Over his long creative career, multi-hyphenate Nelson George has worked with Baz Luhrmann, Misty Copeland, and even Williie Mays on a variety of critically acclaimed projects. Join Nick as he explores the highlights of Nelson's amazing life, a life spent immersed in the worlds of music, literature, and film.
HIGHLIGHTS:
[02:12] Growing up in the 1960s, Nelson's mother exposed him to a great deal of classic soul music
[04:52] Nelson's monthly radio show, "The Nelson George Mixtape", not only highlights music that he loves, but deep dives into the history and career of the artists
[07:10] Nelson points out that, back in the 70s and early 80s, top 40 radio was cross-pollinated by musicians and producers from soul, rock, disco, dance, and pop
[09:41] The foundation Nelson laid in his 20s, writing about music, provided the connections that have paved the way for opportunities that came later in his life and career
[12:20] After several years in visual arts, Nelson was compelled to begin writing again due to his father's passing from Covid-19
[13:23] Realizing that the market for critical musical history books isn't what it used to be, Nelson moved to subscriber platform Substack, where his writing can be accessed by a worldwide audience
[14:51] Over the years Nelson has been a prolific writer, penning over a dozen books about many different musical eras and topics
[17:01] Nelson teamed with Baz Luhrmann to create the Netflix show "The Get Down", a story about how hip-hop emerged from the ashes of disco
[18:27] For the last two years, Nelson has been producing a series about Tupac and his mother for FX
[19:59] Nelson is also producing a documentary about legendary baseball player Willie Mays for HBO
[22:45] Meeting Misty Copeland at a party led Nelson to create the documentary "A Ballerina's Tale" about her physical therapy struggles
[26:22] Although Nelson is creative in many different areas and disciplines, he believes that the best work comes from concentrating on only one thing at a time
[27:54] Although he doesn't journal as much now as he used to, Nelson has years worth of notes and unpublished writing that he draws upon for his new material
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Find out more about today’s guest, Nelson George.
Find out more about your host, Nick Terzo
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
@AliShaheed [Ali Shaheed Muhammad from A Tribe Called Quest]
@ATCQ [A Tribe Called Quest]
@themidnighthour [The Midnight Hour... Ali Shaheed's side project]
@CHICorg [Chic]
@PrettyMill1 [Stephanie Mills]
@2PAC [Tupac Shakur]
@realWhitney [Whitney Houston]
@Hughes2Society [director Allen Hughes]
@davistamra [director Tamra Davis]
@mistyonpointe [dancer Misty Copeland]
@SayHeyKidsMays08 [Willie Mays]
