7 Podcasts For Music Lovers

Do you want to hear about the time Johnny Cash started a forest fire? The real reason Jimi Hendrix was discharged from the army? How the new Run the Jewels album got put together? A musical ride through the history of the blues, or an analysis of politics in rap music? How about the time Prince made Questlove throw him a party, only to interrupt it to put on Finding Nemo instead? You’re in luck – these seven podcasts provide all that and more. Because music lovers don’t just love hearing music – we love hearing about all the people behind the music. And why not? Sometimes the story behind the song makes the song even better.

Rock stars and musicians are as well-known for their bad behavior as for their talent, and on the award-winning podcast Disgraceland, no one captures their stories better than Jake Brennan. Combining meticulously researched accounts of arson, infidelity, religious cults, addiction, assault, and even murder with mesmerizing dramatization that puts you right in the room, Jake gives us a true-crime podcast for even the most avid music fan, covering everyone from Johnny Cash to Cardi B with equal aplomb.

Questlove has been in the music business for a long time, so his podcast Questlove Supreme is a music lover’s dream. He sits down with not only great musicians like jazz pianist Robert Glasper, R&B stars Musiq Soulchild and Jill Scott, and legendary artist and producer Babyface, but also icons like Michelle Obama, Spike Lee, and Seth Rogen. Hear about Jimmy Fallon playing ping-pong with Prince, learn hip-hop history from Kurtis Blow, get your funk back with George Clinton; it’s all possible with Team Supreme.

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, and many more incredibly impactful musicians died at the age of 27. This podcast tells their stories, using each season to focus in-depth on the lives and journeys of one member of “the 27 Club” for twelve episodes. Their music shaped a lot of our culture, and it was born from these incredibly imaginative, talented, tortured souls who died too young. Learn all about their journeys to fame, and to an early grave, on 27 Club.

Part true crime, part historical fiction, part beat noir, Blood On The Tracks tells the story of musician – and murderer – Phil Spector through fictionalized accounts from his famous friends, like Lenny Bruce, Debbie Harry, Leonard Cohen, and Keith Richards. Find out how one man went from being the most successful name in the music business, influencing everyone from the Beatles to the Ramones, to sitting behind bars doing 19 to life for murder.

John Morrison and Josh Indy Leidy host Serious Rap Sh*t to talk about...well, serious rap sh*t. Besides dissecting new music from Nas, Curren$y, Run the Jewels, and Anderson Paak, they also get into important cultural topics like codeswitching, gatekeeping, misogyny and rape culture, policing, and politics; analyze films like Da 5 Bloods or Ruff Ryders: Chronicles; and dunk on Cory Booker’s Top 5 on Spotify. Entertaining, informative, culturally significant: This podcast delivers on so many levels.

A beautifully-produced musical fiction podcast that takes you on a wild ride through the early 20th century in American music, Bear and a Banjo tells the story of a band that rubbed shoulders with icons like Rosetta Tharpe, Leadbelly, and Little Richard, influencing American music along the way. And with an original soundtrack produced by Oscar-winner T-Bone Burnett and featuring lyrics by Bob Dylan, this adventure couldn’t sound better. Timeless adventure with a toe-tapping soundtrack? Yes please.

Inside the Studio, hosted by Rolling Stone contributing editor Joe Levy, features intimate conversations with some of music’s biggest stars, all conducted as they’re on the verge of releasing new music. These unscripted talks reveal big truths about the people behind our favorite tunes, from James Taylor to Parmalee to Katy Perry to Saweetie, all while exploring their lives and discographies in-depth. Get closer than ever to your favorite stars with this podcast.

If you want to be sure you're listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered. Every Monday, iHeartRadio releases a chart showing the most popular podcasts of the week. Stay up to date on what's trending by checking out the chart here. There's even a chart just for radio podcasts here, featuring all your favorite iHeartRadio personalities like Bobby Bones, Elvis Duran, Steve Harvey and dozens of others.

Photo: Getty Images


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