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/595/73359.html
Theme: A Christmas Concert with Odetta and More Songs for the Holiday.
Odetta – who died in 2008 less than a month before her 78th birthday – was one of the most influential folksingers of her time. In the late-1950s, a teenaged rock singer in Minnesota named Robert Zimmerman decided to pursue folk music after hearing an Odetta album, and later arrived in New York City calling himself Bob Dylan. Others, among many, who have cited Odetta’s influence include Joan Baez, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin and Harry Belafonte. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to Odetta as “the voice of the civil rights movement.
Odetta was accompanied throughout the concert by pianist Seth Farber and, on a couple of songs, by The Holmes Brothers.
Odetta with The Holmes Brothers- This Little Light of Mine
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- Rise Up Shepherd and Follow
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- Mary had a Baby
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- What Month was Jesus Born In
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- Shout for Joy
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- Virgin Mary Had One Son
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta with The Holmes Brothers- Down By the Riverside
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- Poor Little Jesus
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- Freedom Trilogy: Oh Freedom, Come & Go With Me and I’m On My Way
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- Somebody Talking ‘Bout Jesus
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- Keep On Movin’ It On
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- O Jerusalem
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- If Anybody Asks You
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Odetta- Midnight Special
Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays (M.C.)
Chris White- That’s Christmas
That’s Christmas – single (Chris White)
Maggie’s Wake- It Ain’t Christmas Without You
Close to Home (Maggie’s Wake)
Chaim Tannenbaum- A Winter Tale
A Winter Tale – single (StorySound)
Good Lovelies- The Chipmunk Song
Under the Mistletoe (Good Lovelies)
Erik Frandsen- Christmas in Brooklyn
Antiques: New & Used (Erik Frandsen)
Shelley Posen- You are All the Christmas That I Need
Old Loves (Well Done Music)
Rosalie Sorrels- Hot Buttered Rum
An Imaginary Christmas in Idaho (Limberlost)
Stan Rogers- At Last, I’m Ready for Christmas
Songs of a Lifetime: From Coffeehouse to Concert Hall (Fogarty’s Cove/Borealis)
David Massengill- Jesus, the Fugitive Prince
The Return (Plump)
Next week: My Top 10 Folk-Rooted or Folk-Branched albums of 2025.
--Mike Regenstreif
