Doug Macleod joins Wendy Mills on KGNU to reflect on his 40+ year career in blues, including recent Blues Foundation honors for Acoustic Artist and Album of the Year. He emphasizes the importance of honesty in music, shaped by mentors like Ernest Banks and experiences with legendary blues artists. Macleod discusses his role in preserving and passing on blues traditions through teaching and storytelling, as well as his new Memphis Porch Sessions series, which captures music and oral history. The interview features live performances and closes with details about his Denver concert.
(Air Date: 3/12/26)
Listen here:
Transcript:
Wendy Mills:
Doug Macleod has been bringing us music for over 40 years, with 29 albums. He’s a quintessential blues man, and Yank Rachell once said he was one of the great blues artists, period. Pretty awesome. We’re going to be speaking with him and hearing some music. We’re so happy and honored to have Doug Macleod in the studio.
We’re going to be doing that in just a moment here on KGNU.
Support comes from Paradise Found Records, located at 1646 Pearl Street in downtown Boulder. Open from 11 to 7 daily, Boulder’s source for vinyl and CDs, featuring a full inventory of turntables and Bluetooth speakers, and making house calls for collections.
More information can be found at ParadiseFoundRecordsMusic.com.
Are you ready, Mr. Macleod? Thank you so much for joining me in the studio today and sharing your amazing music with our listeners.
Doug Macleod:
You’re welcome, Wendy. It’s a pleasure to be with you.
Wendy Mills:
It’s truly an honor.
The Blues Foundation 2026 Acoustic Artist of the Year—you’re the kind of artist that needs no accolades, but you have so many. Also, Acoustic Album of the Year for Between Somewhere and Goodbye. 2024, 2023 Acoustic Artist of the Year—I could go on and on. But how about we start with some music and then have a conversation?
Doug Macleod:
Alright, that sounds good.
Music:
(Music)
Wendy Mills:
Fabulous. Thank you.
You’ve done so much—not only written amazing songs that many people have covered, including Albert King, Albert Collins, Joe Louis Walker, and even Eva Cassidy—but you’ve also worked in what I might call “blues theater.” You’re a writer, a columnist—it seems like your life’s work has been bringing the blues to the people.
Doug Macleod:
I guess it has. I was fortunate to meet influential people in my life. The first was Ernest Banks in Tappahannock, Virginia when I was 19.
He gave me two pieces of advice: never write or sing about what you don’t know, and never play a note you don’t believe. He was talking about honesty.
Later, I worked with great artists on the West Coast and became friends with David “Honeyboy” Edwards. I was invited into their culture, which was an honor. I came from an upper-middle-class background in St. Louis, so I didn’t know about things like black cat bones and mojos—I’d heard them in songs but didn’t understand them. Mr. Banks gave me an education.
Wendy Mills:
That honesty really comes through in your music.
Doug Macleod:
That’s what it is, at least from my experience. I was fortunate to meet those artists—Big Mama Thornton, for example. Backing her up was a big treat in more ways than one.
Wendy Mills:
Absolutely. Esther Creighton once told you, “You have a message, and you’ll send it mainly to the people who don’t go to church.”
Doug Macleod:
Yes, she did. Esther and Pee Wee Crayton were the godparents of our son, Jesse. That’s how it happened—he told me, “You’ve got a godfather now.”
Wendy Mills:
What a great story. And you must have so many stories.
Doug Macleod:
We do. We’re working on a podcast where I’ll tell those stories. We’ve also started a YouTube series called Memphis Porch Sessions—music and stories together. Bill Wax from XM encouraged me to document this history before it’s gone.
Wendy Mills:
Let’s hear another tune.
Doug Macleod:
I’d like to do a song from the new album. It’s called “Keep On Walking.” I was inspired by Curtis Mayfield. It’s about perseverance—no matter what life brings, you have to keep going.
Music:
(Music)
Wendy Mills:
That was beautiful.
You’ve also done radio?
Doug Macleod:
Yes. When my son was growing up, I stayed closer to home. A mentor’s wife told me my job was to be there for him. Later, he thanked me for being a great dad and told me to go do what I wanted. It all worked out.
Wendy Mills:
That’s one of the best things a child can say to a parent.
Doug Macleod:
I agree.
Wendy Mills:
Is he in music?
Doug Macleod:
Yes. He started in underground hip-hop and now plays Americana in Nashville. My daughter is in music too.
Wendy Mills:
What about acoustic versus electric?
Doug Macleod:
I’m more comfortable acoustically. My teacher said your left hand is your brain, and your right hand is your personality. That’s why every blues player sounds different.
Wendy Mills:
You also teach blues.
Doug Macleod:
Yes, at the Pinetop Perkins Foundation in Clarksdale. There are many talented young musicians coming up, and they respect the history.
Wendy Mills:
Have you seen changes in blues over the years?
Doug Macleod:
Yes, but the respect is still there. And it comes full circle—sometimes the younger players teach me things now.
Wendy Mills:
We’re almost out of time. Let’s go out with one more song.
Doug Macleod:
This one is from Raw Blues. It’s about knowing when to leave a relationship.
Music:
(Music)
Wendy Mills:
Doug Macleod, thank you so much for joining us today on KGNU. It’s been a true pleasure.
Doug Macleod:
Thank you, Wendy. I appreciate it.
Wendy Mills:
You can catch Doug Macleod tonight at the Savoy in Denver. More information at MASPresents.org.
Thank you again.
Doug Macleod:
You’re welcome.