Blues legend Taj Mahal shares rare stories about Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, and the unreleased Bill Withers song that shaped his stunning new record.
Topics Include:
- Taj Mahal discusses his new album, Time, and its origins
- Reveals his decades-long friendship and mutual respect with Bill Withers
- Explains how Bill Withers heard and loved this unreleased demo
- Bill Withers' wife gave final approval before the song's release
- Withers walked away from music rather than change his sound
- Why the industry pushed Withers to sound more commercial
- Taj shares why vinyl beats digital for capturing real sound
- Breaks down the "bell curve" problem with digital audio quality
- Approaches albums as full journeys, not three-minute singles
- Reveals how effortlessly he sequences songs like a live set
- Traces his musical roots to a tight-knit 1940s community
- Recalls learning piano, clarinet, trombone before finding the guitar
- Explains how guitar evolved from rhythm to lead instrument
- Names the blues legends who shaped his earliest influences
- Credits Ray Charles as one of his deepest musical influences
- Shares rare stories of jamming with Jimi Hendrix live
- Discusses bootlegs, tape trading, and the ethics of live recordings
- Compares the Grateful Dead's bootleg policy to other artists
- Tells the wild story of Rolling Stones' Rock and Roll Circus
- Recalls dancing Stones and Clapton watching him at the Whisky
- Explains how British rockers reintroduced blues to American audiences
- Describes his first-class trip to London and Stones' hospitality
- Reveals why Labor of Love was released only on vinyl
- Shares the surprising stat: vinyl never drops below 6% globally
- Talks new tour dates and hopes to return to Australia
Photo by Mike Coeyman
High resolution version of this podcast is available at: www.Patreon.com/VinylGuide
