Funny where life – and its curveballs – can lead you.

Tom Paxton and John McCutcheon have known each other for decades, but it took the pandemic and technology to bring them together as a songwriting team. The result was worth the wait.

Photo Credit: Micheal G. Stewart

Since touring wasn’t possible during COVID, the two would meet Monday afternoons on Zoom to shoot the breeze. As two master storytellers, they spent some of that time crafting songs; about a hundred in all. Fourteen of those songs make up their new album, Together. The reflective and affecting title track is the last track on the album.

As storytellers, both have had remarkable careers. Tom Paxton is known for folk classics such as Last Thing On My Mind and Can’t Help Wonder Where I’m Bound. He’s been nominated for four Grammy Awards. He’s also known for at least two Top 40 hits. Bottle of Wine, a hit in 1968 for The Fireballs, and Wasn’t That a Party, a huge hit in Canada for The Irish Rovers in 1980.

John McCutcheon has recorded 43 albums over the years. He’s a multi-instrumentalist and master storyteller. In addition to recording and touring, he also teaches songwriting at The Mountain Retreat & Learning Center in North Carolina. He’s been nominated for 6 Grammy Awards for his Children’s albums.

Both are also known for Christmas songs: McCutcheon for Christmas in the Trenches (2006), while Paxton wrote the song The Marvelous Toy, a holiday hit for the Chad Mitchell Trio (1963). This album includes another song that will soon be a holiday favourite. Christmas in the Desert is an updated version of McCutcheon’s 2006 song.

The album is a joy to listen to. As you might expect, the songs on the album are personal and reflect current social and political issues. The album sounds both nostalgic and fresh. Some of the best tracks include This Campfire, Do The Work, Same Old Crap, Complete, and Letters from Joe. That song hit home when I first heard it around Remembrance Day:

In this interview, originally broadcast on Oldies Without Borders, I had the privilege to talk with the two legendary story tellers about their friendship, their new album, baseball, Johnny Cash and the Irish Rovers.

Enjoy!

Interview Copyright Peter J. Maurin, The Vinyl Professor. Published under Creative Commons License: Attribution/Non-Commercial Use.