For the third installment of our Music May series, Ben caught up with Tyler Mahan Coe whose podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones dives into some of the most famous stories in the history of country music. As a musician and son of country legend David Allan Coe, Tyler’s own history is part of that story, but his ability to take the best of his own experiences while remaining objective in the subjects he covers is outstanding. Tyler talks about the calling that drove him to make Cocaine & Rhinestones, the methodology he developed to cover the history of country music in a podcast, and why he thinks most people don’t have the story right when it comes to Merle Haggard’s Okie from Muskogee.

A special shout out to Dr. Kelly Kolar for recommending Tyler as a guest for our music series and for joining us for this interview.

Additional Links:

“Sarah Larson, “Cocaine & Rhinestones,” An Addictive, Sparkling Podcast About Country Music, The New Yorker, March 7, 2018.

Stephen M. Deusner, “Cocaine & Rhinestones” Is the Country Podcast You Need to Hear to Believe,” Pitchfork, March 12, 2018.

Jon Freeman, “Cocaine and Rhinestones” Host Tyler Mahan Coe on Hit Country Podcast, Rolling Stone, April 5, 2018.  

Your Favorite Band Sucks: A Comedy Podcast About Overrated Bands by Tyler Mahan Coe and Mark Mosley

This episode is the third installment of our “Music May” series that focuses on musicians and music in history. Previous episodes featured Phish Lyricist Tom Marshall (#95) and Woody Guthrie Center Curator Deana McCloud (#94).