Ben Sidran – Space Cowboy, Original Stones and Jazz on TV – Soul Country Trailer

Soul Country #8

Airdate Oct 11, 2024

Trailer 05:45

Recorded in Madison, WI

Listen:

Apple

Spotify

Youtube

Description

Pianist Ben Sidran recounts writing “Space Cowboy” with Steve Miller, recording with the original Stones lineup and jazz on tv in the Soul Country #8 trailer. Get ready for insights into rock’s headiest days with Hendrix, Townshend and Clapton. Ben also talks jazz, discussing his career spanning dozens of albums and radio and TV programs for NPR and VH-1. His jazz work impresses on disc and in a dazzling roster of interviewees: Miles Davis, Donald Fagen and Sun Ra! Soul Country videos are funded in part by grants from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.

More about Ben Sidran

Ben Sidran (b. 1943) is an American jazz pianist, producer and writer, recognized for his work with the Steve Miller Band and influence on jazz. Sidran's passion for be-bop and boogie woogie began in his teens. Later, while at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he formed a close bond with musicians Miller and Boz Scaggs, playing blues rock together in the Ardells. This early collaboration set the stage for his future work with Miller. After earning his degree, Sidran obtained a PhD in American Studies at the University of Sussex, focusing on American Culture in the late '60's. Despite being based in England, he managed to co-write the hit "Space Cowboy" in SF and contribute piano to key Miller albums including Brave New World and Your Saving Grace. Sidran also made his mark as a cultural commentator, hosting NPR's Jazz Alive and VH-1's New Visions. He is also an author of several books, notably There Was a Fire which dutifully pulls together many strands of Jewish American contributions in the popular arts. His Talking Jazz CD box set features over 60 interviews with jazz legends and taps a vast interview archive represented well at bensidran.com.

Latest Episodes

Joe Gelini
Drummer, Bandleader and the Funk Soul of Cha Wa

Joe Gelini opens with his story as an 18-year-old Berklee student spotting Quincy Jones at a 1996 New Orleans convention, waiting out the crowd, asking for advice and gets two words back: "Get good." Direct...

Soul Country #15

Airdate Sep 10, 2026
Podcast 24:13

Cedric Burnside
Grammy-Winning Hill Country Blues, R.L. Burnside + 3 Songs

Cedric Burnside grew up kicking up dust at R.L. Burnside's house parties in Mississippi, playing drums in juke joints by age ten. The hill country blues he inherited is unlike anything else in the tradition,...

Soul Country #14

Airdate Aug 15, 2026
Podcast 24:50

Apple podcast for Will McFarlane – Muscle Shoals Session Ace on Bonnie Raitt, Etta James and the Fatback Feel

Spotify podcast for Will McFarlane – Muscle Shoals Session Ace on Bonnie Raitt, Etta James and the Fatback Feel

Will McFarlane
Muscle Shoals Session Ace on Bonnie Raitt, Etta James and the Fatback Feel

Will McFarlane is one of the great unsung heroes of the Muscle Shoals sound, catch him in Soul Country #13 unpacking five decades of soul, country and R&B from the inside out. Guitarist for Bonnie...

Soul Country #13

Airdate May 12, 2026
Podcast 44:50

Apple podcast for Olivia Wolf – Country, Folk, Bluegrass and Twists of The Band

Spotify podcast for Olivia Wolf – Country, Folk, Bluegrass and Twists of The Band

Olivia Wolf
Country, Folk, Bluegrass and Twists of The Band

Olivia Wolf brings her soulful blend of country, folk, and bluegrass into Soul Country. She plays a few and tells a few about how she put her band and latest release together. In this episode...

Soul Country #12

Airdate Aug 24, 2025
Podcast 30:14

Popular Videos

Blues Rock Hits Soul Country
The Origin Story of Soul Country

Blues Rock Hits Soul Country is the origin story of Soul Country, a doc built from decades of exclusive archival footage that reverse engineer the classic rock and soul that blew everybody's mind. Catch a...

Airdate Nov 30, 2022
Documentary 27:55

Apple podcast for Bobby Rush – King of the Chitlin Circuit Plays Live – Soul Country Trailer

Bobby Rush
King of the Chitlin Circuit Plays Live
Soul Country Trailer

The King of the Chitlin Circuit, Bobby Rush holds court with host Ric Stewart in Soul Country on country, comedy and blues. In this 1-minute trailer get a preview of the podcast with a taste...

Soul Country #2

Airdate May 28, 2022
Trailer 01:10

Blues Rock Hits Soul Country
Origin Story Trailer

DJ and filmmaker Ric Stewart takes a camera to the legends - Hall of Famers, Grammy winners and the top writers and sidemen who detail the blues and country mechanics behind the classic rock that...

Airdate Jan 2, 2022
Trailer 01:11

Apple podcast for Tiger Beats – Wolf-Sumlin Chemistry and Tasty Licks at the 5 Spot – Soul Country Trailer

Tiger Beats
Wolf-Sumlin Chemistry and Tasty Licks at the 5 Spot
Soul Country Trailer

Video highlights from Patrick Sweany and McKinley James from East Nashville's resident blues purists, The Tiger Beats in Soul Country #1. You'll catch them playing some tasty licks in studio and working their Wolf-Sumlin chemistry...

Soul Country #1

Airdate Apr 2, 2022
Trailer 01:03