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Ep. #131: Ronnie Spector

Ronnie Spector is one of the most influential vocalists and performers in all of pop music. Her work with the Ronettes in the 1960s was legendary, altering the course of rock ‘n’ roll with its style, attitude, and gigantic international hits like “Be My Baby,’ “Walking in the Rain,” and “Baby, I Love You.” Spector simply casts a long shadow on contemporary culture, influencing filmmakers, fashion designers, hair stylists, and a list of musicians that includes the Beatles, Beach Boys, Bruce Springsteen, Ramones and Amy Winehouse among many others. On September 19, Spector heads to the Riatlo Theatre and Pop Montreal with her acclaimed show, Beyond the Beehive, an evening of music and stories about her life. Here, Ronnie and I discuss the rock ‘n’ roll state of Connecticut, the origins of her current stage show and its unfiltered examination of her entire life, talking about yourself in an age of oversharing, how artists don’t have lasting power in the current music industry, doing her Keith Richards impression, making the live Ronnie Spector experience a special one, how her marriage to Phil Spector impacted her ability to tour and release records, losing years in court battles, deflecting her icon status, raising kids and living a perfect life, Bed Bath & Beyond, cooking, falling in love with the voice of Frankie Lymon, music homework, going to the Apollo Theatre for amateur night at 11 years old, what Phil Spector was like to work with in the studio, the wall of sound was people, her relationship with “Be My Baby,” how there is still a lot of unreleased material by the Ronettes and Ronnie that has yet to see the light of day, we get cut off, the song “Be My Baby” and that was it.

Related links: ronniespector.com popmontreal.com vishkhanna.com

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News Podcast

Ep. #64: Sharon Jones

Sharon Jones is a powerful, distinctive, and compelling American singer and performer who fronts one of the world’s greatest bands, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Their new album is Give the People What They Want and was released this month via Daptone Records, as Jones continues her recovery and treatment after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year. We caught up at her hotel in Toronto this week and discussed how Montreal was the first city that made her feel like a superstar, why America is confusing soul music with whatever ‘retro’ means and how soul music is a worldwide phenomenon, how Martin Scorsese is such a fan, he put Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings in The Wolf of Wall Street and what that experience was like, why she insisted on a do-over when she performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last week, the song “Now I See,” the undercurrent of rage on Give the People What They Want and how it relates to issues of economic disparity and her battle with pancreatic cancer, why she’s out promoting her record when her health isn’t 100%, a thorough explanation of her condition, why she tries to be open and honest with her fans about everything, how her ordeal has placed the American health care debate in a new light for her and why the politics surrounding it are racially motivated, writing her own songs vs. conveying the ideas of other writers, her recovery and future plans, how she manages the band’s social media platforms, the song “Making Up and Breaking Up (And Making Up And Breaking Up Over Again),” and more.

Related links: daptonerecords.com vishkhanna.com

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Listen, subscribe, rate/review on iTunes.