Oscar-winning lyricist Don Black talks with Sodajerker about his many collaborations on songs for films, musicals and pop artists alike. Don’s credits include ‘Born Free’ (Matt Monro), ‘Thunderball’ (Tom Jones), ‘To Sir, With Love’ (Lulu), ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ (Shirley Bassey), ‘The Man With the Golden Gun’ (Lulu), ‘Ben’ (Michael Jackson) and ‘The World is Not Enough’ (Garbage). He also talks in detail about his long and hugely successful relationships with composers John Barry and Andrew Lloyd Webber.
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Odessey & Oracle is a truly amazing record and one that we hold dear. Hope you’ll check out this conversation. Many thanks to the very affable and knowledgeable host Maurice Bursztynski for having us on.
Celebrated songwriter and artist Carole Bayer Sager is the guest for this episode in which Simon and Brian quiz her about some of her best-known songs, such as ‘Nobody Does it Better’ (Carly Simon), ‘It’s the Falling in Love’ (Michael Jackson), ‘Arthur’s Theme’ (Christopher Cross), ‘On My Own’ (Patti LaBelle/Michael McDonald), ‘That’s What Friends Are For’ (Dionne Warwick/Elton John/Gladys Knight/Stevie Wonder), ‘A Groovy Kind of Love’ (Phil Collins) and her solo hit ‘You’re Moving Out Today’.
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Happy New Year to you all! Just a quick blog post to let you know that our podcast ‘Sodajerker On Songwriting’ is now available on Stitcher Radio On Demand. They have a free app for iOS and Android that allows you to listen wherever you are without Wi-Fi or a cellular connection (no downloading or syncing). It’s even available on some car dashboards! What will they think of next?
We don’t have any advertisers or sponsors on the podcast, so we won’t harp on too much about Stitcher, lest you think we’ve sold out to The Man. Nonetheless, some of the biggest podcasts in the world are part of Stitcher, and so we are proud to also have our episodes featured on their network. Check out their app and get your fix of our interviews with some of the world’s most successful songwriters.
Mike Stock of Stock, Aitken and Waterman joins Sodajerker to talk about the writing of songs like ‘Say I’m Your Number One’ (Princess); ‘Showing Out (Get Fresh at the Weekend)’, ‘Respectable’ (Mel and Kim); ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ (Rick Astley); ‘I Should Be So Lucky’, ‘Better the Devil You Know’ (Kylie Minogue); ‘This Time I Know It’s For Real’ (Donna Summer), and other ‘Hit Factory’ smashes for artists like Cliff Richard, Jason Donovan and Bananarama.
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Ben Folds, Darren Jessee and Robert Sledge, known collectively as Ben Folds Five, sit down in person with Simon and Brian for a special edition of Sodajerker On Songwriting.
In this video podcast, the band talk about the writing of songs like ‘Brick’, ‘Battle of Who Could Care Less’, ‘Philosophy’, ‘Steven’s Last Night in Town’ and songs from their new album The Sound of the Life of the Mind, such as ‘Do it Anyway’, ‘Sky High’ and ‘Michael Praytor, Five Years Later’.
Special thanks to the band for taking part. There is an audio only edition available below.
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This is the audio version of the Ben Folds Five interview seen above including the usual intro/outro from Simon and Brian plus extra music cues missing from the video version. Think of this as the deluxe edition with the bonus features, ideal for the Ben Folds Five fan on the move.
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10cc’s own Graham Gouldman joins Simon and Brian for episode 30 to talk about the writing of songs like ‘For Your Love’ (The Yardbirds), ‘Bus Stop’ (The Hollies), ‘No Milk Today’ (Herman’s Hermits), ‘Johnny Don’t Do It’, ‘Wall Street Shuffle’, ‘I’m Not in Love’, ‘Iceberg’ (10cc) and ‘Bridge To Your Heart’ (Wax). Graham talks in depth about his work with 10cc, the late Andrew Gold, and his latest solo album Love and Work.
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Veteran singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop talks about the writing of songs like ‘On and On’, ‘Save it for a Rainy Day’, ‘Looking for the Right One’ (Art Garfunkel), ‘Losing Myself in You’, ‘Red Cab to Manhattan’ and his Academy Award-nominated song ‘Separate Lives’ (Phil Collins). Stephen also speaks about his work on a number of movie soundtracks, such as National Lampoon’s Animal House, Tootsie and The Money Pit.
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We’ll be seeing out 2012 in style with a podcast every week in December culminating in a special episode with one of the finest piano-fuelled beat combos ever to walk the earth – Ben Folds Five! Simon and Brian caught up with the band in Manchester on their current UK tour to talk songwriting and their new album The Sound of the Life of the Mind. Look out for that in the week prior to Xmas. Until then, we’ll be filling up your feed faster than a generous farmer. Enjoy!
Valerie Simpson, one half of legendary songwriting team Ashford and Simpson, joins Sodajerker to talk about the writing of Motown classics like ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, ‘You’re All I Need to Get By’ and ‘Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing’. Valerie also speaks about ‘I’m Every Woman’ (Chaka Khan) and Ashford and Simpson’s own hits including the seminal ‘Solid (As A Rock)’.
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We were humbled to be included in a short collection of the week’s best podcasts in the Telegraph recently alongside The Bugle and The Economist. Many thanks to Pete Naughton for such a great review! We are celebrating our first year of podcasting this month, so this comes as a very welcome surprise.
Thanks to everyone who has supported us in our work thus far and for all of your emails and comments. We are thrilled to be connecting with songwriting fans around the world and your support means a lot to us.
If you haven’t yet checked out the show, you can get all of the episodes for free on our site, or in iTunes. Hope you enjoy the episodes. We have some very exciting stuff on the way too, so stay tuned!
Singer-songwriter and producer Brendan Benson provides Sodajerker with insights into his songwriting process and creative life by discussing songs like ‘Spit it Out’, ‘What I’m Looking For’, ‘Broken Boy Soldier’, ‘Bad for Me’ and ‘Keep Me’. Brendan also speaks about his many collaborations with artists like Ashley Monroe and Jack White of The White Stripes in their band The Raconteurs.
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Episode 300 – Self EsteemOctober 20, 2025
Episode 299 – Labi SiffreOctober 12, 2025
Episode 298 – Mike ViolaOctober 4, 2025
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