What does a lifetime in music actually look like?
For singer, songwriter, guitarist, comedian, and raconteur Earl Okin, it begins with a wind-up gramophone at the age of three and unfolds across more than seven decades of listening, performing, writing, and constantly refining the craft.
In this conversation, Earl reflects on a remarkable musical journey that has carried him from postwar London to Abbey Road Studios, from touring with Paul McCartney and Wings and Van Morrison to sharing stages with folk, rock, pop, and jazz legends, all while building a career that defies easy categorization.
Along the way, he reveals how songs are really written, why Peggy Lee changed the way he hears and performs music, what João Gilberto taught him about bossa nova, and why the greatest artists are often their own harshest critics.
Join us for a rewarding conversation about creative persistence, living one step ahead of the cultural curve, how to give your craft the right attention, and what it means to spend a career making, living, and loving music.
In this episode
- A postwar London childhood spent with a gramophone and collecting 78s
- Discovering opera, jazz, and the Great American Songbook
- Recording at Abbey Road in the shadow of Sgt. Pepper
- Touring the UK with Paul McCartney and Wings
- Life on the road with Van Morrison
- How songs emerge from instinct, craft, and “finding the gold”
- Learning bossa nova from the Brazilian masters
- Phrasing or virtuosity? What matters most?
- Perfectionism, practice, and the lifelong pursuit of better performances
- The great musicians aren’t always the famous ones
- Writing an autobiography through stories rather than chronology
- Continuing to compose, tour, perform, and create memorable music into his eighth decade
Featured Music
In order:
- “London Now”
- “Time”
- “Yesterday’s Wine”
All music used with permission.
Memorable Quote
“You’re playing, and just a lot of clichés come out of your mouth... then suddenly there’s a little bit of gold. You take it, polish it, and eventually it becomes a song.”
About Earl Okin
Earl Okin is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, arranger, comedian, and broadcaster whose career spans more than sixty years. Blending jazz, bossa nova, classic songwriting, and sharply observed humor, he has toured internationally, appeared on major television programs, shared stages with legendary musicians, and continues to write, record, and perform today.
His work reminds us that music is not only a profession or a performance; it is a lifelong practice of listening.
Connect with Earl Okin
Links:
In addition, a documentary is in the works, you can find a trailer and excerpts at the following links:
About the Show
The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Music, Makers, and Meaning is animated by two ideas:
· Music IS the sum of all wisdom, and
· Music is humanity’s oldest way of knowing ourselves, each other, and the world.
The show offers long-form, reflective conversations with musicians and related professionals who have spent a lifetime honing their craft, and whose work creates meaning, community, and cultural impact. The show prioritizes listening, craft, and the lived experience of making music as a way of making a living.
The Sum of All Wisdom is written, produced, and hosted by Dr. Scott Catey. If this conversation resonated, consider sharing it—or carrying something from it into your own listening and creative life.
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What is The Sum of All Wisdom: Conversations on Music, Makers, Meaning & More?
The Sum of All Wisdom is built on a simple idea: music IS the sum of all wisdom.
More than a podcast, The Sum of All Wisdom is a community and resource platform dedicated to exploring music as a way of knowing. Music is humanity's oldest way of knowing and one of our best technologies for making meaning, and through long-form conversations with musicians, producers, writers, and cultural thinkers—along with performances, essays, and educational resources—we investigate the creative life and what it teaches us about memory, identity, creativity, community, and the human condition.
Whether you're a musician, artist, scholar, or simply someone who loves music and believes it matters, The Sum of All Wisdom is an invitation to listen more deeply: to great music, to the people who make it, and to the wisdom gained through a life devoted to music and musical worlds.
Because music is more than entertainment. It is one of humanity's most ancient ways of understanding the universe and our place in it.