Here’s your morning coffee and tea! Join Dave Stroud for a helping of ukulele, blues, gospel, and outlaw meta-modern country sounds. If you haven’t had a chance to find us on a West County Saturday morning, your chance is every second and fourth Saturday morning at 9 PST on TuneIn radio http://tunein.com/radio/KOWS-LP-1073-…. This eclectic blend of music from the past century is also played out on Sundays at 10 PM This week’s show will feature a Langston Hughes reading, some Maria Muldaur, some early century pop from The Boswell Sisters, some cold hard country facts from Sturgill Simpson and Porter Wagoner, and blues from Dave Alvin and Big Bill Broonzy.
Every now and then Deeper Roots will take a step back and look at the unknowns, not for their anonymity as much for their stories and why their music is so important to the American story. A documentary was recently released entitled “Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker”, http://www.bayoumaharajah.com/ directed by Lily Keber. It tells the story of the classically trained session man and we’re going to also explore the contributions that Booker made to the music of others, his quirky yet brilliant talent in performances of his own, and we’ll also share some of the stories of James Booker’s celebrated ups and tragic lows.
Join us for some unbridled passion featuring ducktails, attitude, and rocking rhythm…all in the tradition of the north, west, east, and south. We speak of that genre that keeps on churning: rockabilly. It’s a genre that’s seen more revivals than a traveling preacher in the Midwest and South during the late 1930s. The recordings were pretty rustic: a bass, some driving percussion, and excitable guitar riffs and the vocals often phrased by rebel yells. We’ll be tearing it up with some of the very best including Johnny Burnette’s Rock ‘n Roll Trio, Billy Lee Riley, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis…and those were just the top drawer stars. We’ll also hear from the ladies: Wanda Jackson, Charline Arthur, and Janis Martin as well as the more obscure sounds of Bobby Lord, Hoyt Stevens, and Roy Hall.
In this episode of Deeper Roots, we explore the early works of a giant of American popular music: Duke Ellington. His career spanned over a half century where he composed thousands of songs for stage, screen, and the contemporary songbook. He called his music “American Music” and his signature sound, particularly in the early years, was unmistakable. This was in large part because he searched out musicians with unique playing styles such as Bubber Miley, Joe Nanton, Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, and the great alto saxophonist. While our focus will be on the pre-War Elligton classics, we’ll also catch the early versions of “Sophisticated Lady” and “Take the ‘A’ Train” and, at the same time, include some telling excerpts from a few different interviews.
This episode of Deeper Roots will feature Big Band Standards done by others as well as by the greats of the genre. Swing and sway with the sounds of “At the Woodchopper’s Ball”, “Take the A Train”, “Little Brown Jug”, “One O’Clock Jump”, and a number of others. The performers cross the divide…Bob Wills, Nina Simone, The Mills Brothers, Benny Goodman, George Harrison, Merrill Moore, and others. The big band sound had an energy and personality that was made for the urban clubs, but it would also make itself known as more than just a pop or jazz phenomenon…it became the music of a generation that found a broader audience at barn dances, Elks’ Halls, theaters, and the larger venues of the present day. It’s roots music with a swinging groove and drive.
Join Dave Stroud for the music of Louis Armstrong, from the early King Oliver days to popular tunes of the late century. Probably the most important musician to come out of the 20th century, he took the blues and established it as jazz’s harmonic foundation, well beyond the ‘fashionable’ jazz of the day. He introduced a style of singing called ‘scat’ that was to be mimicked by others including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Bing Crosby. He created masterworks based on Tin Pan Alley songs that went beyond his original New Orleans influences, showing that jazz could expand musically and commercially. And there is little doubt that he introduced the form we know as ‘swing’ today.
With the rise of be-bop and modern jazz, some of the newcomers (Dizzy Gillespie being the most vocal) pushed Louis aside with a new sound in jazz and words that were youthful miscalculations at the least if not disrespectful altogether. But it was time that would prove Louis’ music and his stature in the history of the American musical art form that remains abiding and durable. Those newcomers would recant and recognize the true mark of genius.
We’ll feature two hours exploring the career of Louis Armstrong in both music and in his own words.
Deeper Roots digs into the early sounds of rock in another episode that explores the songwriters…this time focusing on the talents of the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, During the first decade of a rock ‘n roll, they brought the R&B music they loved to the pop mainstream, producing a catalog of enduring, influential, and spirited musical pieces. The two grew up on the East Coast, Leiber in Baltimore and Stoller in Queens, but met in Los Angeles in 1950 where they began a sixty year collaboration, Leiber serving as the sharp-witted lyricist, while the classically trained but jazz-and R&B-loving Stoller wrote the music. Join Dave Stroud in a show first broadcast on KWTF in 2014 as he’ll share the duo’s songwriting talents featuring the music of LaVern Baker, Big Mama Thornton, Bull Moose Jackson, Brian Setzer, and many, many others.
Let’s go deeper into the past century, celebrating an icon of American music from the 19th century. Stephen Foster composed almost two hundred songs, a half dozen ranking with the world’s greatest ballads; at least 25 of them have become American folk songs. He achieved a truly American expression in his music. Although born and bred in Pittsburgh, he was not influenced by the European music that enslaved composers who lived on the more cosmopolitan seaboard cities of the day. His influences were instead the touchstones of the heart…home and the comfort of friends. His lyrics were a reflection of the time but never cruel in the context of the time, keeping his focus on relationships and the good in everyone.
Our show will feature music of the McGarrigle Sisters, Bill Frisell, Sam Cooke, The Light Crust Doughboys, and an extended selection of Stephen Foster classics performed by The Sons of The Pioneers.
Take a trip with Deeper Roots as we visit a Saturday Night Fish Fry featuring Eddie Williams and His Brown Buddies, Cab Calloway’s “Everybody Eats When They Come To My House”, Duke Ellington’s tribute to the “Saturday Night Function”, and songs of house rent parties, Saturday evenings, and Fats Waller will tell us about “Functionizing”. It has always been about blowing off steam after a long week…and swinging, rocking, and having a ball.
Deeper Roots looks at one of the many precursors to rockabilly and rock ‘n roll. Hillbilly boogie is a term used to describe an early pop music fad that blended early 20th century boogie woogie piano style, popular black music of the time, and western swing. Now many will say that it started with Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith but we’ll hear the swing and boogie woogie sounds that predated Smith. And the word was “boogie”. Boogie Woogie Baby, New Broom Boogie, Birthday Cake Boogie, Cherokee Boogie…well, you get the idea. We’ve got all of those and more with performances from Tex Williams, Hank Penny, Johnny Bond, Rose Maddox, and many more. Join Dave Stroud for another journey through a century of America’s music here on listener-supported community radio for Bodega Bay!
