Deeper Roots explores a minor genre in this episode; coming from early 19th century minstrel shows and adapted with bawdy humor, double entendre, and biting sarcasm. A little bit blues, a little bit country, and always in your face, they call it “hokum”. The English dictionary defines the term as ‘nonsense’ or ‘trite, sentimental, and unrealistic’ but as a musical genre, it goes well beyond those simple definitions. As noted in Wikipedia, “Although the sexual content of hokum is generally playful by modern standards, early recordings were marginalized for both sexual “suggestiveness” and “trashy” appeal, but still flourished in niche markets outside the mainstream. Our show will take a journey through early to mid-century examples featuring numerous pieces by Tampa Red, Papa Charlie Jackson, Memphis Minnie, and Georgia Tom as well as some later fifties R&B examples that drew from the hokum well including The Dominoes, Julia Lee, and Bullmoose Jackson. Join Dave Stroud for a fun mix of musical nonsense that is anything but trite or sentimental.
Bluegrass music owes more than a debt to Bill Monroe. It owes a name, a legacy, and a following to a man whose songwriting and musical prowess went well beyond the genre that bears his brand. Inspired by the early mountain music that his uncle, Pendleton Vandiver, would introduce him to, Bill developed a keen eye for talent and expected only the best from his band (although his lack of business acumen would trip him up time and again). That keen eye paired with an ear for stellar musicianship would show in the performers he ‘discovered’ and who rank among the greatest of the genre: Mac Wiseman, Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt, Peter Rowan, Kenny Baker, Del McCoury, and many others. Please join us for sets that explore Bill Monroe’s legacy. The sets include
The traditional music of Uncle Pen
The talent of Monroe’s sidemen
The early classic sound of “The Monroe Brothers”
Classic covers of Bill Monroe’s music done by late century artists
Two sets of some of the greatest of Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys
On Deeper Roots …”The 99 Percent Blues”, featuring music reflecting on the Great Depression, The Dust Bowl, and the recent financial crisis…songs and stories of the working class. We take a trip back to the twenties and share with you the sounds of Vernon Delhart, Joe Stone, Harry McClintock, and others…and we’ll share the more contemporary songs of Ry Cooder, Randy Newman, and Uncle Tupelo.
No.
1
Artist
Title
Album
Buy
2
Uncle Dave Macon
All In Down And Out Blues [2003 Remastered]
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
3
Joe Stone
It's Hard Time
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
4
Vernon Dalhart
The Farm Relief Song
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
5
Charlie McFadden
Times Are So Tight
Bankers Blues – A Study in the Effects of Fiscal Mischeif
6
Snooks and the Memphis Ramblers,Julia Gerity and Her Boys
Sittin' on a Rubbish Can [Remastered 2003]
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
7
Ry Cooder
No Banker Left Behind
Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down
8
Little Village
Do You Want My Job
Little Village
9
The Reverend J.M. Gates
President Roosevelt Is Everybody's Friend [Remastered 2003]
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
10
Randy Newman
Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)
Good Old Boys [Expanded] Disc 1
11
The Weavers
Brother Can You Spare a Dime
The Weavers Almanac
12
Cisco Houston
Do Re Mi
Best Of The Vanguard Years
13
Woody Guthrie
Dusty Old Dust (So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh) [Remastered 2003]
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
14
Mac "Harry" McClintock
Hallelujah, I'm a Bum [Remastered 2003]
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
15
Fiddlin' John Carson
Taxes On The Farmer Feeds Them All [Remastered 2003]
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
16
Ry Cooder
Taxes On The Farmer Feeds Us All
Into The Purple Valley
17
Hank Penny
Taxes Taxes
Bob Dylan: Radio Radio – Theme Time Radio Hour, Vol. 5 [Disc 4]
18
Ralph Willis
Income Tax Blues
Bankers Blues – A Study in the Effects of Fiscal Mischeif
19
Fenton Robinson
Somebody Loan Me A Dime
Living The Blues: The 70's Blues Classics
20
Bob Miller
The Rich Man And The Poor Man [Rematered 2003]
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
21
Roy Bargy;Ramona
Raising the Rent [Remastered 2003]
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
22
Bing Crosby
Brother Can You Spare A Dime?
Columbia Records' 125th Anniv.
23
William (Bill) Moore
Ragtime Millionaire
1927-30-Ragtime Blues Guitar
24
Lead Belly
The Bourgeois Blues
Best Of Leadbelly
25
Ry Cooder
The Bourgeois Blues
Chicken Skin Music
26
Uncle Tupelo
No Depression
No Depression
27
Sheryl Crow
No Depression In Heaven
The Unbroken Circle: The Musical Heritage Of The Carter Family
28
The Carter Family
No Depression In Heaven
Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music, Volume Four
29
David McCarn
Poor Man, Rich Man (Cotton Mill Colic No. 2)
Gastonia Gallop – Cotton Mill Songs & Hillbilly Blues 1927-1931
30
Cedar Creek Sheik
Jimmy Shut His Store Doors [Remastered 2003]
Poor Man's Heaven – Blues And Tales Of The Great Depression – When The Sun Goes Down Series
31
Woody Guthrie
The Jolly Banker (Woody Guthrie)
Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection [Disc 2]
32
Bo Carter
Times Is Tight Like That
Bankers Blues – A Study in the Effects of Fiscal Mischeif
Blues from the Mississippi Delta highlights this episode of Deeper Roots: A Century of America’s Music. The sounds are as deep and wide as the river and area of the south that gave it its name. The traditional music of all of the sounds that passed through, from the Civil War, to the music from the hills, the barrooms, brothels, and front porches are blended into a raw and sinuous sound that moved north with its performers, landing in the urban stages of the north. Chicago, New York, St. Louis, and Detroit…all born in the Mississippi Delta. We’ll start with Charley Patton, Garfield Akins, and Robert Johnson and work our way forward to Johnny Shines, Robert Lockwood Jr., and Honeyboy Edwards.
This episode of Deeper Roots explores music celebrating the “Father of The Waters”, “The Big Muddy”…”The Mighty Mississippi”. Between its head, Lake Itasca in Minnesota, to the point where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi is responsible for the watershed of 31 states, although its banks only border on 10 of them. Over the centuries, it’s been an inspiration in traditional song and story. Join us as we are entertained by the likes of J. J. Cale, The Mississippi Sheiks, Bessie Smith, Dr. John, and a host of others in a show about a natural wonder that is part of our national identity.
Deeper Roots visits the sounds of The Band. From their early bar band roots, traveling the Northeast with Ronnie Hawkins, their introduction to a wider audience from Woodstock and the Music from Big Pink from upstate New York, and their individual accomplishments after the group “disbanded”…it’s all part of the journey. We’ll explore the depths of their music so firmly rooted in American lore…nd coming from Canada, no less. Join Dave Stroud for two hours of music from the late 20th century, on a show produced especially for member-supported community radio for Bodega Bay, Sonoma County, California.
Deeper Roots’ Covers! We’re going to hear a selection of songs from the past 100 years guided by covers…some better than others, some of the great originals, and sometimes even greater covers. We’ll also dedicate a set to the great Charlie Poole, featuring covers by Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, and Loudon Wainwright III. We’ll also hear from David Lindley, Chuck Berry, Steve Miller, and Lonnie Johnson…just to name a few. Join Dave Stroud for a walk through the last century of America’s music on a show broadcast on KWTF 88.1 FM, member-supported community radio for Sonoma County.
Enjoy another slice of heaven from a century of America’s music . Deeper Roots features “That Gospel Sound” exploring the music of singing groups like the Fisk Jubilee Singers who joined a mounting number of performers who celebrated not only religion but tradition and heritage in their performances. We’ll also hear from the Dixie Jubilee Singers, Thomas Dorsey, Josh White, and some country gospel from Roy Acuff, The Carter Family, and others.
Post-slavery singing groups like the Fisk Jubilee Singers trained their voices to sing the cultured songs of European composers, but it was always “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Ezekial Saw the Wheel” and the rest of the slave songs segment of the program that brought audiences to their feet. Our show will feature Fisk Jubilee Singers as well as Arizona Dranes, Thomas Dorsey, and the Dixie Jubilee Singers.
Our show is Songs of The Civil War. Deeper Roots plays a selection of music that explores the passions, purpose, and politics that led to the war. Join Dave Stroud as he shares the music of the battlefield, the hymns from homes, and the traditional music that soldiers from both sides would adopt to pass the time, to bond, and to help ease the fear of an unknown fate in their longing for home and family. We’ll hear a number of contemporary performers including the Carolina Chocolate Drops, David Wilkie, John Doe, and David Grisman as well as those long past like John Hurt, The Carter Family, and Paul Robeson. Be sure to tune in.
Deeper Roots explores the influences, the music, and those who themselves were influenced by the yodeling brakeman. His music was influenced deeply by the blues of Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Willie Jackson, and Blind Lemon Jefferson. And the performers he influenced read more like the comprehensive list of jazz, blues, country, and pop greats….to this day. It is sure to entertain with the music of Rodgers, Bob Dylan, Lefty Frizzell, and Merle Haggard.
