by Mary Dolan

Episode 271: War

“Low Rider”

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The band War formed in 1969, in Long Beach, California. “Low Rider” is from their 1975 album Why Can’t We Be Friends? The song was a hit as soon as it came out. It went to #1 on the Billboard R&B charts, and it’s just had tremendous lasting power ever since. Besides being in the movie Dazed and Confused, where I heard it, it’s been sampled by the Beastie Boys, it was covered by Korn, and it was the theme song for all six seasons of The George Lopez Show.

For this episode, I talked to War’s bandleader Lonnie Jordan, and their producer Jerry Goldstein. The two of them told me how “Low Rider” was made in the studio, through a combination of improvisation and meticulous editing.

You can buy or stream “Low Rider” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

footnotes:
“Low Rider” personnel: Lonnie Jordan, Papa Dee Allen, B.B. Dickerson, Charles Miller, Harold Brown, Howard Scott, and Lee Oskar
“Low Rider” as seen in the movie Dazed and Confused
Crystal Studios
Jerry Goldstein’s prior credits included “Hang on Sloopy” and “My Boyfriend’s Back”
Tito Puente
Lowrider cars
Stevie Wonder
Sound City Studios
“Low Rider” is sampled on “G.D.F.R.” by Flo Rida
Flavor Flav

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by Mary Dolan

Episode 270: Shania Twain

“You’re Still The One”

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Shania Twain is a singer and songwriter from Ontario, Canada. She’s the only female artist to have had three consecutive Diamond albums  —  albums that have each sold over ten million copies. Actually, her 1997 album Come On Over is the best-selling album by a female solo artist of all time. One of the most iconic songs from that iconic album is “You’re Still The One.” It was co-written and produced by Mutt Lange, who had previously produced some other classic albums, like AC/DC’s Back in Black and Def Leppard’s Pyromania. He had also produced Shania Twain’s previous album, The Woman in Me. For this episode, Shania told me the story of writing “You’re Still The One.” She told me about what the song meant to her when she was making it, over 25 years ago, and what it means to her now.

You can buy or stream “You’re Still The One” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Paul Leim – drums
John Hobbs – organ
Bruce Bouton – steel guitar
Mutt had also produced albums for Foreigner and The Cars
Shania’s childhood repertoire included Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette and George Jones

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by Mary Dolan

Episode 269: Danny Brown

“Y.B.P.” (feat. Bruiser Wolf)

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Danny Brown started his career in 2007 by handing out mixtapes in Detroit, where he’s from. In 2011, he put out his acclaimed second album, XXX. Since then, he’s collaborated with rappers like Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Rocky and JPEGMafia, but he’s also worked with electronic bands like Purity Ring and The Avalanches, and he did a verse on a remix for Korn.

When I first heard him, around when XXX came out, I was really drawn to his voice. And I also appreciated that, given how young so many artists are now when they get really famous, Danny Brown’s career really started taking off in his 30s. He put out his sixth album, Quaranta, in 2023. And for this episode, I talked to him about one of the songs from that album, called “Y.B.P.,” which features guest vocals from Bruiser Wolf.

You can buy or stream “Y.B.P.” here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes:
Skywlkr and Kassa Overall – producers
Bruiser’s verse mentions Rodney Peete, Barry Sanders, Isiah “Zeke” Thomas, Malice Green, Y.B.I., and Butch Jones
Blade Icewood, J Dilla, Nelly

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