The Black Keys' front man Dan Auerbach worked with legends for new solo album

Musician Dan Auerbach has a shelf full of Grammy awards for his work as front man for The Black Keys--and as a sought-after producer.

On Friday, he released his second solo album, "Waiting on a Song." Brand new tunes, but with the distinctively retro sound he's become known for, reports "CBS This Morning: Saturday" co-host Anthony Mason. 

When The Black Keys, one of rock's most popular garage acts, took a break from their last tour, the Akron-born front man went back to his adopted home, Nashville, to recharge. He began inviting local musicians over to his studio, Easy Eye.

"So I started writing Monday through Wednesday. We'd write all day long. Then Thursday through Saturday we'd record. And that's what we did every week," Auerbach said.

Auerbach hasn't stopped since last summer. Now, he said, he has a couple hundred songs.

"You know some are better than others," Auerbach joked. 

Some of the best are on Auerbach's new solo album, his second. Auerbach is supported on the record by some of Nashville's best musicians, like legendary songwriter John Prine and legendary guitarist Duane Eddy.

"I mean, it's changed my life, really," said Auerbach. "Yeah, it's like Christmas every day when I get to go to the studio with these guys. I mean it is almost like 'Field of Dreams.' It's like, if you build it they will come. I didn't know who they were when I built my studio. I didn't know these guys. But I built it in Nashville." 

 
He said, "I kind of finally met a whole group of people with the same weird addiction, you know?"

"I mean, these guys are in their mid-70s. They'll meet me at the studio at 9:30 in the morning. We'll be there until 2 a.m. working. And then i'll see them the next day at 9:30, you know? They'll bring coffee," he said.

Mason asked, "Which leads to the inevitable question, where does that leave the Keys?"

Auerbach says nothing has changed for the band. "We're just taking a break. Nice little vacation."

The Black Keys broke out with the album "Brothers" in 2010. They've since scored four No. 1 songs on the alternative chart. On tour, the band began selling out major arenas like Madison Square Garden. But Auerbach says he and drummer Patrick Carney grew weary of life on the road. 

"It's hard when you go and you become a rock star. And you play on these big stages. I think it's easy to forget that, you know, where you came from," Auerbach said.    

"How does that make you feel about going back and being a rock star again?" Mason asked.

"Well, I mean, I've always kind of, I've always been apprehensive about all, you know, all that stuff. It always felt very unnatural to me. And Pat, too. I mean, we're not rock stars. And I think that's why people kind of fell for us. You know what I mean," he said.

Auerbach admits it will be hard to go back out there given how much he is enjoying what he's doing now.

"But it's what I do. It's what I've always done. I mean, it's hard for anybody to be able to get to just want to leave home and be on the road all the time and kinda turn into like Groundhog Day," Auerbach said of touring again. 

Of the many people much older who are still out doing just that, Auerbach said, "Yeah. And you know those guys usually have some serious issues."