Paramount Records: the Rise, Fall, and Resurrection
World Music Foundation Podcast
Release Date: 06/03/2019
World Music Foundation Podcast
Many articles, films, and interviews have been made about Illmind’s extraordinary career producing many albums for several of the top names in Hip-Hop today. This isn’t one of those interviews. In this week’s episode, John digs deep into the early experiences and upbringing that shaped Ramon Ibanga Jr - AKA !llmind - as a musician and planted the seeds of what has become a life’s quest towards community building. After years of social innovation within the Producer Community, we catch up with this 2x GRAMMY Award winning artist just days before he speaks at Gary Vaynerchuck’s VeeCon...
info_outline Daniel Nebiat: Eritrean Krar Master & Founding Member Of The Juno Award Winning Okavango African OrchestraWorld Music Foundation Podcast
Juno award-winning, Eritrian krar player, Daniel Nebiat joins John to talk about his journey playing the krar. From growing up in the midst of a war for independence to working with African legends, Daniel Nebiat shares the ways he had to persevere, adapt, and innovate to continue pursuing his passion for music. Currently based in Toronto, he is a founding member of the Okavango African Orchestra, where he and African musicians from six other countries create original music for traditional instruments that have historically had little or no interaction. Whether he’s talking about krar,...
info_outline We Will Return Soon! (Upcoming Episodes Trailer)World Music Foundation Podcast
Like all of us, the global pandemic has hit The World Music Foundation hard. We're excited to return soon and we're excited to share with you a sneak peek of upcoming episodes along with some updates on what we've been up to.
info_outline Rhymefest: American Rapper, Writer, Community Organizer, and ExplorerWorld Music Foundation Podcast
In this week’s episode John meets with American rapper and prolific creator, Che “Rhymefest” Smith to discuss Hip-Hop and his Hollywood acting debut, along with topics ranging from Chicago’s youth, spirituality, various life changing trips around the world, and much more. Rhymefest's upcoming album is titled Love Lessons Part 1. This episode also includes the world-premier of an amazing track from the upcoming album, featuring Black Thought (aka Tariq Trotter of The Roots) & Raheem DeVaughn.
info_outline Wu Fei: Genre-bending Composer, Guzheng Virtuoso & Vocalist From BeijingWorld Music Foundation Podcast
Wu Fei describes herself as an ancient soul trapped in a feisty woman's body. Hailing from Beijing, China, Wu Fei is a multi-talented composer and guzheng virtuoso, known also for her improvisational singing and piano playing. Fei talks to John about transitioning from China to the U.S., how both countries have influenced her and her music, and what it was like to hear American music for the first time in her teenage years. She also discusses her critically acclaimed original work "Hello Gold Mountain."
info_outline Louis York: American Griots, Weirdo Workshop Founders, and Multi-GRAMMY Nominated MusiciansWorld Music Foundation Podcast
This week's episode takes us to Nashville, TN, USA where John visits Weirdo Workshop, the music label and creative headquarters for our guests, Louis York, to speak with them about their new album and everything that's brought them to this point in their careers. Louis York is the powerful duo of multi-GRAMMY nominated songwriting and production team, Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony. Their debut album is titled American Griots and it's a sonic adventure that's deserving of their incredible backstory.
info_outline Roberto Fonseca: Cuban Pianist, Composer, and BandleaderWorld Music Foundation Podcast
Self-proclaimed "crazy, romantic musician", Roberto Fonseca, speaks with John about his recently released 9th solo album, Yesun, along with the life experiences and musical training that have brought him to this point. Roberto is a GRAMMY nominated, Cuban pianist, composer, producer and bandleader, and on this album he experiments with a wide range of musical forms. Roberto also talks about his tenure with the Buena Vista Social Club and this forever changed his approach to music making.
info_outline Femi Kuti: Afrobeat Legend And Concerned Citizen Of The WorldWorld Music Foundation Podcast
John spoke with Afrobeat icon Femi Kuti from the Shrine in Lagos, Nigeria, where he shared his life-changing transition from the Saxophone to the Trumpet and the effect this has had on his music and his thoughts. Femi is the son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, and is considered a torch-bearer to his father’s legacy, but in this interview Femi explains why he believes that his mother, Remilekun Taylor, is actually 90% responsible for who he is.
info_outline Goat Picnic: Hill Country Music of North MississippiWorld Music Foundation Podcast
John travels down to Coldwater, MS for the 69th Annual Goat Picnic in honor of fife & drum legend, Otha Turner. What started off as something else, ends up being a a good handful of great conversations with musicians (and even some audience members) about the Hill Country Music of Northern Mississippi, USA.
info_outline Mei-Ann Chen: Award-Winning Taiwanese-American Conductor & Music DirectorWorld Music Foundation Podcast
Mei-Ann Chen is acclaimed for infusing orchestras with energy, enthusiasm. In our conversation we follow her musical evolution from shy violin player in her birth country, Taiwan, to dynamic, trailblazing, internationally sought-after conductor. Mei-Ann also shares the inspirational interaction with Martin Luther King that inspired the creation of the MacArthur Award-winning, Chicago Sinfonietta, the nations most diverse orchestra, of which she is the principle conductor and music director.
info_outlineOur second episode brings us to a small town in the Northern part of the U.S. where we, surprisingly, find a deep Blues history. We follow Paramount Records through the peak of success, recording landmark artists that changed Western popular music forever, but this music, at several times, was almost lost forever. We follow the thin thread of events and recent efforts that have gone into preserving this important musical history.
Here’s an external link to every Musical Mention in this episode:
0:50 Muddy Waters
0:51 B.B King
0:54 Blind Lemon Jefferson
0:56 Charley Patton
0:57 Skip James
1:09 Blues
1:12 Africa
1:50 Skip James
2:03 Big Bill Broonzy
2:07 Bill Big Broonzy: The Man That Brought The Blues to Britain
2:14 Paramount Records
3:44 Jazz
3:55 Johann Sebastian Bach
3:55 Ludwig Van Beethoven
3:55 Johannes Brahms
3:59 Franz Joseph Haydn
3:59 Wenzel Müller
3:59 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
4:06 Vaudevillan Performers
4:08 Dixieland Jazz
4:10 Creole Music
4:14 Military Bands
4:49 Al Jolson
6:11 Pop music
6:19 Wisconsin Chair Company
6:28 Phonographs
7:21 Alex Van Der Tuuk
7:31 Paramount’s Rise and Fall
7:55 Classical Music (Western)
8:05 Vaudeville
8:10 Country Music
8:37 Mamie Smith
8:38 Crazy Blues
9:09 Race Records
10:10 J. Mayo “Ink” Williams
10:31 Blues Music
11:15 Bessie Smith
11:17 Jelly Roll Morton
12:31 Alberta Hunter
12:32 Monette Moore
12:53 Blind Lemon Jefferson
13:48 Charley Patton
13:52 Dockery Farms
13:57 Robert Johnson
14:29 Pony Blues
14:31 Banty Rooster Blues
15:10 Swanee River
15:21 Juke Joints
15:46 Delta Blues
16:59 Metal Masters
19:25 Grafton House of Blues
19:34 Angie Mack Riley
19:56 Blues
19:56 Jazz
19:56 Country Music
22:43 PBS History Detective: Paramount Records Episode
22:59 Charley Patton
22:59 Skip James
22:59 Blind Lemon Jefferson
23:27 Louis Armstrong
23:27 Ma Rainey
23:27 Son House
24:28 Delta Blues
24:49 Elvis Presley
25:22 Paramount’s Rise and Fall
25:29 Agram Blues
25:41 Jack White Box Set
25:54 Dean Blackwood
25:55 Revenant Records
27:10 Paramount Box Set #1
27:28 Grammy Award
27:57 The World Music Foundation
28:05 World Music
29:10 Folklore Music
29:18 Zydeco
29:22 Cajun Music
29:36 Rolling Stones
29:41 Love in Vain
30:10 Elmore James
30:01 Howlin’ Wolf
30:04 Muddy Waters
30:28 The Country Blues, by Samuel Charters
30:40 Columbia Records
30:42 Okeh Records
30:43 Paramount Records