Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – March 24, 2026: Remembering Paul Geremia, Roy Book Binder, John Hammond, Dolores Keane and Country Joe McDonald

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/595/74653.html

Theme: Remembering Paul Geremia, Roy Book Binder, John Hammond, Dolores Keane and Country Joe McDonald.

Remembering Country Joe McDonald (1942-2026)

Country Joe McDonald (1979)

Country Joe McDonald – who died from complications of Parkinson’s disease on March 7 at age 84 – was co-founder with Barry “The Fish” Melton, of Country Joe & The Fish, and then a solo artist for many decades. 

Country Joe & The Fish- I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-to-Die-Rag

The Life and Times of Country Joe & The Fish from Haight Ashbury to Woodstock (Vanguard)

Country Joe & The Fish- Flying High

The Life and Times of Country Joe & The Fish from Haight Ashbury to Woodstock (Vanguard)

Country Joe McDonald- When the Curfew Blows

Thinking of Woody Guthrie (Vanguard)

Remembering Augie Meyers (1940-2026)

Augie Meyers

Augie Meyers – who died on March 7 at age 85 – was an organist, pianist, accordionist and singer best known as a founding member with Doug Sahm of the Sir Douglas Quintet and with Doug Sahm, Freddy Fender and Flaco Jimenez of the Texas Tornados. He was also a studio musician who worked with many artists including Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, John Hammond and Tom Russell.

Sir Douglas Quintet- Goin’ Down to Mexico

Live from Austin TX (New West)

Texas Tornados- Guacamole

Hangin’ on by a Thread (Reprise)

Tom Russell with Augie Meyers- And God Created Bordertowns

Mesabi (Shout! Factory)

Remembering Dolores Keane (1953-2026)

Dolores Keane

Dolores Keane – who died on March 16 at age 72 – was one of the greatest Irish folk singers. She was a founding member of the band De Dannan and a solo artist. She also collaborated with such artists as Tom Russell, John Prine, Emmylou Harris and Tommy Sands.

Dolores Keane- Fare Thee Well a Stór

Night Owl (Alula)

Dolores Keane- Mary Clare Molloy (American Wake)

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Remembering John Hammond (1942-2026)

John Hammond

John Hammond – who was sometimes known as John Hammond, Jr. and John Paul Hammond – died from cardiac arrest on February 28 at age 83. John said he was introduced to the blues in 1949 at age 7 when his father, the legendary record producer John Hammond, Sr., took him to see Big Bill Broonzy. In the early-1960s, John emerged as one of the great revivalists of the blues.

John Hammond- Mean Old Frisco

John Hammond (Vanguard)

John Hammond- Fore Day Rider Blues

Found True Love (Pointblank)

John Hammond- Love Changin’ Blues

Trouble No More (Pointblank)

John Hammond with Augie Meyers- Jockey Full of Bourbon

Wicked Grin (Pointblank)

Remembering Roy Book Binder (1943-2026)

Roy Book Binder

Roy Book Binder – who died on March 3 at age 82 – took up the guitar while serving in the U.S. Navy in the early-1960s. After leaving the navy, he studied with Reverend Gary Davis and then became his chauffeur and touring companion for several years. He also became close with several other blues legends, perhaps most significantly, Pink Anderson. In addition to being a great interpreter of Piedmont-style blues, Roy was also fine songwriter in the blues tradition. Roy remained an active touring artist until his death.

Roy Book Binder- Travelin’ Man

Travelin’ Man (Adelphi/Genes)

Roy Book Binder- Stack O Lee

Ragtime Millionaire (Blue Goose)

Roy Book Binder- Let Us Get Together

Polk City Ramble (Rounder)

Roy Book Binder- The Preacher Picked the Guitar

Singer-Songwriter Bluesman (PEGleg)

Roy Book Binder- Travelin’ Man Blues

Singer-Songwriter Bluesman (PEGleg)

Remembering Paul Geremia (1944-2026)

Paul Geremia & Mike Regenstreif (2012)

Paul Geremia – who died on March 14 at age 81 – was one the greatest blues revivalists. No less a figure than Dave Van Ronk said he was THE greatest. Paul was also a great songwriter. Sadly, Paul suffered a debilitating stroke in 2014 and spent his remaining years in a nursing home in his home state of Rhode Island.

Paul Geremia- I’ll Be Goin’

Just Enough (Folkways)

Paul Geremia- Elegant Hobo

Paul Geremia (Sire)

Paul Geremia- Dying Crapshooter’s Blues

Live from Uncle Sam’s Backyard (Red House)

Paul Geremia- Dr. Jazz 

Love My Stuff (Red House)

Paul Geremia- The Truth is on the Streets

Self Portrait in Blues (Red House)

Next week: A Tribute to Buddy Holly.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – November 19, 2024: Immigration, Part 1 – The Man from God Knows Where

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/595/67731.html

Theme: Immigration, Part 1 – The Man from God Knows Where.

As I wrote in Sing Out magazine in 1999 … Thomas Russell was a leader of the United Irish Rebellion in the 1790s. Two centuries later, singer and songwriter Tom Russell was playing a gig in Downpatrick, Ireland when he was approached by an old man in a bar. “Thomas Russell,” he said, “we hung you across the road in 1798.” Tom bought the old man a pint of beer and heard the story of his namesake and of the narrative poem about him called “The Man from God Knows Where.”

For several years prior to that encounter, Tom had been working on a song-cycle that began when a phrase, “American primitive man in an American primitive land,” occurred to him. Originally, Tom conceived the piece as a long tone-poem that would tell some of the history of America absent from the standard history texts. But as he wrote, Tom soon recognized that his own family’s history would provide much of the raw material he needed to tell a compelling story of immigration and the pursuit of the American Dream.

So, more than 200 years after Thomas Russell’s hanging, the man from God knows where is resurrected to observe and to chronicle the struggles, tragedies and joys of the Russells and Malloys who immigrate to the United States from Ireland in the nineteenth century, and of the Larsens and Olsens who come from Norway, and of their lineage through to today’s Tom Russell.

      

Tom Russell’s The Man from God Knows Where is more than just a song-cycle, it’s a fully realized folk-opera featuring Tom and a superb cast of American, Irish and Norwegian singers. Using singers with authentic Irish, Norwegian and rural and urban American accents helps provide authenticity to the voices of Russell’s ancestors and to the other characters who are brought to life in the folk-opera. As well, Tom frequently utilizes distinctly Irish and Norwegian instruments and musical forms to complement the more familiar American folk styles that run through the score to The Man from God Knows Where.

Tom wrote most of the songs we hear in The Man from God Knows Where. There are also some traditional folksongs, a song written by David Massengill, and a poem by Walt Whitman.

Tom Russell- The Man from God Knows Where

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Iris DeMent- Wayfarin’ Stranger

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell & Iris DeMent- Patrick Russell

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Dolores Keane- Mary Clare Molloy (American Wake)

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Dave Van Ronk- The Outcast

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Sondre Bratland & Iris DeMent- Ambrose Larsen

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell & Dolores Keane- The Dreamin’

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Sondre Bratland & Kari Bremnes- The Old Northern Shore

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell & Walt Whitman- The Man from God Knows Where/America

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Kari Bremnes- Anna Olsen

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell- Rider on an Orphan Train

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Iris DeMent- Acres of Corn

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell- The Man from God Knows Where

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell- Sitting Bull in Venice

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Iris DeMent & Kari Bremnes- The Old Rugged Cross

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Kari Bremnes- Anna Olsen’s Letter Home

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Sondre Bratland- Eg er framand

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Dolores Keane & Iris DeMent- When Irish Girls Grow Up

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell- Casey Jones

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell- Chickasaw County Jail

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Knut Reiersrud- Wayfarin’ Stranger (Passage of Time)

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell & Iris DeMent- Throwin’ Horseshoes at the Moon

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell- The Man from God Knows Where

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Dave Van Ronk- The Outcast (revisited)

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Iris DeMent- Wayfarin’ Stranger (revisited)

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Tom Russell & Iris DeMent- Love Abides

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

“Wayfarin’ Stranger” is one of the recurring themes in The Man from God Knows Where so I used the last few minutes of the show to play a recent version of the song.

American Patchwork Quartet- Wayfaring Stranger

American Patchwork Quartet (Carolina Jasmine)

Next week: Immigration, Part 2.

--Mike Regenstreif

Playlist: Folk Roots/Folk Branches - March 15-21, 2014

Folk Roots/Folk Branches with Mike Regenstreif is a thematic program streamed on the radio service at Roots Music Canada. – http://www.rootsmusic.ca/

A new show debuts every Saturday and repeats daily through the rest of the week.

March 15-21, 2014

Theme: Irish and Irish-inspired Songs.

Aoife Clancy- Are You Sleepin’, Maggie

Silvery Moon (Appleseed)

The Fretless- Waving to Ryan: The Rolling Waves/The North Star/Sean Ryan's Jig

The Fretless (The Fretless)

Brendan Nolan w/Colin Farrell- Lanigan’s Ball/The Side Door Jig

Live at the Side Door (Ould Sagosha)

Laura Smith- Horses and Ploughs

Everything is Moving (Borealis)

Seán Tyrrell- Cry of the Dreamer

The Best of Seán Tyrrell (Arc)

Danny Doyle- Kilkelly, Ireland

Spirit of the Gael (Cracker Barrel)

Garnet Rogers- Farewell to Music

Garnet Rogers (Snow Goose)

James Keelaghan- McConnville’s

History: The First 25 Years (Borealis) or House of Cards (Borealis)

Tom Russell- Fields of Athenry

Museum of Memories Vol. 2: 1972-2013 (Frontera)

Dolores Keane- Mary Clare Malloy

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

Dolores Keane & Iris DeMent- When Irish Girls Grow Up

The Man from God Knows Where (HighTone)

The Chieftains & Doc Watson- Fisherman’s Hornpipe/The Devil’s Dream

Further Down the Old Plank Road (RCA)

Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy- Town of Ballybay

The Makem & Clancy Collection (Shanachie)

Teresa Doyle- Jimmy’s Jig

Song Road (Bedlam)

The Wailin' Jennys- The Parting Glass

40 Days (Jericho Beach)

This show can be heard at http://www.rootsmusic.ca/ on:

Saturday, March 15 – 10-11 am

Sunday, March 16 – 10-11 am

Monday, March 17 – 9-10 pm

Tuesday, March 18 – 9-10 pm

Wednesday, March 19 – 11 pm-12 am

Thursday, March 20 – 11 pm-12 am

Friday, March 21 – 11 pm-12 am.

The times listed are Eastern Daylight Time. Please adjust the schedule for whatever time zone you’re in.

Next week: New Release Roundup.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif