How We Heard It
Veteran entertainment journalists, music columnists and longtime friends Wayne Bledsoe and Chuck Campbell host ”How We Heard It,” a breezy and sometimes offbeat take on how music and movies got to where they are today and where it’s all going.
They break down who are the most promising Generation Z singers one minute and the next they debate who are the most overrated acts from the past. Sexy songs, soundtracks, controversies and weird movies find their way into the discussion, and they also weigh in with recommendations on who to hear and what to see in music and film from the past and present.
Wayne and Chuck have more than 65 years of experience in professional journalism between them, but they don’t waste time indulging in scholarly breakdowns of their institutional knowledge. Instead, they share behind-the-scenes stories about their odd, funny, inspirational and embarrassing encounters with celebrities, managers, fans and readers. And they laugh at themselves and each other. A lot. Because being an entertainment journalist does that to you.
An important third voice in the ”How We Heard It” podcast is engineer John Baker, himself a musician and producer who reins in Wayne and Chuck when they need it. John’s tastes are a little bit Wayne and a little bit Chuck, and he’s a friendly sort.
Wayne’s primary role in his nearly four decades at the Knoxville News-Sentinel was his work as an entertainment writer and critic. He currently hosts ”The Six O’Clock Swerve” weekly radio show on WUTK, 90.3 FM in Knoxville, he’s a former Grammy nominee, and he’s an organizer of the annual concert series ”Waynestock: For the Love of Drew and Rylan.” He’s also an artist and unconventional garden writer - see more at www.waynebledsoe.com.
Chuck started his career in journalism at the Daytona Beach News-Journal in Florida before joining the staff in Knoxville. He has reviewed more than 5,500 albums, and his column was distributed by the New York Times, Gannett, Cox News Service and the Scripps Howard News Service. He was an entertainment and travel editor in both Florida and Tennessee and a regional news planner for Gannett’s South Region.
”How We Heard It” is a Taral Productions podcast recorded at The Arbor Studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Send requests, comments and suggestions to [email protected]
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 77 minutes
- Episodes
- 63
- Years Active
- 2024 - 2025
These are the best women singers in modern music
Singers often make or break a song. The exceptional ones can lift a bland arrangement into the stratosphere and the mundane ones can sink a great arrangement like a torpedo.
This week the "How We Hea…
Songs about friends: They'll have your back and stab it, too
Friends are our chosen family, the people we can sometimes count on when everyone else has turned their backs on us.
But friendships vary. They can be a lifelong commitment or they can end tomorrow w…
Musicians use these secret tricks to win your love
Why do we love our favorite songs?
We may think it's simply because we love the singer's voice or the guitars or the fact that it's got a good beat and you can dance to it.
But often we love songs fo…
On second thought, these acts don't suck
Have you ever dismissed a band or singer as mediocre (or worse) only to later realize they were amazing and you misjudged them?
It can be a blow to the ego to miss the genius that others hear - espec…
These teen movies make us laugh, squirm and cringe
The teen years can be some of the most tumultuous in our lives - at least internally. Subtle moments can feel glorious, or tragic, while we might not even notice the major events unfolding all around…
Death sucks: Here are artists we lost too soon
It's not unusual for beloved singers and musicians to continue performing well beyond the age most of us plan to retire, and you can find them still packing arenas when they're in their 70s, 80s and …
Music's greatest duets: when two is better than one
Great duets have surfaced throughout the history of popular music, evoking a magic that one voice simply can't convey by itself.
Duets between Bruno Mars and Rose ("APT.") as well as Kendrick Lamar a…
Music for travelers - and escapists!
It can be hard to understand how one song casts a spell on your soul when so many others pass you by. It could be the melody or overall construction of the song, or maybe it's the message of the lyri…
These are the most underrated - and overrated - actors!
Ever wonder why you hardly ever see one actor who always lights up the screen while you can't get away from another one who always leaves you cold?
So do we.
This week, the hosts of "How We Heard It"…
Fantastic band names! (also: racy, gross and boring ones)
Our first impression of a new musical group often comes from their name, which can be creative or shocking or forgettable.
We've all learned that a band's name typically doesn't reflect the kind of m…
'Hold me closer, Tony Danza' and other misheard lyrics
Funny thing about lyrics: They aren't always what you think they are.
Whether you hear them the wrong way or someone else heard them the wrong way and passed that misinterpretation on to you, you're …
Surprises we've learned about you, and ourselves, in year one
We've made a full trip around the sun since "How We Heard It" debuted in June of 2024, so for episode No. 52 of the weekly show, your hosts are looking at what worked and what didn't - for the audien…
Mixtapes?! What were we thinking?
Music fans have been making personal soundtracks for some 50 years, starting with the mixtape in the 1970s, then changing with technology to mixed discs in the 1990s (replacing cassette tapes with co…
These blockbuster albums were unlike any other
The music industry has always had its megastars akin to today's super-performers like Taylor Swift, Drake and Morgan Wallen.
However, there was a glorious decade from the early 1980s into the 1990s w…
Album covers inspire, shock and tease
You don't get a second chance to make a first impression, so over the years music artists have relied on the visual cues of their album covers to help sell their product.
Sexy photos, dramatic images…
Cheaters! These songs about them have us shook
Why do cheaters cheat?
Seems like there are as many reasons as there are songs about cheaters. They cheat simply because they're tempted or because they want revenge or because they're lonely or beca…
How do you want to be remembered?
Are you a sweet soul? A deep thinker? A party animal?
All of the above?
In this episode of "How We Heard It," your hosts debate the criteria for creating a final playlist - for a celebration of life …
These summer hits catch us at our happiest
Another summer is upon us, and with it comes a new wave of summer hits that we'll remember forever.
What is it about songs this time of year that makes them hit so much better?
For starters, summer i…
Remember these one-hit wonders? (We sure do, for better and worse.)
One-hit wonders come from all directions, from serious artists who expected a long career of hit songs to novelty acts who never even expected that first one. But the end result is always the same: I…
Get your paws on these great songs about animals!
This week "How We Heard It" is going to the dogs ... and cats and horses and any other critter you can think of.
When your hosts decided to explore songs about animals, they couldn't believe how many…