Loudon Wainwright III

Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin Richmond

Pushkin Industries

Music, Society & Culture

4.5 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 2 September 2025

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 2022, at 75 years-old, Loudon Wainwright III released Lifetime Achievement—an aptly titled album from a songwriter whose debut came more than fifty years earlier.

Over the decades, Loudon has built a reputation for his confessional style, writing candidly about the struggles and absurdities of family life, failed relationships, and the scars of parental abandonment. While his subject matter can be heavy, he often balances it with wit and humor. You’ll hear that today when he performs “Fam Vac” and “Back in Your Town” from Lifetime Achievement.

In this conversation with Bruce Headlam, Loudon reflects on how he leaned into his upper-class upbringing when he first began performing professionally, what it was like collaborating with guitar virtuoso Richard Thompson in the 1980s, and the magical feeling of stepping on stage for the very first time.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Loudon Wainwright III songs HERE.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Pushkin.
0:10.8	In 2022 at 75 years old, Loudoun Wainwright III released Lifetime Achievement,
0:17.3	an aptly titled album from a songwriter whose debut came more than 50 years earlier.
0:22.9	Over the decades, Loudoun has built a reputation for his confessional style, writing candidly
0:27.9	about the struggles and absurdities of family life, failed relationships, and the scars of parental
0:33.3	abandonment. While his subject matter can be heavy, he often balances it with wit and humor.
0:39.8	You'll hear that today when he performs FamVAC and Back in Your Town from Lifetime Achievement.
0:44.9	In this conversation with Bruce Headlam, Loudoun reflects on how he leaned into his upper class
0:49.3	upbringing when he first began performing professionally, what it was like collaborating
0:53.6	with guitar virtuoso Richard Thompson in the 80s
0:56.0	and the magical feeling of stepping on stage for its very first time.
1:02.6	This is Broken Record, real musicians, real conversations.
1:10.3	This is an I-Heart podcast.
1:14.8	Barbie's gone blockbuster.
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1:22.3	I'm Chris Grimes, the FTs, L.A. Bureau Chief.
1:24.9	And on September 17th and 18th, I'll be hosting the Financial Times
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1:35.0	will tackle the future of entertainment. Head to FT.com slash entertainment to unlock your
1:40.1	exclusive FT discount. Use code code FT podcast to save 20%.
1:44.8	Here's Bruce Headlum with Loudoun Wainwright, the third.
1:50.8	Music I need a family vacation
	...

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