Category Archives: Urban Blues

Americana, Country, Deeper Roots on KOWS, Folk and Tradition, Oldies, Rhythm and Blues, Urban Blues

Let’s Live

July 29, 2026 Dave Leave a comment

This week we celebrate the simple joys that have always bound American music together. Deeper Roots travels back nearly a century—from the roaring jazz of Ethel Waters, Fletcher Henderson, and Coleman Hawkins to the contemporary wit of Kacey Musgraves—finding common threads of laughter, resilience, friendship, and the everyday pleasures that make life worth living. Along the way we’ll make a party heavy stop in New Orleans with Aaron Neville, Fats Domino, James Booker, Dr. John, Irma Thomas, and Art Neville, then head into the hills with bluegrass, country, and Appalachian traditions as the road we ride takes us from Oklahoma to Kentucky. With deep blues, gospel, western swing, big band classics, and timeless folk ballads all sharing the same stage, our show this week revels in music that reminds us there’s always another reason to celebrate the journey.

No.	Artist	Title	Album	Year	Start At
1	Aaron Neville	Let's Live	Treacherous [Disc 1]	1961	00:00
2	James Booker	Medley: Tico Tico / Papa Was A Rascal / So Swell When You're Well	Classified	1982	05:29
3	Dr. John	Traveling Mood	The Ultimate Dr. John	1987	10:18
4	Fats Domino	The Girl I Love [Version 2]	This Is Gold Disc 1	2004	12:56
5	Aaron Neville	My True Story	My True Story	2013	16:24
6	Irma Thomas	While the City Sleeps	Time Is on My Side: The Best of Irma Thomas Vol. 1	1964	19:14
7	Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie	I'm Wild About My Stuff	Flashbacks #1 Drug Songs 1917-1944	0	28:43
8	Blind Boy Fuller	Trucking My Blues Away No. 2 (take 2)	Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order – Volume 2 (29 April to 12 July 1937)	1937	31:39
9	Ollie Shepard	King Of All Evil	Vol. 2-1939-41	1939	34:23
10	Memphis Slim & Willie Dixon	Stewball	Classic African-American Ballads (Smithsonian Folkways)	1959	37:04
11	Angelic Gospel Singers with the Dixie Humming Birds	One Day	When the Moon Goes Down in the Valley of Time: African-American Gospel 1939-51	2013	40:35
12	Rory Block	Lord I Feel Just Like Goin' On	I Belong To The Band: A Tribute To Rev. Gary Davis	2012	42:45
13	Ethel Waters and Her Jazz Band	Ev'rybody Mess Aroun	Tight Women and Loose Bands 1921-1931	1926	52:04
14	Cleo Brown	Boogie Woogie	Picking the Blues – Compiled By John Mayall – Boogie Woogie Pioneers	1935	54:46
15	Benny Carter (With Lionel Hampton Orchestra)	I'm in the Mood for Swing	RCA Victor Jazz-The First Half-Century-The 30's	1938	57:08
16	Coleman Hawkins	Body and Soul	RCA Victor Jazz-The First Half-Century-The 30's	1939	1:00:26
17	Alan Lomax	How Many Biscuits Can You Eat?	Ballad Operas-Martins & The Co	0	1:07:53
18	W. Lee & His Hillbilly Boys	Please Pass The Biscuits Pappy	Western Swing Chronicles Vol. 4 1933-1938	1938	1:08:37
19	Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs	'How Many Biscuits'	1953-X6-XX Grand Old Opry	1953	1:11:11
20	NRBQ	Hot Biscuits and Sweet Marie	Kick Me Hard	1979	1:11:31
21	Kacey Musgraves	Biscuits	Pageant Material	2015	1:13:51
22	Mazzy Star	I'm Gonna Bake My Biscuit	Fade Into You (Single)	1994	1:17:02
23	Joshua Hedley	Fresh Hot Biscuits	All Hat	2025	1:20:33
24	Kenny Baker	Monroe's Hornpipe	Plays Bill Monroe	1977	1:26:09
25	Jack Guthrie	No Need to Knock on My Door	Oklahoma Hills	1946	1:29:13
26	Merle Travis	Missouri	The History Of Country & Western Music – Vol. 11	0	1:31:35
27	Kentuckians	Journey's End	Keep on Going: The Rebel & Melodeon Recordings	2004	1:34:15
28	Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver	Better Times A' Comin'	Mark Twain: Words & Music [Disc 1]	2011	1:37:27
29	Mac Wiseman	It's Mighty Dark To Travel	Grassroots To Bluegrass	1990	1:40:00
30	Johnny Cash	Thanks a Lot	The Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983 Disc 1	1958	1:42:36
31	Jimmy Wakely	Moon Over Montana	Vintage Collections	0	1:45:10
32	Leon Redbone	Sweet Lorraine	Any Time	2001	1:48:03
33	Enric Madriguera	B‚same Mucho	The Minute Samba	1944	1:53:51
34	The Dixie Cups	Iko Iko	The Big Easy	1965	1:56:59

Deeper Roots on KOWS, Early Rock, Jazz, Oldies, Rhythm and Blues, Urban Blues

Heartland R&B

June 28, 2026 Dave Leave a comment

We revisit a show from ten years back that focused on R&B, sax, and a time before rock ‘n’ roll shook the world. A time of honkers and shouters. This week on Deeper Roots, we dig into the wild, joyful, and groundbreaking world of mid-century rhythm and blues through the lens of Arnold Shaw’s classic book Honkers and Shouters: The Golden Years of Rhythm and Blues. From the jump bands and saxophone blowouts to the gospel-fueled vocalists and hard-driving dance records that packed juke joints and ballrooms, we’ll explore the artists, producers, and cultural forces that gave birth to modern popular music. Join us for two hours of the sounds and stories that laid the foundation for rock ‘n’ roll and changed American music forever. We’ve got a wild one in store for you, one that we first tackled a decade ago here on Deeper Roots.

No.	Artist	Title	Album	Year	Start At
1	Ivory Joe Hunter	I Got Your Water On	The Chronological Ivory Joe Hunter : 1947 – 1950	1949	00:00
2	Jimmie Lunceford & His Orchestra	Harlem Shout	Swingsation: Jimmie Lunceford	1998	05:56
3	Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra	Intro 1	Big Band Jazz Jubilee Sessions [Disc 3]	1945	08:47
4	Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra	Three Bones	Big Band Jazz Jubilee Sessions [Disc 3]	1945	10:01
5	Sister Rosetta Tharpe	Shout Sister Shout	Shout Sister Shout [[Disc 1]] The Original Soul Sister	1941	19:00
6	Lucky Millinder; Sister Rosetta Tharpe	Trouble in Mind	The Gospel of Blues	2003	21:40
7	Lucky Millinder; Sister Rosetta Tharpe	I Want a Tall Skinny Papa	The Gospel of Blues	2003	24:05
8	Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra w/Myra Johnson	Silent George	Risque Rhythm: Nasty 50s R&B	1950	26:54
9	Wynonie Harris; Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra	Teardrops From My Eyes	All She Wants To Do Is Rock	1950	29:29
10	Wynonie Harris	Hard Ridin? Mama	Playful Baby	1947	37:12
11	Wynonie Harris	I Don't Know Where to Go	Women Whiskey & Fish Tails	0	39:42
12	Eddie Durham	Swingin' the Blues	King Cole Trio: Legendary 1941-44 Broadcast Transcriptions (The)	2011	41:57
13	Count Basie	Topsy	Ken Burns Jazz: Count Basie	1937	43:57
14	Count Basie	Swingin' The Blues	Ken Burns Jazz: Count Basie	1938	47:07
15	Joe Liggins	Daddy on My Mind	Joe Liggins 1948-1950	1950	53:54
16	Joe Liggins	Rag Mop	The Chronological Joe Liggins 1948 – 1950	1950	56:35
17	Bull Moose Jackson	Shorty's Got To Go	Bad Man Jackson	1946	59:56
18	Bull Moose Jackson	If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')	Badman Jackson Thats Me	1955	1:02:35
19	Bull Moose Jackson	Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me	Badman Jackson Thats Me	1949	1:04:57
20	Big Jay McNeely & His Blue Jays	Deacon's Hop	Jump Jive & Swing	1948	1:13:30
21	Big Jay McNeely	All That Wine Is Gone	Jumpin' Like Mad: Cool Cats & Hip Chicks Non-Stop Dancin' [Disc 1]	1951	1:16:16
22	Big Mcneely Jay	Willie And The Cool Cat	Swing-O-Rama : Beautiful Babies	1949	1:19:08
23	The Swallows	It Ain't the Meat	Rhythm 'N' Blues: Early Doo Wop 1943-55 vol. 2	2005	1:21:50
24	Tiny Bradshaw	The Train Kept A-Rollin'	Sentimental Journey	1951	1:26:26
25	Tiny Bradshaw	Intro 2	Big Band Jazz: The Jubilee Sessions	1944	1:29:08
26	Tiny Bradshaw	It's Sand Man	Big Band Jazz: The Jubilee Sessions	1944	1:29:26
27	Freddie Slack & His Orchestra w; T-Bone Walker	Rifette	R&B Jukebox Hits 1943	1943	1:32:05
28	Freddie Slack With The Will Bradley Trio	Down The Road A Piece	Juke Joint Jump: A Boogie Woogie Celebration	1940	1:35:05
29	Ivory Joe Hunter	Stop Rockin' That Train	The Chronological Ivory Joe Hunter : 1947 – 1950	1947	1:38:09
30	Earl Bostic	Flamingo	Artist's Choice: Rolling Stones	1946	1:40:52
31	Earl Bostic	Always	The E.P. Collection	1999	1:43:31
32	Big Joe Turner	Sun Risin' Blues	Big Bad & Blue: Anthology [Disc 1]	1940	1:46:26
33	The Cab Calloway Orchestra	Cab Calloway Introducing Illinois Jacquet	Carnegie Hall 7/6/1973	1973	1:54:40
34	The Cab Calloway Orchestra w; Illinois Jacqauet	Jumpin' Jacquet	Carnegie Hall 7/6/1973	1973	1:54:58

Deeper Roots on KOWS, Early Rock, Jazz, Oldies, Rhythm and Blues, Rock, Theme Time, Urban Blues

Backbeat ’50

May 2, 2026 Dave

It’s a 1950 heatwave of rhythm and blues sounds this morning on Deeper Roots. We’ll move away from anything that might be polite or polished and turn our attention to the sweat-soaked, neon-lit world of rhythm and blues, a sound that was the early morning thunder and lightning just ahead of the dawn of rock ‘n roll. We’re focusing on the year 1950 where jump blues started to grow teeth — where the saxophones were honking, the backbeats hitting harder, and indie labels from Memphis to LA were capturing lightning in a bottle. From the smoky corners of the Delta to the high voltage clubs of the North, we’re digging deep into the crates for the some pounding rhythms from Dave Bartholomew, Julia Lee, Bull Moose Jackson, Jimmy McCracklin as well as Buddy and Ella Johnson…oh, and some Tiny Bradshaw’s Breaking Up The House. As Chuck Berry pointed out: “…it’s got a backbeat, you can’t lose it, any old time you use it”.

No.	Artist	Title	Album	Year	Start At
1	Sister Wynona Carr	Don't Miss That Train	Dragnet For Jesus	1950	00:00
2	Buddy & Ella Johnson	Walk the Chalk Line	Rhythm & Blues Goes Rock & Roll/Volume 2 [Disc 7]	1950	05:22
3	Ella Johnson	No More Love	Voodoo Voodoo: Feisty Fifties Females	1950	07:56
4	Jimmy McCracklin	Rockin? All Day (a/k/a Rockin? and Reelin?)	Electric Blues?Part 1: Beginnings 1939-1954	1950	10:56
5	Bull Moose Jackson	Big Fat Mamas Are Back In Style Again	Bull Moose Jackson 1947-1950	1950	13:34
6	Cleo Brown	Roll It Boogie	Boogie Woogie Gals – 1939-57	1950	15:54
7	Eunice Davis	Rock Little Daddy	Boogie Woogie Gals – 1939-57	1950	25:17
8	Austin McCoy	Happy Pay Day Part 1	More Mellow Cats & Kittens	1950	27:46
9	Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra w/Myra Johnson	Silent George	Risque Rhythm: Nasty 50s R&B	1950	30:56
10	Jewel King	3×7=21	Get Hot Sleazy Rhythm & Blues Vol. 3	1950	33:32
11	Jewel King	I Broke My Mother's Rule	Gettin' Funky [Disc 4]	1950	36:04
12	Julia Lee	Can't Get Enough Of That Stuff	Kansas City Star [Disc 5]	1950	38:17
13	Violet Hall	He's An Ivory Beating Baby (On The Baby Grand)	Boogie Woogie Gals – 1939-57	1950	41:16
14	Johnnie Brown	I'm Gonna Stop (Foolin' Around)	Jumpin' The Blues:MCA Label(ACE CD)	1950	48:49
15	Tiny Bradshaw	Breaking Up the House	Breaking Up the House [Disc 2]	1950	51:12
16	Tiny Bradshaw	Well Oh Well	Breaking Up the House [Disc 2]	1950	53:51
17	Wynonie Harris	I Want To Love You Baby	All She Wants To Do Is Rock	1950	56:29
18	Dave Bartholomew	Ain't Gonna Do It (Rest Of My Life)	Gettin' Funky [Disc 2]	1950	59:21
19	Connie Jordan	I'm Gonna Rock (Till My Rocker Breaks Down)	Jumpin' The Blues:MCA Label(ACE CD)	1950	1:07:07
20	Ruth Brown	I'll Wait For You	Miss Rhythm Greatest Hits And More Disc 1	1950	1:09:52
21	Ivory Joe Hunter	We're Going to Boogie	Rhythm & Blues Goes Rock & Roll Vol 2 [Disc 13]	1950	1:12:25
22	King Perry	Everything's Gonna Be Alright Tonight	Various Artists: Rhythm & Blues Goes Rock & Roll/Volume 2/[Disc 1]	1950	1:15:25
23	Gene Phillips	Women Women Women	Hot R&B and Cool Blues 1946-52	1950	1:17:46
24	Erline Harris	Jump And Shout	Get Hot Sleazy Rhythm & Blues Vol. 3	1950	1:20:35
25	Percy Mayfield	Strange Things Happening	Poet of the Blues	1950	1:25:26
26	The Robins	If It's So	The Dawn Of Doo-Wop Vol. 4: Doo-Wop Dancin'	1950	1:28:12
27	The Dominoes	Chicken Blues	The Dawn Of Doo-Wop Vol. 4: Doo-Wop Dancin'	1950	1:31:14
28	H-Bomb Ferguson	Rock H-Bomb Rock	Stompin' 14	1950	1:34:02
29	Roy Brown & His Mighty Mighty Men	Love Don't Love Nobody	Original Blues/Greatest Hits	1950	1:36:10
30	Little Esther & Mel Walker w; Johnny Otis Orchestra	Cupid's Boogie	Roots of Rock 'n' Roll – Rough and Rowdy Vol. 3	1950	1:38:51
31	The Ravens	My Baby's Gone	OKeh Rhythm & Blues	1950	1:41:24
32	The Three Riffs	Cherry In My Lemon And Lime	Hot Harmony Groups 1932-1951: Vol 1: That's the Rhythm	1950	1:44:09
33	Harry Van Walls	Tee-nah-nah	Atlantic Rhythm & Blues: 1947-1974 [Disc 1]	1950	1:46:34
34	Fats Domino	Hey La Bas Boogie	Gettin' Funky [Disc 3] – The Hitmakers	1950	1:53:53
35	Fats Domino	The Fat Man	Gettin' Funky [Disc 3] – The Hitmakers	1950	1:56:14

Blues, Country Blues, Deeper Roots on KOWS, Oldies, Rhythm and Blues, Urban Blues

Down & Dirty Blues

December 6, 2025 Dave

This week’s show leans into the rougher side of the tradition: the places where bruised pride, bad decisions, and raw truth find their way into song. “The down and dirty blues” isn’t a stylistic claim so much as a shared attitude — the kind shaped by rent coming due, lovers turning cold, and the kind of trouble that sits heavy in the gut. Across the past century, singers and players have used these stories to put plainspoken feeling into motion, building grooves that don’t promise comfort so much as recognition. Across two hours, we’ll move through voices that carried this edge with conviction — men and women from the 1930s onward who weren’t at all shy about calling out mean mistreaters or confessing their own missteps. You’ll hear hard-driving cuts where guitars sting, pianos roll, and vocals land with a certain bruising weight. Tune in for the likes of Victoria Spivey, Lonnie Johnson, Dirty Red, Little Joe Blue, Howlin’ Wolf and a couple dozen others. The ‘dirty dozen’ doesn’t get much dirtier than this.

No.	Artist	Title	Album
1	Annisteen Allen	Down By The River	Get Hot Sleazy Rhythm & Blues Vol. 3
2	Howlin' Wolf	Down In The Bottom	Moanin' In The Moonlight
3	Victoria Spivey	Down Hill Pull	Moaning The Blues (The Blues Collection Vol.65)
4	Memphis Minnie	Dirty Mother For You	Blues Classics: '27_'69 [Disc 1]
5	Dirty Red	Mother Fuyer	Eat to The Beat: The Dirtiest of Them Dirty Blues
6	Little Junior Parker	Dirty Friend Blues	Abc of the Blues, Vol. 36
7	Little Joe Blue	Dirty Work Goin' On	Chess Blues Disc 4
8	Little Johnny Jones & The Chicago Hound Dogs	Dirty By The Dozen (Sweet Little Woman)	The Flair Story – Dust My Rhythm & Blues
9	Muddy Waters	Down South Blues	More Real Folk Blues
10	Smokey Hogg	Dirty Mistreater	The Mercury Blues Story (1945-1955) – Southwest Blues, Vol. 2
11	B.B. King	Every Day I Have the Blues	Pure R&B: Vol. 3- Let the Good Times Roll [Disc 1]
12	Amos Milburn	Hard Driving Blues	Eat to The Beat: The Dirtiest of Them Dirty Blues
13	T-Bone Walker	It's a Lowdown Dirty Deal	The Very Best of T-Bone Walker [Koch]
14	Piano Red – Dr. Feelgood	Don't Tell Me No Dirty	The Doctor's in – Disc 4
15	J.B. Lenoir	Low Down Dirty Shame	Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: J.B. Lenoir
16	Lonnie Johnson	The Dirty Dozen	Lonnie Johnson: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 6 (1930-31)
17	Victoria Spivey	From 1 to 12 (Dirty Dozen)	The Victoria Spivey Collection 1926-1937
18	Little Milton	I Play Dirty	Living The Blues: The 70's Blues Classics
19	Jimmy Reed	Down The Road	You Dont Have To Go (The Blues Collection Vol.18)
20	Bobby Bland	Driftin' Blues	The Best Of Bobby Bland
21	Jimmy Witherspoon	Bar Fly Blues	Raw Blues
22	Wynonie Harris	Hard Luck Blues	Battle of the Blues – Volume 2
23	John Lee Hooker	Blues Before Sunrise	Don't Look Back
24	The Leap Frogs	Dirty Britches	No Jive: Authentic Southern Country Blues
25	George Harmonica Smith/Long Gone Miles	Low Down Dirty Shame [#]	Juke Joint Blues 1950's-1960's
26	Rory Block	Low Down Dirty Dog Blues	Blues Walkin' Like a Man: A Tribute To Son House
27	Amina Claudine Myers	Dirty No-Gooder's Blues	Oxford American 11th Edition Southern Music CD [Disc 2, "Arkansas Masters"]
28	Dinah Washington	Big Long Slidin' Thing	Eat to The Beat: The Dirtiest of Them Dirty Blues
29	Julia Lee & Her Boy Friends	Don't Come Too Soon	Eat to The Beat: The Dirtiest of Them Dirty Blues
30	Buddy Guy	First Time I Met the Blues	Chess Blues Disc 4
31	Geeshie Wiley	Last Kind Words Blues	Before The Blues: Early American Black Music Scene (Vol. 2)
32	Dave Bartholomew & His Orchestra	My Ding-A-Ling	Eat to The Beat: The Dirtiest of Them Dirty Blues

Deeper Roots on KOWS, Early Rock, Oldies, Rhythm and Blues, Rock, Theme Time, Urban Blues

Deeper Roots of Rock

August 10, 2025 Dave

Deeper Roots means just that…and this week we’re spinning some blues, gospel, r&b, and swing … all music that introduced the rhythm that would become known as rock ‘n roll. We’ll go as far back as the late 1930s with Joe Turner and Pete Johnson and make the picaresque journey across the alleys, juke joints, and house parties where tradition and urban electric blues became the foundation of a sound. We’ll share blues from Little Walter, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker and a handful of others. Also on tap, Goree Carter, Sticks McGhee, Amos Milburn and Julia Lee with some rhythm and blues and jump whose beat and attitude would influence many a rock ‘n roll musician and songwriter. Also on board: Hadda Brooks, Ray Charles, Louis Jordan and Tiny Bradshaw. Don’t miss a wailin’, rockin’ morning here on KOWS Community Radio.

No.	Artist	Title	Album
1	Big Joe Turner	Roll 'em Pete	Malcolm X: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
2	Champion Jack Dupree	Junker's Blues	Junker's Blues (The Blues Collection Vol.59)
3	Joe Liggins	The Honeydripper Part 1	The R&B Years – 1942-45 [Disc 3]
4	Sister Rosetta Tharpe	Strange Things Happening Every Day	Gospel Blues – the Very Best Of
5	Charles Brown	Driftin' Blues	Ray Charles – Music that Matters to Him
6	Hadda Brooks	Swingin' The Boogie	I've Got News For You [Disc 2]
7	The Ravens	Write Me A Letter	Bob Dylan Presents: Radio Radio, Theme Time Radio Hour, Vol. 3
8	T-Bone Walker	Call It Stormy Monday	Raw Blues
9	Julia Lee & Her Boyfriends	Snatch It And Grab It	Kuties And Krooners
10	Roy Brown	Good Rockin' Tonight	Sound Of The City, The – New Orleans [UK] Disc 1
11	John Lee Hooker	Boogie Chillen	The Definitive Collection
12	Amos Milburn	Chicken Shack Boogie	Devil in a Blue Dress
13	Goree Carter & His Hepcats	Rock Awhile	Electric BluesPart 1: Beginnings 1939-1954
14	Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup	My Baby Left Me [Remastered 2002]	That's All Right (When the Sun Goes Down series)
15	Percy Mayfield	Please Send Me Someone To Love	Blues Masters Vol. 3: Texas Blues
16	Tiny Bradshaw	The Train Kept a-Rollin'	Breaking Up the House [Disc 2]
17	Sticks McGhee	Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-o-Dee	The Atlantic Story [UK]
18	Lloyd Price	Lawdy Miss Clawdy	Pure R&B: Vol. 5- Pioneers [Disc 1]
19	Little Junior Parker	Mystery Train	MOJO: Rock! Rock! Rock!
20	Jimmy Liggins And His Drops Of Joy	Drunk	Vintage Songs of Sex, Drugs & Cigarettes
21	Muddy Waters	Got My Mojo Workin	Pure R&B: Vol. 1- Got My Mojo Workin [Disc 1]
22	Little Walter	My Babe	Pure R&B: Vol. 2- Somethings Got a Hold on Me [Disc 1]
23	Sonny Boy Williamson II	Don't Start Me Talkin'	Blues Masters, Vol. 2: Postwar Chicago Blues
24	Howlin' Wolf	Smokestack Lightnin'	Roots Of Rock & Roll – Rough And Rowdy [Disc 7]
25	Louis Jordan	Caldonia	Number Ones
26	John Lee Hooker	Dimples	The Ultimate Collection 1948-1990 [Disc 1]
27	Slim Harpo	I Got Love If You Want It	Roll Your Moneymaker
28	Lazy Lester	I'm a Lover, Not a Fighter	Louisiana & The Old New Orleans Sound
29	Ray Charles	Night Time Is the Right Time	Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection Disc 1
30	Bo Diddley	Say Man	20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection – The Best Of Bo Diddley
31	Billy Boy Arnold	I Ain't Got You	Roots Of Rock & Roll – Rough And Rowdy [Disc 2]
32	Sonny Boy Williamson	Good Morning Little Schoolgirl	The History of Rhythm & Blues 1925-1942

Americana, Deeper Roots on KOWS, Jazz, Oldies, Rhythm and Blues, Urban Blues

Down By The Woodshed

May 24, 2025 Dave

Jazz, rhythm and all the very best of blues and swing from the past century, reaching as far back as the thirties and taking in some of rock royalty from the early fifties. This week we’re snapping fingers and cutting the rug with some of the very greats including Wynonie Harris, Buddy Johnson, The Five Royales, The Cadillacs, and a touch of gospel vocal majesty from Marie Knight and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. The themes are wide-ranging, taking us from the woodshed to the urban streets and some Cadillac competitions and we’ll also get with the stuff that’s arrived and is oh so mellow. Night trains, sugar lumps, boogie woogie daddies and tall skinny papas rule the roost. Don’t miss out, even if you’re a night owl you’ll want to take these sounds with you into the early hours of tomorrow. Let me off uptown, would ya?

No.	Artist	Title	Album
1	Baby Doll & Her Royal Swingsters	Down By The Woodshed	Stompin' 25
2	The Enchanters	Boogie Woogie Daddy	Jubilee Jezebels
3	Big Maybelle	One Monkey Don't Stop No Show	The Complete OKeh Sessions 1952-'55
4	Effie Smith	Root-Lie-Voot (08-16-50)	1945-1953
5	The Five Royales	Thirty Second Lover	Dedicated To You
6	Wynonie Harris	Adam Come And Get Your Rib	Lovin' Machine
7	Buddy Johnson & His Orchestra	A Pretty Girl (A Cadillac and Some Money) (Cadillac)	Bob Dylan Presents: Radio Radio, Theme Time Radio Hour, Vol. 3
8	The Cadillacs	Speedo (Cadillac)	Bob Dylan Presents: Radio Radio, Theme Time Radio Hour, Vol. 3
9	Tony Allen & The Champs	Night Owl (Birds)	Bob Dylan Presents: Radio Radio, Theme Time Radio Hour, Vol. 3
10	Savannah Churchill	Fat Meat Is Good Meat	Jazzin' The Blues – Volume4 :1929-1943
11	Joe Liggins & His Honeydrippers	Sugar Lump	Darktown Strutters Ball
12	The Four Blazes	Night Train	Mary Jo
13	Professor Longhair	Looka, No Hair	Ebb Records Story (Vol. 2): 1957-1959
14	Willie Mabon	The Seventh Son	Bob Dylan – Radio Radio – Theme Time Radio Hour Volume Four [Disc 4]
15	The Mills Brothers	The Love Bug Will Bite You	The 1930's Recordings – Chronological Volume 4
16	The Ravens	I'm Going to Paper All My Walls With Your Love Letters	The Greatest Group of Them All
17	Ray Charles	Hallelujah, I Love Her So	Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection Disc 1
18	Cleo Brown	The Stuff Is Here And It's Mellow	The Legendary Cleo Brown
19	Ella Johnson & Buddy Johnson	Get On Down The Road	Go Ahead And Rock And Roll
20	Sister Marie Knight And The Sam Price Trio	Trouble In Mind	Nuggets Of The Golden Age Of Gospel 1945-1958
21	Margie Day	Dumplin' Dumplin'	Rock 'n' Roll Mamas Vol 3
22	Sister Rosetta Tharpe	I Want A Tall Skinny Papa	Vintage Sex Songs
23	Smiley Lewis	Big Mamou	Smiley Lewis Vol 1
24	Blue Lu Barker	A Little Bird Told Me	From The Vaults, Vol 2. 1943-1944
25	Little Willie John	Home At Last	Fever: The Best Of Little Willie John
26	Chuck Willis	Hang Up My Rock And Roll Shoes	I Remember Chuck Willis / The King Of The Stroll
27	The Clovers	Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash	Bob Dylan – Radio Radio – Theme Time Radio Hour Volume Four
28	Lula Reed	Rock Love	Get Hot Sleazy Rhythm & Blues Vol. 3
29	Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five	Hungary Man	The Best Of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour Vol 2
30	Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five	A Man's Best Friend Is A Bed	The Best Of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour Vol 2
31	The Delta Rhythm Boys	Let Me Off Uptown	The Best Of 1940-50
32	Bo Diddley	Moon Baby	Bo Diddley Is A Lover
33	Nappy Brown	The Right Time	Savoy Blues 1957-1994 [Disc 3]
34	Slim Harpo	Bobby Sox Baby	The Best Of Slim Harpo

Blues, Country Blues, Deeper Roots on KOWS, Folk and Tradition, Theme Time, Urban Blues

Echoes of Blues Greats

March 15, 2025 Dave

There’s an echo in the well of Americana and it reverberates from tradition and some of the early songsmiths and blues masters who delivered the blues proper through the depths of the past century of America’s music. We’ll be pulling some of the classic blues covers of songs composed by just a small collection of the great blues masters: Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Lonnie Johnson, Blind Blake and beyond in this week’s episode. There is seldom enough time to make a dent in only two hours but we’ll do our best with covers from some of the inheritors like BB King, Carl Perkins, Bob Dylan, Jorma Kaukonen and a couple dozen others. We’re excavating some deeper roots this week and then tilling the airwaves with freshly turned songs of the earth; a landscape of blues cutting a deep swath across the musical landscape of the past 100 years. Celebrating blues and those who brought it home this week on KOWS Community Radio.

No.	Artist	Title	Album
1	Graham Parker	Poor Me	Down the Dirt Road: The Songs of Charley Patton
2	Rising Sons	By And By (Poor Me) [Album Version]	Rising Sons
3	Charlie Musselwhite	Pea Vine Blues	Down the Dirt Road: The Songs of Charley Patton
4	Jorma Kaukonen & Tom Hobson	Police Dog Blues	Quah [Bonus Tracks]
5	Jimmie Dale Gilmore	Black Snake Moan	Braver Newer World
6	Bo Diddley	Diddy Wah Diddy	Bo Knows Bo
7	Bob Dylan	See That My Grave Is Kept Clean	Bob Dylan
8	Andy Fairweather Low	Matchbox	The Invisible Bluesman
9	Carl Perkins	Matchbox	Dixie Fried
10	Sam Price and his Texas Blusic	Match Box Blues	1929-1941
11	B.B. King	Tomorrow Night	Reflections
12	Lonnie Johnson, John Hughes, Roy Coulter	Tomorrow Night	Tomorrow Night
13	John Sebastian	I Found A Dream – (Live At Winterland)	Faithful Virtue: The Reprise Recordings – Faithful Virtue: The Reprise Recordings [Disc 3]
14	Lonnie Johnson	I Found A Dream	Blues & Ballads (With Elmer Snowden) (Reissued 1990)
15	Ramblin' Jack Elliott	Rambler's Blues	A Stranger Here
16	Elmore James	Call It Stormy Monday	Greatest Blues Legends
17	Roomful of Blues	I Know Your Wig Is Gone	That's Right
18	Boz Scaggs	T-Bone Shuffle	Come On Home
19	Peter Wolf	Rollin' & Tumblin'	A Tribute To Muddy Waters – King Of The Blues
20	Shannon McNally	The Stuff You Gotta Watch	Black Irish
21	Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown	Cross My Heart	Chess Blues Guitar / Two Decades Of Killer Fretwork, 1949-1969
22	Johnny Winter	Help Me	The Progressive Blues Experiment
23	Dr. John/John Hammond, Jr./Michael Bloomfield	Last Night	Triumvirate
24	Tommy Castro And The Painkillers	Bad Luck	Method To My Madness
25	Dinah Washington	Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby?	Verve Unmixed
26	Louis Jordan	Caldonia	Number Ones
27	B.B. King	Jack, You're Dead!	Let the Good Times Roll: The Music of Louis Jordan
28	Muddy Waters	Don't Go No Farther	His Best, 1956 To 1964
29	Muddy Waters	Got My Mojo Working	Chess Blues Disc 3
30	Muddy Waters	The Same Thing	The Definitive Collection
31	Big Daddy Wilson	Couldn't Keep It to Myself	Deep in My Soul

Deeper Roots on KOWS, Early Rock, Jazz, Oldies, Rhythm and Blues, Rock, Urban Blues

American Banned Stand

November 23, 2024 Dave

The past century’s puritanical interlopers, better known as the ‘thought police’, have had their way with music. And we’re not talking about just the lyrics (which will no doubt be the source of most of the songs in the show today)…whether that be the sound of the saxophone or Link Wray’s sinister fuzz and feedback…telling us how to think or suggesting that your children would be swayed to the dark side due a mention of Susie getting home past curfew. It’s an age old problem. It’s really stinkin’ thinkin’ if you’d have asked Frank Zappa. And someone did and summarized his opinions thusly: “Bad facts make bad law, and people who write bad laws are, in my opinion, more dangerous than songwriters who celebrate their sexuality.” All the songs this week suffered from some form of censorship, whether corporate or governmental. And we’re going to play them…damned be the fools.

Celebrating Tom Waits

July 24, 2023 Dave

This week we’ll spend our two hours in a shroud of barroom musk, out-of-tune brass, and painted ladies all spent before the tunes of an American treasure. We speak of Tom Waits. The New York Times, in a review of Barney Hoskyns’ 2009 biography of Tom Waits, Lowside of The Road describes our subject today thusly: “He is as potent and unpredictable a musical force as most of us have witnessed in our lifetimes, and that’s not faint praise. The graveyard croak of his gravelly, bellowing baritone is righteous, paint-scraping, unmistakable; it scatters small animals and slaps your synapses to startled attention. With what’s left of your adrenalized wits, you can attend to his mordant lyrics, which he packs into songs he divides (as his wife, Kathleen Brennan, put it) into two primordial categories: “the grand weeper” and “the grim reaper”. He’s our neighbor here in Sonoma County and we could not be more proud of the boy…really.

No.	Artist	Title	Album
1	John Hammond, Jr.	Clap Hands	Wicked Grin
2	Courtney Marie Andrews	Downtown Train	Come On Up To The House – Women Sing Waits
3	Tom Waits	Tom Traubert's Blues	Small Change
4	Willie Nelson;Sheryl Crow;Lukas Nelson	Come On Up To The House	Heroes
5	The Blind Boys Of Alabama	Way Down In The Hole	Spirit Of The Century
6	The Holmes Brothers	Train Song	Promised Land
7	King Ernest	House Where Nobody Lives	Not The Same Old Blues Crap, Vol. 2
8	The Blue Hawaiians	Jockey Full of Bourbon	Savage Night
9	Tom Waits	Dead & Lovely	Real Gone
10	Tom Waits	Ice Cream Man	Closing Time
11	Holly Cole	(Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night	Temptation
12	Norah Jones	The Long Way Home	Feels Like Home
13	Tom Waits	I Hope That I Don't Fall In Love With You	Closing Time
14	Hayes Carll	I Don't Wanna Grow Up	Trouble In Mind
15	Eagles	Ol' '55	The Very Best of the Eagles [2003] Disc 1
16	Willie Nelson	Picture In A Frame	It Always Will Be
17	Tom Waits	On The Nickel	Heartattack And Vine
18	Marc Ribot	Bella Ciao (Goodbye Beautiful) (feat. Tom Waits)	Songs of Resistance 1942 – 2018
19	Tom Waits	The Soul Of A Man	God Don't Never Change: The Songs Of Blind Willie Johnson
20	Solomon Burke	Diamond in Your Mind	Don't Give Up on Me
21	Tom Waits	Whistlin4 Past The Graveyard	Used Songs 1973-1980
22	Tom Waits	Georgia Lee	Mule Variations

Blues, Deeper Roots on KOWS, Oldies, Rhythm and Blues, Theme Time, Urban Blues

West Coast Blues Roots

October 9, 2022 Dave

The 40s and 50s post-war migration brought tough working conditions in Chicago which offered stability over the miserable sharecropper existence of the Delta. Both were fodder for the some of the very best in classic blues. The production lines of Detroit and other cities on the Eastern seaboard were models of a different kind of work that the Industrial Age had to offer. But the West Coast wasn’t the place you’d expect to find the blues: shipyards, agriculture, and urban sprawl would aggregate so many different styles that rhythm and blues was a fusion of the many different sensibilities that were brought with both performer and listener alike westward from east of the Mississippi. Having the hub of the world of entertainment in the Southland didn’t hurt either. We’ll be browsing the sounds of some of the greats: McCracklin, Fulson, Otis, Mayfield, and (of course) T-Bone Walker in the Deeper Roots morning show today. West Coast Blues led to blues-based rock in large part because of the exposure to the many different styles of the mid-century blues bands and solo rockers. West Coast Blues Roots is the name of our show this morning on KOWS-LP Occidental.

No.	Artist	Title	Album
1	Johnny "Guitar" Watson	Gangster Of Love	Living The Blues: 1957-1959 Blues Classics
2	Lowell Fulson	Blue Shadows	Chess Blues Disc 4
3	T-Bone Walker	T-Bone Shuffle	Living The Blues: Blues Greats
4	Ivory Joe Hunter	Boogin' In The Rain	The Chronological Ivory Joe Hunter 1947
5	Amos Milburn	One, Two, Three, Everybody	Amos Milburn Rocks
6	Amos Milburn	One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer	Amos Milburn Rocks
7	Floyd Dixon	Hey Bartender	Marshall Texas Is My Home
8	Big Jay McNeely	The Deacon's Hop	Living The Blues – Jump Blues & Boogie
9	Percy Mayfield	Please Send Me Someone To Love	Blues Masters Vol. 3: Texas Blues
10	Johnny Guitar Watson	Mortorhead Baby	So-Cal Speed Shop's Hot Rod Classics Disc 1
11	Little Esther And Willie Littlefield	Turn the Lights Down Low	Rhythm & Blues Goes Rock & Roll Vol 2 [Disc 13]
12	Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson	Gonna Send You Where I Got You From	Mercury B&R Story '45-'55 – [Disc 1]: Midwest Blues V1
13	Peppermint Harris	I Got Loaded	Loaded, Vol. 1
14	Jimmy McCracklin	The Walk	Pure R&B: Vol. 2- Somethings Got a Hold on Me [Disc 1]
15	Little Willie Littlefield	K. C. Loving	Roots Of Rock & Roll – Rough And Rowdy [Disc 10]
16	T-Bone Walker	Stormy Monday	The Very Best of T-Bone Walker [Koch]
17	Roy Milton	The Hucklebuck	Specialty Profiles: Roy Milton
18	Floyd Dixon	Call Operator 210	The Cocktail Combos [Disc 3]
19	Johnny Otis	Baby Baby Blues	Mercury Blues 'n' Rhythm Stars
20	Johnny Otis	Head Hunter	The Roots Of Frank Zappa
21	Etta James	Good Rockin Daddy	The Complete Modern & Kent Recordings 1
22	Pee Wee Crayton	Blues After Hours	ABC Of The Blues Vol 7
23	Johnny Moore's Three Blazers	Driftin' Blues	Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Piano Blues – A Film By Clint Eastwood
24	Charles Brown	Black Night	Living The Blues: Blues Greats
25	Cecil Gant	I Wonder	R&B Jukebox Hits 1944
26	Amos Milburn	Bad Bad Whiskey	Down The Road Apiece -The Best Of Amos Milburn
27	Juke Boy Bonner	Running Shoes	Rhythm & Blues Goes Rock & Roll Volume 2 [Disc 8]
28	Lloyd Glenn	The Shakedown	Chess Blues Disc 4
29	Etta James	I Just Want to Make Love to You	At Last!
30	Percy Mayfield	The River's Invitation	ABC Of The Blues Vol 28
31	Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers	Deep Fried	Blues Pajama Party
32	Roy Milton & His Solid Senders	R.M. Blues	Specialty Profiles: Roy Milton

A Century of America's Music