Episodes

  • Transatlantic Guitar Trio - Truly, the Best!

    Transatlantic Guitar Trio - Truly, the Best!
    Sep 20 2024

    The Transatlantic Guitar Trio comprises fingerstyle guitar champion Richard Smith from the United Kingdom, German gypsy jazz virtuoso Joscho Stephan, and the brilliant multi-instrumentalist American musician Rory Hoffman. These remarkable musicians joined forces in 2019 and have entranced audiences across the country with their unique blend of jazz ballads, gypsy swing standards, and groovy original compositions. This mini-concert is being produced by Rick Kern and his podcast 'Talk and Rock Radio'.
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    51 mins
  • "Talkin & Rockin with Country Rock Legend - Richie Furay"

    "Talkin & Rockin with Country Rock Legend - Richie Furay"
    Jul 9 2024

    Richie Furay is an American music luminary, an inductee into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He is celebrated for pioneering Country-Rock as a founding member of the legendary and quintessential groups Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and the Souther-Hillman-Furay band.

    In this episode of Talk and Rock Radio, host Rick Kern discusses the illustrious career of Richie along with some of the landmark events that happened along the way.
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • Mary McCoy 'Elvis & Living Her Dream'

    Mary McCoy 'Elvis & Living Her Dream'
    Jun 24 2024

    Quoted by Mary McCoy:

    At the age of 3, I knew I wanted to sing. When neighbors came to visit my mom and dad, I would get my little rocking chair and put it in the middle of the room and yodel throughout their visit. When I was 6 and 7 years old, mom and dad belonged to the Odd Fellows and Rebeccah Lodge and I would sing for them. Age age 11, I won my first talent contest. At 12, KMCO came on the air in 1951 and I started with it on a talent show. That day I was asked to record a 15-minute program in which I played my guitar and sang, after which, I followed up with my own record show. In 1955, I appeared on the Louisiana Hayride sharing the stage with Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, The Browns and others. My dreams were to sing, have my own DJ show and make records. In 1960, I did make my first record “Deep Elem Blues” and followed with others on the Jin label. I signed a contract in 1967 with Gabe Tucker and recorded many singles and duets with Jimmy Copeland. My dreams were finally fulfilled with the recording of my new gospel CD, “Through the Storm”. God has blessed me and made my dreams come true.
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    51 mins
  • Beatles Forever

    Beatles Forever
    Jun 6 2024

    Steve Davis, history professor, is one of the founding faculty members at Lone Star College-Kingwood, having started in the fall of 1984. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Houston. He also worked on his doctoral degree in American history from the same institution. Aside from the standard survey courses in U.S. and Texas history, Davis teaches specialized courses in the Beatles and the British Invasion and the History of Rock and Roll. He has won teaching excellence awards both at the University of Houston and at LSC-Kingwood.

    Davis is the main author of the instructor's manual to accompany the 8th edition of America: A Narrative History by Tindall and Shi, which is one of the most adopted college history textbooks in the country. His current project is the co-authorship of a documents reader in U.S. history to be published in 2013 by W.W. Norton.

    In his limited spare time, Davis is an avid distance runner who has completed eight marathons and who makes appearances a couple of times per year as rhythm guitarist in a local garage band.

    In this episode of TalkandRockRadio, Rick Kern and Steve Davis discuss the evolution of the Beatles, the impact and influences they had on the ’60’s music scene and the artists that influenced them.
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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • Jim Messina - Then, Now & Tomorrow

    Jim Messina - Then, Now & Tomorrow
    May 27 2024

    James Messina (born December 5, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, singer, guitarist, recording engineer, and record producer. He was a member of the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield, a founding member of the pioneering country rock band Poco, and half of the soft rock duo Loggins and Messina with Kenny Loggins.
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Remembering David Crosby with James Raymond & Steve Postell

    Remembering David Crosby with James Raymond & Steve Postell
    Mar 28 2024

    Steve Postell is a singer/songwriter/guitarist/composer and producer.

    Trained at The Mannes College Of Music in New York City, Steve Postell has had a successful, prolific career which spans his days playing with Pure Prairie League, performing on Broadway in shows such as “Evita” and “The Man Of LaMancha,” co-writing the score for the off-Broadway rock musical "Fallen Angel" (starring Living Colour vocalist Corey Glover), touring with Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon, Princess Lea in "Aladdin") as her musical director, and fronting the popular New York City bands, “Chain o' Fools” and “Little Blue”. Steve has written scores for film and television including ESPN’s Sportsweek featuring Greg Gumble, and producer Lawrence Kasdan’s "Jumpin' At The Boneyard," a 20th century Fox production starring Tim Roth and Samuel Jackson. Steve wrote and produced Jingles for Right Sound Music in New York City for clients including Pontiac, AT&T, Dupont and many others. He has performed live on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show with Katie Couric, The Regis and Kelly and The Regis and Kathie Lee shows.

    Steve was the composer for the documentary “Dying to Know,” about Timothy Leary and Ram Dass, narrated by Robert Redford. Steve contributed guitar to David Crosby’s album, Sky Trails, and has co-written a song for his last released record, “For Free”. Steve’s new CD, “Walking Through These Blues”, was recently released on VIVID SOUND. This CD features a host of guests, including David Crosby, Iain Matthews, Tony Furtado, Bekka Bramlett, Jeff Pevar, Greg Leisz and many others. In addition to David Crosby, Steve has worked with John Oates, Jennifer Warnes, Kenny Loggins, Eric Andersen, Iain Matthews, Pure Prairie League, Dan Navarro and many others. He recently contributed engineering and mixing duties to the James Taylor/Carole King live concert film, “The Troubadour Reunion Tour”.

    Steve performed on and co-produced a CD for renowned producer/guitarist and songwriter Danny (Kootch) Kortchmar. The CD features a star studded cast including guest appearances by James Taylor, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, and Michael McDonald. This CD led to the formation of a new band, The Immediate Family, which in addition to Steve includes legendary session men Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar, Waddy Wachtel & Russ Kunkel. The band has released numerous videos, a live record, 3 EP’s and a full length LP of new material on Quarto Valley Records. Their first single, Cruel Twist, reached top 10 on the blues charts. The Immediate Family is featured in an award winning documentary released by Magnolia Films, and directed by “Wrecking Crew” director Denny Tedesco. The Immediate Family recently released “Skin In The Game”, a new full length album of original material.

    In the past year Steve has performed on stage in benefits for The Lobero Theater, ONE805 Foundation, and Light Up The Blues Charity with many artists including Shawn Colvin, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Joe Walsh, John Fogerty, Alan Parsons, and Maroon 5. Steve was in rehearsal to go on tour with David Crosby before David’s unexpected passing, and will cherish the time spent putting the show together.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • Stephanie Urbina Jones "The Power of A Dream"

    Stephanie Urbina Jones "The Power of A Dream"
    Mar 14 2024
    The latest offering from Stephanie Urbina Jones & The Honky Tonk Mariachi, Manuel’s Destiny, goes far beyond the limits of the typical album: it’s a saga, a joyride, an impassioned reclamation of her cultural heritage, and—above all—a riveting tribute to the power of a dream to travel over 100 years and three generations. From her great-grandfather crossing the border, to an artist living and telling a transcendent story, and ultimately living Manuel’s Destiny. Over the course of 11 wildly dazzling songs, the Texas-bred, Nashville/Mexico-based singer/songwriter sets her storytelling to a one-of-a-kind sound she’s created and calls “Honky Tonk Mariachi”—a gorgeously orchestrated fusion of her Mexican roots and San Antonio, TX Hill Country upbringing, centered in the stunning vocal prowess she’s shown in touring across the globe, sharing the stage with legends like Willie Nelson, and making history as the first artist ever to perform with mariachi at the Grand Ole Opry. The result is the most revelatory work yet from a truly visionary artist, one that leaves the listener newly emboldened to fearlessly follow their hearts and live a dreamer’s tale. For Urbina Jones, the making of such an ambitious and all-encompassing album took decades of soul-searching and careful excavation of her family’s history. Originally from San Antonio, she spent much of her early childhood at backyard barbecues at the home of her paternal grandmother, where she first heard the traditional Mexican music, she now describes as “a transmission of pure joy and love.” When her parents divorced, Jones moved to a small town in Texas, and as a young girl, frequented local honky-tonks, two-stepping to songs by all the country greats and listening to poets like Jerry Jeff Walker, Guy Clark, and Townes Van Zant carve out songs by the potbelly stove in Luckenbach, TX. (“Margie the bartender was my babysitter. I got to put the sawdust on the floors,” she recalls). But despite her many happy memories, that period of Urbina Jones’ life also carried a heavy burden of pain. “After I was pulled away from my father, I was told to hide the fact that I was Mexican, which haunted me for a very long time,” she says. At age 18, however, Urbina Jones made her first trip to Mexico (accompanied by her father) and immediately felt a profound sense of revelation. “I fell madly in love with my culture—the people, the music, the food,” she says. “I finally realized, ‘This is who I am.’ From this moment on, the direction of my life changed. I became passionate about telling a new story celebrating my roots. My pain turned into my passion and purpose.” As she unraveled her family’s history, Urbina Jones learned of her great-grandfather, Manuel Anaya Urbina: a Mapimí, Hidalgo, Mexico native who went to the Vatican to study for the priesthood in the late 1800s. After two years in Rome, he rejected his childhood religion. “He returned to Mexico and crossed into El Paso in 1907— left his country, left his family, left his faith, left everything to embark on a new life for his own personal freedom,” she says. “He ended up becoming the first Mexican Baptist minister in San Antonio and spread the gospel all over the Southwest. Once I discovered his story, I became passionate about the idea of this dreamer crossing the border to follow his heart. I feel as if his dream has lived on through me, and now I want to share it as a source of inspiration for anyone seeking their own divine truth.” The follow-up to 2018’s Tularosa (a powerhouse album stacked with mariachi-infused covers of country classics like “Ring of Fire” and “Jolene”), Manuel’s Destiny finds Urbina Jones moving forward with her mission of introducing audiences everywhere to the unbridled passion and heart of Mexico. “As a little girl growing up listening to mariachi, the joyful sound of their voices singing together always felt like an instrument in itself, and I knew from the start that I wanted that to be woven into every song on this album,” she says. Produced by Urbina Jones and Preston Sullivan, and recorded live at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas—not far from where her great-grandfather crossed into El Paso—Manuel’s Destiny achieves its lush and fiery sound thanks to contributions from over a dozen musicians, including guitarrón player Mike Hernandez (also the album’s mariachi session leader), Urbina Jones’ bandleader/longtime guitarist Patterson Barrett, and a lineup of esteemed mariachi players from all over Texas, Nashville, Los Angeles, and Mexico. With its resplendent selection of heart-on-sleeve ballads, hip-swinging Texican Americana anthems, and pedal steel-laced country- rock songs, Manuel’s Destiny ultimately radiates an electrifying energy, adding even greater impact to the countless pieces of wisdom woven into her lyrics. In many ways a document of Urbina Jones’ own whirlwind adventures in ...
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    53 mins
  • Johnny Madara "At The Hop" Part 3

    Johnny Madara "At The Hop" Part 3
    Feb 29 2024
    Johnny Madara was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1936. His family lived in public housing known as "projects" located in south Philadelphia. He was the only one of six children interested in music. He took vocal lessons and began his career as a musical artist. His first recording was released in 1957 and became a hit record single "Be My Girl" Later in 1957 he wrote a song called "Do the Bop" with Dave White. The "Bop" was a popular dance on the TV show, American Bandstand. Dave White was a member of a local group 'The Juvenaires' and they recorded the song with Madara on lead vocal.Local DJ Artie Singer got a co-writers' credit for the song. He took the record to Dick Clark,the host of "America Bandstand". Clark suggested some changes. The lyrics and title were changed to "At the Hop", The Juvenaires became Danny and the Juniors. They recorded the song, this time with Danny Rapp on lead vocal.It became a US number 1 and international hit. He later co-wrote other hits including "1-2-3" for Len Barry, and "You Don't Own Me" for Lesley Gore. In 1965, he and White co-wrote and performed, as the Spokesmen, the song "Dawn of Correction", an answer song to Barry McGuire's hit "Eve of Destruction". The song reached number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100. The pair also formed their own publishing company which was later sold to Michael Jackson. Madara also worked as a record producer, and discovered both Leon Huff and Kenny Gamble (Gamble and Huff), later a successful songwriter and producer attributed to pioneering the style of music known as Philly Soul, and the recording artist Hall and Oates. Medora spent two years in Las Vegas working with one of the most successful performers of all time, Wayne Newton. He produced two of his albums and further produced and wrote songs for a Christmas television special for Wayne Newton on CBS. In the mid 1970s he moved to Los Angeles, and produced music for movies including Cinderella Liberty and Hey Good Lookin', as well as for television. His songs have appeared on some of the biggest grossing soundtrack albums of all time, including American Graffiti and Woodstock ("At The Hop"), Grease ("Rock and Roll is Here to Stay"), Hairspray ("The Fly" and "You Don't Own Me"), Mr. Holland's Opus ("1-2-3"), and Dirty Dancing and The First Wives Club ("You Don't Own Me"). It was the 1996 hit film, The First Wives Club, that not only featured "You Don't Own Me", but it was used as the theme of the movie. On November 27, 2016, the song was announced to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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    48 mins