Season 3 Launches Today April 13th with Ann Wilson of Heart – Listen HERE
More episodes to come with Lamont Dozier (Holland Dozier Holland), Justin Hayward (Moody Blues), Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (Steely Dan / The Doobie Brothers), Bryan Adams, Felix Cavaliere (Rascals), Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.’s), Paul Williams, Holly Knight, Doc McGhee, and many more
Listen To Season 3 Podcast Trailer HERE
Today, Warner Music Group (WMG) announced the launch of the new season of Rock & Roll High School hosted by two-time GRAMMY Award winning producer and Atlantic Records President of A&R Pete Ganbarg. Ganbarg conducts in-depth interviews with some of the most legendary figures in the history of contemporary music, offering down-to-earth and revealing conversations about how these legends got their first break, handled turning points in their careers, and so much more.
The premiere episode, out today, spotlights Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and lead singer/songwriter of barrier-breaking band Heart, Ann Wilson. Widely praised as one of the greatest singers in the history of rock, Wilson has thrilled audiences for over five decades, earning record sales of more than $35 million and landing hit songs that now reside in the pantheon of rock’s greatest hits including “Barracuda,” “Crazy On You,” and “Magic Man,” to name a few. Prior to starting her summer tour, Wilson has been putting the finishing touches on a new album of original material.
“We’re super excited to be launching our third season of ‘Rock & Roll High School’ and are thrilled that we get to do it with the one of the greatest rock & roll singers of all-time, Ann Wilson of Heart,” said Ganbarg. “The fan reaction to the first two seasons has been incredible and it’s great to see everyone enjoying listening to these conversations and learning the history of contemporary music directly from all of our amazing guests. Our lineup for Season 3 features some of the most influential and talented artists and creatives in the world, and once again we go way beyond the surface to get an exclusive, more intimate look at the stories behind the music. I’m looking forward to sharing them all with music fans around the world.”
New episodes will launch every other Thursday and are available to stream everywhere at https://lnk.to/rrhspodcast. Visit rockschoolpodcast.com for more information.
First four episodes of Season 3 are as follows:
4/13/2023 Ann Wilson (of Heart)
4/27/2023 Lamont Dozier (of legendary Motown songwriting team Holland Dozier Holland)
5/11/2023 Justin Hayward (of Moody Blues)
5/25/2023 Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (of Steely Dan / The Doobie Brothers)
More episodes to come featuring Bryan Adams, Felix Cavaliere (Rascals), Steve Cropper (Booker T. & the M.G.’s), Paul Williams, Holly Knight, Doc McGhee, and many more.
Rock & Roll High School was born from Ganbarg’s desire to teach a weekly rock ‘n’ roll history class to his A&R team at Atlantic Records, educating them about music history so they had a broader understanding of contemporary music’s past when looking for future talent.
This idea led to more frequent classes in 2019 and then to Zoom classes during the pandemic to include the entire Warner Music Group staff. Ganbarg stretched the idea even further, inviting music icons for in-person and recorded interviews. Ganbarg references both the television show Inside the Actor’s Studio and record industry stalwart Joe Smith’s Off the Record as inspirations.
Season 3 follows a very successful first two seasons which have enjoyed over 75,000 downloads. Be sure to check out Season 1 and 2 here featuring interviews with Kenny Loggins, Clive Davis, Stevie Van Zandt, Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go’s), Nile Rodgers, Graham Nash, Gloria Gaynor, Gamble & Huff, The Temptations, and many more.
About Rock & Roll High School host Pete Ganbarg:
Pete Ganbarg is President of A&R for Atlantic Records as well as President of ATCO Records, a division of Atlantic. He joined the Atlantic Records Group as Executive Vice President of A&R in late 2008. A 30+ year A&R veteran and member of the board of directors of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Ganbarg has also held senior A&R positions at Arista, Epic, and SBK/EMI. As a publisher, Ganbarg operates Songs With A Pure Tone and Margetts Road Music, joint ventures currently in partnership with Warner Chappell Music. Songs published by Ganbarg include hits by Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran, Andy Grammer, Lizzo, Beyoncé, and more.
Ganbarg is the recipient of two GRAMMY Awards for his role as producer on the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Dear Evan Hansen and the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Jagged Little Pill. At Atlantic, among the artists and projects that Ganbarg has overseen are GAYLE, twenty one pilots, Halestorm, Jason Mraz, Christina Perri, Melanie Martinez, Skillet, Brett Eldredge, Matchbox Twenty & Rob Thomas, Theory Of A Deadman, and Icona Pop; as well as the Original Broadway Cast Recordings of Hamilton, Mean Girls, Jagged Little Pill, Dear Evan Hansen, and the multi-platinum Billboard No. 1 soundtrack album The Greatest Showman, the latter two of which he also co-produced. Ganbarg began his A&R career in 1989 at SBK Records. In 1997, he joined Clive Davis at Arista Records, where, as Senior Director of A&R, he conceived and A&R’d Santana’s 30x platinum worldwide, nine-time GRAMMY-winning album, Supernatural. Additionally, he was recently named International Music Person Of The Year for 2023 by the music industry organization MUSEXPO.
About Ann Wilson:
Ann Wilson, known the world over as a founder and the lead singer-songwriter of the barrier-breaking band Heart, is here to stay. Widely praised among the greatest singers in the history of rock, Wilson’s extraordinarily powerful voice has been sending chills down her audience’s collective spine for over five decades, earning record sales of more than $35 million, an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement award. “Barracuda,” “Crazy On You,” and “Magic Man” are among the many songs she’s written that now reside in the pantheon of rock’s greatest hits. “Greed” from 2022’s Fierce Bliss plays seamlessly alongside the classics in her current live set.
This past year, Wilson sang with Disturbed’s front man David Draiman on the duet, “Don’t Tell Me” from their recently released Divisive album, and lent her voice to Dolly Parton’s forthcoming rock record. From Dreamboat Annie to Disturbed, to Dolly Parton and beyond, Wilson defies genre.
Prior to starting her summer tour, Wilson has been putting the finishing touches on a new album of original material. This year, Wilson brings her show to venues everywhere with the same vigor and verve that she brought that one memorable night in front of Led Zeppelin at The Kennedy Center. You know the clip.
Rock & Roll High School with Pete Ganbarg:
