James McMurtry

Wheels Off with Rhett Miller

Rhett Miller

Arts, Performing Arts, Music

5.0 • 596 Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

James McMurtry, hailed as one of our greatest living songwriters, joins Rhett for a candid conversation about the craft of songwriting, life on the road, and the realities of sustaining a career in music. Known for his sharp storytelling and uncompromising perspective, McMurtry opens up about his process, from finding inspiration in small details to shaping lyrics around the musicality of the human voice. They discuss the making of his latest record, Black Dog and the Wandering Boy (New West Records), working with producer Don Dixon, and how the touring life remains both a necessity and a joy. McMurtry reflects on influences like Kris Kristofferson, lessons from decades in the business, and why persistence and endurance matter more than inspiration. Follow James: jamesmcmurtry.com Follow Rhett @rhettmiller Wheels Off is hosted and produced by Rhett Miller. Executive producer Kirsten Cluthe. Music by Old 97’s. Episode artwork by Mark Dowd. Show logo by Tim Skirven. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also ask Alexa to play it. Revisit previous episodes of Wheels Off with guests Rosanne Cash, Rob Thomas, Jeff Tweedy, Lucinda Williams, Stewart Copeland, and more. If you like what you hear, please leave us a rating or review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Wheels Off, a show about the messy reality of the creative life.
0:04.9	I'm Rhett Miller.
0:20.5	James Mick Mertrieg is a songwriter's songwriter. James Mick Mertry is a songwriter's songwriter and an imposing figure. Not going to
0:29.6	lie. I was nervous to speak to him. I'd never met him. I've long admired his work. He's a master of the craft to which I've devoted my life,
0:41.2	and he's great. He's really great at what he does. It's a lot. His songs, to me, feel like short stories or small films maybe.
0:57.5	They seem so strongly rooted in character and they seem so real.
1:06.7	I asked him about this during the course of the interview.
1:10.1	I was a little surprised by his answer.
1:14.6	I won't spoil it for you now.
1:17.3	He, I'd been warned that he may not be the most talkative fellow.
1:26.5	And he's not.
1:28.4	He's not effusive.
1:31.7	He's not bubbling over,
1:34.1	but he's very articulate and forthcoming in his own ways.
1:43.7	His approach is workmanlike in the best possible sense of the word.
1:50.4	He's a humble guy.
1:53.6	I guess I didn't expect him to be, you know, overly cocky or whatever.
2:03.2	He's, he's, uh, he's kind of everything you want him to be.
2:09.3	I was so, uh, glad to get to speak with him.
2:12.4	And I think you guys are going to love it.
2:13.7	His new record is great.
2:16.5	Um, Black Dog and the Wandering Boy out on New West Records.
	...

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