Deeper Roots heads down the long hot stretch of 99 to California’s Central Valley to visit the country sound that blew in from every direction…starting with the Dust Bowl. Bakersfield was a first step, a way station, for migrant workers coming into California to escape hard times in the Midwest; their treatment by the small minds of fearful communities being little different than those migrants we think of today. “In the years following World War II, Bakersfield had plentiful honky-tonks including the soon-to-be-famous Blackboard Cafe. People drank, danced, and even fought to Western swing music.” The sound of Nashville began to become watered down, losing its appeal to some who thought it had lost a reverence for the heart and soul of working class Country. We’ll hear from Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Wynn Stewart, Tommy Collins, and Billy Mize and tip our cap to a great book on the subject of the Bakersfield sound and the history of Country Music: Workin’ Man Blues written by local author and Central Valley native, Gerald Haslam.
| No. | Artist | Title | Album | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merle Haggard | Workin' Man Blues | Capitol Collector's Series |  |
| 2 | Hank Thompson | Waiting In The Lobby Of Your Heart | Most Of All | |
| 3 | Slim Whitman | Song Of The Old Water Wheel | Vintage Collections | |
| 4 | Billy Barton | Blues in the Blue of Night | The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' | |
| 5 | Fuzzy Owen | Arkie's Got Her Shoes On | The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' | |
| 6 | Tommy Collins | Untied | The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' | |
| 7 | Tommy Collins | You Better Not Do That | Hillbilly Fever: Vol. 4 – Heroes Of Country Music – Vol. 4: Legends Of The West Coast | |
| 8 | Tommy Collins | Ernest Tubb 78s | One More Record Please | |
| 9 | Billy Mize | Solid Sender | The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' | |
| 10 | Bonnie Blue Bell & Leon Reach & Chic Adams Band | Let's Go | The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' | |
| 11 | Bill Woods | Go Crazy Man | The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' | |
| 12 | Buck Owens | Hot Dog (with Danny Dedmon) | The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1; 1950s & 60s Boppers and Rockers from 'Nashville West' | |
| 13 | Buck Owens | Take Me Back Again | Buck Owens | |
| 14 | Buck Owens | Act Naturally | The Buck Owens Collection (1959-1990) [Disc 1] | |
| 15 | Buck Owens | Down, Down, Down | Buck 'Em: The Music of Buck Owens (1955-1967) | |
| 16 | Wynn Stewart | Big Big Love | California Country | |
| 17 | Wynn Stewart | Another Day, Another Dollar | Come On – Gonna Shake This Shack | |
| 18 | Wynn Stewart | You're That Someone Else | Come On – Gonna Shake This Shack | |
| 19 | Merle Haggard | The Roots Of My Raising | Capitol Collector's Series | |
| 20 | Merle Haggard And The Strangers | Today I Started Loving You Again (2006 Digital Remaster) | Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard | |
| 21 | Merle Haggard; Ray Price; Vince Gill; Willie Nelson | Heartaches by the Number | Last of the Breed Disc 1 | |
| 22 | Jean Shepard | A Dear John Letter | Hillbilly Fever: Vol. 4 – Heroes Of Country Music – Vol. 4: Legends Of The West Coast | |
| 23 | James Burton And Ralph Mooney | I'm A Lonesome Fugitive | Corn Pickin' And Slick Slidin' | |
| 24 | Ferlin Husky | Heart of Stone | 1949-1950 (Warped 498F) | |
| 25 | Ferlin Husky | Freckles and Polliwog Days | Ferlin Husky Singles | |
| 26 | Connie Smith | Ain't Had No Lovin' | The Essential Connie Smith | |
| 27 | Dwight Yoakam & Buck Owens | Streets Of Bakersfield | The Best Of Classic Country 80's | |
| 28 | Dwight Yoakam | The Sad Side of Town | Tomorrow's Sounds Today | |
| 29 | Dwight Yoakam | Guitars, Cadillacs | Reprise Please Baby: The Warner Bros. Years Disc 1 | |
| 30 | The Blasters | Blue Shadows | Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings (1981-1985) (1 of 2) | |
| 31 | The Blasters | Hey, Girl | Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings (1981-1985) (2 of 2) | |
| 32 | The Blasters | American Music | Testament: The Complete Slash Recordings (1981-1985) (2 of 2) | |
| 33 | Dave Alvin | California's Burning | Dave Alvin and The Guilty Women | |
| 34 | Dave Alvin | Out in California | Interstate City | |
| 35 | Merle Haggard And The Strangers | The Legend Of Bonnie And Clyde (2006 Digital Remaster) | Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard | |
| 36 | Wynn Stewart | Wishful Thinking | Golden Age of Country Volume 2: Hard-to-Find Hits [Disc 2] | |
| 37 | Buck Owens | The Band Keep's Playin' On | Buck 'Em: The Music Of Buck Owens (1955-1967) | |