Ep. 171 - Richard Bennett | Sessions and Touring with Neil Diamond, Mark Knopfler, Steve Earle and More
Music Makers and Soul Shakers with Steve DawsonShow Notes
Guitarist and session ace Richard Bennett joins me on the show this week. Originally from Phoenix, Richard spent the first big chunk of his career in the 70’s LA studio scene, before moving to Nashville in the 80’s where he’s been a mainstay in studios ever since. Richard is known as one of the ultimate sidemen and spent 17 years in Neil Diamond’s band, playing on all of his records and tours from ’71 to ’87. Richard has had another long-term sideman gig playing guitar in Mark Knopfler’s band since '94, and that continues to this day, touring in his band and playing on all of his records, including the latest “One Deep River” from this year. Aside from those impressive long-term gigs, Richard has played on countless sessions and gigs for artists like Roseanne Cash, Marty Stuart, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Rodney Crowell, Iris Dement, and Waylon Jennings. He also loves to write and record his own music, and is constantly working on the next set of tunes to get into the studio to document. His latest is called “Talltale Tunes” and it’s a killer record of great playing, tone and creativity. Richard is also an in-demand producer and has helmed an impressive list of albums in the last few decades as well. He had a huge role in the Nashville session scene of the 80’s and 90’s that continues to thrive, and I loved getting a chance to hear about that era of Nashville. I’ve spent the last year playing in a band with Richard called The Volcano Brothers, playing all 1920’s and 30’s Hawaiian music, with Richard playing ukulele. While we just play tiny local gigs around Nashville with that band, I still get to see and hear Richard’s amazing touch on his instruments, and the dedication and the preparation that he puts into every show, no matter how small! He’s an incredible musician, an encouraging band-mate, and an inspiring person to be around, and we had a very enjoyable conversation about his history in music and the recording studio. You can get all the latest on Richard at richard-bennett.com - Enjoy my conversation with Richard Bennett!
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Season 9 comes to a close and I wanted to wrap it up with a short episode and what’s to come, and take care of our incredible end-of-season giveaways.
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Following the passing of blues legend John Hammond, we’re revisiting this conversation with him from the first season of Music Makers and Soul Shakers, with the addition of a later conversation in which John recounts meeting Bo Diddley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
British pedal steel guitar legend BJ Cole joins me on the show today. BJ is a masterful steel player - very inventive and textural but with incredible chops and skills as well. He’s amassed an incredible body of solo work over the years, but has also been the top call steel session player in the UK for decades. He had a very solitary musical start, but got into country bands in England and eventually started gigging and playing sessions. Things changed for BJ when he got called to play steel on Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” in 1971. He laid down some very tasty and memorable steel parts on that hit, and the phone started ringing big time. BJ has played on records and toured with an incredible array of artists like Joan Armatrading, Marc Bolan, KD Lang, Beck, Bjork, Sting, John Cale, Brian Eno and many more. He’s also always written and recorded his own music and collaborations, which have been all over the place musically and are a great way to delve into his musical brain. There’s a new collab with cellist Emily Burridge - cello and steel duets that’s really cool, and his solo albums like Transparent Music, The New Hovering Dog, Trouble in Paradise - all great albums well worth checking out. We get into all it, plus some seriously nerdy pedal steel talk. You can keep up to date on BJ’s latest projects and tours at bjcole.co.uk Enjoy my conversation with BJ Cole!
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