An Interview with John Legend

Summary

Podcast Summary: Story Pirates – An Interview with John Legend

Episode Information

• Title: Story Pirates
• Host: Story Pirates
• Episode: An Interview with John Legend
• Release Date: December 9, 2024

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1. Introduction

In this special bonus episode of the award-winning Story Pirates podcast, host Lee engages in an insightful conversation with the renowned singer, composer, and musician, John Legend. The episode spotlights John’s inaugural album tailored for children and families, titled My Favorite Dream. Listeners are treated not only to a deep dive into John's musical journey but also get the exclusive experience of hearing select tracks from the album.

Notable Quote:

• John Legend: “I love storytelling.” [00:36]

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2. John Legend’s Musical Roots and Family Influence

John Legend begins by sharing his deep-rooted connection to music, tracing his passion back to childhood. He reminisces about his early piano lessons at the age of four under Gloria Smith and the profound influence of his maternal grandmother, the church organist, who introduced him to gospel music. This nurturing environment fostered his enduring love for music, which seamlessly integrates into his family life today.

Notable Quotes:

• John Legend: “I find so much joy and fulfillment from songwriting.” [00:49]
• John Legend: “I'm around my family. So it just felt like the right place to write this particular album.” [07:43]

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3. Introducing "My Favorite Dream"

Lee delves into John’s latest project, My Favorite Dream, an album created specifically for children and families. This venture marks John’s first solo-written album, entirely crafted without co-writers and produced in the comfort of his home. The album reflects themes inspired by conversations with his children, resulting in song titles like “When I Feel Sad” and “Always Come Back.”

Notable Quote:

• John Legend: “This is the first album that I've completely written myself, aside from the covers that I did.” [07:43]

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4. Collaboration with Family Members

A unique aspect of My Favorite Dream is the involvement of John’s family. His children, Luna and Miles, contribute vocally to the track L O V E, marking their first recording experience with him. John describes the delightful chaos of recording with his kids, highlighting the learning curve with studio equipment and the joy of family collaboration.

Notable Quotes:

• John Legend: “We got video of it. We were all four together in the booth.” [03:55]
• John Legend: “I'm trying to get them to figure out the headphone situation... Sooner or later, we just figured it'd be easier for them to just take it off and just watch me.” [03:55]

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5. Performance of "L O V E"

The episode features a heartfelt performance of L O V E, one of the standout tracks from the album. The song encapsulates the pure and uncomplicated nature of love, resonating with both children and adults through its catchy melody and meaningful lyrics.

Lyrics Highlight:

"Love it's easy to spell and if you know it for yourself
Then everybody else, well, they can tell
When L O V E gets into your it sparkles like a star...
Love, love, love hey. Love, love where every day is love."

Notable Quote:

• John Legend: “Love, love, love Makes you feel better. Love, love, love keeps us together.” [04:40]

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6. The Songwriting Process Behind the Album

John elaborates on his creative process for My Favorite Dream, emphasizing the joy he finds in songwriting. Unlike his previous works, this album was entirely written by him at home, inspired by daily interactions with his children. He began with brainstorming topics discussed within his family, which later evolved into song titles. John recorded the initial melodies by simply sitting at the piano and experimenting, a process he describes as “mumbling his way through the entire album in one sitting.”

Notable Quotes:

• John Legend: “I just sat down at the piano eventually and started mumbling things.” [07:43]
• John Legend: “So every song that's on the album, it started with me sitting at the piano and mumbling a melody...” [07:43]

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7. Collaboration with Producer Sufjan Stevens

To achieve the desired sound for the album, John collaborated with acclaimed producer Sufjan Stevens. This partnership blended John’s soulful melodies with Sufjan’s intricate arrangements, resulting in a unique and enchanting musical experience. John recounts their first conversation, where he expressed his admiration for Sufjan’s work and his vision for the album.

Notable Quotes:

• John Legend: “Sufjan Stevens produced the entire album, and I really wanted his sound to be the sound of this album.” [09:27]
• John Legend: “I told him what my vision was. And I sent you the really rough demos that I recorded on voice notes...” [09:27]

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8. Highlighting "Always Come Back"

Another featured track, Always Come Back, showcases John’s ability to craft songs with universal appeal. The song's lyrical depth and orchestration earned it a nomination for Best Arrangement for Vocal and Instrumentation. John expresses his pride in how this track mirrors the emotional resonance of his earlier work, particularly his debut album, Get Lifted.

Lyrics Highlight:

"I always come back to always come back to you...
Like the dawn always brings us the sun
Like the moon comes when the day is done..."

Notable Quote:

• John Legend: “Always Come Back. I asked a string orchestrator... we were nominated for best arrangement...” [11:29]

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9. Advice for Young Songwriters

Emphasizing the podcast’s focus on creativity, John shares valuable tips for children aspiring to write their own songs. He encourages young creators to jot down ideas, experiment with melodies, and utilize technology like voice notes to capture spontaneous inspirations. John underscores the importance of iteration and perseverance in refining one’s craft.

Notable Quotes:

• John Legend: “Write down the ideas that you have and try to think about them as lyrical ideas too.” [18:51]
• John Legend: “Iterate, keep trying, keep working on it and keep singing it until it feels like it really sings well...” [18:51]

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10. The Role of Playfulness in Creativity

John reflects on the significance of playfulness in fostering creativity within the family. Drawing parallels between his father’s and wife’s habit of creating whimsical ditties, he highlights how these playful interactions inspire musical creativity and a joyful household atmosphere.

Notable Quotes:

• John Legend: “My dad was like that. He always was singing little made up ditties around the house.” [20:03]
• John Legend: “Both of them are the more playful members of the coup... making up little fun ditties around the house.” [20:34]

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11. Bridging Music for All Ages

Addressing the challenge of creating music that resonates with both children and adults, John discusses the delicate balance achieved in My Favorite Dream. He aimed to craft sophisticated melodies and lyrics that appeal to grown-ups while maintaining the simplicity and charm appreciated by young listeners. John expresses confidence that his older children will eventually find the album enjoyable as adults, highlighting its universal appeal.

Notable Quote:

• John Legend: “I feel like it's really good for adults and it's really good for the young, young ones.” [21:14]

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12. Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, Lee thanks John Legend for his time and shares excitement about the new album. He encourages listeners, especially the grown-ups, to explore My Favorite Dream and embrace the creative journey it offers to both children and families.

Notable Quote:

• Lee: “We really can't recommend John's new album enough, so grown ups check it out.” [21:35]

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Story Pirates serves as an inspiring testament to the power of family, creativity, and storytelling through music. John Legend’s transition into children’s music with My Favorite Dream not only showcases his versatility as an artist but also his commitment to fostering creativity in the next generation. Through heartfelt discussions and memorable performances, listeners gain a deeper appreciation for the art of songwriting and the joy of collaborative creation within a family setting.

Transcript

[Lee]

Hey, Story Pirates podcast listeners. Lee here. Today we have a very special bonus episode for you featuring an interview I did with the incredible singer, composer and musician John Legend, who just put out his first album for kids and families called My Favorite Dream. You'll even get to hear a couple of the songs from it on today's episode. All of that coming up after a few words for the grown ups.

[John Legend]

I love storytelling.

[Lee]

I'm very different from everybody. Confusion is the step before curiosity. Okay, that's a really funny idea. We have to send that in.

[John Legend]

I find so much joy and fulfillment from songwriting.

[Lee]

I believe all the things in my story.

[John Legend]

Human beings are just able to create the Sorry pirates.

[Lee]

Hey there. Welcome back to the show. Now, you may remember that last week we had an episode about a music manatee. Remember that guy? He wanted us to form a marching band and had a dark secret. Well, if you haven't heard it yet, you should, because the music manatee was played by none other than John Legend. And since I had John in the studio already, I thought I'd take the opportunity to ask him some questions about his music. John and I talk about his new album for kids and families, his experience making and learning about music as a kid, and we even get some tips from him about how kids can write their own songs. And of course, we share a couple of the tracks from the new album, My Favorite Dream. Enjoy. John Legend, welcome to the Story Pirates podcast.

[John Legend]

I'm so happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

[Lee]

So, John, I wanted to ask you a little bit about your amazing new album for kids and families, but I also wanted to just learn a little bit more about what your experiences with music were as a kid. Did you make music when you were a kid?

[John Legend]

I absolutely made music as a kid. I was taking piano lessons once. I was around 4 years old. My first teacher was at a music school. It wasn't actually a music school. It was like a little music store that had a little music school in the bottom floor. And so I would go there once a week and learn from a woman named Gloria Smith. She would teach me more like classical stuff. And then my grandmother, my maternal grandmother, was our church organist. My grandmother started to teach me gospel music on piano. I was surrounded by music, and it's no mystery why I fell in love with it. And it became a huge part of my life. Now, our kids, of course, they have music all through the house. They come to my concerts all the time, and they absolutely love music. The two oldest are always going back and forth on which songs get played in the car on the way to school. So I'm usually driving them, and I just hand them my phone and let them dj. And so they have to take turns picking songs. But the two younger ones are still very much in the phase of, you know, My Favorite Dream is like, their favorite album. This album really came at the right time for them, and it was the right time for me to write it.

[Lee]

And your kids, well, your whole family performs on the album. Is that right?

[John Legend]

So Luna and Miles and Chrissy sing with me on L O V e. And Esti and Rin, they didn't get a gig yet, but Luna and Miles got a chance to sing with me. This is their first time singing with me on record.

[Lee]

And what was it like to record with those kiddos? Were you in the studio with them, or did you do it at home?

[John Legend]

I was producing the vocal session, and I was in there with them in the booth. It was all four of us in the booth. We got video of it. We were all four together in the booth. And, you know, I'm trying to get them to figure out the headphone situation. You never realize how foreign it is to people that don't use it all the time. They're like, what am I supposed to do with this headphone and the mic and all this? So, you know, they were just trying to figure it out. Sooner or later, we just figured it'd be easier for them to just take it off and just watch me, and I'd give them the. And conduct them and all that.

[Lee]

Well, I think that's a great segue to play. One of my favorite songs from the new album listeners hear from John Legend's new album, My Favorite Dream is the song L o V E. L O.

[John Legend]

V E Love it's easy to spell and if you know it for yourself Then everybody else, well, they can tell When L O V E Love gets into your it sparkles like a star and everyone can see how bright you are because love, love, love Makes you feel better Love, love, love keeps us together Love, love, love Warm like a sweater Aren't you glad to know that you got love L O V E Love it's my favorite word it sings out like a bird the sweetest song I've heard Sweeter than dessert and L O V E love it don't cost a thing it's free for you and me so you give love and I'll give love and we all can give our love Love, love makes you Love, love keeps us together Love, love, love Warm like A sweater Aren't you glad to know that you've got love? Love love makes your day brighter Love, love love glows like a fire Love, love, love Aren't you inspired to live a life where every day is love? Let's live life where every day is L O V E Love it's easy to spell and if you know it for yourself, you can give it out as well. So everybody else feels love, love, love yeah. Love, love, love hey. Love, love where every day is love.

[Lee]

Okay, that's L O V E from the new album, My Favorite Dream by John Legend. You know, speaking of the album, I mean, it's pretty clear why you wanted to write something in that vein at this point in your career. You're surrounded by kids all the time. But I'm curious, like, for listeners and for kids, sometimes music feels like it comes out fully formed. But I'm wondering if you could tell us a little bit about, like, what it takes to make a song. What's that process like for you?

[John Legend]

I love talking about songwriting because I find so much joy and fulfillment from the process of songwriting and starting with this kernel of an idea and finding my way to a completed song through that process and for these songs. Some of the interesting things about the songs on this album, one is that I didn't co write any of these songs with anyone. This is the first album that I've completely written myself, aside from the covers that I did. And then secondly, this is the first album that I've written at home. Usually I go to the studio, but this time I just felt like, why not write in the place where I'm getting all my inspiration? I'm around my family. So it just felt like the right place to write this particular album. And then I started with a list of topics, things we talk with our kids about. And a lot of them are the song titles of the songs on My Favorite Dream. When I Feel Sad, Always Come Back. These are some of the ideas that I thought of when I was brainstorming. And this was actually the first album where I did that as well. And then I just sat down at the piano eventually and started mumbling things. And literally I mumbled my way through the entire album in one sitting. So every song that's on the album, it started with me sitting at the piano and mumbling a melody with a couple lyrics kind of filled in, but most of it not filled in. And then eventually I would revisit that and write the full song based on those mumbo tracks.

[Lee]

This was kind of a unique Production experience for you, right? Who produced all the songs?

[John Legend]

So Sufjan Stevens produced the entire album, and I really wanted his sound to be the sound of this album. I was writing all these songs at home, but when I was envisioning what the full arrangements would sound like, I kept coming back to Sufjan. And I'd been a fan of his for literally 20 years. I've been listening to him, and I was like, I wonder if he would ever do a children's album with me. And we'd never met before, but we were able to talk together on the phone. And I just told him how passionate I was about the music and how big of a fan I was of his and how I wanted my album to sound like John Legend meets Sufjan Stevens. And I even joked that since my real last name is Stevens, we could form a band called Soothe John Stevens. Anyway, that was my dad joke in our interaction. But, you know, we talked the first time, and I just told him what my vision was. And then I was like, let me just send you the really rough demos that I recorded on voice notes in my house and see what you think of them. And he loved the songs and wanted to do the project, and he would just dream up all these beautiful ideas, and he lived with the music for a couple months, and then he just started sending me demos, and I'm just like, ah, this is amazing.

[Lee]

It's so cool. I mean, a lot of kids might not realize, like, the power of arrangements, right? Like, the same songs could sound totally different with someone else, as they do with Sufjan.

[John Legend]

And, you know, one of the things I told him was I don't want people to listen to it and not hear you. Like, I want them to know that you're a part of this, and I want them to feel your presence musically on the album. And if we do that, then this will be exactly what I envision.

[Lee]

Is there a track on the album that you feel like. In my heart, I know is like, there's something really special about this one.

[John Legend]

Well, there's a couple that I feel like could have been on any of my albums, and those are When We Fly and Always Come Back. When We Fly. I feel like, even lyrically, it feels like it could have been on Get Lifted, my debut album, and then Always Come Back. I asked a string orchestrator that I use a lot, Matt Jones, to write the string arrangements. We were nominated for best arrangement for Vocal and instrumentation for Always Come Back. So I'm really proud of that.

[Lee]

Well, I think this is a good opportunity to listen to that song. Listeners from John's new album, My Favorite Dream here's Always Come Back.

[John Legend]

I may go to all those unfamiliar places Stranger towns with stranger faces Way out there it's okay my dear I may ride the planes and trains and distant highways I know I'll be finding my way home Though I'm gone just know it's not for long and no matter where I might wrong I always come back to always come back to always come back to you I'll be just a call away When I'm not with you when you doubt the love will lift you up My love our love's enough each and every star we wish on is the same no matter where we are on earth won't change When I can I'll be back there again no matter where I've been I always come back to always come back to always come back to you like the dawn always brings brings us the sun like the moon comes when the day is done oh it's true I will always come home to you like the rainbow that follows the rain the joy's coming right after the pain well I'm saying I'll be back home again I be back home again to oh I always come back to always come back to always come back to you.

[Lee]

We'Ll be right back after A few words for the Grown Ups.

[Narrator]

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[Lee]

My basket. It's missing.

[Narrator]

I have tried many means of defense, but none have yet proven successful.

[Lee]

I just wish someone would succeed in.

[John Legend]

Getting that darn sword.

I am under attack by this ruffian.

[Lee]

I want to be big and strong and fight evil. I have hope that if you show.

[Narrator]

Up at her door, she might listen.

[Lee]

Want to help me? Yell at them with your sword in a threatening manner.

[Narrator]

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[Lee]

Welcome back listeners. Here's more of my conversation with John Legend. So the Story Pirate show is all about creative writing, and I'm wondering if you have any advice for kids who might want to write a song of their own. Like maybe they're musical, maybe they don't play an instrument yet, maybe they've written some funny stories before, but they they kind of want to know how do I start writing a song? Do you have any advice?

[John Legend]

Well, I think one way is like I did with this album, just write down the ideas that you have and try to think about them as lyrical ideas too. Because there's certain things you can say in pro storytelling format that you can't necessarily say in the exact same way. When you're writing a lyric, it needs to be a bit more poetic. Most of us like it to rhyme, you know, you don't always have to make it rhyme, but it's usually nice. It usually works pretty well when it rhymes and then it also has to land well rhythmically and melodically in the song so that it flows and it sings nicely. And you've got to just brainstorm and try to record everything that comes to your brain. If you have a phone, you use a voice note. Just record your ideas so that you can come back to them. I think that's important. And yeah, iterate, keep trying, keep working on it and keep singing it until it feels like it really sings well and fits and you could hear other people wanting to sing it too.

[Lee]

So I imagine, you know, like speaking about families and the way they listen to music together. I know a lot of families that sing around the house and, like, make up dumb songs together.

[John Legend]

My dad was like that. He always was singing little made up ditties around the house. And actually Chrissy is like that around our house. She's always coming up with little jingles and ditties, and I feel like she could write a children's album too, if she wanted. Yeah.

[Lee]

I feel like so much about creativity is about play and those moments where you can feel free to just say something even if it's silly or dumb like that. That's the essence of play and that's also the essence of creativity.

[John Legend]

Yeah. And I think when it comes to both my dad and my wife, both of them are the more playful members of the coup. And so, you know, it makes sense that they would be the ones making up little fun ditties around the house all the time.

[Lee]

You know, I think one of the coolest things about your album is you're talking about how, like, your younger kids are involved, but maybe the older kids are into, like, pop music, like stuff they hear out in the world. But I feel like your album really feels sophisticated in the best way that family music does when it can appeal to everybody and you don't even have to really be a kid to enjoy it. Do you feel like that was part of the mission?

[John Legend]

Yeah, I feel like it's really good for adults and it's really good for the young, young ones, so. So like my. My older kids, I feel like they. It's not cool for them, but once they become adults, I feel like they'll think it's cool again.

[Lee]

John, thank you so much for spending this time with us today. We're so honored to have you. We're so excited about your new album.

[John Legend]

Thank you so much.

[Lee]

It's such a pleasure, listeners, thanks for checking out today's episode. I really can't recommend John's new album enough, so grown ups check it out. We'll be back later in the week with another new episode. Until then, stay creative and stay kind. Bye.