Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – August 5, 2025: Songs of Steve Gillette and John Stewart

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/595/71387.html

Theme: Songs of Steve Gillette and John Stewart.

The songs in the first half of the show were written or co-written by Steve Gillette (born 1942). 

Mike Regenstreif & Steve Gillette (1994)

Steve Gillette- The Old Trail

Best of (Compass Rose Music)

Stephen Mendel- Darcy Farrow

Sing Me a Story (Stephen Mendel)

Ian & Sylvia- Molly and Tenbrooks

Play One More (Vanguard)

Chuck Pyle- Share Me with Texas

Keepin’ Time By the River (Bee ‘n’ Flower)

Steve Gillette- Down Where the River Meets the Road

Best of (Compass Rose Music)

Ted Hawkins- Happy Hour 

Happy Hour (Rounder)

Don Williams- Healing Hands

Reflections (Sugar Hill)

Fourtold- Two Men in the Building

Fourtold (Appleseed)

Linda Ronstadt- A Number and a Name

Hand Sown…Home Grown (Capitol)

Marty Morrissey- Grapes on the Vine

The Ancient Ground (Marty Morrissey)

Carolyn Hester- 2:10 Train

At Town Hall (Bear Family)

Steve Gillette- Back on the Street Again

Best of (Compass Rose Music)

The songs in the second half of the show were written or co-written by John Stewart (1939-2008).

John Stewart (1975)

The Kingston Trio- Hope You Understand

Nick Bob John (Folk Era)

John Stewart & Buffy Ford- Mucky Truckee River

Signals Through the Glass (Folk Era)

Dave Alvin- California Bloodlines

West of the West (Yep Roc)

Josh White, Jr..- July, You’re a Woman

By Request (Silverwolf)

Eddy Arnold- Some Lonesome Picker

Standing Alone (RCA)

John Stewart- Mother Country

California Bloodlines (Capitol)

Anne Murray- Daydream Believer

The Ultimate Collection (Universal)

John Stewart- Anna on a Memory

Cannons in the Rain (RCA)

Kate Wolf- Some Kind of Love

Give Yourself to Love (Rhino)

Bill Staines- Chilly Winds

Going to the West (Red House)

Buffy Ford Stewart- Same Old Heart

Same Old Heart (Global Recording Artists)

Nanci Griffith & John Stewart- Sweet Dreams Will Come

Little Love Affairs (MCA)

John Stewart- Shackles and Chains

California Bloodlines (Capitol)

Next week: The Original Sloth Band at 60.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – May 14, 2024: Songs of Jacques Brel

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/595/65137.html

Theme: Songs of Jacques Brel (1929-1978).

Jacques Brel – who died in 1978 at age 49 from a pulmonary embolism while suffering from terminal lung cancer – was a Belgian singer, songwriter and actor whose theatrical songs are still widely performed, both in French and in English translation.

Jacques Brel- Les Flamandes

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Judy Collins- Marieke

Whales & Nightingales (Elektra)

Amanda McBroom- Girl in an Armchair

Chanson: Amanda McBroom Sings Jacques Brel (Gecko)

Fred Holstein- Amsterdam

Fred Holstein: A Collection (Fred Holstein)

Barb Jungr- Jacky

Bob, Brel and Me (Kristalyn)

Jacques Brel- Au Printemps

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Mary Coughlan- Hearts

Sentimental Killer (Eastwest)

Judy Collins- Sons of

Whales & Nightingales (Elektra)

Amanda McBroom- My Death

Chanson: Amanda McBroom Sings Jacques Brel (Gecko)

Barb Jungr- The Tender Hearts

Bob, Brel and Me (Kristalyn)

Jacques Brel- Les Bourgeois

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Joan Baez- La Colombe – The Dove

Joan (Vanguard)

The Kingston Trio- Seasons in the Sun

Collectors Series (Capitol)

Jennifer Warnes- Old Folks – Les vieux

Just Jennifer (Deram)

Melody Gardot- La Chanson des vieux amants

Sayanora Meu Amor (Decca)

Jacques Brel- Les Singes

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Stacey Kent- If You Go Away

Summer Me, Winter Me (Token Productions)

Judy Collins- The Desperate Ones

Bohemian (Wildflower)

Jacques Brel- Le Colonel

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Barb Jungr- To See a Friend Break Down and Cry

Bob, Brel and Me (Kristalyn)

Amanda McBroom- You Don’t Forget the Past

Chanson: Amanda McBroom Sings Jacques Brel (Gecko)

Jacques Brel- Le Moribond

The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)

Next week: Still More Songs of Bob Dylan.

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday February 1, 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 http://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

This episode of Saturday Morning can be streamed on-demand at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/46720.html

Eliza Meyer & Sam Gleaves- Hello Stranger

Hello Stranger (Eliza Meyer)

In memory of masterful singer-songwriter David Olney. David died January 18 of an apparent heart attack while performing at a festival in Florida. He was 71. I was already an admirer of David's songs and albums when I met him in 1997 when I was MC of the Rounder Records showcase at the Folk Alliance International conference in Toronto and he was one of the performers. His performance there was stunning. I took this photo during a late night showcase at the 2017 Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City.

David Olney- Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

Women Across the River (Strictly Music)

Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris with Kate & Anna McGarrigle- 1917

Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions (Asylum)

The Wailin’ Jennys- Deeper Well

The Wailin’ Jennys (The Wailin’ Jennys)

Mimi Fariña- If My Eyes Were Blind

Solo (Philo)

David Olney- Women Across the River

Women Across the River (Strictly Music)

In memory of Bob Shane, the last of the original members of The Kingston Trio. Bob died January 26. He was 85.

The Kingston Trio- Scotch and Soda

The Kingston Trio (Capitol)

Stephen Mendel- Song for a Winter’s Night

Sing Me a Story (Stephen Mendel)

Miranda Mulholland- Heart Like a Wheel

By Appointment or Chance (Roaring Girl)

Catherine MacLellan- Coyote

Coyote (Catherine MacLellan)

Annette Wasilik- Chincoteague

Love & Fire (Azalea City)

SONiA disappear fear- Picture Perfect

Small House No Secrets Composer’s Cut (Disappear)

Don Bray- Thank You My Friend

I Bless the Wounds (Don Bray)

Sneezy Waters- Papa’s on the Housetop

Sneezy Waters (Sneezy Waters)

Lynne Hanson- Hemmingway’s Songbird

Just Words (Lynne Hanson)

David Francey- Night and Morning

The Broken Heart of Everything (Laker)

Extended feature: A Tribute to Sonny Terry (1911-1986) & Brownie McGhee (1915-1996). Some of the next 16 songs were written by Sonny Terry and/or Brownie McGhee. All were from their repertoire.

Peter, Paul & Mary- Tryin’ to Win

See What Tomorrow Brings (Warner Bros.)

John Jackon- Red River Blues

Front Porch Blues (Alligator)

The Whiteley Brothers- Custard Pie

Bluesology (Pyramid)

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee- Rock Island Line

Blues Masters, Vol. 5 (Storyville)

Happy Traum- Careless Love Blues

Just for the Love of It (Lark’s Nest Music)

Andy Cohen- Spread the News Around

Road Be Kind (Earwig)

Odetta- Stranger Here

Sometimes I Feel Like Cryin’ (RCA)

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee- Confusion

Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry Sing (Smithsonian Folkways)

Tim Williams- Sportin’ Life Blues

Evenings Among Friends (Cayuse)

Sweet Honey in the Rock- Midnight Special

A Tribute: Live! Jazz at Lincoln Centre (Appleseed)

Guy Davis & Fabrizio Poggi- Baby Please Don’t Go Back to New Orleans

Sonny & Brownie’s Last Train (M.C.)

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee with Chris Barber- No Worries on My Mind

London, 1958 (Jasmine)

Penny Lang- Trouble in Mind

Gather Honey (Borealis)

Durham County Poets- I’ve Been Living with the Blues

Hand Me Down Blues (Durham County Poets)

Robert Jones & Matt Watroba- Walk On

Common Chords (Common Chords Records)

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee- That’s Why I’m Walking

Back to New Orleans (Fantasy)

Susan Werner- Napoleon

NOLA: Susan Werner Goes to New Orleans (Sleeve Dog)

Michael Doucet- Walking on a Mardi Gras Day

Lâcher Prise (Compass)

Lyle Lovett- God Will

Lyle Lovett (Curb/MCA)

Judy Collins & Jonas Fjeld with Chatham County Line- The Fallow Way

Winter Stories (Wildflower/Cleopatra)

John Prine- Storm Windows

Souvenirs (Oh Boy)

Leonard Cohen- Moving On

Thanks for the Dance (Columbia/Legacy)

Perla Batalla- So Long, Marianne

Bird on the Wire: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (Mechuda Music)

Vance Gilbert- Pie & Whiskey

Good Good Man (Disismye Music)

Tom Russell- Canadian Whiskey

Old Songs Yet to Sing (Frontera)

Windborne- Chilly Winds

Recollections/Revolutions (Wand’ring Feet Records)

Leigh Cline- Galatia

Galatia (Scimitar)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on February 29. The extended feature will be Songs of Phil Ochs.

Find me on Twitter. @MikeRegenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Peter, Paul and Mary – Discovered: Live in Concert

PETER, PAUL AND MARY

Discovered: Live in Concert

Warner Bros./Rhino

peterpaulandmary.com

I was too young to have been caught up in the wave of commercial folk groups – like the Kingston Trio and Limeliters – that became hugely popular in the late-1950s. But several groups that came along just a little bit later – in particular Ian & Sylvia and Peter, Paul & Mary – did have a huge impact on me as my interest in music, and especially folk music, developed in the ‘60s.

My first Peter, Paul & Mary album was Late Again, which I bought when it was brand new in 1968. Soon I had all their earlier albums as well. Years later, I got to know Noel Paul Stookey a little and, through him, met Peter Yarrow and Mary Travers, when Peter, Paul & Mary performed in Montreal in the ‘80s.

Speaking of the ‘80s – Peter, Paul & Mary began to record their concerts in those years and put the tapes away. Now, they have released Discovered: Live in Concert, a 13-track set of songs from those concert tapes that were never included on any of their albums (although one song, “Mi Caballo Blanco,” was included in their box set, Carry It On), as part of the 2014 celebration of their 50th anniversary – there is also a new PBS pledge drive special and a book – as a group.

As is typical of many Peter, Paul & Mary albums, Discovered: Live in Concert includes some traditional material, some original songs, and their interpretations of material drawn from a variety of contemporary folk-rooted songwriters. And, like most of their concerts, a little silly comedy.

My favorite songs on the CD include Kate Wolf’s beautiful love song, “Give Yourself to Love”; Sarah Elizabeth Campbell’s moving song about homelessness, “Geraldine and Ruthie Mae”; “Cactus in a Coffee Can,” a touching story of a woman’s relationship with her difficult mother written by Steve Seskin and James Shamblin; and John Gorka’s very poignant piece about a wounded World War II vet whose deepest wounds, “the wounds that never heal,” were on the inside.

Peter, Paul & Mary were the most enduring of the commercial folk groups of the 1950s and ‘60s and a big reason for that endurance was that they never just rested on their laurels and constantly refreshed their repertoire with songs, such as those I’ve mentioned, by contemporary songwriters.

I’m guessing these recordings were made through on a line off the sound board at various concerts. As such, it lacks the fidelity you would expect in a professionally-recorded live album. And since the recordings were made at different times in different venues, some do sound better than others.

I mentioned that my first Peter, Paul & Mary album was Late Again. Well, since he trio was formed in 1961 and released their first album in 1962, they were late again in marking their 50th anniversary in 2014.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif