Interview: Pete Ganbarg, Grammy Winning Producer & Music Executive, Chats About His Podcast, Rock & Roll High School and Much More

Rock DNA's Dan DiMartino got to chat with A&R legend Mr. Pete Ganbarg about his podcast Rock & Roll High School.

"Rock & Roll High School originated from Ganbarg’s vision of teaching a rock ‘n’ roll history class to his young creative team at Atlantic Records during the 16 years he headed up that label’s A&R department.  His goal was to deepen their understanding of music history, providing a broader perspective on the roots of contemporary music in order to help identify future talent. The initiative eventually expanded to include the entire Warner Music Group staff. Ganbarg further developed the concept by inviting music icons for in-person and virtual interviews, enriching the program with firsthand insights."

Season 5 episode's with Alice Cooper and Darleen Love are available here Rock & Roll High School Podcast with Pete Ganbarg

What inspired you to start Rock & Roll High School, and how has it grown from

your original concept?

When I was running the A&R (Artists & Repertoire) department of Atlantic Records from 2008 - 2024, I realized that a lot of our younger employees didn’t know a lot about the history of contemporary music.  I’ve always believed that a clear understanding of the past is the best way to predict the future, so we started teaching class inside Atlantic to introduce the great history of pop, rock, R&B and country music to our staff.  As more people started showing up, we added guest speakers.  When we were shut down by Covid, the guest speakers were moved to Zoom and we realized that if we pushed record and added some post-production, we’d have a pretty compelling podcast and could share it with more than just employees of Atlantic Records and the global Warner Music Group.

With so many legends of the industry on the show, it often feels like a living

history project. Have you ever thought of the podcast that way, and how

important is it to capture these stories in their purest form?

When we started doing these interviews, I was reminded of a great book by the legendary record executive Joe Smith called Off the Record: An Oral History of Popular Music, which was published in 1988.  In that book, Joe spoke with legends of music from Ella Fitzgerald to Ray Charles to Paul Simon and McCartney.  Joe’s book promised stories of “the way it really was, in the words of the people who really made it happen.”  My goal with our Rock & Roll High School podcast is to continue what Joe Smith started and keep it going.  His original interviews are now housed in the Library of Congress.  I’d love for ours to join his one day.  The unfortunate reality is that our guests get older, they won’t be around forever.  Already, some of our previous guests have passed away.  Legends like Lamont Dozier, Steve Cropper, Lou Christie and Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) are no longer with us but their words, like their music, live on.

How do you decide which artists, songwriters, and producers to invite onto the

podcast?

It’s so hard to create something that really connects with people.  If someone has done that successfully, whether as an artist, producer, songwriter or executive, we want to hear them tell their story.  Genre doesn’t matter: if our audience knows your music, has danced to it, dreamed to it, sang along with it - we want them to hear how it came about, in your own words.

When you’re preparing with your host, how do you determine which stories or

moments you want guests to focus on?

I do a deep dive into our guest’s life and career.  There’s always something that stands out in a human-interest way.  I try to make sure that our interviews go beyond the ‘who are you and why are you here’ rote questions that are more turn-key and boring.  When I can connect the dots between two legends that have not been connected before, that’s always great.  I spoke with the legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb (MacArthur Park/By The Time I Get To Phoenix/Up Up & Away/Wichita Lineman) and he told me a story about driving into LA and hearing the song You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling on the radio for the first time.  He was so overcome by the emotional reaction he got listening to it that his eyes teared up and he couldn’t see.  He had to physically pull the car off the road to compose himself.  A truly pivotal moment of one of the great all-time writers witnessing the power of recorded music.  A few weeks later, I interviewed the songwriting legend Barry Mann who wrote You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling and got to tell him that story, which he had never heard before.  He’s a huge fan of Jimmy Webb’s work and was completely blown away.  I love when I get to do things like that.

Was there ever a moment during an interview that truly surprised you—maybe a

detail about a song or a turning point in someone’s career?

All the time.  Darlene Love recently told me that after having a ton of hit records, she became so disillusioned by the music business that she started cleaning houses for a living in Beverly Hills.  One day, while she was cleaning a bathroom, her song came on the radio.  It was a sign - she left work that day and never came back.  She’s been going strong ever since.  Jimmy Webb told me a story about getting a knock on the door of his home to find Charles Manson there looking to make music with him.  Lou Christie told me how he met a gypsy fortune teller when he was 15 years old.  She told him that he was going to have a #1 song and that she was going to write it with him.  That song, “Lightning Strikes” was the #1 song in the country in February of 1966.  Real world stuff too - the day I spoke to David Coverdale of Deep Purple/Whitesnake was the same day that his ex-wife and video co-star Tawny Kitaen died.  

Looking back across seasons, are there any episodes or conversations that had

a lasting effect on you personally?

Graham Nash was one of the first interviews we ever did for the podcast and it felt like we were two old friends talking.  I don’t come from a journalism background so that was very surprising to me.  I’ve become friendly with several people I’ve spoken to like the great Paul Williams and the aforementioned Jimmy Webb.  I’m very fortunate to know them.

Is there someone in the music industry you still hope to interview—whether

they’re with us today or someone from the past?

There are people who have turned us down but we keep going.  Hopefully, they’ll come around.  Not naming names but they know who they are ;). The more people listen, the better chances we have getting even bigger names.

You’ve spoken with so many legendary figures—what common traits have you

noticed among artists and industry leaders who’ve had lasting careers?

Tenacity and not taking no for an answer is a common theme in almost everyone I’ve spoken to.  Some of their careers have taken a really long time to blossom.  They could have quit many times but they didn’t.  They trusted their own instincts and kept going.

How has artist development changed from the early days of the industry to

today’s music landscape?

Artist development is much harder today because the barrier to entry is so much lower.  It used to be that to record a song and get it distributed and heard was extremely difficult.  Think about all the steps: find money to pay for a studio, figure out the musicians who would play on your record (and pay them), pay for the duplications costs of getting physical copies of your music, hustling to stores to have them sell it, playing local gigs to try to get people to pay attention.  Now the barrier to entry is non-existent.  Anyone with a phone can upload a song to every streaming service in the world in a few seconds.  Over 100,000+ songs are uploaded daily.  Think of how many of those are never going to get heard.  You need patience as an artist and as a label, now more than ever.  Unfortunately a lot of companies aren’t interested in patience today.  Bruce Springsteen, Journey, REM, U2: all needed several albums to find their audience.  Would their labels have the patience to stick it out today?  Maybe not.

In today’s highly consumable culture, do you think artists are better served

releasing singles and EPs, or does the full-length album still matter?

(Examples: Baby Metal &; Electric Callboy who release singles and have an

album drop 4-5 years, or The Plot In You who released 3 Eps throughout 2024.)

You need to find your audience and the best way to do that is one song at a time.  When you’ve built up their interest, then release more and start playing live shows to reinforce your release schedule.  The true fans will show up and they’ll dictate how often they want to hear new songs from you.

Is there a genre of music and or artists you feel is currently underrated or

overlooked?

Genre is cyclical.  Just because something isn’t popular anymore doesn’t mean it won’t be again.  When I was a kid, my family and I spent a lot of time listening to Broadway cast albums like A Chorus Line.  Fifteen years ago, no labels cared about Broadway but I always thought that a new generation of Broadway cast album fans was literally one album away.  It just needed to be the right album.  Luckily, I got to sign that album to Atlantic and Hamilton is now the best selling cast recording of all time.  Artists like Laufey and Olivia Dean are throwbacks which I love because they remind me of the music I discovered when I was a kid 30+ years ago.

From your perspective, how has social media changed the way artists are

discovered compared to earlier eras of the industry?

Artist discovery pre-internet was always word of mouth.  “There’s a band down here you need to see.  Can you get on a plane tonight?”  Those days are pretty much over.  Discovery is now instantaneous with the click of a button.  Some of the magic is lost that way.  Just because something is viral doens’t mean it’s great.  Just beacuse something is getting likes doesn’t mean that that’s going to transfer to hard tickets.

Do you see social media as a true talent-discovery tool, or more as a visibility

amplifier for artists who already have something special?

Artists who are good at social media still need to have good music.  Towards the end of my tenure at Atlantic, I signed two artists who both had huge social media platforms with millions of followers before they started making their own music.  One has turned out to be a huge success, the other didn’t.  Sometimes social savvy doesn’t translate into a true musical connection with the audience.

When you’re evaluating a new artist, how much weight—if any—do social metrics

actually carry?

If the social numbers are huge but I don’t get the music, it’s not for me.  Not every A&R person would agree with that statement and that’s what make the industry so fun.  We’re all gambling.  Most new artists will never succeed on a global level.  The odds just are not in their favor.

 With streaming and social media reshaping discovery, what do you think hasn’t

changed when it comes to finding great talent?

A&R has never changed.  It’s all about the great voice, the great performer — paired with the great copyright.  Everything else (mode of discovery, distribution, marketing, etc) has changed.  The core tenets of A&R have not.

With AI becoming more prominent in the conversation, how do you see its impact

on the music industry overall?

Properly licensed AI models that compensate the original creators are going to be a very healthy creative addition to the future output of the music business.  Similar to sampling or interpolation, it’s another new tool in the toolbox to make new art.

How do you think AI-generated music challenges our ideas of authorship,

originality, and emotional connection?

Everything needs to be licensed and the original content creators need to be compensated.  It can’t and won’t be the wild west out there.  The industry has learned the hard way that you can’t stop technology.

From an A&R standpoint, how might AI change the way talent is discovered or

evaluated?

It’s going to bring new creators to the table which is great.  It’s also going to increase the quantity of music to gauge for commercial viability which will be challenging.

Since launching the podcast, has the format evolved, or are there new directions

you want to explore moving forward?

I’m interested in doing new things like interviewing multiple people in a round-table format.  I’d also like to take the podcast on the road and do it live across the country.

 What impact do you hope Rock &Roll High School—and your broader

career—will have on future generations of music fans and industry

professionals?

I’m very proud of anything I’ve worked on in my career that has connected with an audience.  With all the choices out there for someone to choose to spend their time on, that’s the greatest validation anyone in a creative industry can ask for.  If people are still listening and singing along to “Smooth” by Santana and Rob Thomas in 50 years, I’ll be proud that I got to help bring that song to the world.  And if someone can listen to our podcast and be inspired by the words and music of our guests and then go out and create something because of it, we’ll be very happy.

Finally, what one piece of advice would you give to emerging artists or music

professionals trying to break into the business today?

Do it because you love it, do it because you have to, don’t wait for permission and always show up.  And work your ass off because if you don’t, someone else will.