Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday October 17, 2023: Remembering Kate Wolf

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/595/62361.html

Theme: Remembering Kate Wolf (1942-1986).

Kate Wolf was a very fine singer and songwriter, and folk music activist, who died of leukemia on December 10, 1986, about six weeks before she would have turned 45. Although her career as a touring and recording artist was relatively brief, Kate was, in her time, and to this day, a highly influential artist.

Kate Wolf- The Minstrel

Weaver of Visions: The Kate Wolf Anthology (Rhino)

Kate Wolf- Emma Rose

Back Roads (Rhino)

Dave Alvin- These Times We’re Living In

Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)

Nanci Griffith- Friend of Mine

Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)

John Gorka- Sweet Love

Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)

Peter, Paul & Mary- Give Yourself to Love

Discovered: Live in Concert (Warner Bros./Rhino)

Kate Wolf- Safe at Anchor

Safe at Anchor (Rhino)

Eric Bogle- Katie and the Dreamtime Land

Something of Value (Philo)

Eric Bogle- Cornflower Blue

Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)

Kate Wolf- Poet’s Heart

Poet’s Heart (Rhino)

Utah Phillips- See Here, She Said

Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)

Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl- Across the Great Divide

Forty (Daring)

Lucinda Williams- Here in California

Treasures Left Behind: Remembering Kate Wolf (Red House)

Greg Brown- Kate’s Guitar

In the Hills of California (Red House)

Kate Wolf- Old Jerome

The Wind Blows Wild (Rhino)

Kate Wolf- All He Ever Saw was You

Poet’s Heart (Rhino)

Steve Fisher- Streets of Calgary

River (SNR Music)

Eve Goldberg- Traveling Day

Ever Brightening Day (Sweet Patootie)

Rosalie Sorrels- In China, or a Woman’s Heart

Report from Grimes Creek (Green Linnet)

Steven Gellman- California (For Kate)

All You Need (Hidden Poet Music)

Kate Wolf- Bird on a Wire

Looking Back at You (Rhino)

Next week: A conversation with Terri Thal, author of My Greenwich Village: Dave, Bob and Me.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday November 1, 2022: Radio

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 prerecorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/58131.html

Theme: Radio.

This show airs during CKCU’s Annual Funding Drive for 2022. Please visit https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/75976 to make your charitable donation to help us continue bringing you creative, volunteer-programmed, listener-supported community radio for another year.

Joni Mitchell- You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio

The Asylum Years 1972-1975: Miles of Aisles (Rhino)

Danny Marks- Man on the Radio

Man on the Radio – single (Danny Marks)

Nanci Griffith- Listen to the Radio

Winter Marquee (Rounder)

Tom Lewis & Mike Regenstreif (2006) photo: David Shapiro

Tom Lewis- Radio Times

360º: All Points of the Compass (Borealis)

Jamie Anderson- Public Radio

Better Than Chocolate (Tsunami)

The LYNNeS- Heartbreak Song for the Radio

Heartbreak Song for the Radio (The LYNNeS)

Small Potatoes- Turn Your Radio On

Raw (Small Potatoes)

Emily White- Radio

Radio – single (Emily White)

Amelia Curran- Song on the Radio

They Promised You Mercy (Six Shooter)

Blackie & The Rodeo Kings- Song on the Radio

Bark (True North)

Wanda Fischer & Mike Regenstreif (2017)

Wanda Fischer, Eric Erickson & Matt Watroba- Late Night Radio

Singing Along with the Radio (Wanda Fischer)

Katy Moffatt- Midnight Radio

Midnight Radio (True North)

Dave Alvin- Border Radio

Live from Austin TX (New West)

Aengus Finnan- One Hand on the Radio

North Wind (Borealis)

The Short Sisters- Ten Pound Radio

Live from Four States (Black Socks Press)

Rod MacDonald- Distant Radios

Highway to Nowhere (Shanachie)

Clela- Angels on the Radio

More Love and Happiness (Clela)

Matt Patershuk- Turn the Radio Up

An Honest Effort (Black Hen)

Susan Werner- Barn Radio

Flyover Country (Susan Werner)

Erin Ash Sullivan- Radio Show

We Can Hear Each Other (Willoughby)

Bruce Cockburn- Radio Shoes

Inner City Front: Deluxe Edition (True North)

Next week: Addendums to Past Themes.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday April 10, 2021

Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU in Ottawa heard live on Saturday mornings from 7 until 10 am (Eastern time) and then available for on-demand streaming. 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 prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/51567.html

Note: I was subbing for Stephen Neale on this edition of Saturday Morning. I will be back in my regular Saturday Morning slot on April 24. Steve should be back in his next slot in the rotation on May 8.

The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem- Early Morning Rain
The Bold Fenian Men (Columbia)

Marc Nerenberg- I Wish I was a Mole in the Ground
On the Street Again (Marc Nerenberg)
Hannah Shira Naiman- Train On the Island
Know the Mountain (Merriweather)
Joachim Cooder- Over That Road I’m Bound to Go
Over That Road I’m Bound: The Songs of Uncle Dave Macon (Nonesuch)

Reggie Harris- My Working Bones
On Solid Ground (Reggie Harris Music)
Crys Matthews- Exactly Where You Are
Changemakers (Crys Matthews)
Tret Fure- Monuments
Stone by Stone (Tomboy girl Records)
Noel Paul Stookey- In These Times
Just Causes (Neworld)
Tim Grimm- A Dream
Gone (Vault)

Michael J. Miles- Mississippi Overture
Mississippi River Suite/Which Side Are You On? (Right Turn On Red Music)
Leon Bibb- Ol’ Man River
Praising Peace: A Tribute to Paul Robeson (Stony Plain)
Michael J. Miles featuring Zahra Glenda Baker- Mississippi River Suite, Part 1
Mississippi River Suite/Which Side Are You On? (Right Turn On Red Music)
Dave Brubeck Quartet featuring Jimmy Rushing- River Stay ‘Way From My Door
Brubeck & Rushing (Columbia)
Michael J. Miles featuring Zahra Glenda Baker- Mississippi River Suite, Part 2
Mississippi River Suite/Which Side Are You On? (Right Turn On Red Music)
Tom Russell & Iris DeMent- Big Water
The Long Way Around (HighTone)

Anne Hills- Golden Arms
Accidental August (Hand & Heart Music)
Katie Oates- Here in Gastonia
We Go On: Si Kahn’s Songs of Hope in Hard Times (Hollow Reed Arts Recordings)
Dave Clarke- A Thousand Days Like This
The Healing Garden (Crossties)
Steel Rail- The Last Time
Coming Home (Crossties)

Peggy Seeger- How I Long for Peace
First Farewell (Red Grape Music)
Frank London with Cantor Yaakov 'Yanky' Lemmer- Oseh Shalom
Ghetto Songs (Felmay)
Christopher Mark Jones- Call Back Your Soldiers
Looking for the Light (Small Batch Music)
Eliza Gilkyson, Patty Griffin, Mary Chapin Carpenter & Iris DeMent- Peace Call
Land of Milk and Honey (Red House)
Reggie Harris- On Solid Ground
On Solid Ground (Reggie Harris Music)

Dave Alvin- Bus Station
King of California (HighTone)
David Francey- Ankle Tattoo
The Waking Hour (Jericho Beach Music)
Michael Jerome Browne- Somebody Have Mercy
That’s Where It’s At! (Borealis)

Maria Dunn- Waltzing with the Angels
Joyful Banner Blazing (Distant Whisper)
Willie Dunn- Peruvian Dream (Part 1)
Creation Never Sleeps, Creation Never Dies: The Willie Dunn Anthology (Light in the Attic)
Anna Elizabeth Laube- Jardim da Estrela
Annamania (Continental Song City)

Mike Regenstreif & David Amram (2004) photo: Ron Petronko

David Amram & Ramblin' Jack Elliott- Going North
No More Walls (Flying Fish)

Last Forever- Buddy’s Blues
No Place Like Home/Last Forever (2nd Story Sound)
Wynton Marsalis & Catherine Russell- Buddy’s Horn
Bolden: Music from the Original Soundtrack (Blue Engine)
Bill Morrissey- Buddy Bolden’s Blues
Something I Saw or Thought I Saw (Philo)

Maria Muldaur with Tuba Skinny- I Like You Best of All
Let’s Get Happy Together (Stony Plain)
Annabelle Chvostek- Belleville rendez-vous
String of Pearls (Annabelle Chvostek)
The Slowlinks- I Ain’t Got Nobody
Stay With Me Awhile (weewerk)
Samoa Wilson with The Jim Kweskin Band- Me, Myself and I
I Just Want to Be Horizontal (Kingswood)
Le Chat Mort- Bye Bye Baby Bye
Roses (Le Chat Mort)

Laura Smith & Mike Regenstreif (2013)

Rachelle Garniez- Don’t You Know
Gone to Glory (StorySound)
Laura Smith- I’m a Beauty
As Long As I’m Dreaming (Borealis)

David Broza- Night Dawn (Silver Dollar)
Night Dawn: The Unpublished Poetry of Townes Van Zandt (S-Curve)
Bob Jensen- Colorado Girl
For the Sake of the Song (Bob Jensen)
Matthew Barber & Jill Barber- If I Needed You
The Family Album (Outside)
Townes Van Zandt- Snowin’ On Raton
At My Window (Sugar Hill)
Orit Shimoni- Song for Townes
Strange and Beautiful Things (Orit Shimoni)

Shtreiml- Sirba Amen Sela
Har Meron (I.J. Rosenblatt)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on April 24. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm.

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

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

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

Various Artists – Tulare Dust: a songwriters’ tribute to Merle Haggard (Expanded Edition)

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Tulare Dust: a songwriters’ tribute to Merle Haggard (Expanded Edition)
RockBeat 
fronterarecords.com

Tulare Dust: a songwriters’ tribute to Merle Haggard, co-produced by Tom Russell and Dave Alvin and originally released in 1994, was one of the very finest tribute albums of that era and featured a great collection of 15 roots artists singing their favorite songs from Merle Haggard’s impressive catalog.

Tulare Dust has recently been reissued as an expanded 2-CD set; the first CD is the original album while the second CD is live tracks taken from the CD release concert which featured about half the artists each doing their Haggard selection plus one of their own.

Dave Alvin nails the significance of Haggard in the liner notes to this new edition when he writes that Haggard “has always been one of the great American songwriters in the folk music tradition. Being in this folk tradition doesn’t necessarily just mean strumming an acoustic guitar in a coffee house, it can also mean learning your musical craft from your elders, then taking what you’ve learned and finding your own voice inside that musical and community tradition. It’s what Muddy Waters and Bill Monroe did. It’s what Hank Williams, Sam Cooke, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and Curtis Mayfield did. It’s exactly what Merle Haggard did.”

Haggard himself has paid tribute to some of those musical elders – notably Jimmie Rodgers and Bob Wills – who influenced him. But, as becomes obvious in listening to some of these songs, the influence of Woody Guthrie is also strongly felt in Haggard’s work. Listen to Tom Russell’s great medley of “Tulare Dust/They’re Tearing the Labor Camps Down” to understand that Haggard’s own family were among the waves of Okies who risked all of their do-re-mi trying to find a better life in California during the Dust Bowl era.

That Guthrie influence can also be heard in such songs as “Kern River,” sung from deep-in-the-traditional-well by Dave Alvin and “A Working Man Can’t Get Nowhere Today,” sung with conviction by Peter Case.

Some of my other favorite tracks include Iris DeMent’s world-weary version of “Big City”; Lucinda Williams’ heartbreaking version of the heartbroken “You Don’t Have Very Far to Go”; Marshall Crenshaw’s rendition of the separation song “Silver Wings”; and Steve Young’s sad version of “Shopping for Dresses,” Haggard’s portrait of loneliness.

Another highlight is R&B singer Barrence Whitfield’s very affecting take on “Irma Jackson,” Haggard’s poignant song about inter-racial love – a song that was taboo-breaking in the world of early-1970s country music.

Among the best of the songwriters’ original material on the second CD are Tom Russell’s always exciting “Gallo del Cielo,” Dave Alvin’s “King of California,” Billy Joe Shaver’s “Georgia on a Fast Train,” and Peter Case’s “A Little Wind (Could Blow Me Away),” about Elvis Presley's comeback concert, which was co-written by Tom Russell.

Tulare Dust: a songwriters’ tribute to Merle Haggard was a great album 20 years ago and is made even greater by the inclusion of the second live disc.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Sing Out! Magazine – Autumn ‘09/Winter ‘10

My copy of the latest issue of Sing Out! Magazine arrived in today’s mail. The cover story is on Richie Havens, a member of the Folk Roots/Folk Branches guest list.

As usual, this issue of Sing Out! has a bunch of my CD reviews including:

Albert & Gage- Dakota Lullaby: The Songs of Tom Peterson
Dave Alvin- Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women
David Baxter- Day & Age
Jim Byrnes- My Walking Stick
Leonard Cohen- Live in London
Ronny Cox- Songs... With Repercussions
Nanci Griffith- The Loving Kind
James Hill & Ann Davison- True Love Don’t Weep
Tish Hinojosa- Our Little Planet
Hotcha!- Dust Bowl Roots: Songs for the New Depression
Willie Nelson- Naked Willie
Corin Raymond- There will Always be a Small Time
Red Stick Ramblers- My Suitcase is Always Packed
Robert Resnik & Marty Morrissey- Old & New Songs of Lake Champlain
Sunny and Her Joy Boys- Introducing Sunny and Her Joy Boys
Twist of the Wrist- Twist of the Wrist
Various- Appalachia: Music from Home
Various- Man of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to Chris Gaffney
Susan Werner- Classics

--Mike Regenstreif