 

 

Bob Ezrin's Studio, Nashville TN

Desmond Child and Louise Goffin (reflection of Alice Cooper in glasses)

photo by Kyler Clark

 

 

Bob Ezrin, Alice Cooper, Desmond Child, Louise Goffin

photo by Kyler Clark 

 

 

 

 Episode 1.

SAM HOLLANDER

 

 

Song Chronicles is proud to present its first episode with songwriter-producer, Sam Hollander.

*Song Chronicles is a brand new podcast series hosted by Louise Goffin. The complete 32 episodes of The Great Song Adventure podcast hosted by Louise Goffin & Paul Zollo can be found on thegreatsongadventure.com.

     

Sam Hollander has a career that any aspiring songwriter or producer would envy and happily step in the shoes of for even a day. He's written and/or produced over 20 US Top 40 Pop Hits and had numerous worldwide top-charting songs including Panic! at the Disco's worldwide #1 "High Hopes". Visiting the YouTube channels of the bands and artists he's worked with, one quickly sees that his songs have been streamed by not just millions, but by billions. In 2019 he held the #1 position on the Billboard Rock Songwriters chart for nine weeks, a year-end record.

 

In September of 2019, in a relaxed and intimate conversational setting, Sam sat down to talk with Louise Goffin about his life before and after his success and revealed an inspiring story of perseverance and likable-guy determination. Listen and find out more!

 

Once an academically-challenged teenager who couldn't understand what he'd read, and who felt like a misfit in school, Sam Hollander spent his his youth trying to find a way to engage with the world with his love of music, surrounded by a family of high-achieving creative parents. His story is an inspiration for the many kids in schools who are mischaracterized as "failing" when they simply find it hard to engage in school systems or are unable to demonstrate their gifts through standardized testing. Sam was determined to either work with the artists who would be chart-toppers or to create them himself by developing and helping unknown talent, writing their hit songs. His genuine love of music and the music business, along with his talent for production and rhymes, eventually led to a transformation of his situation as he began writing and producing worldwide hits for the likes of Fitz and The Tantrums, Panic! at the Disco, One Direction, Carole King, Ringo Starr, Sugar Ray, Gym Class Heroes, Tom Jones, Chiddy Bang, Weezer, We The Kings, Sugar Ray and more.

 

 

 

Louise Goffin & Sam Hollander 

September 2019  Hollywood, California  

 

"High Hopes" from the Panic! at the Disco video

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Fitz and The Tantrums 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weezer

 

"CheckYes Juliet" 

 

                          

Carole King "Love Makes The World"

                     .                  

Panic! at the Disco "Hey Look Ma, I Made It" 

#1 US ROCK SONGS, #3 US HOT AC, #5 US ALTERNATIVE, #6 US TOP 40. RIAA certified PLATINUM, 2019 TEEN CHOICE AWARDS ROCK SONG OF THE YEAR.

Song Chronicles is a new podcast hosted by songwriter-producer Louise Goffin chronicling music history as told by the music-makers themselves, the back story of the life we love to live, behind the songs we live to love.

Find us on Instagram: @songchronicles

songchroniclespodcast.com