Thursday, March 27, 2025

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – April 1, 2025: Remembering Jesse Colin Young; April Fools; Day


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/595/69610.html

Themes: Part 1 – Remembering Jesse Colin Young (1941-2025); Part 2 – April Fools’ Day.

Part 1 – Remembering Jesse Colin Young (1941-2025)


Jesse Colin Young
– whose real name was Perry Miller and who died at age 83 on March 16 – was a singer and songwriter originally from New York City who was lead singer of The Youngbloods from 1966 to 1971 and who recorded as a solo artist before and after his tenure with The Youngbloods.

Jesse Colin Young- Four in the Morning
The Soul of a City Boy (One Way)

Jesse Colin Young- Same Old Man
The Soul of a City Boy (One Way)
Jesse Colin Young- Rider
Young Blood (Mercury)
Jesse Colin Young- Doc Geiger
Young Blood (Mercury)

The Youngbloods- Get Together
The Youngbloods (RCA)
The Youngbloods- Light Shine
Good and Dusty (Racoon/Warner Bros.)

Jesse Colin Young- California Child
Light Shine (Warner Bros.)
Jesse Colin Young- Songbird
Songbird (Warner Bros.)

Part 2 – April Fools’ Day


Shel Silverstein- Folk Singer’s Blues
Inside Folk Songs (Water)
Stan Rogers- The White Collar Holler
Between the Breaks…Live! (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)
Ian Robb with The Friends of Fiddler's Green- Garnet’s Home-Made Beer
From Different Angels (Fallen Angle)
Bowser & Blue- The Night They Invented Poutine
Crackpots (You Guys Publishing)
Spike Jones & His City Slickers- Yes! We Have No Bananas
Musical Deprecation Revue! The Spike Jones Anthology (Rhino)
Steve Goodman- Vegematic
No Big Surprise: The Steve Goodman Anthology (Red Pajamas)

Nancy White- Leonard Cohen’s Never Gonna Bring My Groceries In
Momnipotent (The Children’s Group)
Christine Lavin- What Was I Thinking?
Live at the Cactus Café: What Was I Thinking? (Philo)
Grit Laskin- The Photographers
Unabashedly Folk: Songs and Tunes 1979-1985 (Borealis)
Al Mamlet- Five Thousand Years of Folk Music
Bring It On Home Volume 1 (Legacy)
Michael Smith- Dead Egyptian Blues
Love Letter on a Fish (Tales from the Tavern)
Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers- King Tut
Red Bird Alert (Rounder)

Dave Van Ronk- Garden State Stomp
Going Back to Brooklyn (Gazell)
Erik Frandsen- I’ve the Blues
Antiques: New & Used (Erik Frandsen)
Shelley Posen with Erik Frandsen- It’s for You
Old Loves (Well Done Music)
Martin Mull & His Fabulous Furniture- Dueling Tubas
In Your Living Room (Capricorn)

John Prine & Iris DeMent- In Spite of Ourselves
In Spite of Ourselves (Oh Boy)

Next week: A Tribute to Doc Watson.

--Mike Regenstreif

Thursday, March 20, 2025

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – March 25, 2025: Songs of Laura Nyro; Bringing It All Back Home Revisited


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/595/69511.html

Themes: Part 1 – Songs of Laura Nyro (1947-1997); Part 2 – Bringing It All Back Home Revisited.

Part 1 – Songs of Laura Nyro (1947-1997)


Laura Nyro – who died of ovarian cancer in 1997 at age 49 – was a singer-songwriter from New York City who made a number of fine albums and whose songs were also done by artists from a variety of genres of music.

Laura Nyro- Eli’s Comin ‘
Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (Columbia/Legacy)

Darol Anger & Emy Phelps- Stoney End
Music of Our People (Darol Anger & Emy Phelps)
Laura Love- Stoned Soul Picnic
Fourteen Days (Zoë)
Laura Nyro- Wedding Bell Blues
More Than a New Discovery (Columbia)
David Clayton-Thomas- And When I Die
In Concert: A Musical Biography (Justin Time)

Billy Childs, Esperanza Spalding & Wayne Shorter- Upstairs by a Chinese Lamp
Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro (Sony Masterworks)
Laura Nyro- Save the Country
New York Tendaberry (Columbia/Legacy)

Part 2 – Bringing It All Back Home Revisited


Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home was released 60 years ago this week on March 22, 1965. Even before Highway 61 Revisited, which came out later in 1965, Bringing It All Back Home marked Dylan’s first embrace of electric folk rock.

Dave Van Ronk- Subterranean Homesick Blues
To All My Friends in Far-Flung Places (Gazell)
The Flatlanders- She Belongs to Me
Treasure of Love (Rack ‘Em)
Ian Hanchet- Maggie’s Farm
Dealin’ from the Bottom (of My Heart) (Ian Hanchet)
Eliza Gilkyson- Love Minus Zero/No Limit
A Nod to Bob (Red House)
Queens of the Stone Age- Outlaw Blues
Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan (Amnesty International)
Ben Sidran- On the Road Again
Dylan Different (Bonsai)
Taj Mahal & The Phantom Blues Band- Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream
Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan (Amnesty International)

Jimmy LaFave- Mr. Tambourine Man
Trail Three (Music Road)
Julie Felix- Gates of Eden
Starry Eyed and Laughing… Songs by Bob Dylan (Remarkable)
The Duhks- It’s All Right, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
The Village: A Celebration of the Music of Greenwich Village (429)
Crowes Pasture- It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
Edge of America (Crowes Pasture)

An outtake from Bringing It All Back Home became the title song of an album released in 1965 by Joan Baez and one of her signature songs.

Joan Baez- Farewell, Angelina
Farewell, Angelina (Vanguard)

Next week: Part 1 – Remembering Jesse Colin Young (1941-2025); Part 2 – April Fools.

--Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – March 22, 2025


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/128/69494.html

Mike Regenstreif & Garnet Rogers (2006)

Gaenet Rogers- First Day of Spring
Shining Thing (Snow Goose Songs)

Ian Tyson- Springtime
Cowboyography (Stony Plain)
Frida’s Brow- Spring
Frida’s Brow (Frida’s Brow)
Wade Hemsworth with The Mountain City Four- The Blackfly Song
Wade Hemsworth with The Mountain City Four (Peter Weldon)

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

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Foolish You
Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)
Katie Moore- Heart Like a Wheel
Montebello (Katie Moore)
Patti LuPone- Saratoga Summer Song
A Life in Notes (Center Stage)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Emmylou Harris, Loudon Wainwright III- Green Green Rocky Road
The McGarrigle Hour (Hannibal)

Dave Van Ronk- Somebody Else, Not Me
Somebody Else, Not Me (Philo)
Chris Walz- Been All Around This World
All I Got and Gone (Chris Walz Music)
Rosalie Sorrels & Mike Regenstreif (1993)

Rosalie Sorrels- Ain’t Nobody Got the Blues Like Me
Moments of Happiness (Philo)

Leonard Cohen- The Old Revolution
Songs from a Room (Columbia/Legacy)
Perla Batalla- Everybody Knows
A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend (Mechuda Music)
NEeMA- Unspoken
Watching You Think (Neemaste/Sony)

Kim Beggs- Little Tin Cup
Beneath Your Skin (Out of a Paperbag Productions)

Boreal- Hallelujah
Winterbirds (Boreal)

Manus McGuire- Irish Jig Set
The Copperplate Sessions (Manus McGuire)
La Nef featuring Kate Bevan-Baker- Dark Eyed Sailor
Red Sky at Night (La Nef)
La Bottine Souriante featuring André Marchand- Le rossignol sauvage
Chic & Swell (Mille-Pattes)
La Bottine Souriante featuring Michel Bordeleau- Un coup madame
La Bottine Souriante en Spectacle (Mille-Pattes)

Chris Coole & John Showman- Steamboat Whistle Blues
Much Further Out Than Inevitable: A Fiddle and Banjo Tribute to Some Music of John Hartford (Chris Coole)

Rose Cousins- Denoument
Conditions of Love Vol. 1 (Nettwerk)

Rhiannon Giddens- Shake Sugaree
Tomorrow is My Turn (Nonesuch)

Ladysmith Black Mambazo- Rain Rain Beautiful Rain
Live at the Royal Albert Hall (Shanachie)

Mike Regenstreif & Tim Grimm (2025)


Tim Grimm & The Family Band- Gonna Be Great
A Stranger in This Time (Vault)
Artists for Action- Which Side Are You On? *
Which Side Are You On? – single (Bon Jensen)

*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.

Cassie & Maggie- Bow Down
Gold and Coal (Cassie and Maggie)
Rube & Rake- Stephen
Good Time After Bad (LHM)
Rum Ragged- The Road to Lushes Bight (Island Stock)
Gone Jiggin’ (LHM)

The Twangtown Paramours- Stars Without a Heaven
The Wind Will Change Again (Inside Edge)
John McCutcheon- Tikkun Olam
Field of Stars (Appalsongs)
Louise Coombe & Mike Regenstreif (2024(

Louise Coombe- Brothers in Arms
Paris (Zoe Cat Music)
Mike Regenstreif & Tom Paxton (2009)

Tom Paxton- If I Pass This Way Again
It Ain’t Easy (Flying Fish)

Alice Howe & Freebo- Twilight
Live (Know Howe Music)
Tom Mitchell & Mike Regenstreif & Tom Mitchell (1999)

Tom Mitchell- Time Piece
Tom Mitchell (Philo)
Mike Regenstreif & Lucy Kaplansky (2012)

Lucy Kaplansky- No Place to Fall
The Lucy Story: unreleased and rare tracks, 1976-2023 (Lucyricky)
Stephen Fearing- The Empathist
The Empathist (Ging)
Willie P. Bennett- Music in Your Eyes
Tryin’ to Start Out Clean (Bnatural Music)
The Seldom Scene- White Line
Remains to Be Scene (Smithsonian Folkways)

Sultans of String featuring Shannon Thunderbird- Black Winged Raven
Walking Through the Fire (Sultans of String)
HuDost- Fire of Eden
The Monkey in the Crown (Open Sesame Music)

Billy Novick & Guy Van Duser- Gershwin Medley
The New Pennywhistle Album (Green Linnet)
Antonio Andrade- Loony Tunes Medley: This is It! (Intro)/The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down/Merrily We Roll Along/This is It! (Outro)
Here We Go! (Life Shakes)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on April 19. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm.

--Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – March 18, 2025: Canadian Places


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/595/69388.html

Theme: Canadian Places

This show is a celebration of just some of the many places in our country, and a response to the despicable behaviour of the orange felon in regard to Canada. As so many have reiterated, Canada is not for sale and will never be his 51st state. We have our elbows up.

Shari Ulrich & Mike Regenstreif (2019)

Shari Ulrich- Canada
Back to Shore (Borealis)

Shelley Posen & Mike Regenstreif on Zoom (2023)

Shelley Posen
- Ontario Moon
Ontario Moon (Well Done Music)
Over the Moon- Old Alberta Moon
Moondancer (Over the Moon)
Mike Regenstreif & Connie Kaldor (2015)

Connie Kaldor & Roy Forbes- Saskatoon Moon
Wood River (Coyote)

Orit Shimoni- Winnipeg 
Winnipeg (Orit Shimoni) 
Doug McArthur- The Lunenburg Shift
Letters from the Coast/Sisteron (Snow Goose Songs)
Deborah Holland- East Porpoise Bay
I Made It This Far (Deborah Holland)

Oscar Peterson- Place St. Henri
Canadiana Suite (Verve)

Bill Garrett & Mike Regenstreif (2014)

Bill Garrett- Lillooet
Bill Garrett (Borealis)
James Keelaghan- Hope Princeton Road
My Skies (Green Linnet)
Humphrey & The Dumptrucks- Calgary Song
Six Days of Paper Ladies (Boot)

Mike Regenstreif & April Verch (2025)

April Verch & Cody Walters- Up in the Ottawa Valley
Passages and Pairings (Slab Town)
Kevun Head & Mike Regenstreif (2013) photo: Vanessa Burnett

Kevin Head- Saturday Night in South Margarree
Live (Kevin Head Music)
Dave Clarke of Steel Rail & Lucinda Chodan (co-writers of Argyle Street) and Mike Regenstreif (2025)
 
Steel Rail
- Argyle Street
Coming Home (Crossties)

Allison Russell- Montreal
Outside Child (Fantasy)
Chris Rawlings & Mike Regenstreif (2007)

Chris Rawlings- Vieux Montréal
Pearl Soup (Cooking Fat Music)
Ken Tizzard & Amelia Curran- St. John’s Waltz
A Good Dog is Lost: A Collection of Ron Hynes Songs (Booth Street)

Bob Stark- Patterson Creek Bridge
Sculpted Pieces of Love (Bob Stark)
Paul Weber- Ottawa Lament
Ode to Gerry Barber (Paul Weber)
Ray Harris- Pontiac County Blues
Kinda Sets the Tone (Ray Harris)
Night Sun- Petawawa River
Drive (Borealis)

Stan Rogers- The Rawdon Hills
Fogarty’s Cove (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle and Mike Regenstreif (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Matapedia
Matapedia (Hannibal)

Mike Regenstreif & Murray McLauchlan on Zoom (2021)

Murray McLauchlan- Out Past the Timberline
Songs from the Street: The Best of Murray McLauchlan (True North)

Next week: Part 1 – Songs of Laura Nyro; Part 2 – Bringing It All Back Home Revisited.

--Mike Regenstreif

Thursday, March 6, 2025

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – March 11, 2025: Remembering David Johansen; “Hello in There”


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/595/69289.html

Themes: Part 1 – Remembering David Johansen (1950-2025); Part 2 – “Hello in There” and other songs that reference the elderly.

Part 1 – Remembering David Johansen (1950-2025)


David Johansen
, who died on February 28 at age 75, was a singer and actor who first gained fame in the early-1970s as lead singer of the proto-punk glam band, The New York Dolls. In the mid-1980s, he began performing jazz, jump blues and novelty songs as his lounge singer alter-ego Buster Poindexter. And, in the 1990s, he started performing traditional folk and blues and formed a band called David Johansen & The Harry Smiths.

Buster Poindexter- Hot Hot Hot
Buster Poindexter (RCA)
Buster Poindexter & Soozie Tyrell- Saturday Night Fish Fry
Buster’s Happy Hour (Rhino)
Buster Poindexter- Screwy Music
Buster Poindexter (RCA)

Bill Morrissey & David Johansen- Love Arrives
Night Train (Philo)
David Johansen & The Harry Smiths- James Alley Blues
David Johansen and the Harry Smiths (Chesky)
David Johansen & The Harry Smiths- Kassie Jones
Shaker (Chesky)

David Johansen & The Harry Smiths- I Can’t Be Satisfied
Shaker (Chesky)

Part 2 – “Hello in There” and other songs that reference the elderly.

Reggie Harris- Hello In There
On Solid Ground (Reggie Harris Music)
Pete Seeger- Get Up and Go
Together In Concert (Rising Son)
Nancy White- Seamless Dance of the Old Folks
Gaelic Envy and Other Torch Songs (Borealis)
Tom Paxton, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer- Grandpa Danced the Charleston
All New (Community Music)

Shirley Eikhard- Emily Remembers
Going Home (Artisan Music)
Kathy Mattea- Where’ve You Been
Willow in the Wind (Mercury)
Judy Collins- In the Twilight
Bohemian (Wildflower)
Anne Hills & Michael Smith- The Dutchman
Paradise Lost and Found (Redwing Music)

Finest Kind- The Goodnight-Loving Trail
Lost in a Song (Fallen Angle)
Utah Phillips- All Used Up
The Long Memory (Red House)
Rosalie Sorrels- Feather Ben
Travelin’ Lady Rides Again (Green Linnet)
Eric Bogle- Now I’m Easy
Scraps of Paper (Flying Fish)
Stan Rogers- Sailor’s Rest Intro/Sailor’s Rest
Songs of a Lifetime: Home in Halifax (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)

Murray McLauchlan- Old Man’s Song
Songs from the Street: The Best of Murray McLauchlan (True North)

Next week: Canadian Places.

--Mike Regenstreif