A Musician's Life: The Proclaimers

From: WXPN
Series: A Musician's Life
Length: 05:00

The Proclaimers are Scotland's Charlie and Craig Reid. Here in the States they're best known for the tune "I'm Gonna be (500 miles) popularized in the 1993 film Benny and Joon. The identical twins sported eye glasses, short hair and preppy sweaters set them apart from their musical contemporaries. Host Tracey Tanenbaum catches up with them. Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: A Musician's Life: The Proclaimers
From: WXPN

Theproclaimers_small In their native Scotland The Proclaimers are something of a national treasure. Their 1988 song I'm Gonna be (500 miles) was recently ranked that country's 5th greatest song. Brothers Charlie and Craig Reid rerecorded it as an unofficial theme for Britain's Comic Relief in 2007. It once again rose to the top of the charts. The Proclaimers took time off in the 1990's to tend to their personal lives--raising children and caring for a sick parent. When they returned to the music scene in 2001, they were surprised they still had an audience. The Proclaimers have been steadily making music since their return. Their latest album is called "Life with You".

Also in the A Musician's Life series

A Musician's Life: Marcia Ball (05:00)
From: WXPN

Austin based musician Marcia Ball is best known for her infectious brand of Louisiana Swamp rock and two-fisted piano playing. And even though she comes from a musical ...

A Musician's Life: Graham Parker (05:00)
From: WXPN

Veteran songwriter Graham Parker joins Tracey Tanenbaum on this edition of "A Musician's Life". Early in his career, critics in his native Britain tagged Parker "an angry ...

A Musician's Life: Exene Cervenka (05:00)
From: WXPN

As one of the leaders of the seminal LA band X, Exene Cervenka is punk rock royalty. On this edition of "A Musician's Life" Exene takes us through her life. She also reveals ...

A Musician's Life: Wendell Holmes (of the Holmes Brothers) (05:00)
From: WXPN

The Holmes Brothers have been entertaining audiences with their uplifting blend of gospel, blues and R&B for three decades. Their latest album "Feed my Soul" was inspired by ...

A Musician's Life: Shelby Lynne (05:00)
From: WXPN

On this edition of "A Musician's Life" Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Shelby Lynne. In 2001 she won a Grammy for best new artist. At the time, Lynne had about a half dozen ...

A Musician's Life: Gordon Gano (of Violent Femmes fame) (05:01)
From: WXPN

The son of a minister, Gordon Gano hardly seemed like an obvious candidate to front the 1980's post-punk band, The Violent Femmes. But his smart lyrics and manic energy spoke ...

A Musician's Life: The Swell Season (05:00)
From: WXPN

On this edition of "A Musician's Life" Tracey Tanenbaum speaks with Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova of The Swell Season. Most people will remember the pair from the 2007 ...

A Musician's Life: Mike Gordon of Phish (05:00)
From: WXPN

When Phish formed in the early '80's they played to audiences in their college town of Burlington, Vermont. By the mid 1990's, they were performing in amphitheaters to sold ...

A Musician's Life: Josh Ritter (05:00)
From: WXPN

In 2006 Paste magazine named Josh Ritter one of the top 100 living songwriters. But shortly after completing his 2008 album, "Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter", the ...

A Musician's Life: Jace Everett (05:00)
From: WXPN

You may not know his name but if you're a fan of HBO's "True Blood" you know Jace Everett's baritone. Each week Jace's song "Bad Things" accompanies the program's opening ...

Piece Description

In their native Scotland The Proclaimers are something of a national treasure. Their 1988 song I'm Gonna be (500 miles) was recently ranked that country's 5th greatest song. Brothers Charlie and Craig Reid rerecorded it as an unofficial theme for Britain's Comic Relief in 2007. It once again rose to the top of the charts. The Proclaimers took time off in the 1990's to tend to their personal lives--raising children and caring for a sick parent. When they returned to the music scene in 2001, they were surprised they still had an audience. The Proclaimers have been steadily making music since their return. Their latest album is called "Life with You".

Broadcast History

this will be broadcast on WXPN-FM in Philadelphia the week of December 8, 2008. It will also be available as a podcast through NPR>

Timing and Cues

5:00 minutes; begins with theme music then "This is A Musician's Life. I'm Tracey Tanenbaum with The Proclaimers". Ends with "For A Musician's Life" I'm TT, plus :06 music which trails off.