Don’t tell me…it’s theme time but with the negative bent. No, no, no, honey don’t. This week’s show takes on songs of which there is no reduced supply chain: songs that ask us ‘not to’. A somewhat obscure theme, no question, but it’s all about the message after all. We’ll hear a variety of genres this week, all with their warnings prefaced with the contraction “don’t”. We’ll hear from Elvis (a favorite of the idiom), Blue Lu Barker, Julia Lee, Charles Brown, Buddy Emmons, and those representing doo wop, country, early rock, and Americana. All of this coming your way on our first show of May 2021, a rebroadcast of a KOWS show recorded live from the KOWS studios, located in the Cherry Street Historic District of Santa Rosa. Don’t get defensive, it’s all in fun.
Category Archives: Country
Willie & Friends
Willie Nelson turns 88 this month. Born during the Great Depression and raised by his grandparents, he wrote his first song at the age of seven and had his first band at the age of ten. From high school to the Air Force, then to his return home to Texas as a radio disc jockey, he was always in a band singing. In the 1950s he would write songs that would become country standards and we’ll be sharing some of them with you in today’s Deeper Roots, performed by Willie and his contemporaries. He endures just as his music does and the catalog is a legacy few parallel. We’ll hear from The Little Willies, Waylon Jennings, Faron Young, Asleep at the Wheel, and at least a dozen others performing the songs of Willie Hugh Nelson. Tune in Friday morning on KOWS.
Rolling Along
We’re going to blend all the favorites into a delicious free form stew this morning, looking to the north, south, east and west for our inspiration. Not only do we have some Otis Redding soul, but we’ve also got some traditional blendings from David Johansen, The Devil Makes Three, and some southern fried sounds from James Lee Stanley and John Hammond. A lot of our playlist makes connections: moonlight drives, Memphis tributes, and a lot about our title track ‘rolling along’. I’ve also got a little splash of Frankie Laine for inspiration along those lines. Tune in on a Sonoma County Friday morning for more from the Cherry Street Historic District and the mighty KOWS, streaming to planet earth on kowsfm.com.
Breakin’ The Law
Another theme time extravaganza for our listeners on this new Spring morning here in Sonoma County. The theme focuses on bad behavior, poor judgement and legal entanglements that find themselves into the American musical lexicon. Rock, country and blues seem to lean on the theme more than any other with the country stories of cheatin’, stealin’, and petulant pistols being the most common. We’ll be hearing from Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, Louis Jordan, Elvis, The Cadillacs, and a number of others, sharing stories of everything from jaywalking to murder. Oh…and let’s not forget the lawyers. No lawyer jokes, though. Just a little bit of David Lindley, Kitty Wells, and Warren Zevon on visiting day behind the bars…which is every Friday morning at 9 on community radio for Sonoma County.
Burnin’ Love
A hunka hunka free form sounds this morning on Deeper Roots: some thoughtful pairings and some that just need to be pushed to the surface. We’re coming up on Daylight Savings Time already as we prepare for the days to get longer shedding more light in the attic from the window up above. Songs today explore mojo, some gospel musings, concerns about a fellow named Lou whose got the flu, and some reflections on the 420 favorite. Performers include Julia Lee, Little Jimmy Dickens, Ivie Anderson, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and we’ve even got an ‘unknown’ from the mid-century wondering “Who’s Boogeying My Woogie Now”. Imagine that. Well, imagine this: Friday mornings on KOWS Community Radio are made just for the beginning of Spring. Tune in.
Americana Hours Classics
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.
Lead Belly’s Legacy
Deeper Roots goes deeper this Friday morning. We’ll be sharing the songs of tradition and folk blues from an artist who opened up a world to a generation of followers in the 1940s and 1950s. With the witting arm of Alan Lomax as his promoter and benefactor, Huddie Ledbetter’s music would get wings and find its place in America’s traditional music lexicon. This week’s show, like last week’s Bill Monroe special, revisits the music that he was identified with, much of which he is credited with bringing into this world, or at least opening our eyes to. We’ll hear from Doug Sahm, Red Smiley, Odetta, The Weavers, Bob Dylan, and many others on a show that celebrates a giant of America’s songbook. Tune into KOWS radio every Friday morning at 9 Pacific for a new episode of a show that’s heading into it’s ninth year here on KOWS Community Radio.
Covering Bill Monroe
The music of Bill Monroe is the theme of our show today. We’ll be featuring some classic tunes from the Monroe catalog including some traditional tunes as well as those written by the master himself. The performers include those from all walks: Ray Charles, Elvis, Doc Watson, Bruce Hornsby, and a collection of bluegrass favorites including Jim & Jessie McReynods, Ricky Skaggs, The Seldom Scene and a couple dozen others; all of them covering Bill Monroe’s music with some loyal to the arrangements while others putting their own spin on it. Join Dave Stroud once again for a collection of sounds from those dusty digital bins, those deeper wells, here on Sonoma County Community’s own community radio. Free Form. Free Speech. No Bull. Your alternative radio station in the North Bay.
Begin the Beguine
This past January was as much a month to remember as it was to forget. We’ll keep the serenity we need by softening the blow with music while also celebrating the good with swing, country, rhythm and gospel in another eclectic free form show on Sonoma County community radio. Cold weather and rain arrives so we’ll share the soul sounds of William Bell and Johnnie Taylor, some folk rock from Linda Ronstadt, swing vocals from The Mills Brothers and The Four Vagabonds, and gospel with Lou Rawls and the Pilgrim Travelers. We’ll visit Shenandoah, The Red River Valley, and Forty Miles of Bad Road in our Friday morning show, recorded this week in the Deeper Roots Den. I hope you’ll join us.
Songs About Singing
Sing it loud! It’s a whole new year and our country can take heart without letting our guard down. We’ll celebrate a fresh new start knowing that hard work lies ahead with a two hour show featuring the theme of ‘singing’. Join Dave Stroud once more for a mixed bag; an eclectic blend of sounds from the past century featuring the likes of Ukulele Ike, Wingy Manone, The Cats & The Fiddle, John Sebastian, Cat Power, and a couple of dozen more, all belting out songs about the very act of singing. We’ll take you down Memory Lane with old fashioned songs, simple songs of gospel and freedom, swinging low, singing high, and those joyful sing-alongs we’ve shared over the past century. That’s right. It’s theme time on this week’s Deeper Roots show and we’d love to have you. Join in the festivities.