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    Music

    How We Heard It

    Veteran entertainment journalists, music columnists and longtime friends Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell host ”How We Heard It,” a breezy and sometimes offbeat take on how music and movies got to where they are today and where it’s all going.

    They break down who are the most promising Generation Z singers one minute and the next they debate who are the most overrated acts from the past. Sexy songs, soundtracks, controversies and weird movies find their way into the discussion, and they also weigh in with recommendations on who to hear and what to see in music and film from the past and present.

    Wayne and Chuck have more than 65 years of experience in professional journalism between them, but they don’t waste time indulging in scholarly breakdowns of their institutional knowledge. Instead, they share behind-the-scenes stories about their odd, funny, inspirational and embarrassing encounters with celebrities, managers, fans and readers. And they laugh at themselves and each other. A lot. Because being an entertainment journalist does that to you.

    An important third voice in the ”How We Heard It” podcast is engineer John Baker, himself a musician and producer who reins in Wayne and Chuck when they need it. John’s tastes are a little bit Wayne and a little bit Chuck, and he’s a friendly sort.

    Wayne’s primary role in his nearly four decades at the Knoxville News-Sentinel was his work as an entertainment writer and critic. He currently hosts ”The Six O’Clock Swerve” weekly radio show on WUTK, 90.3 FM in Knoxville, he’s a former Grammy nominee, and he’s an organizer of the annual concert series ”Waynestock: For the Love of Drew and Rylan.” He’s also an artist and unconventional garden writer – see more at www.waynebledsoe.com.

    Chuck started his career in journalism at the Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida before joining the staff in Knoxville. He has reviewed more than 5,500 albums, and his column was distributed by the New York Times, Gannett, Cox News Service and the Scripps Howard News Service. He was an entertainment and travel editor in both Florida and Tennessee and a regional news planner for Gannett’s South Region.

    ”How We Heard It” is a Cozy Planet Productions podcast recorded at The Arbor Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Send requests, comments and suggestions to HowWeHeardIt@gmail.com

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    Latest Episodes:
    More guilty pleasures and shameless infatuations! Oct 04, 2025
    Show notes

    When "How We Heard It" was just a few weeks old in the summer of 2024, we posted an episode about guilty pleasures, featuring your veteran entertainment critics/hosts Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell confessing their love for art that other critics frown on - including Wayne's love of sunshine pop and westerns and Chuck's love of exotica and techno music.

    Some 15 months and 65 shows later, the guilty-pleasures episode remains one of the three most-listened-to episodes of "How We Heard It." So Wayne and Chuck - plus their engineer, songwriter/musician John T. Baker - decided to revisit the topic and own up to more embarrassing affections about what they find entertaining, including artists who often get looked down on (from New Age acts on Windham Hill Records to Peter, Paul and Mary), as well as mainstream musicals and novelty bands.

    Find out who likes Donna Summer, who likes the Pointer Sisters and who can't hide his love of high-voiced women. One of the guys loves the "bubblegum" rock of Three Dog Night, another loves the "yuppie rock" of Counting Crows and one of them can't tear himself away from those social media video compilations where people scare their loved ones, friends and family.

    These admissions may ding your hosts' credibility, but they aren't ashamed and don't think you should be ashamed of your guilty pleasures either.

    Well ... maybe they're a little ashamed. And maybe you should be too. But whatever: Life's too short to worry about the opinions of snobs.


    These albums changed who we are Sep 27, 2025
    Show notes

    In modern times, our society is partially shaped by widely praised albums, brilliantly executed works of art that reflect, or even reshape, the direction of our culture.

    But the effect of music on individuals is more nuanced, and broad generalizations don't always apply.

    A life-changing album could come from anywhere if the timing is right, such as the beginning or end of a relationship or maybe the last year of high school or college or after a cross-country move or the death of a loved one.

    Even mediocre albums can seem life-altering if they catch us at the right time.

    Also, music has a way of teaching us about ourselves in unpredictable, and improbable, ways and under circumstances you couldn't predict. A melody might hit you from another car at a red light, you could inadvertently be moved by a voice while flipping through TV, or you might even become obsessed with a snippet of a song used in the background of a video on social media.

    This week on "How We Heard It," your hosts - music journalists Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell and producer/musician John T. Baker - talk about their discovery of albums that impacted them in unexpected ways, albums that opened their ears and even changed their lives ... sometimes against all odds.


    Songs about fall: the sweet, the sad and the strange Sep 20, 2025
    Show notes

    They were supposed to do a straightforward episode about autumn songs, but this week the hosts of "How We Heard It" found themselves in lively debate from the get-go.

    When is fall? When the kids go back to school in August? Is it the autumnal equinox in September? Maybe when the leaves turn in October?

    Your host Chuck Campbell doesn't like much of anything about fall - colder, darker days make him gloomy, sleepy and unproductive. Yet his counterparts, Wayne Bledsoe and John Baker, are invigorated by the cooler days and natural beauty of the season.

    But at least Chuck - and John - embrace the excitement of football ... which Wayne adamantly rejects. And they're similarly separated by the music of the sport, from the school fight songs to the commercial songs that have been adopted by fans.

    Autumn music also include all those songs about September - generally the bittersweet kind about saying goodbye to summer (and summer flings) and moving on to some new adventure. And don't forget sweaters, cozy settings, ambivalent moods, hopefulness and hopelessness.

    As a season, fall sends a lot of mixed signals and it's hard to make sense of it. But here we are, and we just have to ride it out.


    Here are the best men singers from the past 60+ years Sep 13, 2025
    Show notes

    Last week the "How We Heard It" hosts came up with a list of the greatest women singers in modern music, debating Janis Joplin vs. Whitney Houston and Karen Carpenter vs. Barbra Streisand while also finding endless praise for everyone from Aretha Franklin to Linda Ronstadt to Annie Lennox to Billie Eilish.

    This week, "How We Heard It" pivots to men singers, going back in time to crooners like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby and country legends like Hank Williams and George Jones.

    From there, the hosts come forward, breezing through classic singer-songwriters like Jim Croce and James Taylor, R&B pioneers such as Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, and all manner of rock singers, including Elvis Presley and Freddie Mercury, while pausing to engage in the inevitable Paul McCartney vs. John Lennon debate.

    The 1980s and 1990s are represented by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Sting, Robert Palmer, Michael Hutchence, Trent Reznor, Vince Gill and Randy Travis. And today's stars are also evaluated, including Post Malone, The Weeknd, Harry Styles, Benson Boone and John Legend.

    Meanwhile, you might be surprised to find out where many of the others fall into place, including Elton John, Willie Nelson, Michael Jackson and Robert Plant.

    Especially Robert Plant.


    These are the best women singers in modern music Sep 06, 2025
    Show notes

    Singers often make or break a song. The exceptional ones can lift a bland arrangement into the stratosphere and the mundane ones can sink a great arrangement like a torpedo.

    This week the "How We Heard It" guys take a look at women vocalists (men singers will come next week), from the clear-voiced vocalists with perfect enunciation to soul singers who use a ragged edge to add personality. Some are belters, some practically whisper, some float into the atmosphere, and some are Bjork.

    But the differences between artists are pronounced, even in the sub-categories. Find out why Karen Carpenter hits differently than Barbra Streisand, how Tina Turner persevered, what sets Debbie Harry apart, where Sheryl Crow lands and how Billie Eilish factors in. And the guys are not on the same page on many of these vocalists, from Janis Joplin to Joni Mitchell to Kate Bush to Whitney Houston to Mariah Carey.

    Some of these women only seem better the more you explore their work, while others don't hold up to a closer listen. Your hosts dovetail, dissent and then dovetail again as they explore women singers from today, yesterday and long ago.


    Songs about friends: They'll have your back and stab it, too Aug 30, 2025
    Show notes

    Friends are our chosen family, the people we can sometimes count on when everyone else has turned their backs on us.

    But friendships vary. They can be a lifelong commitment or they can end tomorrow without warning. Or they can mysteriously fade away from benign neglect.

    Friends have inspired numerous songwriters over the years - the ride-or-die friends who will help you hide the body as well as the duplicitous friends who will steal your lover.

    On this episode of "How We Heard It," your hosts explore funny, heartfelt, angry, inspiring and pained songs about friendships, songs from pop, rock, R&B and country music that have surfaced on the charts and emerged in movies and television.

    Whether they bring out the best in you or bring out the worst, friends have a lasting impact on our lives.

    And they might even serve you butter tarts.


    Musicians use these secret tricks to win your love Aug 23, 2025
    Show notes

    Why do we love our favorite songs?

    We may think it's simply because we love the singer's voice or the guitars or the fact that it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.

    But often we love songs for reasons we may not understand and can't articulate. They just make us feel a certain way.

    Musicians know how the brain processes sound and triggers emotions, and they employ tricks that win you over even when you don't realize what's happening.

    Perhaps it's their unconventional use of major and minor chords and downtempo or uptempo cadence. It could be a subtle touch of percussive or stringed instrument or some kind of production enhancement ranging from overdubbing to reverse-tape trickery. And it might be a lyrical turn that got into your subconscious without your awareness.

    In this episode of "How We Heard It," your hosts explore how musicians can lead you on an emotional path that you can't explain.


    On second thought, these acts don't suck Aug 16, 2025
    Show notes

    Have you ever dismissed a band or singer as mediocre (or worse) only to later realize they were amazing and you misjudged them?

    It can be a blow to the ego to miss the genius that others hear - especially if you're a professional music critic or musician. But this week, your "How We Heard It" hosts put their pride aside and confess to overlooking some of the most-respected names in popular music.

    They explain how they underestimated the artists and what finally happened to bring them around to the truth. Believe it or not, these A-list artists include the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Taylor Swift and more.

    But before you shame your humble podcasters, look at yourself: Have you, too, been too quick to blow off acts you learned to love?

    It's OK, we're all friends here.


    These teen movies make us laugh, squirm and cringe Aug 09, 2025
    Show notes

    The teen years can be some of the most tumultuous in our lives - at least internally. Subtle moments can feel glorious, or tragic, while we might not even notice the major events unfolding all around us.

    The magic of being a teenager, when your life can feel out of control if your crush doesn't even look your way, is captured again and again in movies, from comedies to horror and all the drama in between. And why not? What better time to go through a coming-of-age story than when a serial killer is on the loose?

    Hollywood has been tapping into teen angst for more than half a century, dredging up warm feelings and stirring discomfort for audiences whose teen years might be long behind them.

    On this week's "How We Heard It," your hosts go back to school to revisit their favorite and least favorite teen-based movies and also discuss worthy recent ones you might have missed while you were busy living your adult life.

    Which movies got it right? Which ones sailed off the mark? And which ones are we now embarrassed to admit we ever liked?

    Most importantly, did you learn anything? Or was that diploma just a waste of time?


    Death sucks: Here are artists we lost too soon Aug 02, 2025
    Show notes

    It's not unusual for beloved singers and musicians to continue performing well beyond the age most of us plan to retire, and you can find them still packing arenas when they're in their 70s, 80s and even 90s.

    On the flipside, even the brightest stars can suddenly blink out. They fall out of favor at the drop of a hat, they burn out and quit the business, and, tragically, they sometimes die young.

    This week on "How We Heard It," your hosts take a look at great performers who had everything going for them until death cut them down. The causes of death varied from artist to artist - there were accidents, murders, overdoses and suicides - but they all ultimately fell by the wayside before they could realize their potential.

    Many of these artists never even made it out of their 20s, and your hosts wonder how much the world of music might be different had they had a fuller life, creating music and performing for another 50+ years.

    Would they have changed the direction of music? Would they have influenced more artists? Would they have inspired more fans?

    Join us as we imagine what could have been.


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