Tonio K. Walks On: Notes From A Lost World
It takes some special instruments and a unique perspective to appreciate the frustrating version of “success” that weaves in and through Tonio K.‘s long strange trip of a music career. He should have been one of those critical reference points of the heady ’70s and ’80s, right up there with Warren Zevon and Joe Jackson. He had the wit, the sneer, the shades, and the major label hookups. But even with the odds in his favor, a hall-of-fame roster of supporting band members, and people like T Bone Burnett supporting him, it wasn’t until he started putting his pen to work for other artists that his path emerged. On this episode, we visit with the elusive, and in some ways illusory, artist and songwriter for a rare exploration of his entire career. We’ll examine his earliest days in the trippy psychedelic art rock scene, his stint with the late Buddy Holly’s “Crickets,” his serious run at a solo artist career, and his late renaissance as the crafter of smash hits for an impossibly diverse list of artists that includes both a member of The Sex Pistols and Burt Bacharach. Tonio K. tells us the whole amazing story – and with the help of some friends, we have peppered the show with some extremely rare Tonio K. recordings and a brace of tunes that made him a darling of both the Christian and mainstream underground. And, as if THAT wasn’t enough, Tom Willett – who signed K. to WHAT? Records in the ’80s and worked alongside T Bone and others – joins us for the conversation as well.
For more information about Tonio K. visit his OFFICIAL SITE at TonioK.com
For more information about Tom Willett – or to order his books – visit Willett.world
DON’T MISS our amazing conversation with Tom Willett – CREATIVITY WILL SAVE THE WORLD!
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Check out our special Spotify Mix: Tonio K. “Who Are These People?”
Tonio K Song List
Opening segment
Phil Keaggy & Rex Paul – Full Circle (True Tunes podcast theme version)
Tonio K – True Confessions
Tonio K – You Belong With Me
Tonio K – Fools Talk
Tonio K – I Can’t Stand It
Tonio K – Without Love
Tonio K – Pardon Me For Living
Tonio K – I’ve Got a Song Anyway
Tonio K – I Can’t Stop
Tonio K – Los Gringos
Tonio K – Emotional War Games
Set One
Tonio K – The Funky Western Civilization
Tonio K – I’m Here
Tonio K – Hey John
Tonio K – Life In the Foodchain
Tonio K – Student Interview (With the Third Richest Man in the World)
Tonio K – I’m Supposed to Have Sex with You
Tonio K – H-A-T-R-E-D
Tonio K – Say Goodbye
Raik’s Progress – All Night Long
Raik’s Progress – Why Did You Rob Us, Tank?
Raik’s Progress – Prisoner of Chillon
Dave Brubeck Quartet – Take Five
Dick Dale & The Del-Tones – Miserlou
The Hollywood Argyles – Alley Oop
The BelAirs – Mr. Moto
Fred Wesley & The JB’s – J.B. Shout
James Brown – Please, Please, Please
David Seville – The Witchdoctor
David Seville & The Chipmunks – The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)
Buddy Holly & The Crickets – Peggy Sue (Ed Sullivan performance)
The Crickets – I’m Going to Ruin Your Health
The Crickets – Hitchhike Out to Venus
The Crickets ft. Tonio K & Peter Case – Not Fade Away
The Mothers of invention – Hungry Freaks, Daddy
Set Two
Tonio K – School Is Out
Tonio K – I Handle Snakes
Tonio K – Stay
Tonio K – Romeo and Jane
Tonio K – The Executioner’s Song
Tonio K – We Walk On
Tonio K – Stop the Clock
Tonio K – Dream Girls (Olé outtake)
Tonio K – What Women Want
Tonio K – You Will Go Free
16 Tons of Monkeys – 16 Tons of Monkeys
Arc Angels – Paradise Café
Vanessa Williams & Brian McKnight – Love Is
Bonnie Raitt – You
Burt Bacharach ft. Rufus Wainwright – Go Ask Shakespeare
Burt Bacharach – Is Love Enough
Burt Bacharach – Danger
Brian Wilson – What Love Can Do
Closing
Phil Keaggy & Rex Paul – Full Circle (True Tunes podcast theme version)
If you liked this episode, don’t miss these:
Eric Earley (Blitzen Trapper) + Sacred Psychedelia on the Jukebox (w David Bunker)
DOE (plus Stevie Wonder on the Jukebox!)
Royce Lovett (plus Gospel Hip Hop on the Jukebox)
Audiofeed Festival Lineup Announcement and Interview
Terry Scott Taylor’s Beautiful Mystery
Natalie Bergman’s Jesus Music for a New Generation
Myron Butler and the Legacy of Andrae Crouch!
Andy Zipf Solo Acoustic Performance on True Tunes @45RPM
45RPM: Phil Madeira and Love Songs
Bruce Cockburn: Kicking at the Darkness for Fifty Years (and counting!)
From The Vault: Michael Been of The Call
Marc Byrd (Hammock, God of Wonders, etc)
Phil Madeira on Expanding Horizons
Kevin Max Considers Boundaries
See the full list of previous episodes HERE
