18-time Grammy nominee and American musical legend Taj Mahal goes deep on his influences and his approach to the craft.

PART ONE
Paul and Scott kick off the new year with a discussion about the nominees for the upcoming Grammy Awards. And more!

PART TWO
Our in-depth conversation with Taj Mahal

ABOUT TAJ MAHAL
Singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Taj Mahal has mastered the blues form and has further built upon it by incorporating world music influences and expanding the boundaries of the genre. Growing up in Massachusetts, he made his way to Southern California in the mid-1960s where he formed the Group Rising Sons with Ry Cooder, Jessie Lee Kincaid, and Kevin Kelley. They signed with Columbia Records but, upon disbanding, Taj joined forces with guitarist Jesse Ed Davis and remained on the label as a solo artist. After a dozen albums with Columbia, he moved to Warner Bros. Records in the mid-1970s. Following a period spent living in Hawaii and largely out of the limelight in the 1980s, he ultimately reemerged for a new era of commercial success. Taj has been nominated for 18 Grammy Awards, winning five, including Best Contemporary Blues Album in 1997, 2000, 2008, and 2018, and best Traditional Blues Album in 2022 and 2025. He has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from both the Americana Music Association and the Recording Academy. His most recent album, a duet project with Keb’ Mo’ called Room on the Porch, is nominated for the Best Traditional Blues Album Grammy at the upcoming Awards on February 1st.

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We've been celebrating our 10th anniversary all year by digging in the vaults to re-present classic episodes with fresh commentary. Today, for our final "classic episode" of 2025, we're revisiting our 2020 conversation with "All I Want for Christmas" co-writer Walter Afanasieff. Happy holidays and thanks for a great year of looking back together as we continue to look toward the future!

ABOUT WALTER AFANASIEFF

Thirteen-time Grammy nominee and two-time winner Walter Afanasieff is best known for his collaborative songwriting and production partnership with Mariah Carey that yielded hit singles such as “Can’t Let Go,” “Dreamlover,” “Hero,” “Without You,” “Anytime You Need a Friend,” “Butterfly,” “My All,” and “One Sweet Day,” a duet with Boyz II Men that was named ASCAP Song of the Year. It hit #1 in December of 1995 and stayed there for sixteen weeks—a record that remained unbroken for more than two decades. Their “All I Want for Christmas is You” was released in 1994 and has since become a holiday standard. It hit #1 on Billboard’s pop chart for the first time in 2019, giving Walter and Mariah the world record for the longest period of time between a song’s original release and its arrival at the top of the chart.

In addition to his success with Carey, Afanasieff carved out a formidable reputation as a go-to producer of hit movie songs. After co-writing and co-producing the Gladys Knight single “License to Kill” from the James Bond film of the same name, he went on to produce “Beauty and the Beast,” “A Whole New World” from Aladdin, “Even If My Heart Would Break” from The Bodyguard, and “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic, which became the best-selling single in the world for 1998. Additionally he produced “Some Day” from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Academy Award nominated “Go the Distance” from Hercules.

Other hits from the Walter Afanasieff songbook include “Can You Stop the Rain,” a #1 R&B single for Peabo Bryson that earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Song, “Missing You Now,” a #1 Adult Contemporary hit for Michael Bolton, “If You Go Away,” a Top 20 single for New Kids on the Block, Savage Garden’s #1 pop single “I Knew I Loved You,” and Ricky Martin’s massive global hit “She Bangs.”

The long list of additional artists Walter has written and produced music for includes Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Luther Vandross, Destiny's Child, Kenny G, Andrea Bocelli, Johnny Mathis, Kenny Loggins, Barbra Streisand, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Babyface, and Josh Groban.

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GRAMMY winner and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Mike Reid chats about his remarkable musical life.

PART ONE
Scott and Paul talk about the sports games and so much more

PART TWO
Our in depth conversation with Mike Reid

ABOUT MIKE REID

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Famer Mike Reid has written twelve #1 country songs and has had his work recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Anita Baker, Bette Midler, Prince, George Michael, Nancy Wilson, Etta James, Kenny Rogers, Ann Murray, Wynonna Judd, Alabama, Joe Cocker, Tanya Tucker, Willie Nelson, Collin Raye and Tim McGraw. He is perhaps best known for co-writing the modern-day standard “I Can’t Make You Love Me” with Allen Shamblin.

Launching his music career as a staff songwriter for country star Ronnie Milsap’s publishing company, Reid penned Milsap hits such as “Stranger in My House,” which won a Grammy for Best Country Song” and “Lost in the Fifties Tonight,” which was named ASCAP’s Country Song of the Year. As an artist, Mike signed with Columbia Records and scored a #1 hit with the self-penned “Walk on Faith.”

Others who’ve recorded Reid’s songs include Tammy Wynette, Rita Coolidge, Don Williams, Billy Dean, Josh Turner, Shelby Lynne, The Judds, George Jones, and Shania Twain. A true Renaissance man, Reid went on to compose theatrical and operatic works, winning a Richard Rodgers Development Award from the Academy of Arts and Letters for 1997's The Ballad of Little Jo. His most recent project is a collaborative album with Joe Henry called Life and Time.

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