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In our latest episode of GVAC, Ronny chats to the prolific and distinctive grammy-winning singer-songwriter, musician, arranger and producer, Bill Champlin. Tune in as he recounts his stints in the bands Chicago and Sons of Champlin, the story behind "After the Love is Gone", the iconic song he co-wrote with David Foster and Jay Graydon, and his feelings about pop music. Listen to the episode on our website https://www.mypart.net/podcastWe had a chat about some of his career highlights and how he feels about more harmonically complex songs v's poppier songs and where the two meet.
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Marc Wallace Jordan was born March 6, 1948 into a musical household in Brooklyn, NY. His dad Charles was a successful Canadian singer who moved back to Canada soon after Marc was born, which makes Marc an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, session musician, and actor. Covering a wide variety of genres, he has written songs for a number of well-known artists, including Diana Ross, Rod Stewart, Cher, Bette Midler, Chicago, and Josh Groban, to name a few. In 1977 Jordan reached a U.S. deal with Warner Bros. Records.[1] This period with Warner spawned the Canadian hit songs "Marina del Rey" and "Survival" from the record Mannequin; a second record produced by Jay Graydon called Blue Desert was released 1980, and is regarded as a classic of the West Coast Sound of the period. He was named best producer with Steven MacKinnon at the Juno Awards in 1994 for "Waiting for a Miracle" (from Reckless Valentine). In 2014 the Canadian Film Centre appointed Jordan as the Musical Director of its Slaight Family Music Lab.[2] In the 1980s, Jordan was signed to RCA for two records. Paul De Villiers produced the first, Talking Through Pictures, and Kim Bullard the second, called C.O.W.. In 1988, Jordan sang and co-wrote the theme song to the hit Australian movie Boulevard of Broken Dreams which was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Film. After independently releasing the critically acclaimed recordings Reckless Valentine and Cool Jam Black Earth, he was signed to Blue Note/EMI Canada in 1999, and followed up with two more jazz-oriented CDs, This Is How Men Cry and Make Believe Ballroom. Jordan is also an actor and he made his acting debut in Michael McGowan's 2010 sports musical Score: A Hockey Musical, where he plays Edgar Gordon, a pacifist father who along with his wife (Olivia Newton-John) have a 17-year-old son who has a talent for hockey. He is married to fellow singer-songwriter Amy Sky. They live in Toronto and have a cottage in Muskoka with their two children, Ezra and Zoe. Jordan and Sky are both national UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors for Canada. He is currently finishing up a duets album with Amy whilst also writing for George Benson’s next record and a handful of cuts on Rod Stewart's upcoming record. He’s also in the middle of his next solo record which features the Prague symphony who also played on his last record "Both Sides"...
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This special episode of GVAC features not one, but TWO legendary guests (and old pals), as Ronny chats with esteemed American songwriter, musician, and record producer, Vini Poncia- who’s written gigantic hits for the likes of Ringo Starr, Leo Sayer and Kiss- as well as the great singer-songwriter, Joe “Bean” Esposito- whose songs have been recorded by Donna Summer, Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle, Stephen Stills and many more. Tune in to hear what it’s like to learn you’re about to record in the studio with the Beatles, what Vini considers his favorite song he’s ever written, and all about the duo’s latest collaboration on their brand new record, “Rhythm “n” the Blues.”
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On this week’s podcast episode of “GVAC- Song Clinic,” award-winning songwriter-turned-music-exec, Scott Cutler (Natalie Imbruglia’s "Torn," Beyoncé's "Listen," Brenda Russel’s “Piano in the Dark'') sat down with our host, Ronny Vance, to chat about the most rewarding and challenging aspects of of his storied songwriting career, what ultimately drove him to shift into the business side of the industry, and the qualities he looks for in PULSE Music Group's potential signees.
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For our latest episode, singer, composer, and lyricist David Pomeranz- whose songs have been recorded and performed by everyone from Barry Manilow to Missy Elliott- sits down with Ronny to chat about his fascinating career journey, tips for young songwriters, the moment he discovered he was an unlikely sensation in the Philippines, and a whole lot more.
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American record producer, songwriter, and three-time Grammy winner, Russ Titelman, is responsible for a number of records that have truly made our lives better. In his riveting conversation with our host, Ronny Vance, Russ describes his journey from unknown songwriter to famed record producer, recalling garnering the attention of Phil Spector while playing guitar in his living room at the age of 13, cutting a George Benson record in his garage, and the wonderful anecdotes behind iconic tracks such as James Taylor's “How Sweet It Is,” Steve Winwood's “Higher Love,” Chaka Khan and Rufus's “Ain’t Nobody," and Eric Clapton’s “Unplugged.”
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Our latest podcast episode features legendary musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter Artie Kaplan, whose career has definitively helped shape the sound of pop, rock, and RnB music. Kaplan is considered a genius musician whose iconic saxophone solos can be heard on over 150 top-10 songs, including Len Barry’s "1-2-3," Little Eva’s “The Locomotion," the Chiffons’ “One Fine Day,” and The Archies “Sugar, Sugar.” His distinct sound made him one of the most in-demand session players and music contractors of his era, helping him gain recognition of music’s biggest stars. “What a rush that was” he recalls, “to go from oblivion to Nat King Cole.”
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This podcast episode is dedicated to the memories of our friends: Allee Willis, Al Schmitt, Tommy LiPuma and Chuck Kaye. With a distinct, eclectic style, and a timeless sound that's been covered/sampled by everyone from Ray Charles, Earth Wind & Fire, and Donna Summer to Tupac, Chance the Rapper, and Ariana Grande, Brenda Russell has made some incredible contributions to music history- none more notable, perhaps, than her work co-writing the gorgeous music and lyrics for the Tony Award-winning hit Broadway musical, The Color Purple. For the latest episode of Give Vance a Chance Song Clinic, Ronny sits down with the legendary singer, composer, and keyboardist to talk about overcoming her songwriting insecurities, the shift from pop to broadway, and the important lessons she's learned along the way.
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Larry John McNally's career began in 1981 with the release of his debut album on Columbia Records. Perhaps best categorized as a "Singer-Songwriter-Guitarist", he calls his blend of literary lyrics and blues/folk/jazz guitar style, "Folk-Hendrix". He continues to record and perform both as a solo artist and with his trio in clubs and concert venues from Tokyo to Kokomo. He is well-known in many circles as a songwriter's songwriter. His lyrical guitar-driven songs have been covered by artists from The Eagles, Don Henley to Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, the Staple Singers and Aaron Neville. LJM's own recordings are coveted treasures among his devotees and delightful finds for those who happen upon them for the first time. They are filled with songs of passion, angst, city lights, and more, all with the unique ability to create both an aural as well as visual cinematic-like impression.
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Ronny's guest today is an old friend who is a songwriter, vocalist, keyboardist and producer. His career has spanned an extraordinary range of styles. Growing up in Philadelphia he developed a firm reputation as a highly regarded session player in the Philly soul and jazz scene. This led to him signing his first artist deal with “Philadelphia International Records”, formed by “Gamble and Huff”. Since then, Don has continued to write, produce and perform all over the world with some absolute giants, including: Michael Jackson, Robert Palmer, Bill Withers, Sergio Mendes, Chaka Kahn, The Temptations, Larry Carlton, Hugh Masekela, Jeffrey Osborne, Ramsey Lewis, Jon Anderson (Yes), Manhattan Transfer, and the list goes on...
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It would not be hyperbolic to say Tommy Sims has “changed the world” with his songwriting. In addition to famously co-penning that iconic 1997 Grammy-winning Song of the Year by Eric Clapton, Sims has written dozens of other brilliant tracks for the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Kelly Clarkson, Garth Brooks, Cher, Toni Braxton, and many others. Born in the 60s, Sims’ childhood home was brimming with a uniquely eclectic range of musical influences, from his mother’s religious gospel music, to his father’s rock & roll and R&B records (Led Zeppelin, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, etc.). From a young age, Sims says he had that “wild” mix of music constantly permeating his mind and consciousness. By the time he was 16, he fully understood that music could not be simply boiled down to a dichotomy of sacred versus non-sacred. “Music has to just be music.” Through his own experiences, Sims saw that music could be a catalyst for positive things to happen. “Music leads to thinking good thoughts, [and] doing good deeds” he explained. “Both philosophically and spiritually, as well as economically, music could be a way out of ‘the hood’, a route to a better life.” He recalls writing his first “song” at the age of thirteen, when he simply removed the lyrics from “Sweet Love” by the Commodores, and replaced them with his own words. “I thought I had written a song, but really that was just plagiarism,” he quipped. While he lacked any personal connections in the music industry, he always trusted that as long as he improved at writing songs, he could ‘make it’ as a songwriter. “I remember this euphoric feeling of picking up a guitar, playing my own chords, and singing my own lyrics. There was nothing like that feeling. That was the feeling of, ‘I can really do this if I just keep working at it.” “Change the World” The fascinating story behind “Change the World” is a testament to the collaborative and unpredictable nature of songwriting. Though undoubtedly his most notable songwriting credit, the song’s massive success was what both Sims and our host, then president of Interscope Music, Ronny Vance, termed “bittersweet,” as the final cut recorded by Clapton and produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds was a significant deviation from the original meaning of Sims’ lyrics. The earliest version of “Change the World,” written by Sims as a teenager, was about “tikkun olam,” explained Vance, “the Jewish concept for repairing the world.” Over the years, the song evolved through two more versions. The most updated rendition sent to Clapton was deeply rooted in Beatles/Paul McCartney influences, to reflect what Sims’ then-studio-session-mates, Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Chris Rodriguez, were looking for when they asked him to fill in on bass for the recordings they were making for a potential deal with RCA. Ultimately, ”the rewrite/re-record with Clapton was clearly a love song,” said Vance, “and we were both underwhelmed.” Recalling the day in Nashville when he and Vance received Clapton’s final copy that they had been anticipating for many months, Sims shared his mixed emotions: “Going back to that moment, I do remember feeling like it had turned into quite a different record from the original demo. The whole McCartney-esque feel was gone. The funny thing is, I saw later interviews with Clapton where he literally mentions feeling the need to “de-McCartney” the song. I think the term he used was, ‘to put some “black” into it’, which was hilarious to me. The irony, that I had apparently done the reverse thing, by taking some of the “black” out of it and putting in the McCartney feel, as the [2nd] version I did with my band had a Prince/funk feel that didn't have a lot of McCartney in it either. After Clapton’s song was released, Sims began playing the song out on songwriting nights. One evening, an audience member who was somehow aware of the original version from Sims’ teenage years, asked him to play that rendition, featuring his original, inspirational lyrics: State of the world before you Knowing we ain't got much time To do some of the things that we must do If you listen you can hear the change I still believe we can make it there, We might change the world Who’s got a dream you can give away.... As a dreamer first, I think we might change the world “Peace and Love” Sims released his solo project, entitled “Peace and Love” in August 2000. It was filled with great songs he had written for a number of renowned artists, including Al Green, Stevie Wonder, and Earth Wind and Fire. However, stepping out from behind the scenes represents a serious challenge for many songwriters, and for Sims, the record marked a difficult transition into the spotlight as a solo artist. “The album for me was a very strange thing. I was very hesitant, as I didn't consider myself a singer. I still don’t, although over the years, I do feel like I finally found my voice as an artist. But back in those days I wasn’t at all comfortable being in front of the mic. I was too big of a fan of all the great singers to even try [to sing] most of the time, except for the purpose of my demos. When I couldn't get a demo singer I’d sing it in my own pseudo- strange falsetto-y voice just to ‘eek’ out the melody. Peace and love began out of that.” It was with Vance’s encouragement that Sims ultimately gained the confidence to release his own material. “I knew the world needed this record,” said Vance. Despite his impressive career achievements, Sims clearly remains humble and appreciative of those that helped him along the way. “You are one pivotal guy in my life,” he says to Vance. “You were a great catalyst in saving my life, and you had a lot, if not everything to do with me turning into a so-called ‘songwriter.’ My love and affection for you is eternal.”
