How Music Taught Sam Sanders to be Grateful for His Grief (From Life in Seven Songs)
The Sam Sanders Show
KCRW & Sam Sanders
4.9 • 709 Ratings
🗓️ 26 December 2025
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today we’re sharing Sam’s episode from Life in Seven Songs.
Sam grew up strictly Pentecostal in Texas. Non-religious music was forbidden in his house – so Sam got resourceful, smuggling CDs into the house in his underwear and watching MTV in secret.
At 18 years old, just as he was getting ready to leave for Stanford, Sam’s life was turned upside down. Both of his parents suffered major health crises in the span of a few months, resulting in Sam becoming their caregiver. Years later, Sam would face another devastating double-whammy with the death of his mother followed a month later by a crushing breakup.
Sam opens up about the music that carried him through – from Janet Jackson videos to soaring gospel tunes to revenge-fueled breakup anthems – and why today, he’s savoring the freedom he’s been chasing his whole life.
If you like this episode, be sure to check out Life in Seven Songs wherever you get your podcasts.
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The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, listeners, it is the season of giving. |
| 0:03.0 | Get that warm, fuzzy feeling. |
| 0:05.1 | Make a donation, pick out some cozy KCRW merch, or send meals to local food banks. |
| 0:11.1 | Donate now at kCRW.com slash give. |
| 0:15.3 | Hey, y'all, Sam Sanders here. |
| 0:17.2 | The holiday season is upon us, which means the team that makes this show, we are going all over to |
| 0:25.4 | celebrate the holidays in various ways, but we're not going to stop giving you what you need, |
| 0:32.8 | good audio content for your travels this holiday season. We're going to use this moment, |
| 0:37.0 | though, to share |
| 0:38.4 | some really great conversations I've had outside of this show. First up, we're sharing a lovely |
| 0:45.4 | and thoughtful conversation I had with a podcast called Life in Seven Songs. It's from the San Francisco |
| 0:51.8 | Standard, and that show is exactly what that title says. |
| 0:55.8 | Guests share the story of their life in seven songs. Every episode, the host Sophie Berman, |
| 1:03.1 | she dives into seven songs that tell a person's whole life story and how music shapes who we |
| 1:08.1 | become. I was so honored a few months ago to go on this show |
| 1:12.3 | and talk about and cry about the seven songs that make me me. |
| 1:17.4 | This was a very fun, very sweet chat. |
| 1:19.5 | All the feels, y'all, all the feels. |
| 1:22.1 | I'm so happy and honored to share it with y'all now. |
| 1:24.8 | Let's get into it. |
| 1:26.0 | Me and Seven Songs and Sophie Berman. Enjoy. |
| 1:30.1 | What I've been seeking in adulthood was a certain kind of freedom. Everything that I went through |
... |
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