It’s popular in just about every form…well, not so with gospel…but it’s tradition goes back to minstrelsy: the song that has a humorous hook or a running joke to share or maybe a bandleader who takes us into new a ridiculous territories. We’ve got a lot of novelty tunes of this nature to bring you this week on Deeper Roots… a bit of a departure from our normal fare but it’s all for the fun. We’ll hear country sounds from Johnny Cash and Roger Miller, tearjerkers and rock therapy from Mabel Scott, The Chips, and Tiny Hill, and some classic novelty sounds from Danny Kaye, Spike Jones (of course), and Fats Waller.
Blind Willie Johnson’s music seems to resurface through discovery with each generation and understandably so. Because tied to the meager catalog of thirty songs that he recorded over some four sessions between December, 1927 and April, 1930, is a dark and foreboding voice in the night. Its glow is that of a solitary candle in a room of shadows in a house whose bones have fallen to derelict and decay. Willie is telling us to take notice.
The story of Blind Willie Johnson was best transcribed in Sam Charters’ introduction and liner notes for Columbia’s Roots & Blues Series’ “The Complete Works of Blind Willie Johnson”. We’ll go a bit deeper, dedicating our two hours to Blind Willie Johnson featuring tracks from the new tribute album “God Don’t Never Change: The Songs of Blind Willie Johnson”, some classic recordings of Blind Willie, as well as covers of every stripe and style.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
Reverend Lewis Jackson & Charlotte Rucell
Dark Was The Night
Classic Sounds of New Orleans
3
Blind Willie Johnson
Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground
Blues Masters, Vol. 15: Slide Guitar Classics
4
Derek Trucks And Susan Tedeschi
Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burning
God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson
5
Hot Tuna
Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning [Live]
Live In Japan
6
Bruce Cockburn
Soul of a Man
Nothing But a Burning Light
7
Ry Cooder
Dark Was The Night
Paris, Texas
8
Maria Muldaur
Oh, the Rain
Any Woman's Blues
9
Sinead O'Connor
Trouble Will Soon Be Over
God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson
10
Ella Mae Wilson, Lillie B. Williams, and Richard Williams
Motherless Children
Drop On Down in Florida [Disc 2]
11
John Hammond, Jr.
Motherless Willie Johnson
Country Blues
12
Odetta
Motherless Children
7 Classic Albums Plus Bonus Radio Tracks
13
The Dixie Hummingbirds
Nobody's Fault
Diamond Jubilation: 75th Anniversary
14
Arizona Dranes
Bye & Bye We're Going To See The King
He Is My Story: The Sanctified Soul Of Arizona Dranes
15
Blind Willie Johnson
Trouble Will Soon Be Over
The Complete Blind Willie Johnson
16
Blind Willie Johnson
Let Your Light Shine On Me [Album Version]
The Ladykillers Music From The Motion Picture
17
Rev. Pearly Brown
God Don't Never Change
You're Gonna Need That Pure Religion
18
The Staple Singers
Samson And Delilah
Freedom Highway
19
Lee Roy Parnell/The Fairfield Four
John the Revelator
Peace in the Valley [Arista]
20
The Venice Four with Rose Stone and The Abbot Kinney Lighthouse Choir
Let Your Light Shine On Me [Album Version]
The Ladykillers Music From The Motion Picture
21
Blind Willie Johnson
Church, I'm Fully Saved To-Day
The Complete Blind Willie Johnson
22
The Levon Helm Band
God Don't Never Change
The Midnight Ramble Sessions Vol 3
23
David Bromberg Band
Nobody's Fault But Mine
Only Slightly Mad
24
The Blasters
Samson and Delilah
Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings (1981-1985) (2 of 2)
25
Blind Willie Johnson
If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down
ABC Of The Blues Vol 20
26
Johnny Shines
It Ain't Nobody's Fault But Mine
Traditional Delta Blues
27
Irma Thomas
Soul of a Man
After the Rain
28
Tom Waits
The Soul Of A Man
God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson
We return to a free form collection of American music, featuring blues from Markus James, Blind Willie Johnson, and Dinah Washington; country from Porter Wagoner, Kitty Wells, and Leroy Van Dyke; pop memories from Frank Sinatra, Cliff Edwards, and Rusty Draper. The show will feature an expanded eclectic blend of bluegrass, gospel, rockabilly, and gospel and, in addition to Markus James, we’ll also feature a other local musical luminaries to ensure we’re reminded that our Sonoma County musical talent is a rich aquifer.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
Robert Gordon and Chris Spedding
Drivin' Wheel
Too Fast to live… Too Young to Die
3
Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
One More Cowboy (w/Willie Nelson)
Selected Shorts
4
Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris
Donkey Town
All The Roadrunning
5
Joe Maphis & Rose Lee
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke (And Loud, Loud Music)
Various Artists: THEME TIME RADIO HOUR – SEASON 2/[Disc 2]
6
Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards
Somebody Loves Me
With My Little Ukulele in My Hand (Disc 2)
7
Sophie Tucker
He Hadn't Up Till Yesterday
Flashbacks #3 CopulationBlues 1926-1940
8
BR5-49
The Devil In Me
Dog Days
9
Laurie London
The Gospel Train
Sentimental Journey, Folge 3 – Last Train To San Fernando
10
Rusty Draper
The Train With The Rhumba Beat
Sentimental Journey, Folge 3 – Last Train To San Fernando
11
Leon Redbone
Ain't Gonna Give You None of My Jelly Roll
Any Time
12
Mississippi John Hurt
The Chicken
Theme Time Radio Hour With Your Host Bob Dylan – Season 2 [[Disc 1]]
13
Elizabeth Cotten And Brenda Evans
Shake Sugaree
Theme Time Radio Hour – Season 3 – [Disc 1]
14
Kitty Wells
The Other Cheek
I Got A Woman : Gems From The Decca Vaults [Disc 3]
15
Leroy Van Dyke
Walk On By
Golden Age of Country Volume 1: Waltz Across Texas [Disc 1]
16
Porter Wagoner
The Cold Hard Facts Of Life
Theme Time Radio Hour With Your Host Bob Dylan – Season 2 [[Disc 1]]
17
Slim Gaillard
How High The Moon
Theme Time Radio Hour with Your Host Bob Dylan [Disc 2]
18
Ray Noble and the New Mayfair Orchestra
Repeal The Blues
Flashbacks #1 Drug Songs 1917-1944
19
Erwin Lehn
Sentimental Journey
Sentimental Journey, Folge 3 – Last Train To San Fernando
20
Frank Sinatra
Day In – Day Out
Come Dance with Me!
21
Jimmy Elledge
Funny How Time Slips Away
Nipper's Greatest Hits: The 60's. Vol. 2
22
The Rhythm Rangers
I've Got a New Road Under My Wheels
Not Out of the Woods Yet
23
Kevin Russell
Solid Wrong
Plain Dirt Fashion
24
Wendy DeWitt
29 Ways
Getaway
25
Markus James
Head For The Hills
Head For The Hills
26
Markus James
On a Mississippi Porch
Head For The Hills
27
Tom Waits
The Soul Of A Man
God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson
28
Blind Willie Johnson
Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground
Blues Masters, Vol. 15: Slide Guitar Classics
29
Lucinda Williams
God Don't Never Change
God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson
Enduring and prolific…country and pop songwriter Cindy Walker’s name is not as familiar to many but her music certainly is. She wrote early western-flavored pop and country swing pieces for performers like Bing Crosby and Bob Wills, composing hits for Hank Snow, Gene Autry, Al Dexter, Eddy Arnold, and others…almost owning the country charts in the 1940s. Her music endured well into the sixties and seventies, covered by Roy Orbison, Ray Charles, and dozens more. Her custom was to rise early and write songs, typing her lyrics on a pink-trimmed manual Royal typewriter while her mother, Oree Walker, would work out the melodies to her daughter’s words. They would station themselves in Nashville five months out of the year to help market the music, returning home to Mexia, Texas where Cindy would live out her life. Join us on a special run of Americana: the songs of Cindy Walker.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
Asleep at the Wheel/Leon Rausch
Sugar Moon
It's A Good Day
3
Willie Nelson
Don't Be Ashamed of Your Age
You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker
4
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
Dusty Skies
Take Me Back to Tulsa [Disc 2] (Cherokee Maiden)
5
Bob Wills
Cherokee Maiden
Columbia Historic Edition
6
Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys
Blue Bonnet Lane
Legends of Country Music Disc 4
7
Eddy Arnold
Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me
The Essential Eddy Arnold
8
George Morgan
In the Misty Moonlight
Room Full of Roses: The George Morgan Collection
9
Dean Martin
In The Misty Moonlight
The Great Dean Martin
10
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Blue Canadian Rockies
Masters 1949-1976 [Disc 2]
11
Jim Reeves
Distant Drums
Essential Jim Reeves
12
Ray Charles
You Don't Know Me
Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection Disc 3
13
Gene Autry
Silver Spurs (On the Golden Stairs)
Sing Cowboy Sing [Disc 1]
14
Gene Autry
I Was Just Walking Out the Door
Sing Cowboy Sing [Disc 3]
15
Ernest Tubb
Two Glasses Joe
Ernest Tubb: The Definitive Collection
16
The Del McCoury Band
The Bluegrass Country
Del And The Boys
17
The Byrds
Blue Canadian Rockies
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
18
Merle Haggard
Goin' Away Party
Unforgettable
19
Ricky Skaggs
I Don't Care
The Essential Ricky Skaggs
20
Roy Orbison
Shahdaroba
The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison [Monument]
21
Roy Orbison
Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)
The All-Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison [Monument]
22
Willie Nelson
Not That I Care
You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker
23
k.d. lang
Sugar Moon
Shadowland
24
Les Paul
Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me (Remastered)
100 (100 Original Tracks – Remastered)
25
Bob Wills
Miss Molly
For the Last Time
26
Asleep at the Wheel
It's All Your Fault (with Katie Shore)
Still the King: A Celebration of the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys