Show Notes
This is a special tribute edition of Famous Lost Words as we honour the life and music of Robbie Robertson. Today, we go back in the archives for some excellent interview clips with Robbie – first from the early ‘70s when he was still in The Band – and then to 1998 as he talks about his solo work. Robertson talks about hooking up with Bob Dylan in the mid ‘60s and also the creation of “The Basement Tapes”. Then, Robbie talks about his 1998 album “Contact From The Underworld of Redboy”. He explains to interviewer Dale Smith how thrilling it was to create music that celebrated his indigenous heritage. We also tell the story Robbie’s first celebrity encounter – with Buddy Holly. And we hear about how Robbie wrote his first songs. Plus – Elton John explains how he was influenced by The Band much more than he was by Dylan. Robbie Robertson passed away on August 9, 2023 at the age of 80. The Band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
More from Famous Lost Words
What is the most misunderstood song ever? Born In The USA? Every Breath You Take? The Macarena? Christopher and Tom reveal their top picks. We have a wide range of artists this week! First up is Rush – who have recently experienced an incredible renaissance in terms of popularity and respect. Tom talks about seeing their current tour, then we’ll hear from Geddy Lee in 1984 as he and the band deal with the enormous success from the previous few years. Glenn Frey struggled to find his footing after the dissolution of The Eagles. But in August of 1985, Glenn was in a good place – and this interview reflects his success and optimism. Sade broke out in 1984 and went on to record some of the coolest music of that decade. We have a short clip from her as she speaks about songwriting. Then we close out the show with ZZ Top – just as they were about to conquer the charts with “Eliminator”. It’s a chat with Billy Gibbons from 1983. Famous Lost Words, hosted by Christopher Ward and Tom Jokic, is heard in more than 100 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria and 91x in Belleville. It is in the Top 15% of worldwide podcasts based on the number of listeners in the first week.
Today, we start something new! It’s called FLW Hits. A series of shorter episodes that focus specifically on the stories behind some of the biggest hit songs ever recorded. For this episode, we start with the most memorable riff and song of George Michael’s career as he tells us about the creation of Careless Whisper. When Christopher interviewed Tina Turner in 1989, she told him how she shaped the sound of one of her biggest hits, “The Best”. Then we have one of the best protest songs ever as Stephen Stills explains to Tom the inspiration of the Buffalo Springfield song “For What It’s Worth”.
Christopher and Tom kick off season 12 trying to choose the greatest musician of all time. Names like Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Prince and Robbie Williams (?!) come up, but Christopher has a choice that doesn’t include any of the aforementioned. Then, we feature Christopher’s 1989 interview with Paul McCartney. It’s a great conversation as Paul comes to terms with his back catalogue and gives us the story behind some of his biggest Beatles hits. We will also discuss Macca’s burst of creativity in recent months. Plus Cool Beatles Facts – including the real story behind John & Paul’s supposed "feud". With the recent shocking loss of singer Sass Jordan, we revisit our chat with Sass from 2018 and talk about her career and legacy. Plus we have an excellent interview with David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears, who passed away recently at the age of 84. Famous Lost Words, hosted by Christopher Ward and Tom Jokic, is heard in more than 100 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria and 91x in Belleville. It is in the Top 20% of worldwide podcasts based on the number of listeners in the first week.
Season 12 of Famous Lost Words is just days away. We’re back with the likes of Elton John, Chicago, Rick James, Pearl Jam, and The Tragically Hip. We start things off with Christopher’s epic 1989 conversation with Paul McCartney, one of the most in depth interviews you’ll ever hear. Plus we have a wildly entertaining visit with the irrepressible Lionel Richie as he shares stories from his entire career. We also have our very first NON-MUSICAL episode – featuring Hugh Grant, Mike Myers, Martin Short and Tom’s interview with Pamela Anderson. Christopher and Tom will argue about the best album from 50 years ago… and the greatest musician of all time. But we also have a big announcement... Coming soon to the Famous Lost Words podcast feed, a brand new series called FLW Hits – where will drill down on the stories behind the greatest songs ever made. Same guys. Same archives. Shorter episodes. And once in awhile we will bring in a special guest to help us out. And of course, we will hear from the artists themselves. That’s FLW Hits And season 12 of Famous Lost Words Just days away
We lost one of the greats with the passing of Neil Sedaka. The songs, like “Calendar Girl”, “Love Will Keep Us Together”, “Oh! Carol” and “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” are so recognizable and the melodies so deceptively simple, it’s like they’ve always been with us. And if you’ve ever heard Sedaka being interviewed, you can’t miss the joy and passion that he had for the work. For this special tribute, we have 3 sets of interview clips from one of the top songwriters of his era. Neil remembers his earliest hits with the late Andy K of 1050 CHUM in Toronto. He also tells CHUM's Roger Ashby about the challenges he faced in his career. And we even hear from Elton John, who helped facilitate Sedaka's comeback with songs like "Bad Blood" and "Laughter In The Rain". Neil Sedaka continued to perform as recently as 2025. His legacy of songs as a writer and performer will always be with us.