In this rare 1994 interview with folk singer Ted Hawkins – recorded one year before his death – Ann Delisi speaks with Hawkins about going from busking on Venice Beach to getting a major label record deal, and appreciating the past to look forw

Ida Mae Brings British Americana Across the Pond

Jul 16th, 2021 24m 43s

Husband and wife duo Ida Mae (Chris Turpin and Stephanie Jean Ward) join Ann Delisi to talk about their blues influences, relocating to the U.S. from London, and their 2019 album “Chasing Lights,” recorded at Real World Studios.

Joshua Henry: Tony-winning Performer on the Joys of Working with Lin-Manuel Miranda, and his Debut EP, "Guarantee"

Jun 25th, 2021 23m 42s

Joshua Henry has been in every one of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musicals, starting with In the Heights (2008), and including his role as Aaron Burr in the first U.S. tour of Hamilton (2016). Henry talked with Ann Delisi about his career, an

Robert Stiles: Solving Mysteries in Music History

Jun 11th, 2021 35m 26s

Nearly 20 years ago, Robert Stiles discovered 29 unknown works by virtuosic bassist and composer Serge Koussevitzky. Now, Stiles is the Principal Librarian for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where he puts his knowledge of music history and U.S

“Rough Cut Stone”: Family is Foundational for Gregory Porter

May 28th, 2021 32m 2s

Gregory Porter is an accomplished singer and songwriter, but he didn’t do it on his own. In this episode of Essential Conversations, Ann Delisi talks with Porter about how his brother and mother were foundational in his career, which includes t

Al Sutton: Award-winning Record Producer at Rust Belt Studios

May 14th, 2021 42m 42s

Al Sutton talks with Ann Delisi about his award-winning career as a music producer. They talk about Sutton’s creative process working with some of rock music’s top talent at Rust Belt Studios, including Greta Van Fleet and Kid Rock. Sutton also

Joanne Shaw Taylor: British Blues Guitarist and Singer

Apr 30th, 2021 29m 2s

British blues rocker Joanne Shaw Taylor spoke with Ann Delisi about being discovered by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, performing alongside Paul McCartney and Elton John, idolizing Stevie Ray Vaughn, and moving to Detroit from the United Kingd

Ani DiFranco Is Still Fighting the Patriarchy With Her Music, 30 Years Later

Apr 16th, 2021 29m 31s

Prolific musician and activist Ani DiFranco joins Ann Delisi to talk about her new single, “Do or Die,” how activism and social movements have defined her career, and why she chose to shave her head (again).

EP 28: Laurie Anderson: Performance Artist, Author, Musician, Filmmaker

Nov 27th, 2020 26m 53s

In this rare 1994 interview, Ann Delisi talks with avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson about her decades-long career as a performance artist, her love/hate relationship with technology, writing a retrospective on her career, and getting out of c

EP 27: Jeff Mills: Electronic Music Pioneer and Co-founder of The Underground Resistance

Nov 13th, 2020 34m

Jeff Mills is one of the pioneers of electronic music. He talked with Ann Delisi about co-founding The Underground Resistance in Detroit, the early days of radio, and the challenges of working with Classical musicians.

EP: 26 John Sinclair: Revolutionary activist, poet, and writer

Oct 30th, 2020 38m 45s

John Sinclair co-founded the White Panthers, managed the MC5, and was at the center of a landmark 1972 wiretapping case that went all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States. Sinclair joined Ann Delisi to talk about his revolutionary

EP 25: The War and Treaty

Oct 16th, 2020 26m 44s

The War and Treaty are a vocal powerhouse with a story as moving as their music. The husband/wife duo spoke with Ann Delisi about how they met, writing music while deployed in Iraq, and playing Saddam Hussein’s piano. Blue Note Records presiden

EP 24: Remembering the day Jeff Buckley played at WDET

Oct 2nd, 2020 25m 56s

Since his tragic death in 1997, Jeff Buckley's music and legacy has only increased in popularity. Those who worked with him remember an incredibly talented, charismatic artist. In this episode, Ann Delisi talks with former WDET staffers about t

EP 23: Billy Mann

Sep 17th, 2020 38m 47s

Billy Mann has worked with pop heavyweights like Carole King, P!nk, Cher, and Ricky Martin. In this episode of Essential Conversations, Ann Delisi talks with Mann about his longstanding songwriting relationship with P!nk, working with iconic mu

E22: Adam White, Author of “Motown The Sound of Young America”

Sep 4th, 2020 28m 59s

Adam White co-wrote this book with Barney Ales, who was Berry Gordy’s partner at Motown Records. While Berry handled the artistic and creative side of Motown, Barney Ales made sure the records got played on the radio, that they were distributed

EP 21: Journalist, News Anchor, Documentarian Emery King

Aug 13th, 2020 36m 31s

Emery King recalls covering the Carter and Reagan Administrations as the NBC White House Correspondent, how race played a role in the trajectory of his career and moving to Detroit to cover local news.

EP 20: Tina Sinatra

Apr 27th, 2020 24m 52s

Episode Description In December of 2015, Frank Sinatra would have turned 100 years. His daughter, Tina Sinatra, talked with Ann Delisi about her famous father. TinaSinatra

EP 19: Alice Cooper, Jack White and Detroit Tiger, Kirk Gibson

Apr 16th, 2020 26m 43s

These 3 Detroiters sat down in front of an audience to talk with Ann Delisi about music and sports at the Shinola Hotel in Detroit to benefit the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson’s

E18: Iggy Pop & Filmmaker Jim Jarmusch

Mar 27th, 2020 29m 59s

In October of 2016, Ann Delisi talked with Iggy Pop & Jim Jarmusch in front of an audience at the Detroit Film Theater following the premiere screening of the film “Gimme Danger” about The Stooges.

E17: Rock and Blues Guitarist Billy Davis

Mar 19th, 2020 44m 59s

Ann Delisi talks with Billy Davis about his friendship with James Brown, his history working with Hank Ballard and the Midnighters and meeting an unknown aspiring guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, who learned not only guitar playing techniques, but some

E:16 NPR Political Correspondent Don Gonyea - Part Two

Jan 23rd, 2020 44m 29s

Ann Delisi continues her conversation with NPR Political Correspondent, Don Gonyea who talks about what it’s like to be a reporter at a Trump rally, covering Barack Obama when he spoke to 250,000 people in Berlin, being at The White House on 9/

E15: NPR Political Correspondent Don Gonyea Part One

Jan 23rd, 2020 43m 45s

Ann Delisi talks with her longtime friend and colleague, Don Gonyea, about getting the call to cover The White House for NPR, the protocol for the daily press briefings, the logistics of being in the press corps on Air Force One and covering Pr

E14: Prince’s Audio Engineer Susan Rogers – Part Two

Jan 23rd, 2020 42m 51s

Ann Delisi continues her conversation with Prince’s longtime audio engineer and Berklee College of Music Professor, Susan Rogers. In Part Two, they discuss the two musicians whose tour support he anonymously paid to keep their careers going, ho

E13: Prince’s Audio Engineer Susan Rogers – Part One

Jan 23rd, 2020 43m 51s

Ann Delisi talks with Prince’s longtime audio engineer and Berklee College of Music Professor, Susan Rogers, about meeting him for the first time, the song she loved that he made her erase and the rehearsals for the Purple Rain Tour

E: 12 Dave McMurray

Oct 28th, 2019 17m 58s

Saxophonist Dave McMurray recalls his work with fellow musician and producer, Don Was, working with The Rolling Stones and his Blue Note Records debut album “Music Is Life”