Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – June 4, 2024: Remembering Spider John Koerner; The Enduring Legacy of Reverend Gary Davis

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/65407.html

Themes: Part 1: Remembering Spider John Koerner (1938-2024) / Part 2: The Enduring Legacy of Reverend Gary Davis (1896-1972)

Part 1: Remembering Spider John Koerner

Spider John Koerner was an influential folk and blues legend who died of cancer on May 18 at age 85.

Spider John Koerner was already one of the leading performers on the Minneapolis folk scene when Robert Zimmerman, still a teenager, moved there to attend the University of Minnesota. Spider John was highly influential in the musical direction that Zimmerman took that year – including beginning to call himself Bob Dylan. In his memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, Dylan wrote: “Koerner was tall and thin with a look of perpetual amusement on his face. We hit it off right away … when he spoke he was soft-spoken but when he sang he became a field holler shouter. Koerner was an exciting singer and we began playing a lot together.”

I first discovered Spider John Koerner while I was a teenager. It was probably 1969 or ’70 when I bought an LP called Blues, Rags & Hollers by the trio of Koerner, Ray & Glover – Spider John Koerner, Dave "Snaker" Ray and Tony "Little Sun: Glover. The album, from 1963, was mostly solo cuts by one or another of the three, along with a few duo cuts by two of the three.

Koerner, Ray & Glover- Linin’ Track

Blues, Rags & Hollers (Red House)

Ray Wylie Hubbard- Spider, Snaker and Little Sun

Tell the Devil I’m Coming As Fast As I Can (Bordello)

Spider John Koerner & Dave "Snaker" Ray- Black Dog

(Lots More) Blues, Rags & Hollers (Red House)

Koerner, Ray & Glover- What’s the Matter with the Mill

(Lots More) Blues, Rags & Hollers (Red House)

Spider John Koerner- Froggie Went a-Courtin’

Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Been (Red House)

Spider John Koerner- The Roving Gambler

Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Been (Red House)

Spider John Koerner- The Days of Forty-Nine

StarGeezer (Red House)

Spider John Koerner- Taking My Time

StarGeezer (Red House)

Part 2: The Enduring Legacy of Reverend Gary Davis

Reverend Gary Davis, who died in 1972 at age 76, was a street preacher and a highly influential legend of blues, gospel and folk music. His guitar playing influenced many of the artists who came into the folk scene in the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and continuing to the present.

Reverend Gary Davis- You Got to Move

A Little More Faith (Prestige/Bluesville)

Mountain City Four- Motherless Children

Mountain City Four (Omnivore)

Mr. Rick- I’ll Fly Away

Mr. Rick Sings About God + Booze (Mr. Rick)

Mary Flower- Sit Down on the Banks

Gary Davis Style: The Legacy of Reverend Gary Davis (Riverlark)

Michael Jerome Browne- Reverend Strut

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Reverend Gary Davis- I’m Glad I’m in That Number

A Little More Faith (Prestige/Bluesville)

Marie Knight- When I Die

Let Us Get Together: A Tribute to Reverend Gary Davis (M.C.)

Andy Cohen- Pure Religion

Oh Glory, How Happy I Am: The Sacred Songs of Rev. Gary Davis (Riverlark)

William Lee Ellis- I Heard the Angels Singing

Gary Davis Style: The Legacy of Reverend Gary Davis (Riverlark)

Roy Book Binder- The Preacher Picked the Guitar

Singer-Songwriter Bluesman (PEGleg)

Dave Van Ronk- Cocaine

Live at Sir George Williams University (Just a Memory)

Reverend Gary Davis- Buck Dance

Live & Kickin’ (Just a Memory)

Guy Davis- Candy Man

Stomp Down Rider (Red House)

Penny Lang & Friends- God Knows How Much We Can Bear

Gary Davis Style: The Legacy of Reverend Gary Davis (Riverlark)

Mitch Greenhill & Mayne Smith- Samson & Delilah

Gary Davis Style: The Legacy of Reverend Gary Davis (Riverlark)

Bruce Cockburn- Twelve Gates to the City

Bone on Bone (True North)

Reverend Gary Davis- I Will Do My Last Singing in This Land Somewhere

Live at Newport (Vanguard)

Next week: Songs for Fathers

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – May 28, 2024: 50 years ago, I took over The Golem, Part 1

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/65341.html

Theme: 50 years ago, I took over The Golem, Part 1.

Mike Regenstreif at The Golem (1975)

It was 50 years ago, on May 24, 1974, that I took over running The Golem, Montreal folk club. 

The Golem had been established in 1973 in the McGill Hillel building at 3460 Stanley Street by Saul Markowicz. I had done my basic training in folk club management with Chuck Baker at the Yellow Door, and had been producing concerts in Montreal at Dawson College and McGill University for about two years when Saul approached me in the spring of 1974 and asked if I’d be interested in taking over The Golem.

I actually ran The Golem twice – from 1974 until 1976 and from 1981 until 1987. The Golem was also run for about a year after my first tenure by Marc Nerenberg (who, by the way, is responsible for keeping the Yellow Door going still). The Golem was closed between 1977 and when I returned and re-opened it in 1981. And, after my second tenure, a committee including Helen Fortin and Dave Clarke of Steel Rail fame kept the Golem going until 1991.

All of the songs on this show were played back in the day by artists who performed during my two tenures running the Golem. As I was preparing this show, I found there was no way I could play all of the artists I’d like to include, so I’ll be doing a part 2 to this theme on the June 18 edition of Stranger Songs.

Bruce Murdoch- Fool Like Me

Bruce Murdoch (Radio Canada International)

Mike Regenstreif, Bruce Murdoch & Sneezy Waters (2014)

Sneezy Waters- (You’ve Got) Sawdust on the Floor of Your Heart

Live in the CKCU studio during Stranger Songs – July 4, 2023

Jim Ringer- Going Away

Waitin’ for the Hard Times to Go (Folk-Legacy)

Tom Mitchell, Mike Regenstreif & Mary McCaslin (199)

Mary McCaslin- Down the Road

Way Out West (Philo)

Chris Rawlings & Mike Regenstreif (2007)

Chris Rawlings- Pearl River Turnaround

Pearl Soupe (Cooking Fat Music)

Mike Regenstreif & Jesse Winchester (2006)

Jesse Winchester- Tell Me Why You Like Roosevelt

Learn to Love It (Stony Plain)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle & Mike Regenstreif (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Kate & Anna McGarrigle & Roma Baran- Willie Moore

Tell My Sister (Nonesuch)

Ronney Abramson & Mike Regenstreif (2016)

Ronney Abramson- Three O’Clock Ride

Three O’Clock Ride – single (Ronney Abramson)

Artie Traum & Mike Regenstreif (2006)

Artie Traum- Montreal

The Test of Time (Roaring Stream)

Ferron- Ain’t Life a Brook

Not a Still Life (Cherrywood Station)

Mike Regenstreif & Bill Staines (1993)

Bill Staines- Tulsa

Miles (Mineral River)

Mike Regenstreif & Priscilla Herdman (1978) photo: Ron Petronko

Priscilla Herdman- Andy’s Gone with Cattle

The Water Lily (Philo)

Eric Bogle- Now I’m Easy

Scraps of Paper (Flying Fish)

Utah Phillips & Mike Regenstreif (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Utah Phillips- Larimer Street

The Telling Takes Me Home (Philo)

Rosalie Sorrels & Mike Regenstreif (1993)

Rosalie Sorrels- Postcard from India

Travelin’ Lady (Sire)

Tom Mitchell- Eastern Beer

1976 live recording – used with permission

Mimi Fariña- Defying Gravity
Live in Germany: To Benefit Bread & Roses (Dogfish Music)

Mike Regenstreif & Tom Paxton (2001) photo: Janice Hanson

Tom Paxton- Outward Bound

The Compleat Tom Paxton (Even Compleater) (Rhino Handmade)

Odetta- Hold On

Odetta at Carnegie Hall (Vanguard)

Dave Van Ronk- Green, Green Rocky Road

…and the tin pan bended, and the story ended… (Smithsonian Folkways)

John Hartford- Steamboat Whistle Blues

Aereo-Plain (Rounder)

Skyline with Tony Trischka- Ticket Back

Ticket Back: A Retrospective (Flying Fish)

Nanci Griffith- There’s a Light Beyond These Woods

There’s a Light Beyond These Woods (Philo)

Stan Rogers- The Mary Ellen Carter

Between the Breaks…Live! (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)

Next week: Part 1: Remembering Spider John Koerner / Part 2: The Legacy of Reverend Gary Davis

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – May 21, 2024: Even More Songs of Bob Dylan

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/65281.html

Theme: Even More Songs of Bob Dylan.

Bob Dylan – who turns 83 this week on May 24 – is, arguably, but certainly in my opinion, the most important and influential songwriter ever. All of the songs on this show have never been heard on any previous edition of Stranger Songs.

Bob Dylan- Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again

Blonde On Blonde (Columbia)

The Clancy Brothers with Louis Killen- Girl from the North Country

Save the Land! (Audio Fidelity)

Joan Baez- Love Minus Zero/No Limit

Any Day Now (Vanguard)

Pete Seeger- Who Killed Davey Moore?

We Shall Overcome: The Complete Carnegie Hall Concert, June 8, 1963 (Columbia)

Happy Traum with Bob Dylan- Let Me Die in My Footsteps

The Best of Broadside 1962-1988 (Smithsonian Folkways)

Bob Dylan- Ballad of Hollis Brown

The Times They Are A-Changin’ (Columbia)

J.D. Crowe & The New South- Nashville Skyline Rag

Flashback (Rounder)

Odetta- Walkin’ Down the Line

Odetta Sings Dylan (RCA)

The Brothers & Sisters- Just Like a Woman

Dylan’s Gospel (Columbia)

Julie Felix- It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)

Starry Eyed and Laughing… Songs by Bob Dylan (Remarkable)

Bob Dylan- Blind Willie McTell

The Bootleg Series, Volume 3 (Columbia)

Tom Russell- John Wesley Harding

Tonight We Ride EP (HighTone)

Ian & Sylvia- Tears of Rage

Long Long Time (Vanguard)

Peter, Paul & Mary- Too Much of Nothing

Late Again (Warner Bros.)

Bob Dylan- If Dogs Run Free

New Morning (Columbia)

Jimmy LaFave- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

Peace Town (Music Road)

Ian Hanchet- If Not for You

Dealin’ from the Bottom (of My Heart) (Ian Hanchet)

Caroline Doctorow- Time Passes Slowly

Dreaming in Vinyl (Narrow Lane)

Bob Dylan- Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands

Blonde On Blonde (Columbia)[MR1]

Next week: 50 years ago I took over The Golem.

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday May 18, 2024

Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa 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 the Saturday Morning show. 

This episode of Saturday Morning was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/65234.html

Tex König- One Morning in May

Königsblende (Music Cellar)

Wendy Grossman- My Sweet Wyoming Home

The Last Trip Home (Riverlark)

The Spain Brothers- Roseville Fair

Bright and Better Morning (The Spain Brothers)

Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl- River

Recordings Celebrating 50 Years of a Musical Partnership (Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl)

Bill Staines- Rompin’ Rovin’ Days

Journey Home (Red House)

Penny Lang- Come Across to You

Gather Honey (Borealis)

Bruce Murdoch- First Robin of Springtime

Matters of the Heart (Bruce Murdoch)

Jaspar Lepak- Dandelion

The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin)

Hilary Field- Esperanza (Hope)

The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin)

Kat Goldman- Weight of the World

The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin)

Declan O’Rourke- The Harbour

The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin)

Christine Lavin- Another New York Afternoon

The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin)

Bill Hearne- Sixteen Miles

Always Trust Your Cape (Howlin’ Dog)

Brittany Jean- Early Morning Rain

Colors & Covers (Brittany Jean)

Gordon Lightfoot- Long River

The Original Lightfoot (EMI)

Stephen Mendel- Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Sing Me a Story (Stephen Mendel)

Evenchick & Hucul- Under Your Wing

This is My Story (Melissa Hucul & Mark Evenchick)

Gentle Sparrow- Shining a Light Over You

River (Heart Alchemy Music)

Boreal- Warm Hands

Recorded for a future album release

Kate Weekes- Tea in Reykjavik

Taken By Surprise (Artiste Extrordinaire Originals)

Tom Lewis- Chicken on a Raft

Sea-Dog, See Dog! (Flying Fish)

Maddy Prior & June Tabor- The Grey Funnel Line

Silly Sisters (Shanachie)

Garnet Rogers- Sammy’s Bar

Summer Lightning: Live (Snow Goose Songs)

Bruce Cockburn- O Sun By Day O Moon By Night

O Sun O Moon (True North)

Lynne Hanson- Hemingway’s Songbird

Just Words (Lynne Hanson)

Ana Egge- Door Won’t Close

Sharing in the Spirit (StorySound)

Paula Cole- Follow the Moon

Lo (675)

Eric Bibb- 500 Miles

Live at the Scala Theatre (Stony Plain)

Steve Howell & The Mighty Men- God’s Gonna Cut You Down

99½ Won’t Do (Out of the Past Music)

Jay Linden- Another Day

Ordinary Sunrise (Americana North)

Tom Mitchell- My Newest Friend

When the Moon is Right (Truesongs)

Heather Little- Saint Christopher

By Now (Heather Little)

James Talley- My Little Corner of the World

Bandits, Ballads and Blues (Cimarron)

Robin Holcomb- Be Still

One Way or Another, Vol. 2 (Robin Holcomb)

Gretchen Peters with Tom Russell- Guadalupe

One to the Heart, One to the Head (Scarlet Letter/Frontera)

Steve Young- Angel of Lyon

Switchblades of Love (Watermelon)

Tom Russell & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Tom Russell & The Norwegian Wind Ensemble- Goodnight Juarez

Aztec Jazz (Frontera)

Magpie- I Just Roll Along

Endless River (Long Tail)

Rosalie Sorrels- Elegant Hobo

What Ever Happened to the Girl That Was (Paramount)

Paul Geremia- I’ll Be Goin’

Just Enough (Folkways)

Judy Roderick- Born in the Country

Woman Blue (Vanguard)

Chris Smither- All About the Bones

All About the Bones (Signature Sounds)

Mike Regenstreif & David Amram (2004)

David Amram- Waltz from After the Fall

No More Walls (Flying Fish)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on June 15. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – May 14, 2024: Songs of Jacques Brel

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/65137.html

Theme: Songs of Jacques Brel (1929-1978).

Jacques Brel – who died in 1978 at age 49 from a pulmonary embolism while suffering from terminal lung cancer – was a Belgian singer, songwriter and actor whose theatrical songs are still widely performed, both in French and in English translation.

Jacques Brel- Les Flamandes

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Judy Collins- Marieke

Whales & Nightingales (Elektra)

Amanda McBroom- Girl in an Armchair

Chanson: Amanda McBroom Sings Jacques Brel (Gecko)

Fred Holstein- Amsterdam

Fred Holstein: A Collection (Fred Holstein)

Barb Jungr- Jacky

Bob, Brel and Me (Kristalyn)

Jacques Brel- Au Printemps

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Mary Coughlan- Hearts

Sentimental Killer (Eastwest)

Judy Collins- Sons of

Whales & Nightingales (Elektra)

Amanda McBroom- My Death

Chanson: Amanda McBroom Sings Jacques Brel (Gecko)

Barb Jungr- The Tender Hearts

Bob, Brel and Me (Kristalyn)

Jacques Brel- Les Bourgeois

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Joan Baez- La Colombe – The Dove

Joan (Vanguard)

The Kingston Trio- Seasons in the Sun

Collectors Series (Capitol)

Jennifer Warnes- Old Folks – Les vieux

Just Jennifer (Deram)

Melody Gardot- La Chanson des vieux amants

Sayanora Meu Amor (Decca)

Jacques Brel- Les Singes

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Stacey Kent- If You Go Away

Summer Me, Winter Me (Token Productions)

Judy Collins- The Desperate Ones

Bohemian (Wildflower)

Jacques Brel- Le Colonel

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Barb Jungr- To See a Friend Break Down and Cry

Bob, Brel and Me (Kristalyn)

Amanda McBroom- You Don’t Forget the Past

Chanson: Amanda McBroom Sings Jacques Brel (Gecko)

Jacques Brel- Le Moribond

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Next week: Still More Songs of Bob Dylan.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – May 7, 2024: Songs for Mothers

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/65085.html

Theme: Songs for Mothers.

Some of these songs are written about mothers, some are written from the perspectives of mothers.

Rachel Bissex- Dancing with My Mother

In White Light (One Take Music)

Bob Dylan did not write “Mama You Been On My Mind” about his mother, but Bettye LaVette turned it into one about hers.

Bettye LaVette- Mama, You Been On My Mind

Things Have Changed (Verve)

Eric Bogle- Leaving Nancy

By Request (Greentrax)

Jesse Winchester & Mike Regenstreif (2000)

Jesse Winchester- Ghosts

A Reasonable Amount of Trouble (Appleseed)

Anne Hills- Mother

The Things I Notice Now: Anne Hills sings the songs of Tom Paxton (Appleseed)

Lucy Kaplansky- Mother’s Day

Reunion (Red House)

Dave Clarke- Simonne

The Healing Garden (Crossties)

Rosalie Sorrels & Mike Regenstreif (1993)

Rosalie Sorrels- Baby Rocking Medley

Always a Lady (Green Linnet)

Rosalie Sorrels- Song for David

Always a Lady (Green Linnet)

Rosalie Sorrels- Apple of My Eye

Always a Lady (Green Linnet)

Nancy White- Momnipotent

Momnipotent (The Children’s Group)

Nancy White- Open That Can

Momnipotent (The Children’s Group)

Christine Albert- Are We There Yet Mama

Underneath the Lone Star Sky (Dos)

Connie Kaldor- God Made Mamas to Cry

Vinyl Songbook (Coyote Entertainment)

Connie Kaldor- Mother’s Prayer

Out of the Blue (Coyote Entertainment)

Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard- Mama’s Gonna Stay

Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard (Rounder)

David Massengill- Song to Mother

Morgana’s Sleepover and the Witch’s Hand (David Massengill)

Steel Rail- What My Mother Saw

The Road Less Travelled (Crossties)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Song for Gaby

Matapedia (Hannibal)

Shelley Posen- Fork Garden

Menorah: Songs from a Jewish Life (Well Done Music)

Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop- Red Shoes

Red Shoes (Borealis)

Nanci Griffith- Last Song for Mother

Clock Without Hands (Elektra)

Mike Regenstreif & Arlo Guthrie (1996)

Arlo Guthrie- Mother’s Voice (I Hear You Sing Again)

Here Come the Kids (Rising Son)

Odetta- Mother’s Blues

Lookin’ for a Home: Thanks to Leadbelly (M.C.)

Next week: Songs of Jacques Brel.

--Mike Regenstreif