Nakedly Examined Music Podcast

Tom was an integral member of the Greenwich Village early ’60s folk scene (playing originals regularly before Bob Dylan did). His tunes have been covered by Dylan, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Harry Belafonte, and many others. He received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2009. We talk about “Rebel Gal” from Together Again (2026) (a collaborative album with John McCutcheon), “If the Poor Don’t Matter” from Redemption Road (2015), “Mr. Blue” from Morning Again (1968), and “The Death of Stephen Biko” (with Anne Hills and Bob Gibson) from Best of Friends (live in 1984, released in 2004; the song was originally recorded for Heroes, 1978). Intro: “I Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound” from Rambin’ Boy (1964). More at tompaxton.com. Hear all of “I Can’t Help But Wonder…” From that same album, here’s “Goin’ to the Zoo.” Here he is playing it live in 2024. Some of his other classic ’60s folk tunes are “Bottle of Wine,” “The Last Thing on My Mind,” and “Ramblin’ Boy.“ Hear the cover version of “Mr. Blue” by Clear Light that we discuss. One of the crazier arrangements by Tom himself from this period is “Icarus” (1971). Not too many years after that, a lot of his material was quite relaxed and safe, e.g. “Something in My Life” from the 1975 album of that name. One of his slick ’80s tunes is “And Lovin’ You,” co-written with Bob Gibson. (FYI Tom’s hero Bob Gibson’s most famous song was “Abeline,” from 1957.) Hear the original 1978 version of “The Death of Stephen Biko.” (Here’s the Peter Gabriel tune about the same topic that Mark mentions.) An important tune from the ’00s for Tom is “Comedians & Angels.” Probably my favorite album from his later career is 2008’s “Looking for the Moon.” Here’s the tune from the new album that Mark mentions, “Lay This Old Guitar Down.” Watch Tom and John perform “Same Old Crap” from their first album together; a lot of their tunes together are funny ones like this. Another funny one from a different recent collaboration (with Jon Vezner; this 2019 live album is credited to Tom Paxton & The DonJuans) is “All My Stalkers.” He has remained politically relevant, releasing “No Kings Here!” last September. Listen to my interview with John McCutcheon. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music at nakedlyexaminedmusic.com. Support us at patreon.com/nakedlyexaminedmusic.

Singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Jonathan (currently based in Minneapolis) has been putting out indie rock solo albums since 1992, but has also ventured into traditional Finnish folk music and has multiple releases of tunes that I won’t call Christian rock, but more rock that grapples with being someone who goes to church. We discuss “Diner by the Train” (and listen at the end to “Evidence”) from Waves (2025), “Home Unknown” from Look Up (2015), “Tape” from Recital (1997), and “Failing Rockstar Attempt” from Sound Theology (2000). Intro: “When I Get Bored” from 11 Years and 28 Days in the Yellow Room (1992) More at junathanrundman.com. Hear all of the 2016 Walter Salas-Humara version of “Diner by the Train” (who co-wrote the song with Jonathan; Jonathan plays on this version. Watch Walter’s trio (including Jonathan) play this live. See young Jonathan in his video for “When I Get Bored.” Watch Jonathan’s current live band playing his recent single. “Let’s Put On an Opera.” Watch him playing live Finnish folk music with Kaivama. Watch Kaivama playing “Home Unknown” live. Here he is playing harmonium. Watch a lyric video for Jonathan’s most popular song as we mention in the interview: “Soul, Adorn Yourself with Gladness.” Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsors: Visit square.com/go/nem to learn about how Square helps local businesses. Go to surfshark.com/nakedly or use code nakedly at checkout to get 4 extra months of SurfsharkVPN.

Eric was a major figure in the 1960s NYC folk scene, and his early tunes have been covered by Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, and many others. He’s released 22 solo albums plus several live albums and two albums with The Band’s Rick Danko as Danko/Fjeld/Andersen. We discuss “Don’t It Make You Wanna Sing the Blues” from Dance of Love and Death (2025), “Rain Falls Down in Amsterdam” from Memory of the Future (1998), and “Six Senses of Darkness” from Ghosts Upon the Road (1989). End song: “Time Run Like a Freight Train” from Stages: The Lost Album (recorded 1973). Intro: “Violets of Dawn” from ‘Bout Changes and Things (1966). More at ericandersen.com. Hear all of “Violets of Dawn” and his version for the 1967 European re-recording of that album. Here’s what it sounds like in his current voice. His other really big hit was “Thirsty Boots.” Here’s the same song sung by Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, John Denver, and The Kingston Trio. Here he is singing it in 1985 with a lot of harmonies. Hear the earlier (2007?), live version of “Don’t It Make You Wanna Sing the Blues.” Watch him sing it live in 2020. Another particularly strong tune from the new album is “Troubled Angel.” Here’s the title track, and here’s the political tune we mention. Watch a more recent, live take on “Rain Falls Down in Amsterdam” with more dense instrumentation. From that same era, listen to him do a duet with Lou Reed. He’s also recorded some recent albums related to literature, including an EP about Camus; listen to “The Plague.” His biggest hit from his early ’70s post-folk period was “Blue River.” As he describes at the end of the interview, it was the album right after that which was “lost,” though some tunes were then re-recorded; hear the 1975 version of “Time Run Like a Freight Train.” Another tune from that lost album I particularly like is “Lie With Me.” One of the better songs from the “Exiles” period in the ’80s we talk about near the end of the interview is “Messiah.” One of the more “80s” tunes from that era (with a big hook and horns, but no obvious synths) was “Tight in the Night.” The (co-written) song “with a hook” I referred to from the 1989 album is “Too Many Times (I Will Try).” Just after that album he did the collaborations with Rick Danko; the big song from that was “Driftin’ Away.” Here they are singing it on TV, and here he is singing it live with his own band in the early ’90s. Watch this other interview with Eric that prepared me to talk with him. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Visit square.com/go/nem to learn about how Square helps local businesses.

Maia has released ten lush, Americana-influenced singer-songwriter albums since 1997 and has collaborated with artists like Art Garfunkel, Bonnie Raitt, and Trisha Yearwood, and been covered by Cher, Paul Carrack, etc. We discuss “Counterintuition” (and listen to the title track) from Tomboy (2025), “Phoenix” from The Dash Between the Dates (2015), and “A Home” from Fine Upstanding Citizen (2005) (co-written with her father Randy Sharp and popularized in a cover version by The Chicks). Intro: “I Need This to Be Love” from Hardly Glamour (1997). More at maiasharp.com. Watch the video for “Tomboy”, and a new lyric for another new song, “Only Lucky.” Hear all of “I Need This to Be Love.” Another single of hers that I really like is “Kind.” Watch her perform a full solo set. Watch her perform with Bonnie Raitt and with Art Garfunkel. Here’s the song Maia wrote that was recorded by Cher. Watch Maia pitching her NYU songwriting classes. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Support us on Patreon. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/NAKEDLY to take control of your health through testing and get $100 off your membership.

New York singer-songwriter Willie has released sixteen albums since 1980. He has opened for The Who and Bruce Springsteen, among others, but rejected the major label life after his first two albums. Sponsor: Visit functionhealth.com/NAKEDLY to take control of your health through testing and get $100 off your membership. We discuss “An Irish Goodbye” (feat. Paul Brady) from The Great Yellow Light (2025) (and listen at the end to “Wake Up, America” feat. Steve Earle from that album), “Cell Phones Ringing (In the Pockets of the Dead)” from Streets of New York (2006), and the title track from Places I Have Never Been (1991) (co-written with Richard Chertoff and Jim Cobb). Intro music: “Vagabond Moon” from Willie Nile (1980). Hear all of “Vagabond Moon.” Watch “Cell Phones” ringing live, and “Places I Have Never Been” live. Watch the video for “Wake Up, America.” Watch Willie on Letterman in 1991. Watch him solo acoustic, and he sings solo piano ballads too. We mention Willie’s collaborations with The Hooters: Here’s Willie’s new version of “Washington’s Day,” and The Hooters’ old version. He just co-wrote their new song “Pendulum”; here he is performing it with them. Here’s that interview about Irish cultural influence with Larry Kirwan that we mentioned. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.

This famed finger-style guitarist became famous through Jefferson Airplane’s seven albums from 1966-1972, recorded eight with Hot Tuna 1970-1976 (with subsequent reunions by both bands), recorded his first solo album in 1974 and then 10 more from 1981-2025, and still plays live constantly solo or with his Tuna/Airplane partner, bassist Jack Cassady. He’s also recently recorded three albums backing John Hurlbut and has collaborated with Grateful Dead members and Janice Joplin. We discuss “In My Dreams” from Ain’t in No Hurry (2015), “Been So Long” from River of Time (2009), “Sleep Song” by Hot Tuna from America’s Choice (1975), and we conclude by listening to “Hesitation Blues” from Reno Road: Unreleased Tracks from the 60s (a 1960 recording just released of a foundational song for Jorma’s songwriting composed by W.C. Handy, which Jorma learned through his obsession with Reverend Gary Davis). Intro: “Embryonic Journey” from Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow (1967), plus (because it wasn’t long enough to cover my intro) a bit of a live version from 2003-01-31 The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC. More at jormakaukonen.com. Jorma’s autobiography is Been So Long: My Life and Music (2018), which you can listen to him read on Spotify or Audible. Watch Jorma play “Embryonic Journey” live in 1996 at the Airplane’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Hear a recent live solo version of “Sleep Song,” another recent acoustic version with Jack as Hot Tuna, and here’s video of them playing it electrically recently. Watch a recent live solo version of “Hesitation Blues.” Hear the original 1971 (live) Hot Tuna version of “Been So Long.” and watch them on video playing it in 1973. Watch Jefferson Airplane live playing a tune that starts with a big Jorma solo. Watch Jorma playing live with John Hurlbut. Here’s an audio recording with him and Jaco Pastorius, and here he is with Janice Joplin. One of Jorma’s biggest and best solo tunes is from his firs solo album, the song “Genesis” and another is “Song for the North Star.” Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon. If you enjoy our show, check out the All the Right Movies podcast.

Bill started in the mid-60s with Sons of Champlin and released 8 albums with them between 1969-1977, moved to LA to become a session singer, wrote some Grammy-winning tunes, and released two solo albums before joining Chicago in 1981 as their growling soul singer through their most famous period, releasing six more solo albums during and after his tenure with them (which ended in 2009) in addition to numerous collaborations. We discuss “Alone” from Livin’ for Love (2021), the title track from He Started to Sing (1995) (with music by Bruce Gaitsch and Janie Clewer), and “Right On” by Sons of Champlin from Welcome to the Dance (1973). End song: “Plaid” by Chicago from Stone of Sisyphus (recorded 1992, released 2008). Intro: “Please Hold On” from Chicago 17 (1984) (co-written with Lionel Richie and David Foster). Learn more at billchamplin.com. Bill’s early Grammy co-writes were Earth, Wind & Fire’s “After the Love Has Gone” (1979) (see Bill playing it live in 2023), and George Benson’s “Turn Your Love Around” (1981) (see Bill playing it live in 1993). Watch Sons of Champlin live in 1973. Hear the 2003 live version of the Sons of Champlin playing “Right On.” Bill brings up their earlier tune “Rooftop” as a statement of their ’60s politics. (They got very disco by the end of the ’70s.) The excluded (now bonus) track for Chicago 16 that Bill wrote solo that I refer to was “Daddy’s Favorite Fool.” Any fan of that album should check out the album Bill recorded immediately prior, Runaway, which likewise features collaborations with David Foster, Toto, and also Kenny Loggins and others. Another Chicago tune that we reference from Chicago 17 is “We Can Stop the Hurtin‘,” which Bill arranged the vocals for. Watch Bill singing the classic early Chicago tune “Make Me Smile” (which he did not write, of course), and probably the Chicago tune you recognize him from, i.e. the Dianne Warren-penned “Look Away” (as sick as Bill became playing this song, he created his own acoustic arrangement of it). Another ’80s moment of singing fame was with “In the Heat of the Night.” One for Chicago that Bill did write (more or less according to their ballad formula is “I Believe” from Chicago 18. This is by contrast to his much more harmonically adventurous solo tune “Party Time in DC.” Recently, Bill recorded three albums as Champlin Williams Friestedt; here they are live (featuring Bill’s wife Tamara). Here are Bill and Tamara playing as a live duo. Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.

Peter recorded with Chris Stamey as early as 1972, and they reconvened as The dB’s in the ’80s. Peter has released six albums as the dB’s, three more as a duo with Chris, four co-fronting the Continental Drifters, and three solo albums. He has also been a supporting/touring member in several bands including REM (e.g. on the Out of Time album), Hootie and the Blowfish, and currently The Paranoid Style. We discuss “Larger Than Life” from his new solo album The Face of 68), “Don’t Mention the War” from Game Day (2018), and “She Won’t Drive in the Rain” (co-written with Kristian Bush from Sugarland) by The Db’s from their reunion album Falling off the Sky (2012). We conclude by listening to “Where Does the Time Go” by Continental Drivers from Better Day (2001). Intro: “Amplifier” by The Db’s from Repercussion (1981). To read Peter’s words, check out halfpearblog.blogspot.com. Here’s the NY Times piece he wrote about how musicians need to get day jobs. Peter’s bandcamp page only has a couple of things on it, but one of them includes the live version of “Don’t Mention the War,” as well as an updated take on “Amplifier.” Watch the original video for “Amplifier.” Another dB’s video (featuring Stamey, who had left by the “Amplifier” video) is for “Neverland.” Here’s one for “Don’t Mention the War.” Watch the dB’s live back in 1984 and during their 2012 reunion. Here he is live solo in 1988 and in 2022. Here he is playing one of his tunes live backed by The Blue Dogs. Watch Peter singing and playing keys for Continental Drifters in 2001. Watch Peter playing keyboards with Hootie on Letterman. Peter is with REM, hiding out of focus in a hat playing rhythm guitar here between Bill Berry (playing bass?) and Mike Mills on keys. You can hear Peter on the new Paranoid Style album, The Interrogator. Hear Peter with Rittenhouse Square in 1972 (with Chris Stamey and Mitch Easter), singing his song “Like Wow.” Another pre-dB’s tune of his is “Big Black Truck” (1978). Hear more Nakedly Examined Music. Like our Facebook page. Support us on Patreon.