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.

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 recorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/60138.html

Theme: Willie Nelson at 90.

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.”

Willie Nelson- My Own Peculiar Way

My Own Peculiar Way (RCA)

Patsy Cline- Crazy

The Unforgettable Patsy Cline (PolyTel)

Lucinda Williams- Funny How Time Slips Away

Funny How Time Slips Away: A Night of ‘60s Country Classics (Highway 20)

The Little Willies- Night Life

The Little Willies (Milking Bull)

Willie Nelson- Mr. Record Man

Absolutely the Best, Volume 1 (Fuel 2000)

Bobby Bare- One Day at a Time

Constant Sorrow (RCA)

k.d. lang & the reclines- Three Days

Absolute Torch and Twang (Sire)

Colleen Peterson- Sad Songs and Waltzes

Beginning to Feel Like Home (Capitol)

Willie Nelson- Hello Walls

Absolutely the Best, Volume 1 (Fuel 2000)

Willie Nelson- Time of the Preacher

Red Headed Stranger (Columbia/Legacy)

Doc & Merle Watson- I Couldn’t Believe it was True

Elementary Doctor Watson (Tomato)

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott- Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain

Kerouac’s Last Dream (Appleseed)

Willie Nelson- Red Headed Stranger

Red Headed Stranger (Columbia/Legacy)

Willie Nelson- Don’t Get Around Much Anymore

Stardust (Columbia)

Kerri Powers- Always On My Mind

Words on the Wind (Must Have Music)

Emmylou Harris- Sister’s Coming Home

Blue Kentucky Girl (Warner Bros./Rhino)

Willie Nelson- Me and Paul

Wanted! The Outlaws (RCA)

Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel- Hesitation Blues

Willie and the Wheel (Bismeaux)

Willie Nelson & Kimmie Rhodes- I Just Drove By

Just One Love (Justice)

Kinky Friedman & Willie Nelson- Bloody Mary Morning

The Loneliest Man I Ever Met (Avenue A)

Judy Collins & Willie Nelson- When I Go

Strangers Again (Wildflower/Cleopatra)

Wynton Marsalis Septet featuring Willie Nelson- Milk Cow Blues

United We Swing: Best of the Lincoln Centre Galas (Blue Engine)

Willie Nelson & Bonnie Raitt- Getting Over You

Across the Borderline (Columbia)

Townes Van Zandt & Willie Nelson- Marie

Texas Rain: The Texas Hill Country Recordings (Tomato)

Mary Kay Place & Willie Nelson- Something to Brag About

The Ahern Sessions 1976-1977 (Raven)

Next week: Stompin’ at the Savoy.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday March 7, 2023: Songs of Kris Kristofferson

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 recorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/59628.html

Theme: Songs of Kris Kristofferson.

Kris Kristofferson performs at The International Folk Music Awards (2017)

Kris Kristofferson – who recently retired from performing and recording – had tremendous success as a singer and songwriter, and, as an actor. 

I met Kris a couple of times. In 2007, we spent an hour together onstage, and a few minutes chatting beforehand, when I moderated a panel discussion at the Ottawa Folk Festival on the enduring legacy of Woody Guthrie and Kris, along with Nora Guthrie and Jimmy LaFave, was one of the panelists. Then, in 2017, I was an award recipient at the International Folk Music Awards in Kansas City during the Folk Alliance International conference, and Kris was one of the artists who performed at the ceremony, and we had a nice chat at the reception. In both of my encounters with him, Kris couldn’t have been nicer or more humble.

Kris Kristofferson- To Beat the Devil

Me and Bobby McGee (Monument)

Gordon Lightfoot- Me and Bobby McGee

If You Could Read My Mind (Reprise)

Katie Moore- Sunday Morning Coming Down

Only Thing Worse (Borealis)

Johnny Cash- Just the Other Side of Nowhere

Cash Unearthed Volume 1: Who’s Gonna Cry (American)

The Little Willies- For the Good Times

For the Good Times (Milking Bull)

Kris Kristofferson- The Silver Tongued Devil and I

The Silver Tongued Devil and I (Monument)

I noted that Kris Kristofferson was a panelist in a discussion on the enduring influence of Woody Guthrie that I moderated at the Ottawa Folk Festival in 2007. At one point, we were talking about Woody Guthrie’s song, “Tom Joad,” which was essentially a synopsis of John Steinbeck’s book, The Grapes of Wrath, and I mentioned to Kris that one of the few parts of the book that Woody left out of his song was the scene that Kris described in his song, “Here Comes That Rainbow Again.”

Mike Regenstreif, Nora Guthrie, Kris Kristofferson & Jimmy LaFave (2007)

Anne Hills- Here Comes That Rainbow Again

Woman of a Calm Heart (Flying Fish)

Willie Nelson- The Legend

The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson (American Roots Publishing)

Marta Gómez- The Circle

The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson (American Roots Publishing)

Kris Kristofferson- Duvalier’s Dream

Me and Bobby McGee (Monument)

Jessica Chastain- Help Me Make It Through the Night

George & Tammy soundtrack (Sony Masterworks)

Roy Orbison- Something They Can’t Take Away from Me

For the Good Times: The Songs of Kris Kristofferson (Ace)

Joan Osborne- Please Don’t Tell Me How the Story Ends

Pretty Little Stranger (Vanguard)

Chris Hillman- The Taker

Morning Sky (Sugar Hill)

Kris Kristofferson- Jody and the Kid

The Silver Tongued Devil and I (Monument)

Kris Kristofferson- Broken Freedom Song

The Cedar Creek Sessions (KK)

Johnny Cash- Casey’s Last Ride

Cash Unearthed Volume 1: Who’s Gonna Cry (American)

Rosanne Cash- Lovin’ Him was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again)

The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson (American Roots Publishing)

Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God- Darby’s Castle

The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson (American Roots Publishing)

Kris Kristofferson- The Pilgrim: Chapter 33

The Silver Tongued Devil and I (Monument)

Janis Joplin- Me and Bobby McGee

Pearl (Columbia)

Next week: Gamblers.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday October 11, 2022: Remembering Loretta Lynn and Mary McCaslin

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/595/57903.html

Themes: Remembering Loretta Lynn and Mary McCaslin.

Legendary country singer Loretta Lynn (1932-2022) died on October 4 at age 90. Loretta Lynn came from humble beginnings as a coal miner’s daughter from Butcher Hollow, Kentucky. Her autobiography, the feature film that was based on it, and her signature song are called “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

Loretta Lynn- Coal Miner’s Daughter

All Time Greatest Hits (MCA/Decca)

Eilen Jewell- I’m a Honky Tonk Girl

Butcher Holler: A Tribute to Loretta Lynn (Signature Sounds)

Ian & Sylvia- After the Fire is Gone

The Lost Tapes (Stony Plain)

Little Willies- Fist City

For the Good Times (Milking Bull)

Loretta Lynn- Whispering Sea

Full Circle (Sony/Legacy)

Rhiannon Giddens- She’s Got You

Tomorrow is My Turn (Nonesuch)

Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers- Blue Kentucky Girl

Ramble in Music City: The Lost Concert 1990 (Nonesuch)

April Verch- You Ain’t Woman Enough

Once a Day (Slab Town)

Loretta Lynn- Who’s Gonna Miss Me?

Full Circle (Sony/Legacy)

Mary McCaslin (1946-2022) was a folksinger, songwriter and pioneering open-tuning guitarist, who died on October 2 at age 75 following a seven-year battle with progressive supranuclear palsy. Mary was an old friend who I first met, circa 1973, when we both became part of a circle of friends centered around The Barn in North Ferrisburgh, Vermont, then the headquarters of Philo Records.

Mary McCaslin- Music Strings/Oh Hollywood

Way Out West (Philo)

Caroline Doctorow- Way Out West

I Carry All I Own: The Songs of Mary McCaslin (Narrow Lane)

Stan Rogers- Down the Road

From Coffee House to Concert Hall (Fogarty’s Cove)

Sneezy Waters- Circle of Friends

Sneezy Waters (Sneezy Waters)

Mary McCaslin- Young Westley

Way Out West (Philo)

Mary McCaslin & Jim Ringer- The Bramble and the Rose

The Bramble and the Rose (Philo)

Mary McCaslin- Suzanne

Rain: The Lost Album (Bear Family)

Mike Regenstreif & Mary McCaslin (1999)

Mary McCaslin- Ballad of Weaverville

Prairie in the Sky (Philo)

Caroline Doctorow- Back to Salinas

I Carry All I Own: The Songs of Mary McCaslin (Narrow Lane)

Tom Russell- Prairie in the Sky

Song of the West: The Cowboy Collection (HMG)

Mary McCaslin- My Love

Prairie in the Sky (Philo)

Mary McCaslin- Someone Who Looks Me

Broken Promises (Philo)

Mary McCaslin- Old Friends

Old Friends (Philo)

Next week: Songs of Jimmie Rodgers.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif