Michael Bearden - Musical directing Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Super Bowl, Whitney Houston, Madonna

Episode 39 - Michael Bearden is one of the most successful music directors of all time. He was Michael Jackson’s final musical director, building the This Is It show, and spent MJ’s last night together, rehearsing with him. He’s been with Lady Gaga for over a decade (including her iconic Super Bowl half time show performance). He was with Whitney Houston at her highest moment. He’s lifelong friends with Michelle Obama. And on top of all that, has also worked with Madonna, Rod Stewart, Sting, Carlos Santana, Lionel Richie, Chaka Kahn, Patti Austin, Patti Labelle, George Benson, Boz Scaggs, Lenny Kravitz, Luther Vandross, Roberta Flack, Shania Twain, Issac Hayes, Aaron Neville, MC Lyte, Cyndi Lauper, Nancy Wilson, Queen, David Crosby, Stevie Wonder, John Fogerty, Liza Minelli, Neil Young, Bonnie Raitt, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, and Ray Charles. We go deep about his philosophies in working with artists, his journey, lessons learned, and we have a dang good time. We hope you enjoy it! Let’s go!

0:00 - INTRO
2:34 - Lady Gaga: How to make an artist feel safe and gain their trust
11:33 - What it’s like to be Lady Gaga’s music director
15:56 - Working under pressure: Coachella and other last minute shows
18:51 - Super Bowl Halftime show with Lady Gaga
26:09 - Michael Jackson: Discussing his death and “This Is It” rehearsals
35:52 - Being a leader in a time of tragedy
38:05 - How to get Michael Jackson excited
43:30 - "The Way You Make Me Feel" from the “This Is It” rehearsals
47:44 - Taking pride in making things your own
50:04 - Getting Michael Jackson to wear in-ears
51:27 - Michael Jackson MSG 30th anniversary show
53:13 - Acting on your dreams and achieving them
54:35 - The greatest thing learned from Michael Jackson
57:45 - The Obama’s and Chicago stories
1:05:09 - Quincy Jones
1:06:36 - The Michael Bearden solo album
1:07:16 - Busyness: Prioritizing work schedules
1:10:31 - Productivity, Execution, and Elon Musk
1:12:34 - Time Buckets, not ToDo’s
1:14:42 - Michael Bearden’s writing a book
1:15:22 - Picking work and career moves… Saying yes to the big things
1:19:29 - Artificial Intelligence in the music industry
1:22:08 - Young artists and how to break through in the music industry in a saturated market
1:25:36 - What makes “superstar” humans different from others?
1:28:10 - Working with Madonna
1:31:03 - Working with D’Angelo
1:34:35 - Whitney Houston and where live music is going
1:41:12 - Playing keys with Whitney Houston
1:48:14 - The Drummer Michael Bearden is bringing to a deserted island
1:50:48 - Steve Gadd
1:51:59 - OUTRO

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

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