About this episode

Sam Sanders interviews Danyel Smith about Mariah Carey's songwriting and her impact on music history.

Mariah Carey has more No. 1 hits than any other American artist to date.  “Fantasy,” “Vision of Love,” and “We Belong Together” have all landed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Part of the magic is in her voice, but it’s also in her songwriting — a skill that has too often been overlooked.  Music journalist  Danyel Smith interviewed the artist for The New York Times’ list of “ The 30 Greatest Living American Songwriters .” Sam caught up with Danyel to talk about Mariah Carey’s songwriting and sampling prowess, the systemic disrespect for Black women in music, and how Mariah cemented her place in music history.  Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week. The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

People in this episode

Host: Sam Sanders

Guest: Danyel Smith

Topics covered

• songwriting
• music history
• Black women in music
• Billboard Hot 100
• interviews

Keywords

• Mariah Carey
• songwriting
• Danyel Smith
• Billboard Hot 100
• Black women in music

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The New York Times, KCRW, Sam Sanders Productions

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