Holly and Barry Tashian exemplify the best in the music industry - people who truly love the live music experience, and whose love of music conveys to their audience wherever they perform. They went to high school together in New England before marrying and performing music together. Barry's band The Remains opened up for The Beatles in 1966 on their final U.S. tour. After The Remains split up, Barry recorded with Gram Parson and Emmylou Harris. Later, both Holly and Barry perform...

Mimi Pond and Wayne White are a creative couple extraordinaire. They first met at one of Wayne’s puppet shows in New York City in the early ‘80s. Both Mimi and Wayne went on to make their mark on American culture, starting on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, where Mimi served as a writer and Wayne as a puppeteer and art director. Mimi went on to write the first full episode of “The Simpsons,” as well as writing on “Designing Women.” Wayne went on to work on the CBS series “Beakman...

Shel Talmy produced records that set the templates for hard rock and punk rock. After growing up in Chicago and learning the art of sound engineering in Los Angeles, he began his career as a producer in London in the early ‘60s. The list of the records he produced is staggering - singles by The Kinks (“You Really Got Me”, “All Day And All Of The Night,” “Sunny Afternoon”), by The Who (“My Generation”, “The Kids Are Alright”, “I Can’t Explain”), and even David Bowie’s debut single....

In this episode, we pay tribute to the late, great Lucille Kallen, a true pioneer in television comedy writing. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Toronto, Lucille’s first love was piano, but she soon showed her comedy chops writing live sketches at a “borscht belt” resort in New York’s Pocono Mountains. Based on the strength of her live sketches, she was recruited in 1949 to serve as co-head writer for Sid Caesar’s “Admiral Broadway Review” (later “Your Show Of Shows”), the very first n...

Paul Dooley is a legend of acting, improvising, and writing. He has played beloved father roles in such films as “Breaking Away,” “Sixteen Candles,” and “The Runaway Bride,” as well as Larry David’s father-in-law in “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” When Paul first moved to New York City from his home state of West Virginia, he contacted his college friend, the one and only Don Knotts, who helped Paul find acting work. From that connection, he later joined the New York City branch of ...

Andy Cowan has a comedy resume anybody would be envious of. After a stint as a stand-up in the late ‘70s at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles (alongside such comics as David Letterman), Cowan became a talent coordinator at the legendary Merv Griffin Show, where he met such luminaries as Sir Laurence Olivier, Andy Kaufman, Ethel Merman, Tony Curtis, and Orson Welles (the day before he died). Cowan then went on to write for some of the top sit coms in television history, including “Ch...

Malcolm Cecil helped shape the sound of 1970s soul, funk and R&B as co-producer and engineer of the some of the most iconic albums and singles of all time. Malcolm collaborated with such luminaries as Stevie Wonder, Billy Preston, The Isley Brothers, The Doobie Brothers, and Gil Scott-Heron. He designed and constructed one of the earliest and largest analog synthesizers in the world (nicknamed TONTO), and recorded one of the first albums comprised entirely of synthesized audio...

Jerry Schatzberg is a paragon of perseverance, who paid his dues to become one of the most influential photographers and filmmakers of the late 20th century. After getting his start with baby and catalogue pictures, he worked his way up to photographer at Vogue and Glamour magazines, where he initially met music industry executives like Atlantic Records President Ahmet Ertegun. After befriending Bob Dylan, Jerry’s pictures were used on the covers of Dylan’s first book, “Tara...

Barnet Kellman is a master in both the practice and teaching of comedy. After getting his start directing and acting in live theater, he became a director in both film and television. His films include “Straight Talk” with Dolly Parton and “Key Exchange” with Brooke Adams. He has directed countless television programs, including the pilots for “Murphy Brown” and “Mad About You,” as well as episodes of “Designing Women,” “Ally McBeal,” “Alias,” “The George Lopez Show,” and “E...

Harvey Brooks is one of the most respected and emulated bassists and producers in the history of rock and jazz music. After being the lucky recipient of a B.B. King record at a synagogue dance contest as a kid, he was inspired to pursue playing the blues and R&B. After playing live gigs tirelessly for years, his old friend, keyboardist and guitarist Al Kooper, invited Harvey to a Bob Dylan recording session to play bass, the tracks of which became the seminal “Highway 61 Revis...

Danny Jolles is an actor-writer-filmmaker-comedian-singer-dancer-podcaster - a true multihyphenate. He is best known for his role as George on the CW’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” created by and starring his friend, Rachel Bloom. Danny and Rachel met when they were in the NYU sketch group Hammerkatz, later appearing in each other’s sketch videos. Danny began his stand-up comedy career in New York City before moving to Los Angeles, and he has performed stand-up on such programs as...

Jon Wilkman is an author and award-winning filmmaker whose work has appeared on the major networks, PBS, HBO and A&E. His seven-part Turner Classic Movies series, “Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood,” was nominated for three Emmys. A founding member and three-term president of the International Documentary Association, Jon’s most recent book is “Screening Reality, How Documentary Filmmakers Reimagined America.” His previous book, “Floodpath,” was an Amazon Nonfiction Boo...

Jonathan Taplin has found a unique and historic niche in the arts, in academia and in the public sphere. As a folk and blues fan in the early ‘60s, he watched performances by singers like Doc Watson, Muddy Waters, Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and Son House. Shortly after graduating from Princeton, Taplin became the road manager for Bob Dylan and the Band, touring the world with a perspective few others have had. Taplin had the rare opportunity to witness Dylan and The Band jam a...

Martha Wash is a singer of unparalleled power and soul, and has one of the most recognizable voices in music. Martha was raised in San Francisco, and started singing at age 3 after having heard her mother’s gospel records. Martha sang for her church choir, and had the benefit of an older brother who played guitar with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Taj Mahal. Her early influences included gospel artists like Mahalia Jackson, as well as Motown records from The Supremes a...