Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday March 2, 2021

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoons 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 – Episode #4 – was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/51049.html

 

Today’s theme: Tom Russell Tributes – Some of the songs Tom Russell has written – or, in a couple of cases, co-written – about other artists. Also, a song from each of the artists Tom was paying tribute to.

Gram Parsons- Return of the Grievous Angel
Grievous Angel (Reprise)
Tom Russell with Patricia Hardin- Joshua Tree
The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day (Shout! Factory)

Bill Haley & The Comets- Rock Around the Clock
Bill Rocks (Bear Family)
Dave Alvin & The Guilty Men- Haley’s Comet
Out in California (HighTone)

Nina Simone- Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
To Love Somebody (RCA)
Tom Russell & The Norwegian Wind Ensemble- Nina Simone
Aztec Jazz (Frontera)

Ian Tyson- Wolves No Longer Sing
Carnero Vaquero (Stony Plain)
Tom Russell- I’ll Never Leave These Old Horses                                                                                 Folk Hotel (Frontera)

Tom Russell & Mike Regenstreif (2018)

Rosalie Sorrels- Travelin’ Lady
My Last Go Round (Red House)
Tom Russell- Pork Roast and Poetry
Tribute to the Travelin’ Lady Rosalie Sorrels (Tribute to Rosalie Sorrels)

Bob Dylan- Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (Columbia/Legacy)
Tom Russell- Mesabi
Mesabi (Shout! Factory)

Édith Piaf- La Vie en Rose
30e Anniversaire (EMI France)
Sylvia Tyson- Chocolate Cigarettes
Gypsy Cadillac (Silver City)

Dave Van Ronk- Another Time and Place
Down in Washington Square (Smithsonian Folkways)
Tom Russell- Van Ronk
Hotwalker (HighTone)

Jack Kerouac with Steve Allen- MacDougal Street Blues
The Kerouac Collection (Rhino)
Tom Russell- October in the Railroad Earth
October in the Railroad Earth (Frontera)

Next week – Songs of Malvina Reynolds.

Find me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Bobby Charles 1938-2010

Bobby Charles (Robert Charles Guidry), the great Louisiana songwriter, died today at age 71. Although a cause of death hasn’t yet been announced, Bobby had been living with diabetes and kidney cancer in recent years.

Bobby was probably best known for writing several of the greatest early rock ‘n’ roll songs like “Walking to New Orleans” for Fats Domino and “See You Later, Alligator,” a hit for Bill Haley and the Comets. Many other artists recorded many other Bobby Charles songs over the past half-century or so.

Bobby recorded several of his own albums that blended Cajun, country, blues, folk and rock ‘n’ roll music. One of my all-time favourite songs was his gorgeous “Tennessee Blues,” which he recorded on his classic Bobby Charles album in 1972. There are a bunch of other great versions by such folk as Geoff Muldaur, Jim Rooney, Doug Sahm, Tracy Nelson and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. Another favourite was his insightful “Promises, Promises (The Truth will Set You Free),” from his 1995 album, Wish You Were Here Right Now, and revived after Hurricane Katrina by Dr. John.

--Mike Regenstreif