Some dynamite gospel this week that leans heavily on the influencers, but we won’t let that lock us in. We’ll be cutting a broad swath across the Americana landscape, with deeper gospel tracks from some of the greats like the Selah Jubilee Singers, the rollicking Reverend Robert Ballinger, The Bronzeman, and some other greats you may or may not know. But we’ll also share tracks from the next generation secular branding with just a taste of gospel in their music: Johnny Taylor, Edwin Hawkins, and Curtis Mayfield. We’ll also share a couple of Marty Stuart gospel tracks in another look at the deepest roots from the past century. So grab the headphones and get ready for a revival without beating you about the head with any false fundamentalism. All for our favorite listeners, beaming down from the ether on KOWS Community Radio.
Monthly Archives: August 2024
Little Bit O’ Bad
A little bit of good, a little bit of bad, and a whole lot of Americana classics. This morning’s Deeper Roots show runs the gamut from boogie Woogie to country ballads, classic rock, soul, blues, gospel and everything but the kitchen sink. Dave Stroud will be featuring songs that celebrate the band of gold, bad boys, bad girls, schooldays nostalgia, and the silly notion that black cats are no more than a warning when, in fact, they are a sign from on high of the very best being yet to come. Tune in for the likes of Stephen Stills, Johnny Cash, Cleo Brown, NRBQ and…yes, Billie Eilish as we celebrate America’s roots from then until now where no ocean is wider nor mountain is high. Celebrate a free form extravaganza with us as we push our way through August, well past the dog days and into the breezy, cool nights of summer’s waning. All for you and the neighborhood on KOWS Community Radio.
Country Swing Pioneers
Join Dave Stroud for two hours of the very best of country swing music on Deeper Roots Radio: A Century of America’s Music. He’ll excavate the archives for a show from over eight years ago, reminding us that the west had been long-settled when a new sound exploded. It blasted its way out of the dance halls and barn-dance venues of the Midwest with an upbeat blend of jazz, hillbilly, and down-home blues. The arrangements blended strings, guitar, fiddle and bass, with the rhythmic sounds of urban jazz to reveal something catchy and danceable…and marketable. Before the beat was modernized into the mass market country blandness that paralleled mainstream pop, there were the pioneers including Milton Brown, Bob Wills, Adolph Hofner, Spade Cooley, Light Crust Doughboys, and a host of others. Drop in and celebrate this classic fusion of America’s best
Bluegrass, Newgrass
We’re taking a trip up into hill country to celebrate a true Americana sound. From it’s simple roots rolling out of Appalachia, celebrating music and culture going back even further, bluegrass music evolved from many different corners with a combination of many styles, including old-time mountain music, square dance fiddling, blues, gospel, jazz, and popular music. You can count on high energy, fast tempos and a most distinctive sound. This week’s show has the syncopated rhythms moving along like a freight train, those nostalgic remembrances, and heel-kicking improvisations…not to mention those high lonesome vocals. We’ve got Blue Highway, Bill Monroe, Mac Wiseman, Earl Scruggs, The Rice Brothers and a couple dozen others in a Friday morning bluegrass extravaganza, sharing both classic and contemporary performers. If you’re close by, tune into KOWS 92.5 FM or, better yet, stream us almost anywhere on planet Earth at kowsfm.com/listen.
AKA Blind Boy Grunt
It’s a cover show. It’s a celebration. It’s a reconnaissance regarding a renaissance. To what do we owe this week’s offering? The answer is clearly the songs of Bob Dylan who, at one time recorded under the non de plume Blind Boy Grunt and we’ve got a track from the Broadside Ballads collection to prove it. But this week’s show will focus primarily on covers of Dylan tracks going back to Sam Cooke live at the Copa to an oddball cover by The Grass Roots. We’ll also share some fresh takes from Eric Clapton, Raul Malo, Audra Mae & The Forest Rangers, and a lovely cover of a rare but popular piece called Walkin’ Down The Line. We’re celebrating a multi-generational master of his dominion where his words and melodies honor the past and carve a well-defined path leading into the future of America’s songwriting craft. Tune into Community Radio for Sonoma County on another Friday morning…via the stream at kowsfm.com/listen.