Thursday, February 23, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday February 28, 2023: A Tribute to Josh White


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/59557.html

Theme: A Tribute to Josh White (1914-1969).


Josh White
was a highly influential blues, folk and jazz singer and guitarist. He made his first recordings in 1928 at about age 14 or 15 and his 1944 recording of “One Meatball” was the first song by a male, African American artist to sell a million copies. Josh White was honored earlier this month by Folk Alliance International with its Legacy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Two songs on this show – “Goodbye Josh” and “A Natural Man” – are tributes to Josh White. The other songs were all part of Josh White’s repertoire.

Josh White- Good Morning Blues
The Josh White Stories, Vols. I & II (Jasmine)

Josh White, Jr.- One Meatball
Live at the Raven Gallery (Silverwolf)
Madeleine Peyroux- Lonesome Road
Careless Love (Rounder)
Mr. Rick- Two Little Fishes
Mr. Rick Sings About God + Booze (Mr. Rick)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe- Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho
This Train in Concert (Sunset Blvd.)
Josh White- Things About Coming My Way
Spirituals & Blues (Elektra)
Louis Jordan- I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Years 1955-1958 (Jasmine)

Josh White, Jr. with Robin Batteau- You Won’t Let Me Go
Jazz, Ballads & Blues (Ryko)

Peter Yarrow- Goodbye Josh
Peter (Warner Bros.)
Peter, Paul & Mary- Betty and Dupree
See What Tomorrow Brings (Warner Bros.)

Jack Williams- A Natural Man
Walkin’ Dreams (Wind River)
Josh White- Strange Fruit
The Josh White Stories, Vols. I & II (Jasmine)

Crabtree & Mills- Miss Otis Regrets
Flight of Fancy (Free and Easy Music)
Bonnie Dobson- Dink’s Song
Take Me for a Walk in the Morning Dew (Hornbeam)
Odetta- House of the Rising Sun
Livin’ with the Blues (Vanguard)
Dave Van Ronk- St. James Infirmary
…and the tin pan bended, and the story ended… (Smithsonian Folkways)

Josh White- The Story of John Henry
The Story of John Henry: A Musical Narrative (Elektra)

Julian Fauth- Frankie & Johnny
The Weak and the Wicked, the Hard and the Strong (Electro-Fi)

Next week: Songs of Kris Kristofferson.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Monday, February 20, 2023

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday February 25, 2023


Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU in Ottawa heard on Saturday mornings from 7 until 10 am (Eastern time) and available for on-demand streaming anytime. I am one of the four rotating hosts of Saturday Morning and base my programming on the Folk Roots/Folk Branches format I developed at CKUT in Montreal.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Saturday Morning was recorded and can already be streamed on-demand at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/59512.html

Odetta- Mr. Tambourine Man
Odetta Sings Dylan (RCA)

Ben Sures- Cry Like a Flood
The Story That Lived Here (Ben Sures)
Kat Goldman- Gypsy Girl
Gypsy Girl (Kat Goldman)

Jason Lang- Firewater
Handled with Care (Famgroup/Genison Music)
Ken Pearson, Penny Lang & Mike Regenstreif (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Penny Lang- It’s Not Easy
Stone + Sand + Sea + Sky (Borealis)
Jason Lang- Senses of Your Leave
Handled with Care (Famgroup/Genison Music)

Ramblin' Jack Elliott & Mike Regenstreif (2006)

Ramblin' Jack Elliott- South Coast
South Coast (Red House)
Hoyt Axton- Evangelina
The A&M Years (A&M)
Mark Rubin – Jew of Oklahoma- Good Shabbes
The Triumph of Assimilation (Rubinchik)

Bonnie Raitt- Just Like That
Just Like That (Redwing)
Mike Regenstreif & Jesse Winchester (2006)

Jesse Winchester- That’s What Makes You Strong
Gentleman of Leisure (Sugar Hill)
Emily White- Stone in Your Pocket
Songs You Didn’t Know I Wrote About You (Squeezed Fresh Productions)

Benny Bleu- Lost Goose
March of the Mollusk (Benny Bleu Haravitch)

Taivi- Ukraiyna
Ukraiyna – single (Taivi)
John McCutcheon- Ukrainian Now
Ukrainian Now – single (Appalsongs)
Artists for Action- Which Side Are You On? *
Which Side Are You On? – single (Figs D Music)
Mike Regenstreif & Eric Bibb (2005)

Eric Bibb
- Masters of War
Migration Blues (Stony Plain)

*The Artists for Action singers and musicians are, in alphabetical order, Black Umfolosi, Ray Bonneville, Bruce Cockburn, Chris Corrigan, Guy Davis, Ani DiFranco, Maria Dunn, Adam Hill, Bob Jensen, James Keelaghan, Richard Knox, Lucy MacNeil, Tony McManus, Moulettes, Oysterband, Richard Perso, Heather Rankin, Martin Simpson, and Jon Weaver.

The Vanier Playboys- Reach Out and Touch a Hand
Deux (The Vanier Playboys)
Ball & Chain & The Wreckers- More
Satisfied (Ball & Chain)
Mike Regenstreif & Lynn Miles (2013)

Lynn Miles- Hockey Night in Canada
Black Flowers Vol. 3 (Lynn Miles)

Moore & McGregor- Don’t Let Us Get Sick
Dream with Me (Ivernia)
Eric Kilburn- Waiting at Your Door
Reckonings (Wellspring)
Shelley Posen- Long, Long Tunnel
Old Loves (Well Done Music)
Doug Cox & Linda McRae- Ready for the Times to Get Better
Beyond the Great Pause (42 RPM)

Annie Capps- Two Different Things
How Can I Say This? (Yellow Room)
Jaimee Harris- Love is Gonna Come Again
Boomerang Town (Thirty Tigers)
Danny Britt- Friends and Memories
All Over the Map (Red Dawg Music)

Taraf Syriana- Abdul Karim’s Tango
Taraf Syriana (Lulaworld)

Reggie Garrett- Stagecoach Mary
York’s Lament & other stories (WonderDog)
Dom Flemons- Steel Pony Blues
Dom Flemons Presents Black Cowboys (Smithsonian Folkways)
Odetta- Rock Island Line
Lookin’ for a Home: Thanks to Leadbelly (M.C.)
Preservation Hall Jazz Band & Ani DiFranco- Freight Train
Preservation (Preservation Hall)
Julian Taylor- 100 Proof
Beyond the Reservoir (Howling Turtle)

Mavis Staples & Lucky Peterson- Wade in the Water
Spirituals & Gospel (Gitanes)
Dave Rudolf- Mary Don’t You Weep
Traditional (MoneyTree)
Reggie Harris- Sheep, Sheep/Little David
Ready to Go (Reggie Harris Music)
The Klezmatics & Joshua Nelson- Didn’t It Rain
Brother Moses Smote the Water (Piranha)

Last Forever with John Cohen- Dillard Chandler
No Place Like Home/Last Forever (2nd Story Sound)
John Cohen- The Story That the Crow Told Me
Stories the Crow Told Me (Acoustic Disc)
Grateful Dead- Uncle John’s Band
Workingman’s Dead (Warner Bros./Rhino)
The Dumptrucks- Friend of the Devil
Selections (Laughing Cactus)
The Persuasions- Ripple
Might as Well: The Persuasions Sing Grateful Dead (Grateful Dead)

CornMaiz Stringband- Jubilee
Fresh-Picked Kentucky Music (CornMaiz Stringband)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on March 25. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm. 

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday February 21, 2023: Remembering Dr. John on Mardi Gras Day


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/59458.html

Theme: Remembering Dr. John (1941-2019) on Mardi Gras Day.

Mac Rebennack – whose stage name was Dr. John, and who died in 2019 at age 77 – was a New Orleans musical legend who drew on traditional jazz, blues, folk music, rock ‘n’ roll and even classical motifs, all with a distinctly New Orleans influence, in his music. Dr. John performed a lot of Mardi Gras music over the years, so it seems appropriate that we honor his legacy on Mardi Gras Day.


Dr. John with The Neville Brothers
- Litanie des Saints
Goin’ Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros.)

Dr. John- Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya
Gris-Gris (Atco)
Paul Asbell- Such a Night
Steel String Americana (Busy Hands)
Deacon Jones with Dr. John- I Didn’t Want to Do It
Deacon John’s Jump Blues (Vetter Communications)

Odetta with Dr. John- Oh Papa
Blues Everywhere I Go (M.C.)
Odetta & Dr. John- Please Send Me Someone to Love
Blues Everywhere I Go (M.C.)

Dr. John- Didn’t He Ramble
Goin’ Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros.)

Dr. John & The WDR Big Band- My Indian Red
Big Band Voodoo (Orange Music)
Dee Dee Bridgewater & Dr. John with Irvin Mayfield & The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra- Big Chief
Dee Dee’s Feathers (Okeh)
The Wild Magnolias- All on a Mardi Gras Day
Life is a Carnival (Metro Blue)
Dr. John- Iko Iko
Dr. John’s Gumbo (Atco)

Preservation Hall Jazz Band & Dr. John- Winin’ Boy Blues
Preservation (Preservation Hall)
Dr. John & Danny Barker- I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say
Goin’ Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros.)
Dr. John- Milneburg Joys
Goin’ Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros.)  

Maria Muldaur & Dr. John- Layin’ Right Here in Heaven
Louisiana Love Call (Black Top)
Irma Thomas with Dr. John- Be You
Simply Grand (Rounder)
Dr. John & Rickie Lee Jones- Makin’ Whooppee!
In a Sentimental Mood (Warner Bros.)
Dirty Dozen Brass Band & Dr. John- It’s All Over Now
Voodoo (Columbia)
Dr. John with Chris Barber’s Jazz and Blues Band- Right Place Wrong Time
Live from London (The Store for Music)

Dr. John with The Neville Brothers, Al Hirt & Pete Fountain- Goin’ Back to New Orleans
Goin’ Back to New Orleans (Warner Bros.)

Next week: A Tribute to Josh White.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday February 14, 2023: Love Songs


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif
finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/59373.html

Theme: Love Songs.

Randall Kromm- I Gave My Love a Valentine
I Gave My Love a Valentine – single (Randall Kromm)

Priscilla Herdman- The Coast of Marseilles
Forgotten Dreams (Flying Fish)
Mike Regenstreif & James Talley (2005)

James Talley- Sea of Cortez
Journey: The Second Voyage (Cimarron)
Liz Miller- Valentine
Lucky Me (Liz Miller)
Bruce Murdoch- (If I Had) Wings
Bruce Murdoch (Radio Canada International)

Jesse Winchester & Mike Regenstreif (2000)

Jesse Winchester- Sham-A-Ling-Dong-Ding
Love Filling Station (Appleseed)
Chaim Tannenbaum, Kate & Anna McGarrigle & Lily Lanken- Young Love
The McGarrigle Hour (Hannibal)

The Roches- You’re the One
Where Do I Come From: Selected Songs (StorySound)

Mara Levine & Si Kahn- The Dutchman
Jewels and Harmony (Mara’s Creations)
Erik Frandsen- The Man Who Fell in Love with Kathleen
Antiques: New & Used (Erik Frandsen)
Mike Regenstreif & Maria Dunn (2017)

Maria Dunn- From Dublin with Love
Joyful Banner Blazing (Distant Whisper Music)
Bruce Brackney A.K.A. Haywire Brack- Another Time and Place
Case History (Pilgrims Rest)
Kate Wolf- Give Yourself to Love
The Wind Blows Wild (Rhino)

Buffy Ford Stewart, Eliza Gilkyson & Shana Morrison- Some Kind of Love
Same Old Heart (Global Recording Artists)
Pat Guadango- Tomorrow is a Long Time
1964 (Campbell Music)
Rosalie Sorrels- I Think of You
My Last Go Round (Red House)
Allison Russell- Persephone
Outside Child (Fantasy)

Shelley Posen- Old Loves
Old Loves (Well Done Music)
Nanci Griffith- Time Alone
Once In a Very Blue Moon (Philo)
Mike Regenstreif & Bill Staines (1993)

Bill Staines
- SueƱo
Sandstone Cathedrals (Mineral River)
Perla Batalla- Coming Back to You
Bird on the Wire: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (Mechuda Music)
Moore & McGregor- Dream With Me
Dream With Me (Ivernia)

Mike Regenstreif, Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop (2014)

Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop
- The Story of Love
Red Shoes (Borealis)

Next week: Remembering Dr. John on Mardi Gras Day.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Friday, February 3, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday February 7, 2023: Songs Mississippi John Hurt Sang for the Library of Congress


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at …  https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/59321.html

Theme: Songs Mississippi John Hurt Sang for the Library of Congress.

Mississippi John Hurt, who died in 1966 at age 73, was one of the most influential and important of the African American blues artists and songsters rediscovered in the 1960s. The songs on this program – some of which were written by Mississippi John Hurt – were all sung and recorded by him for the Library of Congress in 1963.


Mississippi John Hurt
- See See Rider
Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Bruce Cockburn- My Hometown Avalon (Avalon Blues)
Rarities (True North)
Michael Jerome Browne & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Michael Jerome Browne
- Sliding Delta
Sliding Delta (Borealis)
Maria Muldaur with John Sebastian- Richland Woman Blues
Richland Woman Blues (Stony Plain)
Mississippi John Hurt- Coffee Blues
Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)
Doc & Merle Watson- Corrina, Corrina
Then and Now (Tomato)

Mississippi John Hurt- Stack O’Lee
Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Rhiannon Giddens- The Angels Laid Him Away (Louis Collins)
Freedom Highway (Nonesuch)
“Philadelphia” Jerry Ricks- Keep On Knocking
Many Miles of Blues (Rooster Blues)
Tim Williams- Pallet on the Floor
Evenings Among Friends (Cayuse)
Mississippi John Hurt- Trouble I’ve Hall All My Day
Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Dave Van Ronk- Spike Driver Blues
Down in Washington Square (Smithsonian Folkways)
Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur- Frankie
Penny’s Farm (Kingswood)
David Essig & Mike Regenstreif (2014)

David Essig
- Candy Man
Redbird Country & High Ground (Appaloosa)
Mississippi John Hurt- Got the Blues That Can’t Be Satisfied
Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Rosalie Sorrels- I’m Satisfied
Miscellaneous Abstract Record No. 1 (Green Linnet)
Martin Grosswendt- Pay Day
Pay Day! (Martin Grosswendt)
Peter Keane- Nobody’s Dirty Business
Rural Electrification (Peter Keane)
Mississippi John Hurt- Funky Butt
Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Happy Traum- Monday Morning Blues
Bright Morning Stars (Lark’s Nest Music)
Andy Cohen- Talkin’ Casey
Tryin’ to Get Home (Earwig)
Eve Goldberg & Mike Regenstreif (2013)

Eve Goldberg
- My Creole Belle
Ever Brightening Day (Sweet Patootie)

Mississippi John Hurt- Hot Time in Old Town Tonight
Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Next week: Love Songs.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif