FLW Special - Purple Rain at 40

In this very special episode, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the film “Purple Rain”. The overwhelming success of the movie made Prince the first artist in history to have the same project simultaneously #1 on the singles, albums, and movie charts in the United States.

We speak to one of the foremost Prince experts; author and podcaster Alan Light. Alan talks about the creation of Purple Rain the song, the album and the movie. He also reveals…

• How the version of the title track that we’re all familiar with was recorded in one take at a fundraiser. It was also the first time that 19-year-old Wendy Melvoin had played with the band.
• Movie executives didn’t want to cast Prince in the lead role, and suggested much more famous star (who would have been badly miscast!)
• How Prince tried to recruit Stevie Nicks to help with the lyrics for “Purple Rain” - and why she said no.
• How the movie has held up well (for its live performances) and been held up to ridicule (for its acting performances and misogyny).
• Prince’s tenuous relationship with Morris Day & The Time – and his greatest musical regret.

Alan Light is the prolific author of many music biographies, including his books about Tupac Shakur, Nina Simone and The Beastie Boys. He also collaborated on “My Cross To Bear”, the Gregg Allman autobiography and Peter Frampton's “Do You Feel Like I Do”. Other books include “The Holy Or The Broken” – a great history of the Leonard Cohen masterpiece “Hallelujah”; and of course, “Let’s Go Crazy: Prince and the making of Purple Rain”. Alan is also the co-host of the “Sound Up” podcast with his good friend Marc Goodman.

With Taylor Swift being a big part of the pop culture conversation lately, we thought we’d present three Taylor interviews from our archives, one that has never been heard on FLW.

• From 2019 – a great chat with Taylor and broadcaster Shannon Burns, talking about Swift’s album “Lover” and how it reflects a more positive outlook than the moodier “Reputation”. She also talks about putting “Easter Eggs” in her work as part of a fun dialogue with her fans. (Bonus content for Swifties: Taylor talks about her first meeting with her cat, “Benjamin Button”)
• From 2014 – Taylor joins Roger Ashby and Marilyn Denis to promote “1989”, her first pure pop album. Swift explains why she needed to be honest with her fans about the new direction of her sound. She also talks about the big house party she threw for Swifties.
• From 2010 – our earliest TS interview in which she tells interviewer Richie Favalaro about her album “Speak Now” and what that album means to her. She also explains how she was surprised that fans could relate to her songs even when they were specifically written for one person. She also talks about performing onstage with Katy Perry.
• Plus, we have some Cool Taylor Facts!

Famous Lost Words, hosted by Christopher Ward and Tom Jokic, is heard in more than 100 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria, AM1150 Kelowna and 91x in Belleville. It is in the Top 20% of worldwide podcasts based on the number of listeners in the first week.

A Famous Lost Words drinking game? Is this REALLY a good idea? Tom proposes a non-alcoholic version that is based solely on his own (many) verbal quirks.

For our last episode of season 9, we begin with Carly Simon in conversation with broadcaster Ingrid Schumacher in 1987. This was a great year for Carly because she had just worked on the soundtrack for the movie “Heartburn” and her new album “Coming Around Again” would prove to be a comeback for her. She talks about work with Mike Nichols on “Heartburn”, tussling with Clive Davis on song choices and how her close friend Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis convinced her to write a book.

Following that is a really fun encounter with the guys from Train, from a morning show encounter with Roger Ashby and Marilyn Denis. The interview, from 2012, captures the goofiness of lead singer Pat Monahan.

Then, we have an early ‘80s chat with Gary Wright, who passed away in September of 2023. Gary only had three significant chart hits, but he was a well-respected musician who worked with George Harrison on a number of projects. He also made synthesizers a staple on Top 40 radio.

We close out the show with a great chat with Triumph, a band that started in a bowling alley in Mississauga, Ontario forge their place in rock history. The Canadian power trio are legendary here in their home country, but also had a great run in the U.S. and beyond. Bassist Mike Levine has a ton of fun chatting with broadcaster Rick Ringer in this very entertaining and lively 1983 interview.

This week, a very good example of the wide range of artists in the Famous Lost Words archives…

First up is a collection of early ‘70s conversations with Crosby, Stills & Nash, where David, Stephen and Graham cover the entire history of the group. Plus, maybe Tom’s worst interviewing moment when Stephen Stills takes him to task for asking what we thought was a reasonable question. That’s this week on When Rock Stars Attack!

Plus, the excellent story behind one of the best hits of the ‘70s – from an important band that preceded CSN. It’s a story of intrigue and double-cross and it’s also pretty funny

And we have an early ‘80s chat with reggae legend Peter Tosh – as he talks about working with Mick Jagger as well as the importance of marijuana to his religion, his creative process and his life.

And we close out the show with a really fun new chat with Canadian rocker Lee Aaron – who has come a very long way since her Metal Queen days. We talk about her career, the fine line between promotion and exploitation and how she felt being inducted into Canada’s Walk Of Fame just a few weeks ago.

Tom & Christopher also talk about the band breakups that affected them the most. Christopher's answer was both unexpected and frankly hilarious!

Famous Lost Words, hosted by Christopher Ward and Tom Jokic, is heard in more than 100 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria, AM1150 Kelowna and 91x in Belleville. It is in the Top 20% of worldwide podcasts based on the number of listeners in the first week.

This week, part 2 of our series on R&B, Soul, Disco and Hip-Hop! As usual, we have a great collection of interview clips with some of the greatest artists of the genre.

- Tina Turner breaks down her performing style (and explains why she didn’t like her voice)

- Michael Jackson recalls the earliest days of The Jackson 5

- The O’Jays explain how they initially rejected one of their biggest hits

- Nona Hendrix talks about the recording and controversy of the classic soul hit, “Lady Marmalade”

- Gloria Gaynor tells the story of having to fight to release “I Will Survive”

- The Commodores talk about learning the tricks of the trade from The Jackson 5

- Donna Summer reveals the song that inspired “Love To Love You”

- How Arrested Development created hip-hop music to reflect a different side of the African-American experience

- Anita Baker tells Marilyn Denis about her style (or lack of style)

- Diana Ross talks about the early days of The Supremes

- Plus, revealing clips from Barry White, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jully Black, The Chi-Lites, Deborah Cox, Lenny Kravitz, Billy Paul, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr and Lou Rawls.

And we’ll tell the amazing story about the birth of hip-hop in an NYC house party on August 11, 1973.

Plus, Tom tells us about a whole bunch of Cool Soul Facts!

Famous Lost Words, hosted by Christopher Ward and Tom Jokic, is heard in more than 100 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria, AM1150 Kelowna and 91x in Belleville. It is in the Top 20% of worldwide podcasts based on the number of listeners in the first week.

It’s part 1 of our epic two-part celebration of Soul, R&B, disco and hip-hop! We’ve gathered an incredible collection of interview moments with some of the greatest artists of the genre.

We’ll hear from:

• Gladys Knight & The Pips – Gladys breaks down every element that goes into making a great record. She also rightly insists there should be a Grammy Award for backing vocals.
• Earth Wind & Fire – talk about the rise of disco and their place in music
• Destiny’s Child – Michelle and Kelly talk about Beyonce’s leadership and vision.
• the late great Sam Cooke talks about his jump from spiritual music to the ballads that made him famous
• Smokey Robinson talks about the battles the Motown Records faced back in the days of Civil Rights struggles
• Wyclef Jean explains why The Fugees never followed up their biggest album.
• The guys from Chic talk about creating the greatest hits from the disco era.
• Rihanna fondly remembers the big break that took her from Barbados to Jay-Z’s office
• Chaka Khan explains how one of her favourite artists wrote her first major hit

All told, it’s a powerful, danceable, funky episode!

In this special episode, we pay tribute to the late Myles Goodwyn, the lead singer and songwriter of April Wine.

Myles was seemingly in good health and spirits in late September as he and April Wine were inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Goodwyn was also inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame.

We feature two segments from the Famous Lost Words archives. First up is Tom's 2021 interview with Myles who told wonderful stories about the history of April Wine and their early struggles, first brush with fame, their feud with a famous rock critic, their gig with The Rolling Stones at the El Mocambo in Toronto - and their crossover success in the early '80s. He also talked about his latest music - and in particular one song that addresses the residential school crisis.

We also feature a phone chat with Myles circa 1977 in which he talks about Canada's star system.

Both segments capture Goodwyn's personality and deep love of music.

Myles Goodwyn passed away on December 3, 2023 at the age of 75 in Halifax Nova Scotia.

In what can only be described as a hell of a coincidence, this week we feature a series of clips with Daryl Hall & John Oates. These are particularly interesting in light of the news of Daryl suing John, and even asking for a restraining order against his old friend and bandmate.

First up is both guys from 1981, around the time of the “Voices” album. Then about a year later in ’82, it’s Daryl Hall talking to us about the H20 album.

And then for our podcast listeners there’s some bonus content – it’s Tom’s 2018 interview with John Oates. In which John talks about how he and Daryl bonded over their love of music. John also tells the story behind the hit “Maneater” in which he explains that the maneater isn’t about a woman, it’s about a city.

After Hall & Oates, we’ll chat with Steven Page, formerly of Barenaked Ladies and now a member of the very quirky new Canadian supergroup the Trans-Canada Highwaymen. Their new album is a bit surprising on a number of levels. We’ll talk about that plus some of Steven’s favourite memories of his time with Barenaked Ladies (including his reunion with BNL at the Juno Awards).

Then, we have a hidden gem from the FLW archives – so hidden that we didn’t even know it existed until we discovered a few days ago! It’s a 2007 interview with the wonderful Brandi Carlile. It’s great to capture a moment in time from when an artist is first starting out. Brandi is so candid and refreshing in this early-career chat.

Plus, Christopher and Tom argue about the greatest debut albums ever. Tom is impressed by Christopher’s choices, while Christopher is mortified by Tom’s!

Famous Lost Words, hosted by Christopher Ward and Tom Jokic, is heard in more than 100 countries worldwide and on radio stations across Canada, including Newstalk 1010 Toronto, CJAD 800 Montreal, 580 CFRA Ottawa, AM 800 CKLW Windsor, 610 CKTB St Catharines, CFAX Victoria, AM1150 Kelowna and 91x in Belleville. It is in the Top 20% of worldwide podcasts based on the number of listeners in the first week.