Rhythm & Blues is the order of the day. Join Dave Stroud for an entertaining blast of fresh sounds from the well of the past century. What’s old is always new if you haven’t heard it, right? The playlist this morning features songs about the night time from Ray Charles, honeydripper rocking from Big Joe Turner, doo wop serenades from the The Jive Bombers, bluesy torch sounds from Erma Franklin, and so much more. We’ll stretch the boundaries of R&B with Elvis, Lonnie Johnson, and a few more as we take on some saucy serenades and unruly pleas from performers from the thirties to the early sixties. All without malice of forethought, I assure you. Tune into Sonoma County Community Radio every Friday morning at 9 Pacific.
Category Archives: Deeper Roots on KOWS
Get Down With It
Free form Friday this month. Lots of favorites to share with you as we reach out to our awesome first responders once more here in Sonoma County. August, our static month of warm weather, has turned on us this year (as has everything else) as climate change once more comes knocking on our front and back doors. We’ll try to work on two hours of musical distraction with NRBQ, Little Richard, O. C. Smith, Marlene Dietrich, and Merle Haggard…how’s that for a lineup? Songs about San Antonio, a little place called Hickory Holler, some Madeline Kahn, Tommy Dorsey, and Nina Simone covering Chuck Berry. Money is the root of all evil, and Julia Lee will remind you this Friday morning. Tune into Sonoma County Community Radio once more at 9 Pacific on 92.5 FM, streaming to the world at freespeechnobull.com/listen.
Discovering Document Records
Today’s Deeper Roots show explores the Document label once more but, this time, we’ll be asking Gary and Gillian to tell us more. They’ll share some personal anecdotes about what brought them to their life’s work. So many of us from the baby boomer generation discovered early roots music through covers by bands from our early years that led us to recurring moments of musical revelation. And many of us found ourselves digging, rummaging, exploring, collecting, and listening for those mother lodes of musical treasures that surfaced like bits of gold on that river of time that runs from ‘then’ to the ‘now’. It’s the second part of our interview with this delightful couple from across the pond. Hear their stories of connecting with this music and how it informed their life’s work with Document Records.
Crazy Blues Centennial
It was the year 1920. One of the more important events in the annals of popular music in the United States occurred 100 years ago this month. Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds’ recording of Perry Bradford‘s tune “Crazy Blues” became an instant hit and was the first significant recording in the blues genre. And Mamie herself was also the first African American female popular singer to lead a commercial recording. This week on Deeper Roots we celebrate with the first installment of a show featuring two hours of music including two very special guests: Gillian and Gary Atkinson, proprietors of Document Records in the UK. I had a chance to interview the two about the label and about the dawn of blues and jazz recording including the early century social impact of black artists. A very special opportunity offered for a very special time. We’ll also hear about a recent video release called Searching for Secret Heroes, a resurrection of a long lost documentary made by Sam Charters, released by Document this past April.
Fall of Empire
Authoritarianism right in our own backyard. What are the signs that we should concern ourselves with? Much has been revealed over the centuries of how power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. While our so-called checks and balances lay down in fear in the face of fascism and the childish fear of being made fun of by the playground bully, the innocents are called terrorists and the terrorists, patriots. Up is down and down is up, right? Music’s been made of the human condition over time and there’s also been books and countless political speeches…and we’re going to take our time today to share the music and speak of the ballot box which is our only weapon, it seems, in a democracy. When cowards and sycophants led by the GOP and Fox News pretend patriotism, we know we’re in trouble and we know that the hard rain is falling. Federal troops are attacking mothers, veterans, and peaceful protesters with impunity and there are no checks. There is no balance. As songwriter R. B. Morris observes, that’s how every empire falls…and you can tune in for inspiration as the August march on Washington is just around the corner.
Miles and Miles of Texas
Free Form Friday finds us filling the airwaves with soul, border music, a dose of gospel, blues, and so much more. Join Dave Stroud this week on Deeper Roots as he brings you the stories and the sounds from the past century. As we go into our sixth month of pandemic isolation, we reflect on those lost and those suffering knowing full well that this virus could have been shunted by responsible adults. But we’re confronted with complete and utter idiocy at the highest (and lowest) locales: those who politicize and those pouty little man- and woman-babies who refuse to wear masks. We’ll look past this for two hours as we share soul sounds from James Carr and Bobby Womack, folk-rock anthems from Bob Dylan and John Sebastian, as well as good news gospel from Marion Williams and Sam Cooke. We’ll also go with a tribute to Texas where the suffering is reaching heights unimagined only a few months ago as they continue to suffer from failed leadership. Tune in on Fridays at 9 Pacific.
Money Talks
We have, admittedly, visited the money theme in the past. But this week Deeper Roots emphasizes the impact of the filthy lucre on our day-to-day existence. We worship at it’s altar, politicians are possessed by it’s self-serving allure, and we welcome its arrival often without considering the source. We’ll call this a followup to our theme show of some time back, incorporating country, gospel, soul, R&B, rock, rockabilly, and pop including performances from Chuck Berry, Fred Astaire, Big Sandy, Randy Newman, and Bill Branch. It doesn’t end there. Early American humorist Artemus Ward once observed that “When a fellow says it ain’t the money but the principle of the thing, it’s the money.” A freshly-mown observation if there ever was one. We’ll be exploring music about money in this week’s edition of Deeper Roots on KOWS and KRJF Community Radio for Sonoma County. Tune in on Friday mornings at 9 on KOWS or Friday evenings at 9 on KRJF.
Curtis Mayfield Tribute
Gospel-infused, socially conscious, politically conscious, soul driven, and an inspiration to generations, Curtis Mayfield’s music embodied a thought-provoking and passionate world view. From his early days as a backup singer and erstwhile songwriter to a champion of Black Pride and Black Capitalism, Curtis Mayfield’s rise from performing in his grandmother’s Traveling Soul Spiritualists’ Church to his last recording, 1995’s New World Order, was embellished with classic love songs and musically charged testaments to Civil Rights. His music resonates today: “Pushing”, “People Get Ready”, and “We’re a Winner”, We’ll be exploring his music in this week’s edition of Deeper Roots on KOWS and KRJF Community Radio for Sonoma County. Tune in on Friday mornings at 9 on KOWS or Friday evenings at 9 on KRJF.
Pearly Country Gates
More influential gospel sounds this morning on Deeper Roots. We take a dip into the country, bluegrass, and folk extensions whose roots are buried in 19th and early 20th century European American musical traditions. It’s a mixed bag with contributions from the Protestant, Baptist, and Black Gospel hymnals and songbooks. And don’t forget the quiet bubbling influences of popular music, the logical extension of selling the message…a kind of backroads Madison Avenue. We’re focused on country gospel today with the usual giants of country music: George Jones, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, and The Louvins…but we’ll also hear from the bluegrass contingent including Ricky Skaggs, Bill Monroe, and Flatt and Scruggs. A heavenly time where we share music that would weave its way into the fabric of America’s music including rock, soul, country, and Americana. Tune in on Friday mornings.
A Girl Named …
A sweet little theme this week, covering the female of the species from A to Z…by name. We’ll hear Alice to Zelda and Zindy Lou in today’s show. Songs that dedicate themselves to lost love, love rekindled, nostalgic walks, last dances, and songs that read like letters from the heart. We’ll hear songs written by everyone from The Everly Brothers to Bobby Fuller and Andre Previn in our show today with performances from Rose Maddox, Tom Petty, Elvis, Buddy Guy, and Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks. So why not drop in for a little chat, a little bit of a high note and E flat, and memories of the girl (or guy) that left you behind. Community radio for Sonoma County is your very best bet: KOWS-LP 92.5 FM Occidental, streaming everywhere at kowsfm.com.