About this episode
Matt Berninger discusses Willie’s cover of 'All of Me' and its significance in his musical journey.
Matt Berninger, lead singer and lyricist of beloved Brooklyn rock band The National, talks about Willie’s 1978 cover of “All of Me.” It was the third single off his dad’s favorite Willie record, Stardust , an album Matt loves so much that, when he went to record his first solo album, Serpentine Prison , he enlisted Stardust producer Booker T. Jones to produce, and Willie’s harmonica player, Mickey Raphael, to play harp. We’ll get into all that, plus the pre-Willie history of “All of Me,” the decidedly unorthodox sessions in which Willie and Booker recorded it, and the healing power of music…with brief cameos by Roberta Flack, Billie Holiday, and Lester Young, and a full-on co-star role for Mickey, who sat in on the interview and provided his own detailed memories of creating Stardust .
People in this episode
Host: John Spong
Guest: Matt Berninger
Topics covered
- music
- cover songs
- songwriting
- interviews
- healing power of music
Keywords
- Matt Berninger
- Willie
- All of Me
- Stardust
- music history
- interview
- The National
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The National
Books & works: All of Me, Stardust, Serpentine Prison
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