The King of the Great American Songbook, Michael Feinstein is a player, a singer and an archivist, he’s born to and dedicated to the music. A legend with numerous albums and TV shows, you should listen to this even if only modern music floats your boat, hear how an outcast followed the music to success, how a true original was accepted by Ira Gershwin and the public at large. From the piano bar to the Hollywood Bowl, it’s a mighty long way down not only rock and roll, but all music, to the TOP!

This was one of my favorite podcasts to do, I hadn’t realized how similar Michael Feinstein and I are. I’ve known Michael for five years, whenever I encounter him he’s testifying about some find, some music discovered in the archives that he will pore over and digest. Like film preservationists, Michael is single-handedly keeping the old music alive. Hell, he found the original “Over The Rainbow” and performed it with the Pasadena Pops! Michael challenges authority and has a sense of humor about himself. He’s really a rock and roll artist, just playing different music, and I didn’t know that until we did this podcast. We start off with conducting, but then we move into Michael’s history and you’ll see the parallel to other popular artists, people who couldn’t find their way in the conventional world, who were square pegs in a round hole and then when they were true to themselves their careers blossomed. It’s quite a story.

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