FRIENDS AND LEGENDS WITH SKIP MARTIN

About FRIENDS AND LEGENDS WITH SKIP MARTIN

Skip Martin, a Grammy Award winner, has dedicated his life to the rooms where music history unfolds. As former lead vocalist for Kool & the Gang and the Dazz Band, he has shared stages with the greatest artists of his generation — and built friendships that have lasted decades. Friends and Legends is the platform where these friendships are brought to life. This is not a standard interview show. Skip does not sit across from his guests — he sits beside them. These are real talks with people who were there, built something, and have stories to tell. From platinum records to personal breakthroughs. From the road to the recording studio, the journey was transformative. From the highs to the moments that tested everything. New episodes drop regularly. "Music is the sound of a soul singing." Don't play no games.

Publisher

Skip Martin

Category

business · music

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

22 Apr 2026

Latest episode

6 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

26 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   6 Oct 2026

   Episode 022: The Kid in the Next Studio Was a 19-Year-Old Prince (Pt 1)

   Friends & Legends with Skip Martin Host: Skip Martin Summary: Skip Martin sits down with his longtime bandmate Bobby Harris, founder and leader of the Grammy winning Dazz Band, to go back to where it all started. Bobby tells how a Cleveland jazz fusion band called Telefunk became Kinsman Dazz, named after the street he grew up on, and how a packed audition landed them a record deal in 1976. Then came the shot of a lifetime: Marvin Gaye was set to produce their first album, until illness forced him out. With ten hotel rooms, three rental cars and the clock ticking on their own money, Bobby refused to go home to Cleveland empty handed, and a name he spotted on the label president's desk changed everything. Then, recording in California, their engineer dragged them next door to see a 19 year old who played every instrument himself: Prince. Skip and Bobby also relive how Skip joined the band out of Youngstown, the Dazzmobile, and the Cleveland winters that toughened them up. Main Topics: Telefunk and the birth of Kinsman Dazz Naming the band after Kinsman Avenue in Cleveland The audition that landed a record deal in 1976 Rehearsing with Marvin Gaye, then losing him to illness Talking the label president into one more shot How Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire came to produce the debut Watching a 19 year old Prince in the next studio Why Cleveland prepared them for the world How Skip joined the band from Youngstown, Ohio The Dazzmobile, frozen car doors and the Lake Erie hawk Seven albums in six years Intriguing Quotes: "You can never tell where your blessings come from." - Bobby Harris "Lose the keyboard player." - Tony Camillo, as Bobby remembers it "I am going to have a ball working with you guys." - Marvin Gaye, as Bobby remembers it "Cleveland is another kind of place, man. You can't go back there without what you said you were going to come with." - Bobby Harris "In order to be successful at anything, you have to have the courage to go to an environment that's uncomfortable and less convenient to make your way." - Skip Martin "It's not what you know, it's who you know." - Bobby Harris Key Moments: [00:00] Skip welcomes Bobby Harris [01:23] Telefunk, the band before Kinsman Dazz [02:34] Naming the band after Kinsman Avenue [05:01] The audition that packed the club [05:54] Lose the keyboard player [06:25] Signed in 1976, 50 years on [07:05] In the studio with Marvin Gaye [08:09] Marvin Gaye falls ill [09:01] The label president jumps on his desk [09:42] We can't go back without a record [10:12] Philip Bailey's name on the desk [11:23] The kid next door was Prince [12:27] How Cleveland trained them [13:37] Finding Skip in Youngstown [17:47] The Dazzmobile [19:05] Meeting the hawk off Lake Erie [20:53] Seven albums in six years [22:12] To be continued in Part 2 Notable Resources: Kinsman Dazz (1978), produced by Philip Bailey, featuring "I Might as Well Forget About Loving You" Electric Shop Recording Studio, Las Vegas Connect with Bobby Harris and the Dazz Band: Website: https://www.thedazzband.com/ (https://www.thedazzband.com/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theoneandonlydazzband (https://www.facebook.com/theoneandonlydazzband) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedazzband (https://www.instagram.com/thedazzband) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPtN1sSbm7vOMHVwuSKJRyA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPtN1sSbm7vOMHVwuSKJRyA) Connect with Skip Martin: Website: https://www.skipmartinmusic.com/ (https://www.skipmartinmusic.com/) Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/skipmartinmusic (http://www.facebook.com/skipmartinmusic) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skipmartinmusic/ (https://www.instagram.com/skipmartinmusic/) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/skipmartinmusic (http://www.twitter.com/skipmartinmusic) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/skipmartinmusic (https://www.youtube.com/c/skipmartinmusic) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Episode 021 - She Laid Off 40 People, Then Lost Her Own Job - Now She's on TV in 50 Cities

   Friends & Legends with Skip Martin Host: Skip Martin Summary: Skip Martin sits down with his old friend Denella Ri'chard, the award winning host and executive producer of the nationally syndicated series Traveling with Denella Ri'chard. She grew up in Baton Rouge, caught the travel bug following her mum's bowling tournaments, and found her calling studying abroad in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1994, the year Nelson Mandela became president. A career at Hilton and then as a cruise industry executive ended on 13 March 2020, when she laid off her team of more than 40 and then lost her own job. What started as a one year lockdown project is now filming its ninth season. She takes Skip from a hot air balloon over the Serengeti to a Maasai classroom with no electricity and no running water, Skip shares what he saw in Kenya, and he closes with his C words for success and the goat in the well. Main Topics: Growing up in Baton Rouge and travelling with her bowler mum Studying abroad in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1994 A school project on Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko and apartheid Hilton, the Hampton launch and the cruise industry Inviting Oprah Winfrey aboard as a ship's godmother March 2020: laying off 40 people, then losing her own job Why 9-11 taught her travel always comes back A lockdown prime time slot and the birth of the show From poolside pina coladas to sharks, stingrays and monkeys A hot air balloon over the Serengeti The Maasai children who would match any US kindergarten Skip in Kenya: the water truck comes Thursday Skip's C words for success Intriguing Quotes: "I realized I was sipping more than I was painting." - Denella Ri'chard "When borders open, we're going to travel the world again." - Denella Ri'chard "I would put them against any kindergarten class in the United States." - Denella Ri'chard "Where are the kids? Take me to the kids." - Denella Ri'chard "The water truck will be here Thursday." - Skip Martin "One completed idea is more valuable than a thousand dreams." - Skip Martin "Success is a double-edged sword." - Skip Martin "Just shake it off." - Skip Martin Key Moments: [00:00] Skip welcomes Denella Ri'chard [01:22] Baton Rouge and a mum who bowled tournaments [02:28] Southern University and a semester in Zimbabwe [03:45] 1994, the year Mandela became president [05:03] Hilton, Beverly Hills and the cruise industry [06:07] 13 March 2020 and the ships shut down [07:18] A friend offers a prime time TV slot [08:08] What 9-11 taught her about travel [09:14] Naming Traveling with Denella [10:11] Monkeys, sharks and stingrays [10:52] One year becomes season nine [11:21] Ballooning over the Serengeti [12:37] Take me to the kids [14:58] Skip in Kenya and the water truck [16:45] Soccer on a garbage dump and the Xbox lesson [19:48] Skip's C words for success [22:43] The goat in the well [24:10] Where to watch Denella's show Notable Resources: Traveling with Denella Ri'chard, streaming on YouTube, Tubi and Apple TV+, and on local broadcast TV Connect with Denella Ri'chard: Website: https://www.travelingwithdenella.com/ (https://www.travelingwithdenella.com/) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelingwithdenella/ (https://www.instagram.com/travelingwithdenella/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travelingwithdenellarichard (https://www.facebook.com/travelingwithdenellarichard) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@travelingwithdenella (https://www.youtube.com/@travelingwithdenella) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denella/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/denella/) Connect with Skip Martin: Website: https://www.skipmartinmusic.com/ (https://www.skipmartinmusic.com/) Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/skipmartinmusic (http://www.facebook.com/skipmartinmusic) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skipmartinmusic/ (https://www.instagram.com/skipmartinmusic/) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/skipmartinmusic (http://www.twitter.com/skipmartinmusic) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/skipmartinmusic (https://www.youtube.com/c/skipmartinmusic) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

3. 

   22 Sept 2026

   Episode 020 - 27 Years, Four Kids, One Divorce - and They Still Spend Christmas Together (Pt 2)

   Friends & Legends with Skip Martin Host: Skip Martin Summary: Part 2 of Skip Martin's conversation with Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon turns to the part nobody puts on a highlight reel: what a career on the road costs a family. Warren talks about meeting his wife in high school in Los Angeles, marrying at twenty three, raising four kids, and a marriage of twenty seven years that ended without either of them falling out of love. They are still good friends, eleven grandkids later, and still together at Christmas, birthdays and graduations. He is honest about the games and the dance recitals he missed, and Skip matches it with eight months a year on the road and the alienation that can follow a father home. It finishes on Warren's message to young people about phones, noise and keeping your circle small, and Skip's story about a goat in a well. Main Topics: Meeting his wife at Hamilton High and marrying at twenty three Twenty seven years, four kids and eleven grandkids Why a marriage can end without either person falling out of love Staying friends, and still showing up at Christmas Skip on eight months a year with the Dazz Band and Kool and the Gang The appearances, the TV show, the radio show and the foundation The games and the dance recitals Warren missed The alienation of daddy, and only one side of the story getting told Taking his two daughters to the Kentucky Derby for the first time All four kids going to Canton for his twentieth Hall of Fame anniversary Fifty years of the Dazz Band and a street dedication in Cleveland What Warren would tell young people about social media Intriguing Quotes: "We never stopped loving each other. We just kinda outgrew each other." - Warren Moon "It's a tremendous sacrifice." - Warren Moon "I missed some of their games and I missed some of their dance recitals." - Warren Moon "That is the alienation of daddy." - Skip Martin "You never get to tell your side of the story." - Skip Martin "Make that group that you have very small around you." - Warren Moon "Set your goals high, dream big and believe in yourself." - Warren Moon "The goat would just shake it off." - Skip Martin "Use that phone for what it was supposed to be for." - Warren Moon Key Moments: [00:00] Skip welcomes Warren Moon back for part two [02:07] High school sweethearts, San Jose State and the University of Washington [02:35] Twenty seven years, four kids, and why they parted [03:11] Still good friends, still together at Christmas [04:56] Skip on the grind, and what it does to a partner [05:34] Daddy's home, guess where we're going [06:09] Warren on the tremendous sacrifice [07:03] The games and dance recitals he missed [07:31] Skip on the alienation of daddy [08:35] Two daughters at the Kentucky Derby [08:59] Taking all four kids to Canton [12:14] A hundred and thirty legends back in Canton every year [13:12] Fifty years of the Dazz Band in Cleveland [16:16] Warren's message on social media and bullying [17:25] Keep your circle small and set your goals high [18:31] The goat in the well, and how to shake it off [20:40] Skip closes out, don't play no games Notable Resources: Pro Football Hall of Fame, Canton, Ohio, where Warren Moon is enshrined Connect with Warren Moon: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/warrenmoon1/ (https://www.instagram.com/warrenmoon1/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HWarrenMoon1/ (https://www.facebook.com/HWarrenMoon1/) X: https://x.com/WMoon1 (https://x.com/WMoon1) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/warrenmoon1/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/warrenmoon1/) Connect with Skip Martin: Website: https://www.skipmartinmusic.com/ (https://www.skipmartinmusic.com/) Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/skipmartinmusic (http://www.facebook.com/skipmartinmusic) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skipmartinmusic/ (https://www.instagram.com/skipmartinmusic/) Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/skipmartinmusic (http://www.twitter.com/skipmartinmusic) YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/skipmartinmusic (https://www.youtube.com/c/skipmartinmusic) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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