Episode Details

Imagine, imagine telling a record executive in 1966 that your new band's business plan is to completely ignore electric guitars. Like instead of plugging in, you tell them you're going to play the kazoo and, you know, a wash tub bass. He would literally throw you out of the room. And then imagine telling them that this exact same band will go on to accidentally back Steve Martin on a massive comedy track.

It proved they could take traditional acoustic instruments, you know, mandolins, banjos, accordions, and arrange them into a highly successful pop rock setting. So they've mastered the pop rock cover. But the problem with catching a trend is that trends eventually die. Like if I'm managing them, the logical industry move is to rush back into the studio and record Mr.

• Find one incredible sound and just never ever deviate from it
• Today we are tracking the nearly 60 year deeply chaotic and honestly story driven history of the ultimate musical chameleons
• Yeah, and to really understand how they built that legacy, we kind of have to look at the mechanics of their origin
• Because if you understand how they formed, their entire career trajectory suddenly makes perfect sense