Little Steven's Underground Garage - Coolest Conversations

Evie Sands: Coolest Conversation 05/20/2024

·1 hr 26 min·5 clips

B.B. King risked his life to save his guitar from a fire, leading him to name all his guitars Lucille.

The episode is an interview format where host Mighty Manfred speaks with singer-songwriter Evie Sands about her extensive career. Sands began in the early 1960s as a teenager, with her first single 'The Roll, Back With My Dog' released when she was 11. She signed to Blue Cat Records, where she worked with producers Chip Taylor and Al Gorgoni on songs like 'Take Me for a Little While' and 'I Can't Let Go'. Sands recounts how 'Take Me for a Little While' was given to Jackie Ross by a promotion man, leading to Ross releasing it a week before Sands' version. She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s, signing with A&M Records and developing as a songwriter and guitarist. In the 1970s, she had hits like 'I Love Making Love to You' and faced sexism when labels refused to let her produce her own album without a male co-producer. Sands reconnected with Chip Taylor and Al Gorgoni in the 1990s to collaborate on the album 'Women in Prison'. She now runs her own label and released the album 'Get Out of Your Own Way' in 2021, recorded live with her band. Sands shares anecdotes about working with artists like Gladys Knight, Dusty Springfield, and Johnny Cash. The episode highlights her persistence and passion for music despite industry challenges.

As heard by us

Evie Sands looks back on television, Los Angeles, and the upside-down guitar style that shaped her path.

Evie Sands's career is framed through the choices and pivots that kept reshaping it: a teenage start in the early 1960s, blue-eyed soul, songwriting, session work, and the pull of Los Angeles after repeated television appearances made the city feel familiar.

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Why you'd press play

Press play for Evie Sands on teaching herself guitar lefty upside down, starting as a teenager in the early 60s, and why Los Angeles began to feel like home.

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