Superhuman Podcast Host (1:56)

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the Enhanced Games. Some call it grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all. Embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Superhuman Podcast Guest (2:13)

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on £10. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Superhuman Podcast Host (2:19)

Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Dr. Maya Shankar (2:26)

Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shankar, a cognitive scientist and host of the podcast A Slight Change of Plans. A show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 1) (2:36)

I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long. The need to change.

Dr. Maya Shankar Guest (2:41)

We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes. You can have opinions, you can have like a strong stance, and then there's your body. Yeah, having its own program.

Dr. Maya Shankar (2:56)

Listen to a slight change of plans on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast Narrator (Psychology of Your Twenties) (3:03)

Your twenties can be so exciting, but they can also be really overwhelming, confusing, and honestly, just kind of lonely. May is mental health awareness month, and the psychology of your twenties is breaking down the science behind the biggest roadblocks we face.

Psychology of Your Twenties Guest 1 (3:19)

I was six years into my career, the 80 hour weeks, and just first one in, the last one out, and I ended up burning out.

Psychology of Your Twenties Guest 2 (3:25)

There was a large chunk of my twenties that I like was just so wanting to like be out of that phase, out of my skin. And I just like really regret not living in the present more.

Podcast Narrator (Psychology of Your Twenties) (3:34)

You don't need to have everything figured out right now. You just need to understand yourself a little bit better. Listen to the psychology of your 20s on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Buzz Knight (3:48)

Taking a walk, Taj Mahal? I've been wanting to have you on this podcast for a long time. Thanks. Being on Taking a walk, sir.

Taj Mahal (3:57)

My pleasure.

Buzz Knight (3:59)

So the title track of the brand new album is a Bill Withers composition that had never been released. Essentially a demo that almost disappeared. When producer Steve Berkowitz first brought that song to you, what was your immediate reaction when you heard it?

Taj Mahal (4:17)

My immediate reaction was that I heard all of Bill with his music. And one of the things about him was that almost every piece of music was different. He was the guy that composed a lot of different songs. And so this was a part of a lot of music that he didn't ever release. And so I could see that his songwriting was moving forward because I never heard the rest of it. I think there was probably about maybe 60 other songs that he demoed and done, but this was one that I heard and I. And. And what. What sounded the most like him was that he took a leap in another direction musically, you know, but. But the similar thing was subject, you know, his. His idea of, you know, with the subject material and the tempo and the way he was never in a hurry, no matter what it was. I don't care how fast the tune went. He just went at his own pace. That's where I was at. I loved what he did because of that. And he liked a lot of what I did too. In the same way we did get to know each other and our wives had gone to School together in Claremont. And so they knew each other from then, and, you know, we just have a lot of things in common. When he first came out to California, because he came from, like, you know, Slap Fork, West Virginia, that was a coal mine in town. He was the only person. He never went in the gold mine, and he was the only person in his family played music. So he was a pretty. Pretty close to the bone guy. You know, he didn't know a whole lot of nonsense around him. He didn't grow up in that kind of a document, grew up in an environment where people work together because if you didn't, you didn't survive, you know. And so when you came out to California, you recognized what I was doing and that I was in my own lane and. But at the same time, I was an approachable person. A lot of times people are in their own lane and they're just not approachable. I always was approached by anybody, you know, as long as you come. Come to me with. As a human being, you know, you know, and I can read your soul, you know. But, yeah, it was exciting. And then, you know, when we finally did the song and, I mean, he gave us the green light on it to do it. And then, of course, by the time it got done and he had passed and. And it just wasn't anything close to when he passed, when we. We got to the. The go ahead from him. And then later on, once the song was done and within I say maybe the last six months or so, we passed it by his wife, Marsha, and she gave the official nod to be able to go ahead that she liked it. So I was fairly happy. You know, it's a good song. I think about, like, a lot of tunes I do. I try to get to have songs that really say something about the time we're in. Not necessarily, you know, an anthem or anything like that, but just talk about what's going on. Your philosophy in life.

Buzz Knight (7:36)

Can you tell that story when. When you. You met him, I think it was the second time he was putting up shelves for his daughter in. In overalls. Can you tell that story?

Taj Mahal (7:50)

Well, yeah, you know, there's some. Some details that blurred, but. But I. As I recall, I'm. I was walking down the street and I looked up and, hey, man, what's going on, Bill? And he was like. He was in, you know, bib overall said, hey, man, blah, blah. I was like, what you doing? My daughter got me putting up shelves in her. In her dorm room. She going to school at, you know, Columbia University. And so we were talking, you know, there's a couple guys rapping on the street corner, you know, and he was just telling me a lot, you know, about what his. His experience with the. With the. The record industry and that he stepped out. I admired him for that because he knew he had his publishing, you know, so he was. He was. He was in good stead. And I didn't know some of the details about him. You know, some people said, well, you left a lot of money on the table. He was like, yeah, yeah. But he said, not if I have to compromise myself. And that was mainly what was happening. See, like, I never really had that whole record company coming to, telling me what to do and what to play and how to play it and who I should be playing with and get this person on the record. No, they knew full well that I was not that person. No, you are not going to monkey with what it is I'm doing, so. And, you know, and if that wasn't going to work, well, then, you know, hey, put me off the label, you know, I mean, I'll handle it like that. So he. He was basically, you know, saying what it was that they were trying to get him to say. You know, you needed horns and backup singers and B3 organization and that the pace and tempo of his music was too, too slow. And you do something, you keep up with the tempo of the times. No, no. And I agree with him, but we were just. We were just bantering it back and forth. It wasn't. No, you know, we weren't, like, rousing about the industry. It just was what. He was just telling me what it was that was happening for him. Deal with it, you know, and, and I, and I, and I. Hey, I course, with him, I. I understood what he was saying, you know, you gotta stand up for what you represent, you know, represent what it is that you standing up for. And so it was all good, you know, just a conversation between a couple of guys, you know, and that was part. That was, I think, the last time I talked to him in person. And I thought that was cool, man. You know, dad comes in, puts on some overalls, gets in this, you know, measures two, three times, cuts once, starts putting stuff up. Taught her, needed some shells. That's real. I love it. That was real. That's what a man does, you know. Appreciate it.

Buzz Knight (10:44)

Yep. The new album also features Ziggy Marley on a rendition of his father Bob's Talking Blues. Bob's Talking Blues, yeah. What was it like bringing that song into your world? And. And what did Ziggy bring to that? It must have been an amazing energy. Taj.

Taj Mahal (11:06)

Well, if you've been following the music around 1974, 75, I pivoted after four different albums. The real Thing, which was double album, went to Tubas. The second album, Happy Just to Be Like I Am, which was studio album, went to Tubas. Real Thing was a live album. Then I did two acoustic albums recycling the booths and other related stuff, Pointer Sisters, different kinds of. I'm on the COVID with Mississippi John Hurd and Newport Folk Festival Dave Gar Photo. And then I did also Good and Blues again, acoustic record and Recycled and Blues had pretty much been about the American music side of me, you know, Southern music. Okay. African based Southern music from this, from, from the United States. Now I pivoted to another part of my culture, lineage, heritage, which is Caribbean on my father's side. So that was music that started moving toward Africa. So. So this was not something that I just started. And at that point I did mo roots music keeps me together, satisfied and tickled too. And then that moved on to, to several different records with brothers, which was a soundtrack for, for Angela Davis and George Jackson movie. So I got to know Bob Marley personally. Had Bob Marley at my house. He and family man Skill Cole and Augustus Clavier. So this, this was the second time that I worked with Ziggy. Worked with Ziggy in 2008 album on Maestro where he worked on a tune called Black Man Brown man. And so, you know, again presented it to him. He was more than happy to come on and, you know, present a, a cameo on a song that we put now, you know, it's like, it's just, it's. It's the kind of thing you do when you got global family, you know. Hey, I got a tune over here. Can you come over? Yes, yes. Because I'm like, like he says I'm an uncle to him. His father said I was like an uncle to him, you know. So, yeah, it's. It was just keeping it in the family.

Buzz Knight (13:40)

I love it. It's a big family too. It really back then in terms of the scene that was going on and I'm outside of Boston, so obviously the scene that was happening down the road in Cambridge, Massachusetts was just bursting at the seams in terms of music and the family of people that you all connected with. And then we as fans got to enjoy and just love, maybe talk about some, some of that family that was around that scene. And of course there were in other places, New York City in the Village and, you know, the Philadelphia sort of, you know, scene of music. But talk about some of those people that were part of that family of music.

Taj Mahal (14:21)

Well, you know, I. I discovered that there was. It was a club 47. I was going to school at the University of Massachusetts, Stockbridge School of Agriculture, and. But I, you know, play music and listen. And it was. I was. I had come out of a situation where I hadn't realized how controlled the music that I was had available was in the town that I lived in, you know, because there's always these people who are in the corporate sector who are supplying the town with whatever it is. You know, it was great music. I was not, not saying there was anything wrong with it, but I really didn't notice other aquifer that went down below. Believe it. I know there was the Newport Jazz Festival. But it was only when I came to. To the University of Massachusetts, I learned about the Newport Folk Festival and then started seeing the people who were playing on it. And then also to the record stores in and around the university had all these other, other record labels. And it was like, wow, these people, I thought they didn't like us. Well, they're. They're really interested and you. Only unless you were some sort of commercial venue. But here people who are recording this great music and these albums were available. You could. You could. And there were libraries at the university. You could take this stuff out and music booths in a music room that you could go and listen to this stuff. You know, so that was the first time I knew about books being in a library. But I never knew there was a record library and that many rec. Libraries, bars, libraries would have a comparable collection of vinyl. It was like, whoa, really? Oh, okay. And so then, you know, discovered all these other folkways. Stinson, you know, Elektra Folk, Lyric Rounder, you know, all these other different, different record labels. All Prestige did some stuff. Prestige, Bluesville and that. There were. There was a considerable bunch of people moving around in that. And then almost every decent city that had colleges around it had what they called coffee houses, which I kind of saw through the jazz and the beats and beatnik kind of thing. But then I found that it also accommodated people that were interested in, quote, folk music on COVID 19. And so that was interesting. And at that time, I started noticing a lot of young guys trying to play an older music that I had gotten through. You know, Jimmy Reed and Jimmy Rushing and neighbors and whatnot that grew up from Mississippi and North Carolina like that. So it was interesting. And kind of like that was when the whole thing that we're rediscovering a lot of people. Skip James, Son House, the whole Mississippi, John Hurd, you know, bringing Fred McDowell in and Nance Lipscomb and all these people that I never heard of before, but were nonetheless something that I was looking, trying to find out, well, where are these people? And so all of a sudden I realized that there was a whole group of individuals who were not only playing the music, but listening to music, listening to these different people, going to see them, knew what their schedules were. And so I just got busy finding my way in. Pretty soon I was somebody who was doing the hootenannies and, you know, putting people on and having shows up there at the Club 47, playing in and around Boston. You know, I think the first gigs that I got there was the Turks Hand, you know, Arnold and Sally Cummings Place on Charles Street. I got my spurs gigs there. Arnold's past, but Sally's still around. I know her family really well. I probably talk to them once a week anyway. She still has a. She got some great mementos from that particular time. And every now and then Betsy Siggins sends me some different stuff, or Mitch Greenho, who I talked to yesterday, you know. But I'm in touch with the people. Maria Moldar and other people that were around during that time. Joan Baez, recently, you know, it was a powerful scene, you know what I mean? It was once a young people who wanted what they felt was real music, which was not cluttered by the commercial Cinnamon, you know, I like that. You know, I mean, I was. I was headed toward an agricultural career at the time with music being something on the side that I liked. Yeah, that was a hip scene, man. There was a lot of good people coming around. So, you know, as a youngster who was like wanting to see the real stuff that you can. You can get. You get to see it. And he could also see a lot of people who were being influenced by it, you know.

Buzz Knight (19:51)

Oh, I love it.

Taj Mahal (19:52)

It's a good seat. It was a very good seat. Oh, also, what was the other one? Paul Small. There was another one over there.

Buzz Knight (20:00)

Club Passim, too.

Taj Mahal (20:01)

Passim. No, Passing Passim was the old 47.

Buzz Knight (20:05)

Yeah, got it.

Taj Mahal (20:05)

Yeah, yeah, turned over. But there was one over in Boston, Copley Square. Can't think what the name of that place was. George Papadopoulo ran that one. Anyway, yeah, that was another play. There are places around the play and then there also Ann Arbor, Michigan was, you know, you were talking about the different places around. But almost every college town had a. Had a coffeehouse. Like, you know, University of Massachusetts had one place run by a guy named Horace Waters. It's called the Saladin Coffee House. As you see, Bumpy Saigler, he did a whole bunch. She was another person. Good friend of mine. Still a good friend. We'll be right back with more of the Taking a Walk podcast.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Doug) (20:50)

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Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 1) (20:59)

Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

Taj Mahal (21:03)

Oh, no.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 2) (21:03)

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Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 3) (21:06)

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Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 4) (21:09)

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Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 4) (21:14)

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Michael Easter (21:18)

2%. That is the number of people who take the stairs when there is also an escalator available. I'm Michael Easter, and on my podcast, 2%, I break down the science of mental toughness, fitness, and building resilience in our strange modern world. I'll be speaking with writers, researchers, and other health and fitness experts and more. To look past the impractical and way too complex pseudoscience that dominates the wellness industry.

Dr. Maya Shankar (21:47)

We really believe that seed oils were inherently inflammatory.

Sam J. (21:51)

We got it wrong.

Taj Mahal (21:52)

Many of the problems that we are freaked out about in the world are the result of stress.

Michael Easter (21:57)

Put yourself through some hardships and you will come out on the other side a happier, more fulfilled, healthier person. Listen to 2%. That's 2% on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Superhuman Podcast Host (22:17)

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Superhuman Podcast Guest (22:34)

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on £10. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Superhuman Podcast Host (22:40)

Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Sam J. (22:46)

Do you remember when Diana Ross double tapped little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people? I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Lil Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam J.

Alex English (23:01)

And I'm Alex English.

Sam J. (23:03)

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it, including

Alex English (23:08)

a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

Mark Lamont Hill (23:13)

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but yeah, yeah, literally. But just so y' all know, I

Alex English (23:21)

mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we. We've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

Podcast Narrator (Psychology of Your Twenties) (23:25)

We also have A's on the table

Mark Lamont Hill (23:27)

right now, so thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Alex English (23:36)

Really?

Taj Mahal (23:36)

Yeah.

Mark Lamont Hill (23:36)

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Alex English (23:40)

Listen to look back at it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Taj Mahal (23:50)

Welcome back to the Taking a Walk podcast.

Buzz Knight (23:53)

Taj, in 2025, you won both a lifetime achievement Grammy and a competitive Grammy for the album you made with Keb Mo. That is a rare thing to happen, to get your flowers and be recognized as a creator in today's world. Talk about what that all meant to you and how proud you were of that.

Taj Mahal (24:18)

No, I was very happy with it. The main thing of it was is that actually what I won that year for was for the Swinging Live at the Church in Tulsa. It was this year that we got nominated the record that Kev Mo and I did called Room on the Porch. So. But that, yeah, but, yeah, I was really happy. I was happy most of all because I had two of my daughters with me at the Grammys. And oftentimes I've spent time away from family to do the thing that I've done because I didn't never have, never did have the music, you know, the music business behind me to blow up what it was I'm doing. So, you know, I was always in survival mode. And, you know, that took me away from my family, word for years on end. I mean, not that I didn't get back home, not that we didn't spend quality time together, but by the 8th of January every year, the next time I looked up, it was June. Next time I looked up, it was October, and then it was back to December, January. Again, I'm making it a point that every time I have something in that arena, I bring some family along with me to share in, you know, in the light and to share in my light and it lets me know that people actually are conscious and have been following me for numbers of years. I mean, I have people tell me that they've been listening to me almost for, like, pretty near. Pretty near 57 years. And that's without hits and being accepted into, you know, the music scene like that. This is on its own merit, you know, and these are people who are finding their way there and moving that music on to the next generation. But, yeah, it was. It's. It's wonderful to know that there, you know, people, my contemporaries, you know, know that, and they like it, and they let me know.

Buzz Knight (26:23)

So in closing, Taj, we call this podcast Taking a Walk. Sir, if you could take a walk with somebody, living or dead, could be multiple people. Is there anybody that comes to mind that you would like to take that walk with? Taj Mah.

Taj Mahal (26:38)

All is ready.

Buzz Knight (26:39)

What would you guys talk about?

Taj Mahal (26:41)

All this was country. Why I'm saying that is that with the Rising Suns, with Ry Cooter, Jesse Lee Kincaid, Gary Marker, Kevin Kelly, you know, myself, we got a chance to open in Los Angeles for several different groups. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, Booker t and the AMGs, the temptations and the Crown and Glory. Was a whole week of opening or Otis Spreading when he came out to California. That was without a doubt, the most powerful live show that I ever saw. I mean, this is including all kinds of great music and artists who wasn't very much older than I was at the time. Within about a year or two, he was just phenomenal. Because I got a chance to meet a lot of different people. Joseph Spence, Sleepy John Estes, Yank, Rachel Hammond, Nixon, Fred McDowell. I mean, meet and hang with these people. Well, I can go on and on and on, and they're great people presenting great music. But I'm just talking about, in terms of somebody I would like to hang out, just, Just. Just talk to. I just love the way this man put his music together. And I got. And I also know his family first. I'm personal friends with his family, you know, just. Just had. Just had a lot of respect, tremendous amount of respect for what he was doing and that he was a real person, you know, and, you know, there are a lot of. A lot of musicians I met. Nobody moved like that. And then, you know, talk to him about what's happening in life. You fish, you know, what you do. Well, yeah, because I think over the years, I mean, Otis was really country. He really was, you know, but when it came to the music, he could throw down. There are a lot of good people. But you asked me somebody a lot living or dead. That hurt me to my heart when that man we disappear from this earthquake

Buzz Knight (28:51)

too soon, too soon. Taj, I hope you could see him smiling ear to ear from talking to you. It's been a true honor. You are a treasure. I'm grateful for all that you continue to give us. Congratulations on the brand new album time.

Taj Mahal (29:08)

Check this out. Chaz will give you back your mind. Reggae will give you back your body. But the blues, the blues, the blues will give you back your soul.

Buzz Knight (29:22)

Thanks for what you give us and thanks for being on Takin A Walk, Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal (29:27)

Hey, you're welcome, buffs.

Buzz Knight (29:30)

I'm Buzz Knight.

Lynn Hoffman (29:31)

And thanks for listening to the Taking a Walk podcast. Now please check out our companion podcasts, produced by BuzzKnight Media Production with your host, Lynn Hoffman. Music saved me. Showcasing the healing power of music and comedy saved me. Shining a light on how laughter is the best medicine. All shows are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and are part of the iHeart podcast network.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Doug) (30:02)

And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual, even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 1) (30:12)

Hey, everyone. Check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

Taj Mahal (30:15)

Oh, no.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 2) (30:16)

We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual Together.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 3) (30:19)

We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 4) (30:22)

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 2) (30:24)

Anyways, get a quote@libertymutual.com or with your local agent.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 4) (30:27)

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

Superhuman Podcast Host (30:31)

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the Enhanced Games. Some call it grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all. Embedded in the games and with the athletes. For a full year.

Superhuman Podcast Guest (30:48)

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on £10. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Superhuman Podcast Host (30:54)

Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Dr. Maya Shankar (31:00)

Hey, I'm Dr. Maya Shankar, a cognitive scientist and host of the podcast A Slight Change of Plans, A show about who we are and who we become when life makes other plans.

Liberty Mutual Ad Voice (Person 1) (31:11)

I wish that I hadn't resisted for so long. The need to change.

Dr. Maya Shankar Guest (31:16)

We have to be willing to live with a kind of uncertainty that none of us likes. You can have opinions, you can have, like, a strong stance. And then there's your body. Yeah, having its own program.

Dr. Maya Shankar (31:31)

Listen to A Slight Change of plans on the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast Narrator (Psychology of Your Twenties) (31:38)

Your twenties can be so exciting, but they can also be really overwhelming, confusing, and honestly, just kind of lonely. May is mental health awareness month, and the psychology of your twenties is breaking down the science behind the biggest roadblocks we face.

Psychology of Your Twenties Guest 1 (31:54)

I was six years into my career, the 80 hour weeks, and just the first one in, the last one out, and I ended up burning out.

Psychology of Your Twenties Guest 2 (32:00)

There was a large chunk of my twenties that I like, was just so wanting to like be out of that phase, out of my skin. And I just like really regret not living in the present more.

Podcast Narrator (Psychology of Your Twenties) (32:09)

You don't need to have everything figured out right now. You just need to understand yourself a little bit better. Listen to the psychology of your 20s on the iHeartRadio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.