Hosted by Chris Blair · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 26 episodes
Established thought leaders with verified media credentials.
Welcome to Stories Behind the Songs. This is a weekly podcast hosted by Chris Blair in Nashville, TN. After over 20 years in Nashville and owner of the famous music venue The Listening Room, CB has become friends with some of the biggest names in music, the writers behind the hits and amazing industry leaders. In this podcast, he sits down with those friends and shares their stories. You’ll hear about the songs you know from radio, you’ll hear from brand new artists and much more. Whether you have dreams of being in the music industry or just love great music, this podcast is for you!
Chris Blair hosts Stories Behind the Songs, a music show with 26 episodes published.
Join us for a special episode recapping CMA Fest 2026 with incredible interviews from Emmett Stevens Jr, Drew Baldridge, Taylor Austin Dye, Cassidy Daniels, Payton Smith, Brooke Lee, Erin Kinsey, Craig Campbell, and Mela
A hit song can start with a flooded kitchen, a late co-writer, and a line tossed off as a joke. Sitting down with Phil Vassar, we follow the real road behind the radio: moving from Virginia to Nashville, getting told a p
A single “loss” can either break you or reroute you, and Terri Clark proves it can do both. Sitting down with me on Stories Behind the Songs, Terry tells the wild true story of a Canadian talent contest that left her and
A country band doesn’t last 40 plus years by accident, and Diamond Rio doesn’t sound like Diamond Rio by accident either. We’re recording from a ship off Mexico, and Marty Roe and Dan Truman join me to tell the real stor
Time to close the books on a huge year and open the door to an even bigger one. We step back to celebrate what your support made possible at the Listening Room—862 shows, 150,000 guests, and a stack of songs that went fr
A farm town kid with a tiny amp, a bandana from Stagecoach, and a promise to take one more swing at the dream—Tyler Rich sits down with us to unpack the road from Northern California to Nashville and what it costs to mak
A last-minute writing invite, a young artist with star power, and a chorus that had to carry the whole story—Ava Sapelsa walks us through how a room with Jamie Kenny, Trent Dabbs, and Max McNown turned into a multi-forma
A riff can change a room. That’s the spark Jerry Flowers chases as he walks us through the real stories behind hits for Sam Hunt, Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Morgan Wallen, Keith Urban, and more—plus the ha
A riff can change a room. That’s the spark Jerry Flowers chases as he walks us through the real stories behind hits for Sam Hunt, Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Morgan Wallen, Keith Urban, and more—plus the ha
A hummingbird at a window. Santa Ana winds rattling the night. A promise to Vince Gill that forced the album to finally exist. Our conversation with Annie Bosco traces the real road behind California Cowgirl, a 19-song d
A porch write that wouldn’t quit, a chorus saved by one repeated word, and a ballad that made Madison Square Garden feel like home—this conversation with Grammy-nominated songwriter Jeff Cohen is a rare look at how hits
A modulation mistake that worked. A morning DJ who spun a ballad eight times in a row. A first-time co-write that became a TV theme and then went viral years later. Philip White joins us to share how a handful of honest
Warning: that AI demo might be quietly licensing your lyric and melody to the world. We sat down with songwriter and producer Justin Morgan to pull back the curtain on how AI music tools like Suno really work, why their
A fictional town can set a songwriter free. That’s the spark behind Jennyville, the creative sandbox where Jenny Tolman learned to ignore the lanes, chase characters, and write past the limits of “radio safe.” From that
What if your songwriting school was a sold-out room and your tuition was a bar shift? We sit down with Luke Stevens to trace a path from Oklahoma fields to Nashville stages, where classic 70s storytellers like James Tayl
Some songs take the long way home. Jeff Middleton joins us to map that winding route—Jersey kid to Nashville lifer—through a Warner deal with The Dirt Drifters, a thousand-dollar RV that literally went up in flames, and
What if the song that changes your life starts with a brief, a laugh, and a note you weren’t sure you could sing? We sit down with songwriter Abram Dean and trace the unlikely trail from church costumes and a middle-scho
A guitar from his uncle’s country band, open mics before he could legally walk into the bar, and a stubborn ear that learned by listening—Roman Alexander’s road to Nashville wasn’t polished, it was practiced. We sit down
Some losses leave us searching for words where there are none. The sudden passing of Brett James Cornelius, along with his wife and her daughter, in a plane crash on September 18, 2025, has left Nashville's music communi
Grammy-winning artist Colbie Caillat sits down for an intimate conversation about the winding road from MySpace sensation to seasoned songwriter. With her trademark warmth and authenticity, she reveals how music was alwa
Tyler Rich
Country Singer-Songwriter
1 appearance on this show
Jerry Flowers
No. 1 Songwriter + Bass Player and Musical Director for Keith Urban
2 appearances on this show
Jeff Cohen
media critic, writer and journalism professor · Massachusetts for Fair Elections and United Sovereign Americans of Massachusetts
1 appearance on this show
Justin Morgan
attorney and MBA
1 appearance on this show
Jenny Tolman
1 appearance on this show
Colbie Caillat
1 appearance on this show
Callum Kerr
Netflix star and country singer
1 appearance on this show
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Stories Behind the Songs is hosted by Chris Blair. The show is categorised under music (interviews) and has published 26 episodes.
Stories Behind the Songs has published 26 episodes.
Stories Behind the Songs regularly covers music, interviews. It sits in the music category, with a interviews focus.
Stories Behind the Songs is accessible for guests with genuine music expertise. A personalised, episode-aware pitch will still outperform a generic one every time.
Stories Behind the Songs hasn't explicitly signalled guest openness in recent episodes. That doesn't rule out pitching. your hook just needs to be especially compelling and relevant to their recent content.
Episodes of Stories Behind the Songs average 47 minutes. a focused format where a clear narrative arc and tight preparation matter most.
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