SONG DIVING - An American Songwriter Podcast

We dive in with Jason Mraz to talk about songs like “I’m Yours,” “I Won’t Give Up,” “Lucky,” and “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry),” and we get into songwriting as meditation, creative prompts as a doorway into inspiration, and the joy and doubt that can come with a song that suddenly arrives all at once.We also geek out on the music and voices that shaped the way he hears and writes songs, from Michael Jackson and Ani DiFranco to Willie Nelson and the humor and warmth of Hee Haw playing at his grandmother’s house.Along the way we talk about how songwriting began as a “parlor trick” for his friends, how he almost didn’t believe in “I’m Yours,” and why now is the right time to share the gospel album he originally recorded as a Christmas gift for his grandmother.It’s a conversation about the songs that heal us, the songs that surprise us, and what can happen when you let yourself become an instrument for inspiration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We dive in with Taj Mahal to talk about songs like “Queen Bee,” “Loving in My Baby’s Eyes,” and “Mailbox Blues,” and how they grow out of the lineage of African and American music.Along the way, we explore the artists who shaped how he hears and writes, from Ray Charles to Jimmy Reed to Etta James to Mississippi John Hurt.We talk about finding your own voice, trusting instinct, and why tempo can shape everything.And we talk about his new album Time, including his take on an unreleased Bill Withers song, Bob Marley’s “Talking Blues,” and how “Sweet Lorene” gives a nod to Otis Redding.It’s a conversation about roots and feel. In Taj Mahal’s words, “Do you feel it or do you not feel it? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices