The Questlove Show - Questlove Supreme: James Taylor

Episode Date: February 26, 2020

Legendary singer/songwriter James Taylor drops by to talk about his life and extraordinary body of work. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-heart podcast. Guaranteed human. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft. And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galco, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you

won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, for wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slice of Life 12 and TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands. I vowed. I will be his last target. is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves.

We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Questlove Supreme is a production of IHeart Radio. Here we go. Suprema, Suprema Roll Call. Suprema roll call

Suprema Suprema Suprema roll call Suprema Subra Subrema roll call It's ladies night Yeah

Let's celebrate You're gonna get down on it Yeah Oh wrong James Taylor Ro call Suprema Suprema Ro call

Suprema Suprema Suprema role call My name is Sugar Yeah I'm the engineer Yeah And I love great music.

Yeah. That's why I'm here. Roll call. Suprema, S, S, S Srema, Rold C, Soprema, Roll Call. Suprema, Sura, Roll Call. My name's Boss Bill. Yeah. And I ain't no sucker.

Yeah. What are we doing? Yeah. Roll call, brother, trucker. Roll call. Supima, Sura, Sura, Sura, Rold Ciprama. Nice more. Supraima, Sura, Rold call.

It's Laeem. Yeah. And James Taylor. Yeah. I ain't no lame. Yeah. No firing rain. Damn.

Superima Roll call. Supremma, sub-supremma roll call. I'm James. Yeah. I came up here today. Yeah. I guess I'm here for good. You know, I'm ready.

Roca. Supreme. We'll take it. Sub-Sup. Supremma roll call. Superma roll call. Submira roll call. Suprema roll call

Suprema Subrama roll call Suprema Subra Supraima roll call Nice All right We got through that

Just barely Ladies and gentlemen We have less than an hour To unravel The complex Artistry of over 50 years that is our guest today and probably one of my favorite singers ever. I'll just say on a personal note to be selfish on the show that has my name in it.

James Taylor is his voice, in my opinion, is probably hands down. I believe one of the most beautiful, soothing, warm sounds that I can recall. It's kind of my trusted blanket. You know, it's a favorite uncle, my favorite teacher in school. And, yeah, this is coming from a guy who also thinks that HR from bad brains is equally as soothing. I'm sorry. But I'm going to take it as a compliment. Yeah, you're James Taylor and HR, man.

I'll be the first to admit that, well, one, I'm probably the only. media personality that doesn't care if that song was about you. She's already said that it wasn't about him. Well, I know, I know. But, you know, mainly because I think I pegged it in my head

with a voice that soothing, I'd never bothered to even look under the hood. I don't know if I subconsciously didn't want to look under the hood because it's just like that's my trusted blanket. And in the week and a half of preparation that I decided to search under the James Taylor Hood, yikes. I was wrong.

And, you know, his newest book, Breakshot, or his audio book, yeah. Breakshot. Audible exclusive. Yes, on Audible, exclusive. It's a must-rear. For every artist I ever work with, this is literally like, I'm not even. separate myself. It's probably I needed this too. It dissects the first 21 years of his life, which is kind of an understatement to say is a rather dark journey, which now really has me to the

point where I'm just obsessed with entertainers or comedians or actors or whoever that managed to ruse me in a way in a way of like ladies and gentlemen James Taylor's here everyone's looking at each other like yeah man it's like we've only got an hour

we got 51 minutes left I hear his voice thank you for coming on the show you know you know the special this is Zara's here yeah and it's not even a political figure

Zara one of my managers is only here whenever someone's here to discuss politics Roman Farrell and Chris Hay That's it. That's it, Jay. This is how, especially, you know, if she's in the room watching. All right.

How are you? I'm good. I'm good. Yeah. You know, it's like we've got a couple of projects that are coming out at the same time and a tour starting up in April. So, you know, it's a very, like a, it's a busy season and it's kind of a promotional season, you know, and where you take your stuff to market. And that's always been, you know, that's always been a kind of a difficult passage for me. Will you make a project, you know, over a, in this case,

it took us a couple of years to make this album. And then you take it by its little hand and lead it into the marketplace, you know, and launch it. And that's always sort of a, can be a, you know, a confusing process, but it's one that I've gotten used to. And not only that, it's become much, much better as time has gone by. I'm talking to people almost completely who I admire and respect. And that makes all the difference, you know. I mean, back in the beginning, you'd sort of go to Rolling Stone.

and hope that some intern who was interviewing you, you know, cutting your teeth on your project and reviewing it, that could be really just made it a daunting kind of a process to get into. But, you know, I've been feeling really good about this particular project and the people I've met and talked to about it. So you're saying that even this late in the game, when you create product, you still go through the process of its critical reception, it's how it fair as well with your fan base and whatnot? You still have those? Absolutely. You know, it's still a part of the work. It's where you, you know, music used to happen, well, it used to happen in the street and it used to happen on the farm.

But it used to happen in the church and in the court, you know, those were, or in academia somehow, you know. And I think that having music exist in a commercial context where it's saleable is a better choice. That's better than the court or the church, in my opinion. It's not better than essentially folk music, which is sort of free. But it's definitely a step in the right direction to have it, to take it. to market in order to get people to hear it. So when you're in your formative years, at least for like your first five or six albums, are you obsessively looking to see, like, do you take a Lester Bings seriously or even a

Krista gal? I'm trying to figure out like who's the pitchwork of his day, like the critic that, or John Landau. John Lando or Hillman out in Los Angeles? Robert Hillman, yeah, yeah. Right. So that would mean something to you? Absolutely. I mean, just in as much as it either pushes the project along and gets it out there for people to hear or it doesn't.

That was always the priority. In fact, I made such ruinous deals and decisions early on, mostly due to bad advice. that I never really saw records as a source of income. They never were. So I always just looked at it as a way to support touring and also as a way to just get my thing out there, to get my art out there. Wow, that's weird to hear.

Because I thought I was the only artist that was like, yeah, record sales, whatever. Like when we tour, that's how I would make my money. And the record store, like the flyer that you advertise, hey, I'm coming to town, that sort of thing. Well, it's also the medium that we work in. If you're a recording artist, you, and I think that's something I've gotten better at over time. I cringe when I listen to my early stuff.

But over time, I've gotten better at recording and gotten closer to what I hear in my mind when I think about a tune. I'm just curious what James Taylor album makes you cringe. Yeah, I was, I'm kind of concerned. I'm like, oh, please don't let it be one of my favorites. Yeah, yeah, I'm like, for you, like, what's your like, yeah? What album that every fan like, oh, my God, oh, my God, and you're just like, whatever. Well, the first one, the James, the one. The Apple record.

Yeah, the Apple record. But even then, it's like, if I recall correctly, you've spoken a few times that, you know, you were creating that right when the Beatles were creating the White album, yeah. White album, correct? So, like, whenever the Beatles weren't at Tried in the studio, you were there. That's right. We were. They let you race the board and just. Yeah, they did.

I guess there weren't digital cameras in those days, so you couldn't take a picture of it and expect to have it the next day. Right. Polaroid, I guess. Yeah. But, no, they, I never actually thought about that, man. Did you realize that you were in the eye of probably the most cellular? creative storm in music history? I did. I was aware of that in a sort of,

but, you know, in those days I really, I lived, you know, a day at a time, maybe a week at a time. I just didn't, I didn't really expand beyond what was sort of in the room, you know. It all, yes, it seems surreal to to have been, you know, a year prior to that, I'd been here in New York and my band had failed and I'd sort of limp back to North Carolina to lick my wounds. And, you know, and then, lo and behold, a year later, I'm auditioning for Paul McCartney and George Harrison. So it was on one level unbelievable, but, you know, I just accepted it as what was happening now, you know.

How did it even worry about you get to Paul and George? Were you the first artist signed to Apple? Okay. I was the first artist signed. And my lucky break was that my main partner actually, through most of my musical life, has been a guitarist from New York, lives in Los Angeles now named Danny Kourch. And Kooch had backed up. Peter and Gordon, a sort of British invasion group like Chad and Jeremy. They had had World

Without Love was a song of theirs and Knight in Rusty Armour, you know, sort of a British novelty duo, you know, very much British invasion sort of mold. But, and then the year after that, I had been in the band with Cooch here in New York. So I called Cooch after, after I I got to London, I said, have you still got a number for Peter Asher? And it turned, just thinking that he might have some contacts in the music business in London. And as it turned out, he had just signed on his head of ANR for this brand new label that the Beatles were starting Apple Records. So he was basically looking for people to sign, and it couldn't have been better timing. It couldn't have been better timing.

It was just, you know, it really threaded the needle. And the window was very short. for, you know, I was signed, Billy Preston was signed Mary Hopkins. Modern Jazz Quartet. Yep, MJQ. MJQ was on Apple? Yeah.

Apple that, really? Yeah. Damn, son. Okay. That's amazing. I didn't realize that. A group called Badfinger and a guy named Jackie Lomax. Yeah.

But the five or six or seven acts that were signed within the ten month period that Apple was actually open to other people. That is to say before Alan Klein came in and just shut it down. I'm sure it was hemorrhaging money, but I'm also sure that it was just a unique opportunity, you know, too. And they gave me that first chance. So that's how I ended up. I got my little demo reel-to-reel tape to people. Peter Asher. I played him a number of songs and he said, let's go up and see if we can play this for a beetle up at... For a beetle. I love how casual that just comes up, you know?

It's like, yeah, let's just see if a beetle's here. And the way Peter remembers the day we went up to, I got my guitar in my little cardboard case and I follow him up to this building in Baker Street in London where their temporary first office. as we're in, and he sort of installs me in a room and says, is there a beetle in the house, you know, leans out into the hall. That's amazing. That's amazing. That's good managing.

And I say it's as Peter remembers it, because I myself, the whole day is just like a blur. Yeah. I mean, I was like made for 110 and plugged into 220, you know. That was totally, totally. Totally shocked, you know. Well, okay, we brought up Peter Asher, who's such a, at least I consider, I mean, would you say that Asher is like one of the Mount Rushmore figures of what I think of when I think of the California sound or that. So how, what is that description?

because if someone that's not familiar with your work, like I don't know how your albums got in my household, but they were there because, and it wasn't like, I mean, now they have titles for it, soft rock, yacht rock or whatever they want to call it. But. Yacht rock, that's good. I know.

Well, you know, it's made this sort of niche comedic, you know, reference comeback thing, but that's made it cool, again, like stuff that, again, a Lester bangs or Krista gal, like, I'm, I'm better than this type of me, whatever, like, now it's worship and revered and those things, but how did you, and Peter, like, figure out this, this plan to sort of, is it folk, is it country, is it blues leaning, is it, you know, how would you describe the sound that you two molded that I felt really defined the next 10 years of what pop music would be the California sound, if you will. Wow. Yeah. You know, I was I was just playing on the guitar the songs that I'd written and counting on a sort of community of players,

Russ Kunkle on the drums Kooch, a guy named Lee Sklar playing the bass Carol King on the piano I basically was But essentially I was counting on them to be, you know, to do head

arrangements of my guitar arrangements, you know, so that you sort of pass it on to another musician, usually a keyboard player but basically you write out just a simple chord chart and pass it around and count it off.

You know, the strange thing about, well, actually, it's still the case. Often the time when the song is recorded for posterity is the first time it's played. You know, that's an odd thing that you don't get to, or even the seventh take, but the point is you haven't had a chance to tour it for 20 performances and sort of, you know, nail it down and refine it. And I've always thought that would be a good way to go. Okay, so the question I have about Sweet Baby James is how do you have an active record deal

and you're still homeless? Like, or at least I've heard you mentioned a few times that for that first album, you were kind of just a nomad, like crashing on couches and, how, like, was money just not available back then? Or, like, how did you... Well, enough money was, you know.

And I didn't have a place to stay in Los Angeles. So Peter had a house at the corner of Olympic in Highland. And, you know, I just would crash there at Peter's house while we were recording in Sunset Sound. But I started building a house for myself in, I think in 1972, back in the woods on Martha's Vineyard Island where my family had sort of fetched up because my folks had taken me there. I had taken all of us there in the summertime from North Carolina. My mom was a, you know, she really was culture shocked by moving to North Carolina and where my dad was. worked with the University of North Carolina. So she wanted to bring us up north every,

and try to keep our sort of Yankee roots to the extent we could. And so my family all gravitated towards that place as being the happiest place, you know. And we all ended up living there. But your question was about being homeless. I suppose it was sort of rootless, no pun intended. Okay. Right. Like not totally broken. No, no, yeah, let me clarify.

It wasn't like you were sleeping on the streetcores. Like, hey, let's help this guy out. But I don't know. In my mind, I just feel like there's a certain level of comfort that one has to have, at least I think, in order to find their creative space. Where I've been in a few situations in which if my personal life is in a personal life is in shambles, that affects my creative output. And so, you know, to hear you describe that you were crashing on couches and you didn't have a house, I'm wondering, like, is the duress of, the stress of not having roots,

pun intended, does that affect your creative output or not? You know, I never thought about it, but I think you're right. if I can think back to any particular creative periods, it's always been a sort of protected period during the time that I'm writing, you know? Okay. And I think you're right. I think it does take that. The songs for Sweet Baby James, that first Warner Brothers album,

which you'd rightly describe as sort of the beginning of the California sound. but you know back to that question for a second you know Peter and I didn't really discuss the sound we just you know as I said I just introduced the songs to these other players and we played it the way we heard it you know and it and and recorded it it really wasn't directed in in any real sense other than just the you know the sort of template the the the the form of my playing it on the guitar would. Were you somewhat aware of what the marketplace was and how somewhat different than the marketplace that you were, that this output was presenting itself?

I'm not saying it was radically, radically different, but, you know, I feel as though. You know, I definitely distanced myself. and identified myself as being apart from music business. To me, music business was still Dean Martin playing at the Sands, you know, in Las Vegas. Well, in fact, Dean Martin was a great singer and did some great songs. But at the time, we identified that as being another generation. Show biz, end quote. That's right.

Sort of sort of. So you wanted to avoid the Copa. Tensel. Tenseltown, yeah. Right. I swore I'd never play Las Vegas. You know, I got two Grammys. I didn't show up.

I said, ooh. Oh, even the Grammys was like, oh, yeah. That's so funny in how each artist, okay, I'm slowly discovering that every click or people that I would think were the establishment, they have their, I'm sort of, yeah, I'm above that,

which is weird because not like I see you as the establishment, but even now you're saying like in your way like I'm rebelling against that and I we very much wanted to to distance ourselves from it and I mean we that's that was the sense in the you know the zeitgeist in the in Los Angeles at the time was was that we belong to a different generation and you know a sort of um the sort of demographic bulge, you know, that happened after the war, that baby boom bulge of the population. When it came to college age, it sort of, it manifested in a way with FM radio, too.

It sort of started to, and the Beatles and Dylan and, you know. I wanted to ask, I'll let you get to your question. I just want to say hippies. But that's the thing, though. But I feel coming into the 70s, though, what I felt like there was a sort of air at least with like with Neil Young's after the after the gold rush that there was this whole disillusionment with with all the lofty ideas of what the hippies were trying to present in 6768 and it was kind of a more of a cynical thing even though you didn't go that route like was this your response to it like just to be disestablishment like, you know, I'm a serious singer-songwriter.

I'm not... Right. No, I... That was part of it, too, is that there was nothing serious about it. You know, it was like... It didn't have any pretensions, you know. Wow. Was the idea, you know, I mean, yes, I was judgmental of other music.

But, you know, I realize now that to be judgmental of Frank Sinatra, because he's my parents... its generation, you know, is, that's absurd. You know. So, you know, I've come around to, to understanding that those, I've got an album coming out of, you know, American songbook type tunes arranged for the guitar called American Standard, which is also the name of a toilet manufacturer. It is. It is. Right there on the bowl. I hate you for bringing that up.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by. Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes.

And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield. And in this new season of the girlfriends, oh my God, this is the same man. a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I thought, how could this happen to me?

The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up, everyone? I'm Ago Wodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Ferrell. Woo, woo, woo, woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day, and I was like, and dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place that come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry. about you, which is really sweet. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. And he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit.

If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there. Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks Dad on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Next to the Beatles, I'll probably say that soul music interpretations of your songs are probably the most interesting.

That's really how I got to introduce to it. Isley Brothers, don't let me be lonely tonight. Dog, I was going to say my obsession with Oscar Meyer, I mean, I was three when three plus three came out. I thought it was baloney. I thought it was about lunch me. I can see that. Ronald Isley, the way he announced he is his word, don't let me bologna.

Oh, yes, baloney, I got you. Yes. Oh, God, why did I say? Sarah's judgment me. No one knows what bologna is anymore, so. They don't sell that no more. Yeah, they do. They have plant-based bologna.

Shut up. The impossible bologna. James, you mean me? Huh? Wait a minute. Sorry. We're not going to rabbit hole. Yeah, I do.

Okay. I just, would you not think that he was like? My whole point, though, was, were you aware of how radical the soul music interpretations of your songs were? Like, because to me, even though, yes, I love your version of fire and rain, but the eyes brothers have this really notorious eight-minute version of the song that almost wound up on

every mixtape I've ever given a girl. And on top of that, are you rather chagrined that, for those that don't know the how the song came to be

and what it's about and how you wrote it, how almost like fire and rain gets or most of your songs get misinterpreted because we just want to see it through our rose-colored filter this just a smidgin oh this is my shit

this is always the second song on every it's like a minor to major like yeah they won't even get to the lyrics until four minutes in They just stay here for like five minutes. But I was going to say, are you rather chagrined when people take your songs and sort of have it for the wrong meanings? Like, I'm certain that it's been placed in movies and romantic songs.

You're like, no, this is about a friend's suicide and, you know. Right, and drug recovery. Yeah, it's true. and you know but it's the emotional impact of the song that really counts and and I think that that that's why that that song resonated with people because you know and I I think that the line I always thought I'd see you again I think the eyes are right that's basically the sort of the emotional core of it like well when I've seen it's always like someone arrives at the train station too late and the love of their life already left or like at the the airport moment like

commercials TV yeah yeah and yeah those two puppies fight like yeah yeah no it is it's it's it's an emotional package I think and and it that's what comes through more than the the you know the literal reading of the song I think and and that's but that's the nature of music, we don't get to decide about it. It's not a cerebral process. It either connects with this or it doesn't. And to a certain extent, to talk about it, although I talk about it a lot and think about it a lot. But that's sort of, you know, after the fact, I mean, the music either, you know, because it's a real thing. It's not, you know, words are, all words represent something else, but the only word that is the thing that it represents is the word word.

Wow. Dan. Words of wisdom. Time to get something, James Taylor. That's the show ladies. Thank you very much. So, so, you know, so we put words together to describe all kinds of things, the world, the universe. But, but music, although it's like a language,

we manipulate it like a language, and we use it for, it definitely has emotional, I'm not sure if they're culturally, you know, established, or if everyone in the world hears a minor chord the same way as opposed to a major chord, you know. But I do think that there's a reality to it because it follows the laws of physics, you know, an octave is twice the frequency of the octave below it and half of the one above it. and that the overtone series is a real thing that exists. So music has its base in a real truth, you know, and not one that we have to arrive at a consensus about. And that way it hits us directly. And that, you know, that means that it, you know, the cliche, the universal language.

But, you know, it, you know, that's, that's, We were talking about people misinterpreting lyrics and, and I don't think they really do. I think that, you know, the way a song hits you is probably what it actually has. They find a common emotion. So do you feel as though your voice? Okay, now I'm going to feel like Chris Farley asking this question. Your voice is really cool, man. but you're just just your the the tone and the sound of your voice

um is such a warm gift uh that could possibly i mean i'm certain that you could sing inner stamman by by metallica by metallic and it would just be the best feeling in the world. Yeah, how did you, I don't know the answer is going to be like, well, I've had this voice and there's a gift from God or whatever. People always say to avoid the question, but how did you develop your voice or what made you sing in, I guess you're a lower register? Like, it's a rare thing to have that much impact under a tenor. You know, that's a really good point. I've never, you know, you're the first person I've ever spoken to who's actually put it that way, and I totally agree.

I totally, I totally agree. You know, the way I look at it is if you have the guitar as your instrument, you know, to sing down in the same range as the guitar itself is like it's muddy, you know. You really wish you could get above it, but I just don't have that range. I can't get above a, you know, literally above an F, you know. And what was this story that I read about that you injured your voice because you were singing too harshly years and years ago? How does what does singing too harshly sound like? Or in the grievous. Let's not make them, you know.

I don't want to sing. I don't want to sing harshly. I'm just asking like what. Yeah. No, it's, it's, it's, I was just singing in a club, you know, six days a week, five shows a night, over a loud band without any monitors, and eventually, I just, I got to, you know, you get little blisters, I guess. So what did you learn as a singer in a way to learn how to take care of your voice that you

didn't do in the bad? It took a long time. And now I find that as I get older, you know, you use it or you lose it. So I exercise my voice every day. That's Tony Bennett told me that. So you do warm-ups? Yeah. Well, actually.

Like of the Seth Riggs variety? Like, br-drh-drug-bris? Right. Yeah, I do. But they're not warm-ups. They're actually like a workout. It's an hour-long process, and I do it every day. Really?

Yeah. Okay. So I guess, yeah, if you're working, that you're working out. It's like a trumpet player and, you know, his chops, his own brochure and his, you know, you've got to keep it going. So, okay, can I ask what your daily workout is? Like, what time do you wake up in the morning and do you set time to create, like, at 6 a.m. when everyone's asleep? Do you write a 3 in the morning when everyone's asleep? or I guess it's just that entertainer's hours.

I don't know what's it like for you. When do you wake up in the day? Shut up. That was Steve. First of all. I was thinking it. Okay. As of this speaking, as of this talking, I'm in a relationship with someone who absolutely

insists I sleep eight to ten hours every night. So he used to sleep three hours a night. Right. I used to be one of those people that was very proud to, you know, whatever. Sleep, sleep is death. Right. That's right. I was one of those people, but, you know, I had to get out that situation.

No, sleep is the best thing that ever happened in my life, which I'm, like, kind of mad. I missed out on it. But that said, I like, at least preliminary, I'm used to creating late at night. Yeah. So I'll say that a lot of my practice was kind of a... I'll say that 80% of my career was somewhere between 7 p.m. and 11 a.m. Which Quincy Jones has a weird theory about what he calls... The alpha state.

The alpha state. So Quincy Jones would purposely... have his musicians come in around 6 p.m. He feed them a lot of food, give them a lot of wine, and they fall asleep in the break room. Then he

waited around midnight 1 a.m. and wake them up one by one to start playing their parts. The short version is because when you're tired, you can't argue with Quincy Jones is like, all right, what I play? But you're not overthinking the part.

you're, he's like when you're tired, you actually give a better performance. Which, which is mainly to go back to your first take thing, a lot of times I, Steve has been like my long time engineer for like 20 years. A lot of times I don't want to know when the tape is rolling because usually when it's like, all right, let's just running down real quick and then we'll record it for, like the best performance is always when you're not aware, you're not hyperware. Yeah. that it's that.

That the meter's running and you're saying, oh man, just 16 bars to go, you know, can I, you know, that's terrible. Yeah, so a lot of the times I'm reading something, I can now play effortlessly without thinking, you know. People see me a few times check my phone or eat cereal or while I'm playing. That's how effortless I am as a musician. but I mean for you like if you get an idea do you keep always keep a device on you to yeah yeah I sort of have to to trap those song ideas sometimes it'll come when you're driving the car

sometimes it'll come when you're you know just often when you're sitting down and just practicing a little start playing a little figure a little wheel and then you you get the thought of a melody and a little scrap of lyric and you have to put that down so that, you know, and sometimes you'll be lucky and that thing will like be half the song, you know, you'll get, and then you, you know, come back to it and write a bridge or, but I've always assumed it was because I had to be ready to be on the stand at eight o'clock at night. Between eight and eleven is when I was performing, and then it takes me about three hours to, to, you know, calm down. enough to go to sleep.

So, and often I'm on the bus, going to the next town, you know. So I just drifted into this thing where I was falling asleep at 2 o'clock, you know. And I'm sleeping till 10, you know. Do you have performance anxiety? Yeah, I do. To this day? Yes, I do. What does that mean for you?

What is that? So it's not a thing like, okay. Hi, guys. I've seen fun. Like, you still have anxiety? You know, it calms down after a week on the road, but that first night, I'll definitely, I've gotten a little bit more efficient at dealing with it. You know, I don't feel it until about half an hour before I go on, but it's sort of packaged in that time, but I definitely. Must you be alone to do your, like, how do, what, a half hour before showtime, what are you doing?

That's right. You know, I put in contact lenses because if I have my glasses in the stage lights, it's like it's hard to read and hard to read the set list. Oh, teleprompter. Yeah, sir. And but I don't use a teleprompter. I still remember the lyrics, but. You're better, man, than...

I don't know what an artist. Once you get past like 60 songs, then something's going to... You're going to forget the second verse to something. Yeah, that's right. And that does happen sometimes. You'll get to the, what more typically happens is you'll get to the end of the second chorus, and you'll say, wait a minute, was that the first or the second chorus I just finished? And you don't know what you're not sure which fun it is.

Are we going into the bridge or are we going into the next first? May I suggest are you pulling what they call a Bobby Brown? Y'all sang it. Sing that shit, y'all? I'm like, I'm see five. You know. I'm sorry. Okay, well, actually, I'm curious about something.

So for the two songs that I got introduced to you in real time as a five-year-old in first grade, now I'm realizing that, is it the one-man dog album? Woo! All right. So all the songs are, what I would call when I refer to the end

a series or vignettes of short shortest songs. It's like a... A Beatles, the end. That's how I referred to it. Or sweet. Yeah, it's like a... It is. They're compressed. There's not a one of them that's longer than a minute.

Right. And they're all lead into each other. Yeah. But it's really great for kids because one of the first song... All right, the second song I've ever had to perform in second grade was chili dog right miss lewin made us all learned chili dog oh no kidding oh hell yeah dude like bless your heart bless him not blowing smoke up your ass you like but yeah with what was what was the reasoning for the way you structured that album

you know um i realized that i had all of these short pieces and And I just found a way to put them all together. Like Little David play on your harp. That's like, you know, I had a dog. I lost and I really shouldn't have had a dog and I felt bad about it. You know, I was traveling too much to have a dog. And, you know, so. This is why I want to have a dog, Sarah.

That's true. Poor guy. Before we move on, though. Yeah, go back. No, I encourage every listener to check out one-man dog. I feel like it's overlooked and underrated and, and nobody really mentions it often enough. So one-man dog.

You're right, Steve. I'm adding it right now. Yeah. Why? Okay. So I don't know why. I feel like I, again, my history of embracing the wrong albums and everyone's canon, I don't know about one-man dog because Miss Lewin would play that in second grade.

And, you know, they're short songs. They're easy to learn. But why? What were your, at the time, you're on Warner, correct? I was on Warner at that point. So what's Moe Austin and those guys sing as far as like, Right. Yeah.

We need a single. Well, they, Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, was a single from that album. And it did well enough to, and it also is covered more than any of my other songs. So, you know, it was a, the thing that was a problem is that if you look at the album and count each one of those little songs, you know, Little David, Chili Dog, jig, you know, all of those various little scraps, they wouldn't pay for individual songs. You know, they're not going to pay publishing on an album that's got 22 songs on it.

Right. Oh, the rule was still 12 or something. That's right. It was a rule of 10, I think. Yikes. And if you do a cover of someone else's song, they're definitely getting paid. If you're the one who has to eat. Eat the cost. Yeah. I see.

So they're just certain songs you get publishing on, and certain songs, you don't on that record? If your contract says that an album shall constitute 10 songs and the record company will only pay for that, you know, publishing on that many songs, If you want to put extras on, it has to come out of your piece. If you wrote the song, that's an obvious choice. But if someone else wrote it, then, and if you do cover another person's song, you're going to have to pay them. Someone will. I mean, that's not, you can't contract yourself out of somebody else's rights. Any inspiring musicians, just rewind that and listen to that one more time.

Again and again. Yeah. Didn't read Donald Passman book. Yeah. Question. Okay. True. If, I'm afraid to ask this question, the, I guess the myth of what you would call, again, the, do you call it the Kenyan Ranch or just, not the Kenyan Ranch? There's a specific title for the California.

Laurel Canyon. Well, the click of, of Joni, you. Like, was there an actual... Were you guys interacting with each other in the way that it was kind of the myth of it of the stories or how we see it in our heads? Like, oh, okay, yeah, you probably hung with, you know, poker at Linda Ronstadt's house on Thursdays. Well, you know, Peter managed and produced both myself and Linda. So, yeah, I saw a lot of Linda. sang on a number of her records. Carol and I were sort of in a band together and

toured together for a long time. Well, Carol King. So you knew her even back in the Brill days or? No, I didn't know her when she was here in town. Although Cooch says that she came down to the Night El Cafe and met us when we were the house band down there. Our ill-fated flying machine days. Yeah. But, um... Stop saying that. Does he even, is, is he aware of the breakbeat? on fly machine? I don't know.

I didn't even know there was one. Yeah. Oh, there's a bona fide diamond. Oh, you're about to tell him somebody. Don't tell him. Don't tell him. There's a well-known breakbeat on a fly-machine record. I was like, that's part of the hip-hop diet.

But good. Right. I digress. I take the back. No, and I think I. Oh, so yeah, Linda and I had that connection. Okay. And Carol King and I had that, Linda Ronsnet, and Carol King and I had a connection.

Joni and I were together for a year. We traveled together, we lived together. I stayed at her place in Laurel Canyon. And we also performed on each other's record. She's the background vocals on You've Got a Friend and Long ago and Far Away. She's, you know, and on a later song of mine called You Are My Only One, that was Joni and Don Henley singing. But at any rate, Joni was also very personally involved with Crosby Stills and Nash.

Jackson Brown worked with Cooch, with Danny Kortsbar in the section, which was my band made that Running on Empty album for him. So there was a sense of a group of sort of community of musicians, and it centered around the Trubidor Cafe, which is a dive in L.A. That's where Donnie Hathaway recorded his live out. Where is that? His version of You Got a Friend was made of the Trubidor.

He skipped over the part where he played on Blue. Oh, that too. Just throwing that in there. That's Joni Mee's a show. It's Joni Mitchell's album blue for people. Fantastic fucking album Blue. Yeah.

It is. It is great, Johnny. So, why is Walking Man the one album that, um, at, let's say, I'm about to say Ash or War, Peter, why he didn't produce it? Why did you go with Dave Spinoza? It was the first album he didn't produce. Well, you know, I, I had made already my first four albums with Peter. and I really wanted to

well for one thing I wanted to record in New York because I never lived in Los Angeles I always lived East Coast and I would stay out there with Peter or at another you know place but I did three albums one with Spinoza and then two with Warner Brothers staff producers Lenny Warringer

and Russ Tidalman. And those guys who also... Just said that so casually, like, those are gods. But wait, they were just staff members? Well, they were staff members at Warner Brothers. Never, I'm one second year old now that I'm realizing that all the good stuff,

all the stuff they produced was on Warner. Which explains why the sound was so consistent, why... All those things were made at Amigo Studios right there in Burbank. It never occurred. occurred to me that like, oh, that they were staff producers and I mean, I came after an era where labels didn't have producers on standby to take all the artists in, like people just chose on their own who they wanted to work with, but that explains why rust, okay, all the stuff's engineered the same and has the consistent sound and...

Yeah, a guy named Lee Hirschberg was the staff, you know, that was the record company studio. So it was sort of like if you were making a movie on the Warner Brothers lot, it was the musical equivalent of that. So we'd go to, I made two albums Gorilla and in the pocket. In the pocket, one of my favorites, yes. Of that record.

Those were good days. I felt as though I had sort of negotiated the process of being public, of going public. I felt stable in my marriage. and I felt healthy and well. And it was just like you show up at the studio, you do your work for a day, you go home.

You know, it was very work a day. It was very a stable place to work. You know, basically working for Warner Brothers making these two albums. And I really, I think that was a very good period for me. Yeah, I mean, it makes sense for a record label to have staff engineers to have a continuity to their sound. I mean, I think that's sort of a lost thing now with labels where there's just no...

I came after that era, so, yeah. Because I'm thinking of CTI and things, and jazz labels and where it's just sort of like, you know, you always have the same engineers and the same producers and it's the same studios. And it's... Branding. Yeah, labels used to do a better job of branding and having their own studio. And also the music was made live, you know, it wasn't all a problem. of put down an idea with a keyboard and a drum machine, get a vocal on it, and then start

making the rounds of people to overdub on it, which is a great way to record, but it doesn't give you the same sound, you know, of if you have a room, you're micing the room, you're micing the players, and they're actually, you know, like that Stan gets album, Go from Epinemez on it, but at any rate, that's a three-day process. I think around midnight, probably also three or four days, you know, very, very live albums. And that's a, that's a rarity. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, And the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. There's two golden rules that any man should live by.

Rule one, never mess with a country girl. You play stupid games, you get stupid prizes. And rule two, never mess with her friends either. We always say that trust your girlfriends. I'm Anna Sinfield, and in this new season of the girlfriends... Oh my God, this is the same man. A group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist. I felt like I got hit by a truck.

I thought, how could this happen to me? The cops didn't seem to care. So they take matters into their own hands. I said, oh, hell no. I vowed. I will be his last target. He's going to get what he deserves. Listen to the girlfriends.

Trust me, babe. On the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Everyone, I'm Ego Wodom. My next guest, you know from Step Brothers Anchorman, Saturday Night Live, and the Big Money Players Network. It's Will Farrell.

Woo. Woo. My dad gave me the best advice ever. I went and had lunch with them one day. And I was like, and Dad, I think I want to really give this a shot. I don't know what that means, but I just know the groundlings. I'm working my way up through, and I know it's a place they come look for up and coming talent. He said, if it was based solely on talent, I wouldn't worry about you, which is really sweet.

Yeah. He goes, but there's so much luck involved. and he's like, just give it a shot. He goes, but if you ever reach a point where you're banging your head against the wall and it doesn't feel fun anymore, it's okay to quit. If you saw it written down, it would not be an inspiration. It would not be on a calendar of, you know, the cat. Just hang in there.

Yeah, it would not be. Right, it wouldn't be that. There's a lot of luck. Listen to Thanks, Dad, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. It just hit me, Steve, that one of our most heated debates ever about music is over her town, too. I'm sorry. Exactly.

We always have this debate. Oh, oh, oh, I see. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you explain, Steve, because I don't know what's going on. I don't know what's going on to this. See, it's a long story. I'm afraid to ask. Right?

Yeah, I'm scared too. He knows what he heard on the radio. No, dude. Like, I live, Dorn and my dad. Like, Dorn and my dad had all pop and soft rock covered. So there's at least eight of his records in my house, right? Not in real time. Not like, oh, I'm in the supermarket.

Oh, it's James Taylor. That's James Taylor. My whole point was that we were going, this is 10 years ago, where we're just nerd now on. James Taylor Classics and my top five is Her Town 2 which was on dad's work.

Dad loves his work. Dad loves his work. Dad loves his work. Right, right, right. That was out when I was like 10. It's my sister's favorite record. So I'm telling him like Her Town 2 and it just and I was so angry for like a week

and I played it for him. I'm like, you're honest? no i'm like and you know i'm sorry well i different different all right well i actually have a very similar story because this this album right here from from 85 that's why i'm here my sister had the cassette and brought it on some family vacation and that's why i know this one back to front and maybe don't know you know a different one back to front but it's it's the oldest sister

story basically yes both of our oldest sisters put james taylor that that song was it It was a, it was a real collaboration. And, you know, I wrote it with a guy named John David Souther, Wadi Wachtell, and Kooch. I think we were all in the room. We were all, you know, staying up way too late. It might have been some substances involved. We, we ended up with this.

Wait, Marcel. He played, I don't mean to interrupt you. Yeah. He came with Stevie Nix. Yeah. Wait, if you're trying to tell me the guy that freaking did the intro to Edge of 17, he co-wrote this song? Yes, he did.

Wadi was in the room. And I get to ask him this question? I wish everybody could see your face right now. Actually, we should look it up and make sure he... That's how I'm remembering it. No, I'm looking right now. Does it say Wachtail? Yes.

Oh, great. Great. James is like, I'm right, yeah. I'm sorry, when Stevie came on the tonight show to do Edge of the 17, he came with her, and we've been nerding out on him for at least three to four hours. He is. That's another, you know, there's so many of these really important musical figures who figure at least as deeply as the person who fronts the band,

but, you know, who like the, you know, the wrecking crew. Like the, you know, that the Motown House band. You know, all of these people who... TSOP, yeah. Yeah, MFSB, that's what I meant, yes. How did you choose these musicians? You know, for the first album, the Apple album, I just ran ads in the music papers in London.

There were two. There was one called New Musical Express and another one called Melody Maker. And we just went to the want ads and advertised for a keyboard player and a bass player. And my friend Joel O'Brien came over to play drums. But ultimately, it was like, by the time we got to California, I hooked up with Cooch again. And Cooch had been working with Carol. So that gave us that basic, just two guitars and Carol's piano.

And we had a number of bass players, but eventually we settled on Lee Sclar. There was a guy named Bobby West who played on Fire and Rain. He played upright bass, you know, acoustic bass, and he bowed it, too, for one verse, I think. Anyway. We know Scalar, too. you know, Sissudio Scalar? Oh, crap! Yeah.

Yeah. No, he's... Yeah, Lee's also, you know, one of these deep sources of music. And I think there are musical cultures like in Japan and in Europe, in Germany, where people follow who these session players are and understand their value. But we, you know, and... particularly back when music was being made live in the studio. You know, these players were, you know, Linda Ronstat depended on a guy named Andrew Gold

as her sort of musical director. And Andrew, you know, is a big part of that sound that she had. And I know you know what I'm talking about, of course. No, well, yeah, even hip-hop heads, when we collect records, first thing we do, is look at the credits. Ah, that are not played on it? Yeah, I'll buy this record. Like, see Bobby Hall playing percussion on your albums.

It was an instant. Whoa, I know that name. Bill Withers and yada yada yada. Okay. I asked it, of course, I go, Steve. No, I just was speaking about collaborations and things our listeners might not know

that you, on albums you've appeared on. Just things I wanted to bring up. Steve Winwood's back in the High Life again. Singing background vocals on that song. That was a Rust. That was a Rustitleman. Yeah. Produced that particular track.

Yeah. And I mentioned you played on Blue. You should really talk about that more. Is it true you played banjo on Old Man, Neil Young? Yes, that's right. And Linda and I sang on that, too. It was a session. in Nashville back when

Nashville was an earlier generation of Nashville, which I really didn't, you know, identify with. I just country music at that time seemed like another country to me.

You know, it did. It seemed like, and I was raised in the South, so I had a sense of what the line was, what the dividing line was. You know, that kind of Christian gunwreck a cowboy hat thing, you know, that line. We're still living in.

Oh, you've noticed that, did you, James? Yeah, that's good. Newsflash, newsflash. I'm glad you noticing James. Is that the only, is that the only banjo you've recorded? That's right. It was a six-string banjo, and it, so you played it like a guitar, and it just, you know, was stretched across that.

membrane that a banjo has made that sound. But yeah. There's one more collaboration that I don't think a lot of people know about. There's a song on an art garfunkel album, cover of Sam Cook's What a Wonderful World.

Yes, that's right. Paul Simon on Art and I, yeah. Everybody takes a verse. It's really cool. Yeah, we wrote an extra verse to it too. Don't know much about the Middle Ages, looked at the pictures and turned the pages. Don't know nothing about

no rise and fall, don't know nothing about nothing at all. And that was an extra verse that we snuck into it so that all three of us got a verse. Yeah, everybody should check that out. It's really pretty. We will. I just got stuck on exciting it. I have a real quick question.

Can you confirm something that I've always thought in my head? In the pocket, there's a song that you did with Stevie Wonder. Don't be sad because your son is down. Did Stevie come up with that title? Yes. Okay. I knew it.

I knew it. What's your theory? It just sounds like Stevie. It sounds like a Stevie sentence. What Stevie gave me was this thing that goes like a, Don't be sad because your son is down. Anyway, that's as much as... Don't stop.

Teaser. You've ruined it, James Taylor. A tear was just about to go over the terrace. James Taylor give it. James Taylor, take it away. But the thing is that he gave me those chord changes, and he gave me, but on the piano, and he gave me the title, Don't Be Sad because Your Son is Down. And he said, you know, take that.

Take that song and shove it. This is happening? Thank you. I haven't thought of that song in many a year. But we did it live one year, and it was really, it was great. But, you know, to be able to work with Stevie was, you know, it was one of those things. He sent it over and called me up and said, you know, give it a try. And, you know, I'll take the publishing on this one.

You take the publishing on the next one. And we haven't got to the next one yet. Oh, he said I as in him. Okay, got you. Stevie O's you one. We got to go. Yeah. I just had a light ball with him.

moment. Ah, damn. He wants to flip some shit. There's, I know. You're like, I gotta go. I gotta flip some shit right now. No, it's just, okay, I have one last question, then I gotta let you go.

Okay. I do want to talk about traffic dam. Yeah. But I also want to ask him why was it necessary for the book to come out right now? What's more important? All right, I'll ask you about, yes, yes.

You can ask them off the air about traffic channel. Yes. I'll ask you off there. Okay. I mean, that was some pioneering ass shit. Yeah, yeah. You were damn near rapping. He was rapping on that song.

You were rapping in 1977. Okay. Why did you feel was necessary to share? Thank you for sharing your story. Yes. Yes. Why did you feel was necessary to, at this stage in your life, to share that story? Audible came to me and suggested, sort of through my management, suggested that I do a project of some sort of.

And initially the idea was to take five songs of mine, play them, and talk about them, you know, just sort of elaborate on them. And, you know, to the extent that it would take up however many songs were necessary for that chunk of work, which is 90 minutes. But when I started talking to Bill Flanagan about getting a script together, he said, you know, why don't we just take a certain, that portion of your life that, that, that, predates your being public before every, you know, and why don't you just tell that story? So it, we sort of backed into it a little bit. It's a hell of a story. But why we decided just now, you know, I took the fall off because I've got kids who are seniors in high school and they're going to that, through that college, you know, admissions thing and I wanted to not be on the road for that. I want to be around. So

I just had the time to do it, you know. Thank you. That, it was necessary. I appreciate that. Amir, thank you. Thank you. Wow. This is one for the ages. Is there any last words? Well, on behalf of teams. Did you, but did you, you had a question about fire and rain. You were thinking of asking? No, no, I had a question about traffic jam. Oh, okay. Which what made you even think to approach the song like that? Because that's essentially hip-hop. You know, it was very... The four or five was

that bad that day? Yeah. No, right. You know, it was written right there in the studio, right in the amount of time, really, that it took to sing the song. It was written. Freestyling. Okay. It was freestyle. And Russ Cuncle took a foot pedal and a box, you know, like a box filled with packing peanuts. And he attached the foot pedal to the box and played the top of it, you know, with brushes. So it wasn't even a drum. It was like a, you know. Making instruments up on the spot.

Yes, that's hip-hop. Go ahead. Russ was, you know, he's a very funky player. He's a great player. And, you know, we just basically put it together and then harmonize the only melody in the song is in the chorus, damn this traffic jam, how I hate to be late. It hurts my motor to go so slow. Damn this traffic jam. By the time I get home, myself will be cold.

Damn this traffic jam. And we, so, you know, it just came out. and it was a very L.A. thing because, you know, you lived in Los Angeles. You just lived in that traffic all the time. And, uh, well, just because it came out in 77, I was like, well, hip hopped didn't exist yet. I didn't know if it was like Woody Guthrie, folky, talky thing. Right. Talking blues like Bob Dylan's talking blues. Right. But yeah, I, I, okay, you answered it, and I appreciate that.

All right, we got to go, ladies and gentlemen. Wait, white people invented rapping. Just want to let everybody know that. Start up, Steve. Just letting everyone know. No, man, on behalf of Boss Bill and Sugar Steve and Laia, and sorry, Fonte, you missed one for the record. I'm Babe Bill and even Sarah. Am I missing somebody? Oh, James Taylor.

And Julian. Yeah, Julian. Of course, your family now. Thank you very much. This has been great, man. Thank you so much for inviting me in. Well, this is our episode of Let's Love Supreme. Woo, amazing.

I don't even know how to sign off for my own television show. Television show. Yo, he messed up. No, I'm funny, y'all. We'll see you on next. Go around on a Quest Love's Supreme. All right, bye-bye.

For more podcasts from I-HartRadio, visit the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me.

Clifford Taylor, the fourth. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This week on the Sports Slice podcast, it's all about the NFL draft.

And we've got a special guest. The director of the NFL's East West Shrine Bowl, Eric Galko, joins the Sports Slice podcast to break down what really matters when evaluating draft prospects. From hidden traits teams look for to the biggest mistakes franchises make to the players flying under the radar. This is the insight you won't hear anywhere else. If you want to understand the draft like an insider, you don't want to miss this episode. Listen to the Sports Slice podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slica Life 12 and TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. When a group of women discover they've all dated the same prolific con artist, they take matters into their own hands.

I vowed. I will be his last target. He is not going to get away with this. He's going to get what he deserves. We always say that trust your girlfriends. Listen to the girlfriends. Trust me, babe, on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.