Whoa. There I was, sitting on the piano bench as he played the hits he was involved in. "I know that song. And that one. I played that one on the radio when I was a DJ!" 

Because if it was a hit, there's a good chance Clarence McDonald had a couple hands in  it - on the keyboard or as producer. James Taylor's "How Sweet It Is," Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze," Hall & Oates' "Sara Smile," Bill Withers' "Lovely Day," The Emotions' "Best of My Love." Plus Ray Charles, Nancy Wilson, Erykah Badu, The Jackson 5, Barbra Streisand, Aretha ... just read the liner notes and you'll find his name all over the place.

Clarence, who passed away last year at the age of 76, was an early guest on Off-Ramp, and I caught him at exactly the right time. He'd had a lung cancer scare, had met the love of his life Susan, and was feeling like he oughta get out of his shell and share some of his knowledge ... gained from luminaries like legendary LA music teacher Alma Hightower and Eubie Blake. I was honored he trusted me with his story. 

These two interviews debuted in 2009, and there are more to come.

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and bythe Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

When I interviewed Norman Lear for Veterans Day in 2019, I asked for dibs on his 100th birthday interview. He immediately agreed, looked skyward, and said, "Hear that God? I've got a commitment!" 

Then Covid-19 happened. So as Lear turns 100 (on July 27), we'll have to make do with a rerun ... but if anybody should be okay with a rerun, it's Norman Lear, creator of so many groundbreaking TV shows - like "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons," and "Maude" -- that helped America confront its demons.

But mostly, in this interview done for KPCC's Take Two show, we talked about America, the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and its promise of "the pursuit of happiness," and his service on a B-17 bomber in World War 2.

Support for this podcast is made possible by Gordon and Dona Crawford, who believe that quality journalism makes Los Angeles a better place to live; and bythe Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.

Off-Ramp theme music by Fesliyan Studios.

Dinner Party Download Launches Its Own Web Site!; Palin the Evangelical Feminist; N.O.W President Introduces Sarah Palin; Colcord Home; All-You-Can't-Eat; Palin Fever; Take A Virtual Trip of the Wasilla Assembly of God; Hard Times; Stone on "W"; Where's the Peace?; Happy Birthday, Philippe's!; With a Wink and a Nod; Letter From Reader

Dinner Party Download Launches Its Own Website!; R.I.P. Paul Newman; The People v. Experts; How to Manage Mismanagement; Spinning Out on The Melt Down; Failing at Bailing Out; Environmental Utopia?; Hard Times, Not End Times; Frangela - The Wisdom of the Crowd; Born Again: The End Times are Coming!; Hard Times II; Hearts of Palm UK; Hard Times III; Urban Homestead; Frank McCourt on the Dodgers

Dinner Party Download; Tom Bradley, in Retrospect; In The Shadows Of History; Peter and the Wolf in 21st Century LA; He Followed in Bradley's Footsteps; The Bradley Effect?; Bradley Good and Bad; Drive-by Driver; Angelenos on Tom Bradley; Chapin Sisters: Born to be Famous; L.A.P.D.: Art Division; The Hollywood Hills are Alive...; To Bail Out or Not To Bail Out; Is Sam Out of Time?

Dinner Party Download; Back on the Tracks; No Smoking...Anywhere; David Foster Wallace, R.I.P; DFW, Telling It Like It Is; Icarus in Outer Space; Charles Perry to the Rescue!; Getting an F in Detention; Historic Art Heist; Celebrating World Sacred Music

Dinner Party Download: Citay Beats; The Wish Tree; Landscape-Goats; The Immigrant's Dream; Give me LHC or Give Me Death!; The LARGE Hadron Collider; Getty Preview; George Putnam R.I.P.; The Lawn Bowling Life; This Citay's Rockin'; Stay Funky, Froggy's; Creating Vintage Photos

Haiku Contest Update!; Dinner Party Download: Barista Throwdown; He's Always Part of the Team; They Wear Their Colors Proud; They Shout Their Voices Loud; McCain's Theme Song; The Titan of Trailers; Ben Vereen: Up Close and Musical; Cut-Throat Coffee; The Sounds of Death Race; Chinese Type-Casting; You're a Good Man, Bill Melendez; Schulz and Baseball; A Labor of Laughs; Congrats, Quinn!; Music Featured on Off-Ramp: Priscilla Ahn's "I Don't Think So"

Welcome to the Coachella Valley!; Dinner Party Download: On Princeton; Jesse Jackson, 20 years ago; Date Shakes in the CV: Part 1; A Good Indian Wife; Date Shakes in the CV: Part 2; Princeton, The Erudite Rockers; She Drew the Line; Racy Dates?; The CV before AC; Stay Away from the Germs!; Music Featured on Off-Ramp:

Dinner Party Download; Rat 'Em Out; "If It's Yellow..." (c'mon you know the rest); Charles Perry: A Man For All Hallucinogens; These Germs Were Catchy; Broncos for Barack; Punch and Judy, Uncensored; Darby Crash, circa 1980; Queen of Disco in LA; Germs Culture; "Hi, Traffic Man!" Debuts