And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

This legendary guest is an acclaimed songwriter, entertainer, and actor. Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, the enormous success of his first number one hit, “Diana” made him a star at the age of 15. Soon after he found himself traveling by bus with the ‘Cavalcade of Stars’ which featured the top names of the day. He honed his craft surrounded by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Frankie Lymon, and Chuck Berry. And he is the youngest entertainer to ever perform at the Copacabana in New York, as well as the Sahara and Sands Hotels in Las Vegas. The best-known titles of his early career included hits like “Put Your Head On My Shoulder,” “You Are My Destiny," "Lonely Boy," and "Puppy Love," (which also was recorded by Donny Osmond). By age 18, he had five Top 5 hits to his credit. After a few hit songs, he gained confidence in his talent as a writer and wisely knew that being a songwriter meant the power was in the pen. As a result, he went on to write for Connie Francis, Leslie Gore, and Buddy Holly (i

He is a composer, lyricist, conductor, arranger, orchestrator, director, and performer – who has been hailed as “one of Broadway’s smartest and most sophisticated songwriters since Stephen Sondheim” (Philadelphia Inquirer). Best known for his dazzling scores to several of the most renowned musicals of his generation, including the generation-defining ‘The Last Five Years,’ his debut song cycle ‘Songs for a New World,’ and the seminal ‘Parade,’ for which he won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Score, he also received two Tony Awards for his score for ‘The Bridges of Madison County,’ a musical adapted with Marsha Norman from the bestselling novel. A film version of his epochal Off-Broadway musical ‘The Last Five Years’ was released in 2015, starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan and directed by Richard LaGravenese. His musical ‘13,’ written with Robert Horn and Dan Elish, is now in production with Netflix to be adapted for the small screen. For the past four years, he has been the artist-in-residence at New York’

Our guest this week is an Ivor Award-winning songwriter, producer, and musician, who has collaborated with a wide range of artists including One Direction, Thomas Rhett, Maren Morris, Chris Brown, Jason Derulo, Fifth Harmony, Maroon 5, Big & Rich, Leona Lewis, and Little Big Town. He co-wrote and co-produced a majority of One Direction’s last three albums including the hit singles, “Drag Me Down,” "Best Song Ever" and "Story of My Life.” With Thomas Rhett he has co-written and co-produced numerous songs including his No. 1 singles “Craving You (feat. Maren Morris),” from the Grammy-nominated album ‘Life Changes’ and “Look What God Gave Her,” from the CMA Album of the Year nominated album ‘Center Point Road,’ (which he also co-produced). Additionally, he co-wrote and produced Niall Horan’s recent single “Nice To Meet Ya,” the No. 1 Top 40 single “Slow Hands,” as well as “On The Loose” & “Finally Free,” Rudimental’s Ivor Award-winning, multi-platinum single “These Days (feat. Jess Glynne, Macklemore &am

Last month Ross got back together with Charlie at Vox's Switched on Pop; this time to discuss everything from classic songwriting techniques, the happy accidents behind pop songs, and good listener habits. Dive into the conversation with this special BONUS episode, and boy does it have it all! Many thanks to our friends at Switched on Pop for always being down to nerd out with us. Enjoy!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

He is an ASCAP, BMI and Billboard Music Award-winning, multi-platinum songwriter, producer, and musician. As the principal singer and songwriter for the band Sugarcult, he toured the world for more than a decade with multiple platinum-selling success. From there, his writing and production duties with Neon Trees spawned the hits “Animal," "Everybody Talks," and "Sleeping With A Friend”. He produced the Walk The Moon album ‘Talking Is Hard’- which included the chart-topping song "Shut Up and Dance”. And he has also worked with Weezer, Elle King, The Strumbellas and Coin. Most recently, Pagnotta produced and co-wrote two singles (“Blame It On My Youth” and “Happy Days”) from blink-182’s #1 Billboard Rock and Alternative album, Nine. Tim also co-wrote the new Weezer single, “End of the Game,” which is currently #8 on the Alternative Radio Chart. In total, his songs have sold in excess of 12 million copies worldwide and streamed over 1 billion times. In addition to pro

He is a multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer, and musician best known for his work with Shawn Mendes and co-writing the Grammy-winning No. 1 song, "Don't Let Me Down" by The Chainsmokers featuring Daya. Additionally, he co-wrote the Shawn Mendes single, "There's Nothing Holding Me Back" which hit #1 at TOP 40, the newest Shawn Mendes single, “If I Can't Have You”, the Grammy-nominated for song of the year “In My Blood”, and the current The Head and The Heart single, “Missed Connection” which hit #1 at alternative radio. Recently, Harris had the singles “Walk Me Home”, which hit #1 at Hot AC radio, and “Hurts 2B Human” by P!nk, “Ballin Flossin” by Chance the Rapper featuring Shawn Mendes and Kesha’s “Best Day” featured in the film, Angry Birds 2. He has also worked with Dermot Kennedy, Alec Benjamin, Julia Michaels, K. Flay, Michael Buble, Jon Bellion, Noah Kahan, Jessie J, Bebe Rexha and X Ambassadors. And The Writer Is…Scott Harris! This episode is sponsored by BMI.  See acast

Our next guest achieved superstar status for his Tony Award-winning performance as Evan Hansen in ‘Dear Evan Hansen’, originating the lead role. He is a Grammy and Emmy Award-winning vocalist, songwriter, and actor, who is also recognized for his role as Benji Applebaum in ‘Pitch Perfect’ and ‘Pitch Perfect 2’. This year he shared another side of himself as a songwriter and solo artist with the release of his first full-length album, ‘Sing To Me Instead’, which delivers confessional lyricism by way of soulful intimacy as part of one cohesive narrative. The 12-track album chronicles the highs and lows of a transformative relationship. Showcasing his personal story, he penned several songs solo and co-wrote the remainder of material alongside the likes of Ben Abraham, Eg White, Nate Cyphert, Michael Pollack, Jenn Decilveo and more. In addition to his recent album, he is the executive producer and leading star of the new Ryan Murphy series, ‘The Politician’, currently on Netflix. He is the youngest artist to be

This Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum artist and songwriter is the definition of a modern-day rock star. With the recent release of his EP ‘Oh My Messy Mind’ which featured the infectious duet “Peer Pressure” featuring Julia Michaels, and the heart-wrenching ballad “Bad,” he continues to highlight his songwriting and musical prowess. This past year he finished his sold-out US heading tour and this summer he opened for Ed Sheeran on his overseas European arena tour. In 2018, after the release of his sophomore album ‘Electric Light,’ he won the world over again with its singles “Wild Love,” “Pink Lemonade” and “Us.” Following the release of his debut album ‘Chaos And The Calm,’ featuring the singles, “Hold Back The River” and “Let It Go” he was nominated for Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song, and Best New Artist at the 2016 Grammy Awards. In the UK, the record became the “Biggest New Artist Album Release” that year and has sold nearly 5 million albums and generated 3.5 billion streams worldwide. Receiving the BRI

Busbee fought for songwriters. He was one of the key advocates during the passage of the Music Modernization Act and was one of the first elected to the MLC. He wrote pop hits. He wrote country hits. But most importantly, he was our friend. The entire Nashville and LA songwriting community has lost a champion. We are sending all of our love to Jess and his three daughters.busbeeFull name: Michael Busbee 1976 - 2019With Love, Ross, Joe and the ATWI Family. "Originally hailing from the Bay Area and now based in LA, this Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer and publisher has deservedly become an untouchable force in the songwriting community. Best known for carving parallel careers in mainstream Pop and commercial Country, busbee has written with and produced for a wide range of artists, including Gwen Stefani, P!nk, Kelly Clarkson, Jon Bellion, Timbaland, Rachel Platten, Christina Aguilera, 5 Seconds of Summer, Lady Antebellum, Shakira, and more. Recent smash hits in the Country market include "

Our next guest is an Australian born and raised, No. 1 charting, Grammy-nominated songwriter. Her passion for music sparked at a young age after winning a songwriting grant, which inspired her to follow the career path of her idol, Sia. After learning Sia – along with her other favorite songwriters Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift – were signed to Sony/ATV Publishing, she submitted a demo to their Sydney office which impressed Head of A&R, Maree Hamblion and she was later signed. Since then this songwriter has used her unique talent to co-write US and Australian radio charting songs such as LDRU’s “Keeping Score (feat. Paige IV),” Cosmo’s Midnight’s “History,” David Guetta’s “Don’t Leave Me Alone (feat. Anne-Marie),” and two of Zedd’s No.1 hits, "Stay (with Alessia Cara)” and the 2019 Song of the Year Grammy-nominated song “The Middle” with Grey and Maren Morris. She has also crafted songs for major artists such as Camila Cabello, Galantis, Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato, Jonas Brothers, Ruel, Mabel and contributed fou

This week our guest is a songwriter and the lead singer of the band, X Ambassadors. X Ambassadors’ debut platinum-selling album ‘VHS’ saw the band transition from Ithaca alt-rockers and Brooklyn indie scene outsiders, to Billboard stalwarts. The album was an intimate insight into our guest and his brothers’ youth, studded with audio snippets from home movies, and early recording sessions and sound checks. With it, came the genre-defining, multi-platinum hits “Unsteady” and “Renegades,” a three-year global touring odyssey and a string of high-profile festival performances. His songwriting became increasingly personal resulting in the shattering, shimmering 2018 singles “JOYFUL” and “Don’t Stay” followed by a North American headline tour. With X Ambassadors our guest has co-written and featured on songs such as “Home” from the Bright Soundtrack with Machine Gun Kelly and Bebe Rexha, “Transmission” with Zedd and Logic, and the 3x multi-platinum song, “Sucker for Pain” from the Suicide Squad Soundtrack with Imagi

Kicking off Season 5, at 22-years-old, this multi-talented guest has already become a buzzing and sought-after producer, songwriter and artist. Working behind the scenes on numerous hit singles, he has stepped out into the spotlight with his own innovative and ambitious solo project. Born and raised in East Los Angeles, he was homeschooled alongside his younger sister, Billie Eilish. Music was always an important part of their childhood and education and by the age of eleven, his parents had taught him the guitar and piano. He took to writing his own songs and by the time he was a teenager, he was already teaching himself to produce. In 2015 he wrote a song titled “Ocean Eyes” in his bedroom studio. That song became the breakout hit for Billie Eilish, quickly grabbing her a record deal with Interscope and gaining major media buzz. The siblings continued to write and record together for Billie’s solo project, creating her debut EP ‘don’t smile at me’ and No. 1 debut album, ‘W

Ricky Reed hosts this episode of “And The Writer Is!” Ricky interviews Ross in a candid conversation about Ross's 14 year project called “The Wrong Man.” Ricky produced the concept album released on Interscope Records that is being adapted into a musical opening in NYC by the Hamilton director by Tommy Kail and music director Alex Lacamoire. How does a project grow through word of mouth to a major label release and Off Broadway show without every releasing recorded music until last week? Listen to find out about this amazing journey from a West Hollywood apartment in the mid 2000s to a worldwide distributed album!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The music that our Season 4 finale guest has written, performed, and produced — both as a solo superstar and as founding member of the Fugees — has been consistently powerful and a pop cultural force for over two decades. In 1996, his band the Fugees released their monumental album ‘The Score’. As a solo artist, he has released eight albums that have sold nearly nine million copies worldwide, including his 1997 debut ‘The Carnival’ and 2000’s aptly titled ‘The Eclectic: 2 Sides II a Book’. His album, ‘Carnival III: The Fall and Rise of a Refugee’, was named one of the “25 Most Anticipated Albums” of the fall by Billboard Magazine that year. And his recent release, ‘Wyclef Goes Back To School Volume 1’ is a collaboration with students he met while touring the United States and visiting colleges across the country. He is a 3 time Grammy award winner who has worked with mega stars such as Whitney Huston, Santana, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, Missy Elliott, Destiny’s Child and more. As a highl

Originally from Buchanan, Virginia our guest is an award winning, multi-platinum artist who moved to Nashville to pursue his passion for songwriting. There he met his future bandmates and together went on to form the band Old Dominion, in which he is the lead singer. He co-wrote the band’s first hit song, "Break Up With Him," which is RIAA certified platinum. Old Dominion’s sophomore album, ‘Happy Endings’, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart & #7 on the Billboard Top 200. The album produced three platinum, #1 singles, “Written In The Sand,” “No Such Thing As A Broken Heart” and “Hotel Key,” all of which our guest co-wrote. He also co-wrote the band’s single “Make It Sweet,” which recently hit #1 on the Country charts. In addition to his band, he has written hit songs for other artists such as Kenny Chesney ("Save It for a Rainy Day"), Sam Hunt (“Make You Miss Me”), Dierks Bentley (“Say You Do”), Luke Bryan ("Goodbye Girl") and Tim McGraw (“Kiss A Girl”) among others. He is a three-tim

His remarkable story wasn’t the result of any long-term plan, but more a tribute to his hard work and creativity. Recent chart-topping hits include Kehlani’s “Distraction”, The Chainsmokers new single “Who Do you Love?” with 5 Seconds Of Summer, and Demi Lovato’s “Sorry Not Sorry” for which he recently won a BMI Award. He has co-written and co-produced breakout hits for Nicki Minaj, K. Michelle and Alessia Cara and worked with stars like Rihanna and Alicia Keys. He has 5 songs on the new Alessia Cara album and co-wrote and produced 8 records on Kehlani’s 'SweetSexySavage’ album. Our guest has celebrated consecutive #1 Billboard Mainstream Top songs with Alessia Cara’s “Here” and “Scars to Your Beautiful”, and two Grammy Awards for his work on Alicia Keys’ ‘Girl on Fire' (Best R&B Album) and Rihanna’s ‘Unapologetic' (Best Urban Contemporary Album). And The Writer Is… Oak Felder!This episode is sponsored by SONOS and BMI.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

She is a multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated artist, songwriter and producer hailing from Rochester, New York. At the age of 15 she signed her first record deal with Columbia Records and released her debut album, ‘Underage Thinking’. The album’s lead single, “For You I Will (Confidence),” quickly found a spot in the Top 40. After a brief stint as a teen pop star, she began to co-write and produce music for other artists. She has written songs for acclaimed artists across the musical spectrum including P!nk, Maroon 5, Anne-Marie, Dej Loaf, Leon Bridges, Christina Aguilera, One Direction, Tiesto, Matoma, Empire of the Sun, Niall Horan, 5 Seconds of Summer, Birdy, DJ Snake and DNCE. Most notably her compositions and productions with Shawn Mendes have earned her multiple #1s and include the 2017 BMI song of the year “Stitches,” hit singles "Treat You Better,” “Mercy,” "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back,” the Grammy nominated “In My Blood,” as well as Shawn’s new single “If I Can’t Have You”. And she played an int

Our guest is a three-time Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer who has earned 40 No. 1 singles to date. He was named Songwriter of the Year by the Academy of Country Music in 2014 and 2019. Hot Country Songwriter of the Year by Billboard in 2015. This writer co-produced Kacey Musgraves' 2012 award-winning debut album, ‘Same Trailer Different Park,’ which earned him the Grammy for Best Country Album, and her 2015 follow-up, ‘Pageant Material.’ He's also produced debut albums for Sam Hunt (‘Montevallo’), Old Dominion (‘Meat and Candy’), Midland (‘On the Rocks’), Walker Hayes (‘boom.’) and more. In 2016, he arranged and produced "Forever Country," a collaborative song featuring Luke Bryan, Faith Hill, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and more to commemorate the CMA's 50th anniversary celebration. "Forever Country" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, making it the third song to debut at No. 1 on the chart since it began in 1958.

Our guest is a Grammy winning and six-time nominated songwriter, producer and guitarist. He has produced and/or written 45 #1 singles, 91 #1 albums and 60 million records sold to date in the genres of Rock, Pop and Country music. He has won a Grammy for Producer of the Year. And to those in the industry, his work is considered the gold standard. He started playing guitar in high school and performing with his band around LA. His incredible talent on guitar was the source of his first break, when he was asked to become Teena Marie’s tour guitarist at the age of seventeen. But songwriting was never far away, and he was soon writing jingles and themes for commercials and movies of the week, even as his guitar skills remained in high demand for demos and session work. A meeting with Melissa proved to be the next turning point in his career. After briefly playing guitar in her band, he left to concentrate on his own writing and production. Since then he has worked artists such as Alanis Morissette, Melissa Etherid

This Florida-born, LA-based singer-songwriter wrote her first song at age eight and got her start posting self-recorded songs on YouTube as a teenager. Now, after spending nearly a decade as a chart topping songwriter, penning hits for stars like Rihanna, Ariana Grande, Pitbull, Kelly Clarkson, Miranda Lambert, Mary J. Blige, Madonna, Demi Lovato and many others, Renea has emerged to tell her own story with the chameleon-like stylistic range and emotional intelligence that has brought so many others’ hits to life. Spanning classic R&B, dark-edged country and urban-soul, her current album 'Coloured' is a fierce, political, and personal collection of stories that reckon with Priscilla's childhood in rural Florida, sublime love, violent heartbreak and racial trauma. And The Writer Is...Priscilla Renea!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.