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.
Folk-rooted and folk-branched reviews, commentaries, radio playlists and suggestions from veteran music journalist and broadcaster Mike Regenstreif.
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – May 6, 2025: The Banjo Special
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.
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – April 8, 2025: A Tribute to Doc Watson
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.
Doc Watson was one of the most influential guitarists and singers of folk and related musical styles of all time. Blind since infancy, Doc was from Deep Gap, North Carolina and began his professional career playing electric guitar in a country and western band in the early 1950s. Doc had a deep repertoire of traditional folk songs and by the 1960s was performing folk music on acoustic guitar and banjo. Doc died in 2012 at age 89.
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 12, 2024: Remembering Barbara Dane (1927-2024)
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.
Monday, August 12, 2024
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – August 20, 2024: Murder Ballads
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.
Thursday, June 27, 2024
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – July 2, 2024: 1964
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.
Monday, March 11, 2024
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – March 19, 2024: Music
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.
Saturday, June 3, 2023
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday June 13, 2023: Train Songs, Volume II
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.
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday April 25, 2023: Willie Nelson at 90
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.
Willie Nelson will turn 90 on April 29th and as Bob Dylan wrote in his book, The Philosophy of Modern Song, “Willie Nelson could, as they say, sing the phone book and make you weep – he could also write the phonebook.”
Friday, December 30, 2022
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday January 3, 2023: Songs of Tom Paxton
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.
Wednesday, October 12, 2022
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday October 18, 2022: Songs of Jimmie Rodgers
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.
Saturday, January 1, 2022
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday January 4, 2022: The Folk Roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Branches of Folk Music
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 was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/54758.html
Theme: The Folk Roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Branches of Folk Music – rock ‘n’ roll artists sing folk songs and folk-rooted artists sing rock ‘n’ roll songs.
The Animals- House of the Rising Sun
The Animals (ABCKO)
Dave Van Ronk- Alley Oop
Dave Van Ronk and The Hudson Dusters (Verve Forecast)
Little Richard- Rock Island Line
Folkways: A Vision Shared – A Tribute to Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly (Columbia)
Ian & Sylvia- Twenty Four Hours from Tulsa
Play One More (Vanguard)
David Johansen and the Harry Smiths- James Alley Blues
David Johansen and the Harry Smiths (Chesky)
Last Forever- Duke of Earl
Trainfare Home (StorySound)
Rod Stewart- Man of Constant Sorrow
Handbags and Gladrags: The Essential Rod Stewart (Spectrum)
Original Sloth Band- Get a Job
Whoopee After Midnight (Sloth)
Ronnie Hawkins- John Henry
The Folk Ballads of Ronnie Hawkins (Edsel)
James Stephens, Finest Kind, Tao Rodriguez-Seeger & Mike Regenstreif (2009) |
Finest Kind- Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?
Silks & Spices (Fallen Angle Music)
John Oates- My Creole Belle
Arkansas (PS)
Chaim Tannenbaum, Kate & Anna McGarrigle & Lily Lanken- Young Love
The McGarrigle Hour (Hannibal)
The Band- Ain’t No More Cane on the Brazos
The Band: 50th Anniversary Edition (Capitol)
Tom Rush- Too Much Monkey Business
Tom Rush/Take a Little Walk with Me (BGO)
Bruce Springsteen- Jacob’s Ladder
We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (Columbia)
Brooksie Wells- I’m a Believer
Stops Time (Down Home Dive)
The Beach Boys- Sloop John B
Fifty Big Ones: Greatest Hits (Capitol)
Jesse Winchester- Whispering Bells
A Reasonable Amount of Trouble (Appleseed)
Creedence Clearwater Revival- Cotton Fields
Willy and the Poor Boys (Fantasy)
Kathy & Carol- Searchin’
The Village Out West: The Lost Tapes of Alan Oakes – Field Recordings of the 1960s California Folk Music Scene (Smithsonian Folkways)
Mike Regenstreif & Mary McCaslin (1999) |
Johnny Rivers- Long Time Man
Johnny Rivers Rocks the Folk (Imperial)
Doc Watson- Shake, Rattle and Roll
Docabilly (Sugar Hill)
Brook Benton- It Takes a Worried Man
The Boll Weevil Song (Mercury)
Mary McCaslin- Pinball Wizard
Old Friends (Philo)
Sting- Shallow Brown
Rogues’ Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys (Anti-)
Huxtable, Christensen & Hood- Mr. Blue
Melancholy Babies (Front Hall)
The Roches- Come Softly to Me
Another World (Warner Bros.)
Next week: Songs of Winter.
Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif
--Mike Regenstreif
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday September 7, 2021: A Tribute to The Everly Brothers
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 was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/53344.html
Theme: A Tribute to The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers – Phil Everly, who died in 2014 at age 74, and Don Everly, who died on August 21st at age 84 – were a highly influential duo whose music encompassed rock ‘n’ roll, country and folk music. All the songs on this show were recorded, at one time or another, by The Everly Brothers.
The Everly Brothers- This Little Girl of Mine
Cadence Classics: Their 20 Greatest Hits (Rhino)
Madeleine Peyroux- Bye Bye Love
The Blue Room (Decca)
Simon & Garfunkel- Wake Up Little Susie
The Concert in Central Park (Warner Bros.)
Kate Brislin & Katy Moffatt- Sleepless Nights
Sleepless Nights (Rounder)
The Persuasions- All I Have to Do is Dream
Good News (Rounder)
The Everly Brothers- Sweet Dreams
Walk Right Back: The Everly Brothers on Warner Bros. 1960 to 1969 (Warner Archives)
Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris- Love Hurts
Grievous Angel (Reprise)
Linda Ronstadt- When Will I Be Loved
Heart Like a Wheel (Capitol)
The Everly Brothers- (‘Til) I Kissed You
Cadence Classics: Their 20 Greatest Hits (Rhino)
Andy Hedges- Roving Gambler
Cowboy Songster (Yellowhouse)
Ian & Sylvia- Down By the Willow Garden
Ian & Sylvia (Vanguard)
Tim Grimm & Carrie Newcomer- Barbara Allen
Names (Wind River)
Billie Joe + Norah- Who’s Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet?
Foreverly (Reprise)
The Everly Brothers- I’m Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail
Songs Our Daddy Taught Us (Rhino)
Nanci Griffith- Walk Right Back
Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful) (Elektra)
The Everly Brothers- On the Wings of a Nightingale
EB 84 (Mercury)
John Sebastian- Stories We Could Tell
Faithful Virtue: The Reprise Recordings (Rhino)
The Everly Brothers- The Brand New Tennessee Waltz
Stories We Could Tell (RCA)
Jesse Winchester- Bowling Green
Seem Like Only Yesterday: Live in Montreal 1976 (Real Gone Music)
Kate Brislin & Katy Moffatt- So Sad
Sleepless Nights (Rounder)
Roberta Flack- Let It Be Me
Chapter Two (Atlantic)
Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris- Brand New Heartache
Sleepless Nights (A&M)
Doc Watson- Bird Dog
Docabilly (Sugar Hill)
The Everly Brothers- I’m Movin’ On
Walk Right Back: The Everly Brothers on Warner Bros. 1960 to 1969 (Warner Archives)
The Everly Brothers- Asleep
EB 84 (Mercury)
Next week: Strange Songs and Stranger Songs
Find me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/mikeregenstreif
And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif
--Mike Regenstreif
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday October 10, 2020
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/128/49293.html
Christine Lavin- On My Way to Hooterville (pt. 1)
On My Way to Hooterville (Christine Lavin)
Tom Rush- Urge for Going
Tom Rush Celebrates 50 Years of Music (Appleseed)
Steel Rail- Winter Wren
Coming Home (Crossties)
Archie Fisher & Garnet Rogers- Waltz Into Winter
The Best Times After All: Live (Snow Goose Songs)
Sylvie Simmons- Keep Dancing
Blue on Blue (Compass)
John Fusco & The X-Road Riders- Applejack Brandy
John the Revelator (John Fusco)
Kim Wallach- Moonache and Heartlight
Chatter of the Finches (Black Socks Press)
Don Armstrong- Annabelle Teaching Her Daddy to Dance
Mother Don’t Give Up on Me Now (Ronstadt Record Co.)
Dirk Powell featuring Sara Watkins- The Little Things
When I Wait for You (Compass)
Kelly's Lot- Foolish Try
Another Sky (Kelly Zirbes)
Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt- Carry a Tune
Shadow of the Cyclone (Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt)
Susan Pepper- The Prettiest Bird
The Prettiest Bird (Ballad Records)
Bella White- Just Like Leaving
Just Like Leaving (Isabel White)
Nina Ricci- Fare Thee Well
Fare Thee Well: A Joan Baez Tribute (Nina Ricci)
Doc & Merle Watson- Down Yonder
Songs Doc Didn’t Sing (FLI Records)
Extended Feature – Remembering Billie Holiday (1915-1959). The next 17 songs were all recorded by Billie Holiday at some point during the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s.
Rosalie Sorrels- Falling in Love Again, Can’t Help It
Learned by Livin’, Sung by Heart (Way Out in Idaho)
Jackie Washington- Them There Eyes
The World of Jackie Washington (Borealis)
Stringband- What a Little Moonlight Can Do
The Indispensable 1972-2002 (Nick)
Billie Holiday- Swing, Brother, Swing
The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Volume 8 (Columbia/Legacy)
Samoa Wilson with The Jim Kweskin Band- I Cried for You
I Just Want to Be Horizontal (Kingswood)
Michael Jerome Browne- He Ain’t Got Rhythm
Drive On (Borealis)
Mose Scarlett with Ken Whiteley- It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie
The Fundamental Things (Pyramid)
Billie Holiday- I Loves You Porgy
Lover Man (Decca)
Diana Krall- I Wished on the Moon
This Dream of You (Verve)
David Clayton-Thomas- Don’t Explain
Aurora (Justin Time)
Sneezy Waters- Solitude
Sneezy Waters (Sneezy Waters)
Catherine Russell- I Cover the Waterfront
Bring It Back (Jazz Village)
Billie Holiday- Georgia On My Mind
The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Volume 9 (Columbia/Legacy)
Madeleine Peyroux- This is Heaven to Me
Careless Love (Rounder)
Oscar Brown, Jr..- God Bless the Child
The Voice of Cool (Not Now Music)
Josh White- Strange Fruit
The Josh White Stories, Vols. I & II (Jasmine)
Billie Holiday- Billie’s Blues
The Quintessential Billie Holiday, Volume 2 (Columbia/Legacy)
In memory of inspiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933-2020). Marc Nerenberg wrote “Ruth’s Blues” on September 19, the day after Justice Ginsburg passed away.
Marc Nerenberg- Ruth’s Blues
Unreleased song – used with permission
Penny Lang- Never Turning Back
Carry On Children (She-Wolf)
Tim Grimm- Gone
Gone – single (Vault)
Donal Hinely- Couldn’t Breathe
Diary of a Snowflake (Atom)
Iris DeMent- How Long
How Long – single (Flariella)
“I am a Typhus Louse” was written in a ghetto in Transnistria (now part of Moldavia and Ukraine) in 1942. It was recorded for a forthcoming project of pandemic songs by Yiddish Glory. Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK8ERL5SSic to see the subtitles of the lyrics in English.
Yiddish Glory & The Payadora Tango Ensemble- I am a Typhus Louse
I am a Typhus Louse – single (Yiddish Glory)
Mike Craver- I Ain’t Dead Yet
Mould’s Undertaking (Sapsucker)
Matt Watroba- Will’s Will
The Si Kahn Funny Song Sing-Along Song Book (Matt Watroba)
Vance Gilbert- The Day Before November
Good Good Man (Disismye Music)
Bill Garrett- Thanksgiving Eve
Seems to Me (Borealis)
Ronny Cox- Bus to Baltimore
Live at the Kitchen Sink (Ronny Cox)
Josh White, Jr..- The Dutchman
Live at the Raven Gallery (Silverwolf)
Gathering Time- If You Could Read My Mind
Old Friends (Triple-G Records)
Matthew Alexander- Steel Rail Blues
Soul River (Caravan Records)
Gordon Lightfoot- Did She Mention My Name
Songbook (Warner Archives/Rhino)
Shtreiml- Nigun Hachana
Har Meron (I.J. Rosenblatt)
I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on November 7.
Find me on Twitter. @MikeRegenstreif
And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif
--Mike Regenstreif