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The Ry Cooder Story — Music
The Ry Cooder Story

“The Ry Cooder Story“ delves deep into the legendary career of master guitarist Ry Cooder. Prepare to embark on a journey spanning 60 years of musical genius. From his humble beginnings as a session musician with the likes of The Rolling Stones or Randy Newman, to his rise as a solo artist (“Bop Till You Drop“), film composer (“Paris, Texas“), or world musician (Buena Vista Social Club), Ry Cooder’s contributions to the world of music are unparalleled. Each episode provides comprehensive insights into Cooder’s creative process, collaborations, and profound influence on countless artists.

This podcast uses a new production method. Thanks to a text-to-speech generator, all voices are spoken by an AI. But don’t worry: it sounds like good radio, with pleasant sound, changing voices, and – most importantly – decent English.

This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copyright: © Frank Schnelle

Latest Episodes:

Trailer Season 3 Aug 26, 2024

Show notes

There is good news. Season 3 is in the works, and now we have a start date. In exactly one month, on September 26, episode 25 will be on the schedule. It will mainly be dedicated to Johnny Handsome, a really great Walter Hill movie. Later episodes will deal with world music highlights such as Talking Timbuktu, Meeting By The River, and of course Buena Vista Social Club. We will also take a close look at the Walter Hill films Trespass, Geronimo, and Last Man Standing that followed. Every episode will be also be devoted to side projects, of which there continued to be many. Think John Lee Hooker, the Chieftains, Jon Hassel and many more. Then we get to the grand finale: the late work with the great solo albums.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

Additional background music The Mini Vandals

Voices produced with text-to-speech AI

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube

The Ry Cooder Story Website

Support us on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24 Get Rhythm (1987) Jun 20, 2024

Show notes

We end our second season with what can be called Cooder's last classic album: Get Rhythm. As the title suggests, it's all about energy, speed and fun. It presents us with Cooder's very own world music and should have been a real chart breaker. Instead, it was just another solo effort with disappointing commercial results. Its release in 1987 was framed by two tours. We listen in on the famous Santa Cruz show, which spawned several bootlegs and a concert film. And we also uncover some very raw recordings from the '88 European tour.

This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

Additional background music The Mini Vandals

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube

The Ry Cooder Story Website

Support us on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23 Bring the Family (1987) Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

Cooder was not involved in the original development of John Hiatt's Bring The Family, nor did he act as producer, as he did a year later with Bobby King and Terry Evans. Nevertheless, this album is more significant than most of his previous session work and became something of a blueprint for the next phase of his career after Get Rhythm from the same year. It would be a period in which solo albums would no longer play a role, and film scores would gradually become less influential. Instead, a phase of more personal collaborations began, marked by work with long-time friends and ever new excursions into the realm of world music. Bring The Family was also the starting signal for the band Little Village, which was to be formed five years later.

This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

Additional background music The Mini Vandals

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube

The Ry Cooder Story Website

Support us on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22 Crossroads (1986) May 23, 2024

Show notes

Robert Johnson was one of the most important blues guitarists of all time. Cooder didn't cover any of Johnson's songs on his early albums, which is kind of a surprise when you think about it. But in the mid-eighties, a project came along that more than made up for the wait. Crossroads, another Walter Hill film, was a wonderful journey into the history of the blues. It led back to the roots of the Johnson legend, and - interestingly - back to Cooder’s own roots as well. It required him to make a whole variety of music, from juke-joint stomps to a famous electric guitar duel.

This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

Additional background music The Mini Vandals

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube

The Ry Cooder Story Website

Support us on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

21 Blue City (1986) May 09, 2024

Show notes

We're actually talking about a whole bunch of projects in this episode: 1985's Brewster's Millions, the rare case of a Cooder film comedy; the quirky TV western Tall Tales & Legends; the five-time Golden Raspberry Award nominee Blue City, a film we certainly wouldn't be talking about today without Cooder's contribution. Our little mid-'80s journey also includes three session albums, a festival, and Cooder's first-ever best-of album.

This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

Additional background music The Mini Vandals

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube

The Ry Cooder Story Website

Support us on Patreon

Annie Oakley on YouTube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

20 Alamo Bay (1985) Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

1984 was a busy year for Cooder. Not only did he produce the soundtracks for Paris, Texas and Streets of Fire almost simultaneously. He also ended up juggling both jobs with Alamo Bay, Louis Malle's drama about the clashes between Texas and Vietnamese fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. Cooder saw the movie as a simple working man's story in the tradition of John Ford. His goal was "a Chinese cowboy thing without an overt ethnic statement.” Alamo Bay has a great soundtrack album with references to Paris Texas, The Border, and even Southern Comfort.

This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

Additional background music The Mini Vandals

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube

The Ry Cooder Story Website

Support us on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

19 Streets of Fire (1984) Apr 11, 2024

Show notes

There were a lot of what-ifs when it came to the score for 1984's Streets of Fire. After rejecting James Horner's compositions, director Walter Hill had a movie that had no music. Cooder, on the other hand, had music that had no movie! His score for Stroker Ace had been rejected by director Hal Needham. So it was a stroke of luck for both of them. Hill's ultra-artificial "rock & roll fable" may have bombed at the box office at the time, but four decades later the movie has long since received the recognition it deserves. It’s a masterful cult classic with a fantastic Cooder score.

This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube

The Ry Cooder Story Website

Support us on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

18 Paris, Texas (1984) Mar 28, 2024

Show notes

German director Wim Wenders first met Cooder during the production of Hammett, his first Hollywood film. He wanted him to score the movie, but the studio didn't want a guitarist, they wanted a more traditional composer. When Wenders made Paris, Texas a few years later, he could make his own decisions. Naturally, he hired Cooder. Cooder's majestic soundtrack, completely original for its time, became one of the most influential film scores of the eighties. Imitations could be heard in other films, on prime time television, and in countless commercials.

This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

17 Clapton, Eddy & Other Sessions Mar 14, 2024

Show notes

From 1980 to '82, Cooder had made no less than two solo albums, two live albums, and three film scores. But '83 was different. Apparently in need of a change of scenery, Cooder instead worked with a number of very interesting musicians, including Eric Clapton, Duane Eddy, T-Bone Burnett, and John Hiatt. He also toured quite a bit, by his standards. There's a little more (live) music than usual in this episode.

This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube

The Ry Cooder Story Website

Support us on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

16 The Slide Area (1982) Feb 29, 2024

Show notes

With his ninth studio album, Cooder maneuvered himself into a dead end. While not a bad record by any means, it is one of his few controversial works and received some unfriendly reviews at the time. Cooder must have felt the same way, because after The Slide Area he stopped making solo albums for no less than five years. While he turned mostly to film scoring, he also scored a number of commercials. This episode features some of Cooder's commercial music for brands like Levy's, Early Times, and Pioneer.

This podcast frequently uses small snippets of musical recordings in podcast episodes for educational, review, and commentary purposes. In all cases, without exception, we believe this is protected by fair use in the U.S., fair dealing in the U.K. and EEA, and similar exceptions in the copyright laws of other nations. No more of the original than necessary is used, and excerpts are edited into long-form narratives, making the use transformative in nature.

Written, produced and edited by Frank Schnelle

Theme and background music by Chris Haugen

Additional background music The Mini Vandals

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube

The Ry Cooder Story Website

Support us on Patreon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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