Our theme in this week’s episode of Deeper Roots…American Songwriters. Deeper Roots explores selections from some of the great American songwriters and a variety of interpretations by a host of performers. We’ll hear the music of Stephen Foster, Willie Nelson, Thomas Dorsey, and Johnny Cash from the likes of Bob Dylan, Jimmy Lunceford, and Sweet Honey In the Rock. Of course, two hours will only scratch the surface…
Released in 1970, Bob Dylan’s double album “Self Portrait” was lambasted by the critics and by most of his fans. Although it was a seemingly natural progression between “Nashville Skyline” and “New Morning”, it lacked original material and seemed to be propping itself against traditional and popular country covers sung in the affected crooning voice that Dylan had introduced in Nashville Skyline. It has been re-released this past year by Columbia in a package called “Another Self Portrait” and features studio tracks not heard before offering unembellished productions that help to uncover what might have been a wholly different album…in the hands of another producer. Even Greil Marcus, the critic who originally wrote in his review of the album “What is this s***?” entertains another look.
It’s a three day Labor Day weekend and Deeper Roots celebrates with music that explores the burdens and rewards of work. It’s our “Labor Day Special”. Join Dave Stroud for more from a century of America’s music. In a slightly retooled show from earlier in the year we’ll hear from Nina Simone, Zeke Clements, Hazel Dickens, and many others including a set celebrating the music of Pete Seeger and the longstanding fight for labor rights in America.
We’ve got our home state as our guide in an episode whose theme is that of California. We’ll hear performances by Ry Cooder, Howlin’ Wolf, Dwight Yoakum, and Dave Alvin to name just a few. In addition to the more popular ‘go west’ themes, we’ll hear about the pastures of plenty and the nostalgic tunes of the Golden State: our sunsets, the orange groves, the high desert, and the deep valleys. Join Dave Stroud as he shares an eclectic blend of sounds on listener-supported community radio for Bodega Bay.
We wished Bob Dylan a happy 72nd birthday in 2013 by spending our two hour set celebrating his work by sharing songs he’s written, performed by both his contemporaries and Dylan himself. We’ll also hear some anecdotes relayed by Bob from a couple of different sources.
Since he arrived on the music scene in 1961 up until his latest release “Tempest”, Bob Dylan has proven that he is a Renaissance Man, a musical entrepreneur, an actor, a radio personality, a sage spokesman for roots music, and a philosophical icon. To ignore Dylan’s body of work in the context of roots music is to ignore a over a half century of the inspiration, influences, and relationships he’s had with the many genres (and often the legends) of folk, jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, and gospel.
Join Dave Stroud as he shares a set of all songs written by Dylan including performances from Warren Zevon, Flatt and Scruggs, The White Stripes, and Eric Clapton.
This episode will be posted to Mixcloud in the near future.
Every Friday night at 9 on KWTF, we visit another slice of roots music, curated with backstories about the performances, the performers, and the arch of story-telling. Dave Stroud brings us a selection of roots inspired themes of home as muse and metaphor in artists’ performances from the past century of America’s music. The theme of home is covered by almost 90 years of recordings, starting with the Carter Family and Da Costa Woltz’s Southern Broadcasters from the Gennett archives of the late twenties into music of the late 2000’s featuring John Prine, Bruce Springsteen, and Steve Earle. We’ll also hear from Robert Johnson, George Edgin’s Corn Dodgers and gospel from the likes of Dorothy Love Coates and Frank Sinatra…Frank Sinatra???! Join us.
Roots music so often plays on the theme of ‘going home’ and uses metaphor to illustrate the journey. In past episodes of Deeper Roots, A Century of America’s Music, we’ve explored the music of the railroad and waterways as themes in American roots music. This episode has us focusing on the muse of routes, roads, and highways. We’ll hear from Mose Allison, Chuck Berry, Lowell Fulson, and Hank Williams in a set that follows road trips, functions at the junctions, highway signs, rocky roads, dusty roads, big roads, gospel highways, and bi-ways of the heart. Don’t miss it! And don’t forget that you can hear past episodes by subscribing to our podcasts here: http://deeperroots.podomatic.com/
This episode will be posted to Mixcloud in the near future.
Join us for a musical celebration dedicated to International Women’s Day, 2013. We’ll be playing two hours of performances from some of the greatest female artists of the past century including Ethel Waters, Little Sylvia, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and many others. Dave Stroud cues it up with music and stories in a show first broadcast in March of 2013.
This episode will be posted to Mixcloud in the near future.
Deeper Roots explores the theme of ‘gambling’ in this episode, first broadcast in March, 2013. Songs of blackjack, cards, dice, gambling and gamblers, including some that have evolved over the centuries, and we’ll hear the inevitable stories of winner’s luck and hard times for the loser. Our performers in this episode include The Burnette Brothers, the Harlem Hamfats, Frankie Laine, and Big Joe Turner…Tune in!
This episode will be posted to Mixcloud in the near future.