It may be Friday the 13th, but we won’t be bothered with the superstitious. Instead, we’ll go with traditional and popular country nuggets as our topics with some couplings of contemporary and vintage. We’ve gathered a collection of modern country covers from the likes of Rosanne Cash, Solitaire Miles, Charley Crockett, Chuck Mead and others and we’ll be coupling them up with originals and favorites from the distant past. Merle Travis, Red Foley, Hank Williams, and The Louvin Brothers take the stage from a dream-filled past. We’re celebrating country classics from fifties, sixties and seventies and having fun doing it while kicking back. You don’t need to be wearing pretentious boots and hats to appreciate the easy sway of classic country … you just need to close your eyes and appreciate the performances … well, unless you’re driving.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
The Band
Long Black Veil
Music From Big Pink
3
Rosanne Cash Featuring Jeff Tweedy
Long Black Veil (Feat. Jeff Tweedy)
The List
4
Lefty Frizzell
Long Black Veil
Columbia Country Classics, Vol. 3: Americana
5
Johnny Bond
Goodbye Old Paint
Standard Transcriptions
6
Pharis and Jason Romero
Goodbye Old Paint
A Wanderer I'll Stay
7
McKinley James
Who Will The Next Fool Be
Who Will The Next Fool Be (Single)
8
Charlie Rich
Who Will the Next Fool Be
Sun Ballads 1953-62
9
Johnny Cash
We Must Believe In Magic
The Adventures Of Johnny Cash
10
Matt Urmy
We Must Believe in Magic (feat. Cowboy Jack Clement)
Out of the Ashes
11
The Malpass Brothers
Hello Walls
The Malpass Brothers
12
Willie Nelson
Hello Walls
Mr. Record Man – The Early Singles As & BS
13
Henson Cargill
Skip a Rope
Skip a Rope
14
Charley Crockett
Skip A Rope
Music City USA
15
Kevin Russell
Are You Teasing Me
Plain Dirt Fashion
16
The Louvin Brothers
Are You Teasing Me
Capitol Country Music Classics
17
Eddy Arnold and his Tennessee Plowboys
Anytime
Nipper's Greatest Hits – The 40's Vol 2
18
Chuck Mead
Anytime
You Don't Know Me: Rediscovering Eddy Arnold
19
Dirty Cello
Sixteen Tons
I May Not Be Perfect
20
Merle Travis
Sixteen Tons
Hot Pickin' [Disc 1]
21
Spade Cooley & His Orchestra feat. Tex Williams
Crazy 'Cause I Love You
That's What I Like About The West
22
Solitaire Miles
Crazy Cause I Love You
Susie Blue and the Lonesome Fellas
23
Whitney Rose
There's A Tear In My Beer
Heartbreaker of the Year
24
Hank Williams & Hank Williams, Jr.
There's A Tear In My Beer
Fifty Years Of Hits – Vol 10
25
Solitaire Miles
I Hear You Talkin'
Susie Blue and the Lonesome Fellas
26
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
I Hear You Talkin'
The Tiffany Transcriptions Volume 1
27
Hank Williams
You're Gonna Change
Fifty Years Of Hits – Vol 11
28
Tom Petty
You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)
Timeless: Hank Williams Tribute
29
Chuck Mead & His Grassy Knoll Boys
Settin' The Woods On Fire
Back At The Quonset Hut
30
Hank Williams & The Drifting Cowboys
Settin' The Woods On Fire
Steelin' It: Steeling The Mood
31
Red Foley
Tennessee Border
Tennessee Saturday Night
32
Chuck Mead & His Grassy Knoll Boys
Tennessee Border
Back At The Quonset Hut
33
BR5-49
The Price of Love
This Is BR549
34
The Everly Brothers
The Price of Love
Walk Right Back: The Everly Brothers on Warner Bros. Disc 2
This week’s show looks back at the year 2022 with a focus on the umbrella genre known as Americana. We’ll be digging deep into the releases that mattered last year, sharing some of the fresh new releases that made an impression. There are the singer/songwriters, the old hands with fresh perspectives, as well as those who have taken tradition and dressed it up fresh for the party. We’ll hear tracks from some of the very best albums of the year, including a few off the beaten one. Some great sounds coming your way from Aoife O’Donovan, The Black Keys, Tami Neilson, and Hurray for the Riff Raff. Pour yourself a cup of your favorite fresh brew, put on the headphones, and find yourself some new favorites from under that big tent they call ‘Americana’ on KOWS Community Radio.
It’s list time! For better or worse, we’re going with the top tier of the Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Country Albums of all Time as our guidepost. There’s some great ones here, in fact the majority are agreeable in our estimation but there are also some “huh?” moments. We’ll just assume that that is par for the course with any opinion-based list by a disparate group of critics. For the most part, it captures the core of country pretty well. We’ll share music from Tom T. Hall, The Carters, George Strait and a few nineties and aught pop stars that made the list because they swim the pop country charts. Join Dave as he walks down the list, one that has its cringe-worthy moments, right alongside moments of pure Americana country gold.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
Kacey Musgraves
Space Cowboy
Golden Hour
3
Hank Williams
The Blues Come Around
Southern Belle [Disc 2]
4
Waylon Jennings
Black Rose
Honky Tonk Heroes/Ramblin' Man/Dreaming My Dreams (1 of 3)
5
Sammi Smith
Help Me Make It Through The Night
Sammi Smith early 60's the Best Of (varese sarabande 96)
6
John Anderson
Wild and Blue
Anthology
7
Sturgill Simpson
Life Of Sin
Metamodern Sounds In Country Music
8
Guy Clark
Rita Ballou
Old No. 1
9
The Carter Family
Kissing Is Crime
Can The Circle Be Unbroken
10
John Prine
Paradise
John Prine
11
Kris Kristofferson
The Law Is For Protection Of The People
Kristofferson
12
Rosanne Cash
My Baby Thinks He's A Train
Hits: 1979-1989
13
George Strait
I Can't See Texas from Here
Strait Out of the Box [Disc 1]
14
Gary Stewart
She's Acting Single (I'm Drinkin' Doubles)
Superstars Of Country: Good Ol Songs [Disc 2]
15
Loretta Lynn
Coal Miner's Daughter
Decca Country Classics 1934-1973
16
Tom T. Hall
The Year That Clayton Delaney Died (Single Version)
The Definitive Collection: Tom T. Hall
17
Patsy Cline
I Fall To Pieces
Classic Country
18
George Jones
He Stopped Loving Her Today
I Am What I Am
19
Miranda Lambert
Vice
The Weight of These Wings
20
The Judds
Why Not Me
Country Music: A Film By Ken Burns – The Soundtrack [Disc 2]
21
Johnny Cash
Folsom Prison Blues
At Folsom Prison
22
Taylor Swift
You Belong With Me
Fearless
23
Randy Travis
On The Other Hand
Country Gold 1984-1986
24
Shania Twain
That Don't Impress Me Much
Come On Over
25
Merle Haggard
Red Bandana
His Greatest & His Best
26
Lucinda Williams
Jackson
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
27
Dixie Chicks
Wide Open Spaces
Country: The American Tradition [Disc 2]
28
Ray Charles
Born to Lose (Remastered)
Complete Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (Remastered)
29
Waylon Jennings
Dreaming My Dreams With You
Artist's Choice: Emmylou Harris
30
Dolly Parton
Coat of Many Colors
Coat of Many Colors [RM 2007]
31
Willie Nelson
Red Headed Stranger
The Many Sides Of Willie Nelson [Cd 3 "Cowboy"] (1992)
This week we’re taking a look back at a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, musician, and performer who helped to enlighten a younger set to Tex Mex music, even making inroads into the sixties San Francisco ‘summer of love’ with a top 20 hit in 1965. Considered a child prodigy, he would appear on the Louisiana Hayride by the age of eight and would find his influences in blues, country, r&b, and conjunto sounds from across the border. Our retrospective will feature contemporaries and music from his close-knit cadre of compadres that would go on to form a sort-of supergroup called The Texas Tornados. Tune in on a Spring morning in April for a collection of pure Americana treats from Texas as we overlook (for a brief two hours) its abhorrent decline into a state of hate and anti-democratic principles.
We’re taking a bit of a break to pull the covers out. A lot of the covers we’ll be sharing today come from recent years and cut a broad swath through the past, with a special emphasis on ‘modern sounds’ including new wave, country and rock covered by some of the modern Americana performers that you hear on KOWS Community Radio’s Blue Moon Americana each week (and mornings at 5). Tune in for Jason Isbell, Bill Kirchen, Carrie Rodriguez, Sarah Jarosz, Nick Lowe, and a host of others. A fun run of sounds this morning as we kick off spring with fresh Americana covers.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
Solid Air
Spirit In The Sky
Sonoma County Covers Project
3
Pete Yorn
They Don't Know
They Don't Know
4
The Teskey Brothers
Never Tear Us Apart
Never Tear Us Apart (Single)
5
Sarah Jarosz
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / my future
6
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
Driver 8 feat. John Paul White
Georgia Blue
7
Mo Kenney
Yer So Bad
Covers
8
Anna Elizabeth Laube
Time To Move On
Annamania
9
The Band of Heathens featuring Robert Ellis
Walls
Remote Transmissions Vol 1
10
Carsie Blanton
Party at the End of the World
Party At The End of the World (Single)
11
The Dead South
People Are Strange
Easy Listening For Jerks Part II
12
The WildRoots
01 634-5789
WildRoots Sessions Vol. 1
13
The Grand Southern
The Boys of Summer
Don't Say Anything
14
Clint Roberts
Just Like Heaven
Rose Songs
15
Puss N Boots
Joey
Sister
16
Tyler Ramsey
Back On The Chain Gang
Found a Picture of You
17
Vandoliers
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) (Single)
18
The Revenue Man
(What's So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding
25 Years Behind
19
Carrie Rodriguez
Big Love
Love and Circumstances
20
Nick Lowe
Here Comes That Feeling
Lay It On Me
21
Bill Kirchen
Shelly's Winter Love (feat. Nick Lowe & Paul Carrack)
The Proper Years
22
Dylan LeBlanc
Expecting to Fly
Pastimes
23
Britta Phillips
I Am a Child
Cinnamon Girl – Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity
This week, we pay a long overdue tribute to John Prine while celebrating the 75th year of his birth which came up on the calendar this week. One of the losses that reverberates among us all is the loss of John Prine to COVID in April, 2020, at the beginning of this long and painful pandemic. We’re paying our tributes at the same time that a his label Oh Boy Records releases Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows, Volume 2, a collection of Prine covers that hits the marks and follows the first volume, released over ten years ago. Our show will feature a chronological look back at the legacy of this national treasure, a songwriter whose bite followed along on the arc of his storytelling that looked into matters of the human heart. We’ll hear covers from Nanci Griffith, Yarn, and a few others but we’ll follow the path along John’s career in performances especially selected for a two hour journey of John’s music.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
Joan Baez
Hello In There
Diamonds & Rust
3
Justin Townes Earle
Far From Me
Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine
4
Sturgill Simpson
Paradise
Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2
5
John Prine
Donald And Lydia
John Prine Live
6
John Prine
Sweet Revenge
Great Days: The John Prine Anthology Disc 1
7
John Prine
The Great Compromise
Great Days: The John Prine Anthology Disc 1
8
John Prine
He Was in Heaven Before He Died
Great Days: The John Prine Anthology Disc 1
9
John Prine
If You Don't Want My Love
Bruised Orange
10
Yarn
Christmas in Prison
Stray Dog Christmas Compilation
11
John Prine
The Sins of Memphisto
The Missing Years
12
Nanci Griffith
Speed Of The Sound Of Loneliness
Winter Marquee [Live]
13
John Prine
Let's Talk Dirty in Hawaiian
German Afternoons
14
John Prine
Lulu Walls
German Afternoons
15
John Prine
Lake Marie
Lost Dogs and Mixed Blessings
16
John Prine
In Spite Of Ourselves
In Person & On Stage
17
John Prine
Dear John (I Sent Your Saddle Home)
In Spite Of Ourselves
18
John Prine
Glory of True Love
Fair & Square
19
John Prine
Who's Gonna Take The Garbage Out (Featuring Iris Dement)
For Better, Or Worse
20
John Prine
Summers End
The Tree of Forgiveness
21
John Prine
The Lonesome Friends Of Science
The Tree Of Forgiveness
22
John Prine
Caravan Of Fools
The Tree Of Forgiveness
23
John Prine
When I Get To Heaven
The Tree Of Forgiveness
24
Fiona Prine/John Prine
My Happiness
For Better, Or Worse
25
John Prine
I Remember Everything
I Remember Everything
26
Bonnie Raitt
Angel from Montgomery
Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine, Vol. 2
Americana fusion from the Canadian border to the rolling hills of Arkansas: roots music from a musical collective built on a foundation made up of many different legs: blues, rock, folk, Civil War stories, burnished antiques found alongside the two-lane highways of mid-century and tradition from the kitchen. Their songs were anchored by deeper roots. There are few that could speak musically to all of these and all of their connecting tissue, but The Band (Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson) made it seem easy. From their early years as The Hawks backing Ronnie Hawkins to being the electric behind Bob Dylan’s Judas performance in the UK, and then The Last Waltz. There were tragedies both light and heavy that foretold a demise as predictable as the appearance of Halley’s Comet. Join us in a reflection of their music on a Friday morning in Sonoma County on KOWS Community Radio.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
Robbie Robertson
When The Night Was Young
How To Become Clairvoyant
3
The Band
Will The Circle Be Unbroken (non-lp track)
A Musical History [Disc 1]
4
The Levon Helm Band
Anna Lee
Newport Folk Festival 8/3/2008
5
Rick Danko
When I Get My Just Rewards
Cryin' Heart Blues
6
Bob Dylan & The Band
The Weight
Before The Flood [Live] [Disc 2]
7
Joan Baez
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
Hits: Greatest & Others
8
The Band
Acadian Driftwood
Northern Lights-Southern Cross
9
Bob Dylan & The Band
Crash On The Levee (Down In The Flood)
The Basement Tapes [Disc 2]
10
Bob Dylan & The Band
Million Dollar Bash
The Basement Tapes [Disc 1]
11
Rick Danko
It Makes No Difference
Live Anthology
12
Emmylou Harris & The Band
Evangeline
Duets
13
The Band
Stage Fright
The Last Waltz [Rhino Box Set] Disc 1
14
Ronnie Hawkins/The Band
Who Do You Love?
The Last Waltz [Rhino Box Set] Disc 1
15
Levon Helm & The RCO All-Stars
Havana Moon
Levon Helm & The RCO All-Stars
16
Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks
Hey Boba Lou
The Best of Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks
17
The Band
Stand Up
High On The Hog
18
Levon Helm
False Hearted Lover Blues
Dirt Farmer
19
Warren Haynes With The All Star Band And Rami Jaffee
The Shape I'm In (with The All Star Band & Rami Jaffee)
We’re gathering under the Americana tent this morning; well, I guess, technically, we do each Friday morning. But this week we’ll spend some time with the classics. I’ll be sharing mid-century highlights from east, west, north and south in a show that pays tribute to some of the classic performers and performances that codified what’s become known as Americana: not a genre, but more of something in the air that makes you comfortable as a well worn blanket but also is the cold breeze that comes in through the cracks. I’ve got the celebratory sounds of The Blasters, Arlo Guthrie, and the NGDB; the painful reminders of days past from The Band, Chris Hillman, and Guy Clark; the harsh reminders of what got us here from Steve Earle, James McMurtry, and Bruce Springsteen. So much more to share in only two hours on Sonoma County Community Radio.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Dark as a Dungeon
Will the Circle Be Unbroken [Bonus Tracks] Disc 1
3
The Byrds
You Ain't Going Nowhere
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
4
Michael Nesmith
Joanne
Troubadours: Folk And The Roots Of American Music 4: 10 The West Coast
5
Bobby Bare
The Streets of Baltimore
Memories – RCA Singles 1962 – 1969
6
Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash
Girl From The North Country
Country Music: A Film By Ken Burns – The Soundtrack [Disc 2]
7
Arlo Guthrie
The City Of New Orleans
Hobo's Lullaby
8
Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen
The Lost Highway
Bakersfield Bound
9
Neil Young
Harvest
Decade Disc 2
10
The Band
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
The Best of the Band
11
John Fogerty
Lodi
The Long Road Home: The Ultimate John Fogerty – Creedence Collection
12
Emmylou Harris
Red Dirt Girl
Artist's Choice: Sheryl Crow
13
John Prine
Speed of the Sound of Loneliness
German Afternoons
14
Joe Ely
Boxcars
Honky Tonk Masquerade
15
The Blasters
Border Radio
Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings (1981-1985) (1 of 2)
With a new album just released, Dan Penn reminds everyone that there are few songwriters, and only one living, that have influenced (if not defined) the Memphis soul sound as he has. At 78, Dan Penn’s legacy is already sealed with songs that are enduring: “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man”, “Dark End of the Street”, “Cry Like a Baby”, and so many more. Our show this Friday had to carefully curate tracks from Irma Thomas, Percy Sledge, Solomon Burke, Arthur Alexander, and a couple dozen more to pay proper tribute. As a musician and songwriter, this Muscle Shoals legend deserves a spot in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame and, while never considered a performer, his catalog includes three solo studio albums, one from 1973, another from 1994, and this year’s Living On Mercy. You’ll hear tracks from these and so much more in this morning’s episode of Deeper Roots.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
Dan Penn
Living On Mercy
Living On Mercy
3
Otis Redding
You Left The Water Running
The Muscle Shoals Sound
4
Janis Joplin & The Full Tilt Boogie Band
A Woman Left Lonely
Pearl
5
Aretha Franklin
Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
30 Greatest Hits [Disc 1]
6
James Carr
The Dark End of the Street
The Essential James Carr
7
Jimmy Hughes
Slippin' Around With You
After Hours 3 – More Northern Soul Masters
8
The Sweet Inspirations
Sweet Inspiration
Something's Got A Hold On Me
9
Solomon Burke
Take Me (Just As I Am)
King Solomon / I Wish I Knew
10
Arthur Alexander
Rainbow Road (Album Version)
Rainbow Road
11
Marshall Crenshaw
I'd Do It All over Again
Adios Amigo: A Tribute to Arthur Alexander
12
James & Bobby Purify
I'm Your Puppet
The Best Of
13
Arthur Conley
Take Me (Just As I Am)
The Complete Fame Singles Volume 1
14
Dan Penn
Strangest Feeling
The Fame Recordings
15
Irma Thomas
I Count the Teardrops
If You Want It, Come and Get It
16
Irma Thomas
Blue in the Heart
My Heart's in Memphis: The Songs of Dan Penn
17
Irma Thomas
The Joke Is on You
My Heart's in Memphis: The Songs of Dan Penn
18
Dan Penn
Let Them Talk
The Complete Fame Singles Volume 1
19
The Box Tops
Cry Like A Baby
The Classic Sixties Collection: 1968 – The Hits That Rocked A Whole Generation
We’ve waited four years so there’s no need for any more hopes, prayers, or incantations. Our way of American life is on the line. The choice is ours. As our image says: “Vote as you please, but please vote.” We’re kicking off the five day countdown with a collection of music featuring political songs, songs about voting, democracy, freedom, and civil rights; ; all of which are currently threatened by this administration and its sycophants, traitors, and rats. We’ll hear from Steve Goodman, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Bob Dylan, The New Christy Minstrels, and (of course) Roy Zimmerman, all of whom touch on one or more of our topics of the day. We’ve got free speech, no bull radio here in Sonoma County and Deeper Roots will take this Friday out to use a bullhorn to ask that you go out and vote, for heaven’s (and democracy’s) sake. We need to turn this ship around and this is our best opportunity.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
Roy Zimmerman
My Vote My Voice My Right
The Faucet's On Fire
3
Charles Bukowski
Face of a Political Candidate
Underwater Poetry Festival
4
Ellis Paul
Election Day
The Storyteller's Suitcase
5
Steve Earle
Snake Oil
Ain't Ever Satisfied: The Steve Earle Collection (2 of 2)
6
Keb' Mo' Featuring Rosanne Cash
Put A Woman In Charge
Put A Woman In Charge
7
Sweet Honey In The Rock
We Want The Vote! Chant
The Women Gather
8
Mayor Richard Daley
Press Conference on the Riots at the Democratic Convention
Great Speeches of the 20th Century
9
Norman & Nancy Blake
The Democratic Donkey (Is In His Stall Again)
The Hobo's Last Ride
10
Utah Phillips
The rich will not permit you to vote away their wealth
Making Speech Free
11
Bruce Cockburn
Call It Democracy
Anything Anytime Anywhere (Singles 1979-2002)
12
Todd Snider
Talking Reality Television Blues
Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3
13
Dan Zanes
Lincoln And Liberty
Parades And Panoramas: 25 Songs Collected By Carl Sandburg For The American Songbag
14
Ry Cooder
One Cat, One Vote, One Beer
My Name Is Buddy
15
Leonard Cohen
Democracy
More Best of Leonard Cohen
16
The New Christy Minstrels
My Name is Liberty
Green, Green
17
Carolina Chocolate Drops
Day of Liberty
Divided & United: The Songs of the Civil War
18
Sweet Honey In The Rock
Give The People Their Right To Vote!
The Women Gather
19
Bob Dylan
Chimes Of Freedom
Another Side Of Bob Dylan
20
Bryan Sutton
Battle Cry of Freedom
Divided & United: The Songs of the Civil War
21
Arlo Guthrie
Presidential Rag
Arlo Guthrie
22
Roy Zimmerman
The Don
Rize Up
23
Randy Newman
Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)
Good Old Boys [Expanded] Disc 1
24
Chad Mitchell Trio
Your Friendly, Liberal, Neighborhood Ku-Klux-Klan
The Best Of The Chad Mitchell Trio The Mercury Years
25
Willie Nelson
Vote Em Out
Vote 'Em Out
26
Roy Zimmerman
Sweeney Trump
Rize Up
27
Moss Henry
Crazy at the Wheel
Crazy at the Wheel (Single)
28
Jay & The Americans
Only In America
Come A Little Bit Closer – The Best of Jay and The Americans
