Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday September 5, 2023: Joni Mitchell and Others at the Newport Folk Festival

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/595/61791.html

Theme: Joni Mitchell and Others at the Newport Folk Festival.

Brandi Carlisle- Introduction

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell featuring Lusius- Big Yellow Taxi

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell featuring Brandi Carlisle & Marcus Mumford- A Case of You

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell featuring Taylor Goldsmith- Amelia

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell- Both Sides Now

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell- Just Like This Train

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell- Summertime

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell featuring Brandi Carlisle- Carey

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell featuring Celisse- Help Me

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell featuring Taylor Goldsmith- Come in from the Cold

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell featuring Brandi Carlisle- Shine

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Joni Mitchell- The Circle Game

Joni Mitchell at Newport (Rhino)

Ian & Sylvia- C.C. Rider

Live at Newport (Vanguard)

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee- Drink Muddy Water

Newport Folk Festival: Best of the Blues 1959-68 (Vanguard)

Mississippi John Hurt- Candy Man

Newport Folk Festival: Best of the Blues 1959-68 (Vanguard)

Joan Baez- Farewell, Angelina

Live at Newport (Vanguard)

Tom Paxton- Ramblin’ Boy

Best of the Vanguard Years (Vanguard)

Reverend Gary Davis- I Won’t Be Back No More (I’m Going to Sit Down on the Banks of the River)

Live at Newport (Vanguard)

Peter, Paul & Mary- If I Had My Way (Samson and Delilah)

At Newport 1963-1965 (Shout! Factory)

Jean Carignan- Le Reel du Diable (Devil’s Dream)

Newport Folk Festival 1963: The Evening Concerts, Vol 2 (Vanguard)

Next week: Part 1 – Songs and Conversation with author David Eisenstadt; Part 2 – Songs of Dave Carter.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday February 7, 2023: Songs Mississippi John Hurt Sang for the Library of Congress

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/595/59321.html

Theme: Songs Mississippi John Hurt Sang for the Library of Congress.

Mississippi John Hurt, who died in 1966 at age 73, was one of the most influential and important of the African American blues artists and songsters rediscovered in the 1960s. The songs on this program – some of which were written by Mississippi John Hurt – were all sung and recorded by him for the Library of Congress in 1963.

Mississippi John Hurt- See See Rider

Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Bruce Cockburn- My Hometown Avalon (Avalon Blues)

Rarities (True North)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Michael Jerome Browne- Sliding Delta

Sliding Delta (Borealis)

Maria Muldaur with John Sebastian- Richland Woman Blues

Richland Woman Blues (Stony Plain)

Mississippi John Hurt- Coffee Blues

Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Doc & Merle Watson- Corrina, Corrina

Then and Now (Tomato)

Mississippi John Hurt- Stack O’Lee

Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Rhiannon Giddens- The Angels Laid Him Away (Louis Collins)

Freedom Highway (Nonesuch)

“Philadelphia” Jerry Ricks- Keep On Knocking

Many Miles of Blues (Rooster Blues)

Tim Williams- Pallet on the Floor

Evenings Among Friends (Cayuse)

Mississippi John Hurt- Trouble I’ve Hall All My Day

Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Dave Van Ronk- Spike Driver Blues

Down in Washington Square (Smithsonian Folkways)

Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur- Frankie

Penny’s Farm (Kingswood)

David Essig & Mike Regenstreif (2014)

David Essig- Candy Man

Redbird Country & High Ground (Appaloosa)

Mississippi John Hurt- Got the Blues That Can’t Be Satisfied

Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Rosalie Sorrels- I’m Satisfied

Miscellaneous Abstract Record No. 1 (Green Linnet)

Martin Grosswendt- Pay Day

Pay Day! (Martin Grosswendt)

Peter Keane- Nobody’s Dirty Business

Rural Electrification (Peter Keane)

Mississippi John Hurt- Funky Butt

Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Happy Traum- Monday Morning Blues

Bright Morning Stars (Lark’s Nest Music)

Andy Cohen- Talkin’ Casey

Tryin’ to Get Home (Earwig)

Eve Goldberg & Mike Regenstreif (2013)

Eve Goldberg- My Creole Belle

Ever Brightening Day (Sweet Patootie)

Mississippi John Hurt- Hot Time in Old Town Tonight

Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Next week: Love Songs.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday October 4, 2022: A Week’s Worth of Songs

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/595/57765.html

Theme: A Week’s Worth of Songs.

The show begins and ends with songs about every day of the week. In between are songs about each day of the week.

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee- Different Blues

Working Man Blues (Sunset Blvd.)

Spanky & Our Gang- Sunday will Never Be the Same

Spanky & Our Gang (Mercury)

Mike Regenstreif & The Durham County Poets (2014)

Durham County Poets- Monday Morning

Grimshaw Road (Durham County Poets)

Cowboy Junkies- Sun Comes Up, It’s Tuesday Morning

The Caution Horses (BMG)

Taz Halloween- Wednesday’s Blues

I Am/Songs by Lynn Swisher Spears (Ugwerks)

Sam Baker- Thursday

Horses and Stars (Blue Limestone Publishing)

The Whiteley Brothers- Friday Night Blues

Sixteen Shades of Blue (Borealis)

Stan Rogers- Acadian Saturday Night

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

Kris Kristofferson- Sunday Morning Coming Down

Me and Bobby McGee (Monument)

The Mamas & The Papas- Monday, Monday

If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (MCA)

Jack Williams- Tuesday Night at the Candlelight

Far Away, Long Ago (Wind River)

Tom Russell & Gretchen Peters- Ash Wednesday

The Tom Russell Anthology: Veteran’s Day (Shout! Factory)

Dakota Dave Hull- Sweet Thursday

Under the North Star (Arabica)

Mike Regenstreif & Tom Paxton (2009)

Tom Paxton- Angeline is Always Friday

Tom Paxton 6 (Elektra)

Gordon Lightfoot- Saturday Clothes

If You Could Read My Mind (Reprise)

Caroline Doctorow- Sunday Morning

Dreaming in Vinyl (Narrow Lane)

Mississippi John Hurt- Monday Morning Blues

Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)

Terri Hendrix- Double Shift Tuesday

The Slaughterhouse Sessions: Project 5.2 (Wilory)

Charles Mingus- Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting

Blues & Roots (Atlantic)

The Cats & The Fiddle- Thursday Evening Swing

That's on, Jack, That's On: Selected Singles 1939-1950 (Jasmine)

Norma Waterson- On Fridays He’s Fred Astaire

The Very Thought of You (Hannibal)

Bebop Cowboys with Chris Whiteley- Dancing on a Saturday Night

Canadian Dance Hall (Bebop Cowboys)

Sylvia Tyson & Mike Regenstreif (1997)

Ian & Sylvia- Sunday

Movin’ On 1967-1968 (Mercury)

Fats Domino- Blue Monday

Fats Rocks! (Bear Family)

Tom Rush- Every Day in the Week

Blues, Songs and Ballads (Fantasy)

Next week: Songs of Jimmie Rodgers. Update (October 3): The Jimmie Rodgers theme will be postponed to a later date. Next week's show will a tribute to old friend Mary McCaslin, who passed away today at age 75,

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday February 1, 2022: Songs of W.C. Handy

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/595/55068.html

Theme: Songs of W.C. Handy. These songs were written or adapted by W.C. Handy (1873-1958). Known as “The Father of the Blues,” Handy was the first composer to publish blues songs.

W.C. Handy (1949)

Ella Fitzgerald- St. Louis Blues
These are the Blues (Verve)

Nat King Cole- Chantez Les Bas
St. Louis Blues (Capitol)
Bessie Smith- The Yellow Dog Blues
Bessie Smith: The Absolutely Essential 3 CD Collection (Big3)
Louis Armstrong & Velma Middleton- Long Gone (From the Bowlin’ Green)
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (Columbia/Legacy)
Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra featuring Catherine Russell- Loveless Love (Careless Love)
Good Time Music: Community Music, Vol. 2 (Royal Potato Family)

W.C. Handy’s Beale Street- Way Down South Where the Blues Began
Where the Blues Began (Inside Memphis)

Louis Armstrong- Atlanta Blues (Make Me One Pallet On Your Floor)
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (Columbia/Legacy)
Mississippi John Hurt- Joe Turner
Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)
Nat King Cole- Friendless Blues
St. Louis Blues (Capitol)
W.C. Handy’s Beale Street- The Jogo Blues
Where the Blues Began (Inside Memphis)

Eartha Kitt with Shorty Rogers & His Giants- Steal Away
St. Louis Blues (RCA)
Pearl Bailey- Shine Like a Morning Star
St. Louis Blues (Roulette)
Eartha Kitt with Shorty Rogers & His Giants- Hist the Window, Noah
St. Louis Blues (RCA)

Shirley Bassey- Beale Street Blues
Born to Sing the Blues (Philips)
Loudon Wainwright III with Sloan Wainwright- Ramblin’ Blues
High Wide & Handsome: The Charlie Poole Project (2nd Story Sound)

Jim Kweskin & The Neo-Passé Jazz Band- Memphis Blues
Jump for Joy (Vanguard)
Louis Armstrong & Velma Middleton- Hesitating Blues
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (Columbia/Legacy)
W.C. Handy’s Beale Street- Harlem Blues
Where the Blues Began (Inside Memphis)

Louis Armstrong- Aunt Hagar’s Blues
Louis Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy (Columbia/Legacy)
Odetta- Careless Love/St. Louis Blues
Blues Everywhere I Go (M.C.)

Billy Novick’s Blue Syncopators- Yellow Dog Blues
Music from The Great Gatsby (Billy Novick)

Next week: Boogie men and boogie women

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday December 4, 2021

Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU in Ottawa heard on Saturday mornings from 7 until 10 am (Eastern time) and available for on-demand streaming anytime. 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/128/54427.html

Bill Morrissey- Handsome Molly
Standing Eight (Philo)

Bill Morrissey- Avalon Blues
Songs of Mississippi John Hurt (Philo)
Hans Theessink & Big Daddy Wilson- Pay Day
Pay Day (Blue Groove)
Peter Keane- Stack O’Lee
Blues/Ballads/Cowboy Songs (Peter Keane)
Mississippi John Hurt- Candy Man
Mr. Hurt Goes to Washington (Sunset Blvd.)
Dave Van Ronk- Did You Hear John Hurt?
…and the tin pan bended, and the story ended… (Smithsonian Folkways)

Joni Mitchell- Jeremy
Archives – Volume 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) (Rhino)
Bonnie Raitt- That Song About the Midway
Streetlights (Warner Bros.)
Sloan Wainwright- Conversation
Uncovering (Sloan Wainwright)
Lilli Lewis- River
River – single (Louisiana Red Hot)
Joni Mitchell- Songs to Aging Children Come
Archives – Volume 2: The Reprise Years (1968-1971) (Rhino)

Mike Regenstreif & Bill Staines (1993)

Bill Staines- Highway North
Somebody Blue (Champlain)
Priscilla Herdman- Lovers and Losers
Forgotten Dreams (Flying Fish)
Bill Staines- Sueño
Sandstone Cathedrals (Mineral River)
Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl- River
The Early Years (Daring)

Andy Statman- Long Journey Home
Old Brooklyn (Shefa)

Utah Phillips & Mike Regenstreif (1976) photo: Felicty Fanjoy

Ed Trickett- The Telling Takes Me Home
The Telling Takes Me Home (Folk-Legacy)
Utah Phillips- Rock Me to Sleep
The Telling Takes Me Home (Philo)
Rosalie Sorrels- I Remember Loving You
Travelin’ Lady Rides Again (Green Linnet)
Finest Kind- The Faded Roses of December
Lost in a Song (Fallen Angle)

Debi Smith- Fare Thee Well/10,000 Miles
Then and Now (Degan Music)
Joan Baez & Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Willie Moore
Ring Them Bells (Guardian)
Rufus Wainwright & Amsterdam Sinfonietta- Excursion à Venise
Rufus Wainwright & Amsterdam Sinfonietta Live (BMG/Modern)

Lynne Hanson- Trading in My Lonesome
River of Sand (Lynne Hanson)
Don Bray- Wise Heart
I Bless the Wounds (Don Bray)
Lynn Miles- Little Snowflake
Winter (Lynn Miles)

Stephen Fearing- Red Lights in the Rain
Every Soul’s a Sailor (Lowden Proud)
Roy Forbes- Edge of Blue
Edge of Blue (AKA)
Quartette- I’ll Keep You in My Heart
Rocks and Roses (Outside Music)
Over the Moon- When She Rides
Chinook Waltz (Borealis)

RanchWriters- Chilcoutin
RanchWriters (True North)

Woody Guthrie- Vigilante Man
Hard Travelin’: The Asch Recordings, Vol. 3 (Smithsonian Folkways)
Lilli Lewis- A Healing Inside
Americana (Louisiana Red Hot)
Chantel Kreviazuk with Garth Hudson- Tears of Rage
Garth Hudson Presents a Canadian Celebration of The Band: 10th Anniversary Edition (Curve Music)

Dean Friedman- Welcome to Stupid Town
American Lullaby (Real Life)
Yael Wand- That Need Be Done
Saltwater Heartwood (Yael Wand)

Judy Collins & Mike Regenstreif (2014)

Judy Collins- Finishing the Hat
A Love Letter to Stephen Sondheim (Wildflower)
Mandy Patinkin- Children and Art
Children and Art (Nonesuch)
Bernadette Peters- No One is Alone
I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight (Angel)
Judy Collins- Send in the Clowns
A Love Letter to Stephen Sondheim (Wildflower)

Tom Rush- Elder Green
Voices (Appleseed)
Maria Muldaur with Tuba Skinny- He Ain’t Got Rhythm
Let’s Get Happy Together (Stony Plain)
Corey Harris- That Will Never Happen No More
Insurrection Blues (M.C.)
Harrison Kennedy- Fo’ Day Train
Shame the Devil (Electro-Fi)

Mitch Greenhill- Air for Southie
Mitchology (Mitch Greenhill)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on January 1, 2022. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm.

Find me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday December 5, 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/128/49975.html

 

Sara Thomsen & Paula Pedersen- Winter Wind
Winter Wanderings (Sara Thomsen & Paula Pedersen)

Clancy Brothers with Louis Killen- Girl from the North Country
Save the Land! (Audio Fidelity)
Boreal- Snow Falls Down
Snow Falls Down – single (Boreal)
Lynn Miles- Last Night
Winter (Lynn Miles)
Judy Collins & Jonas Fjeld with Chatham County Line- River
Winter Stories (Wildflower/Cleopatra)

Joni Mitchell-A Melody in Your Name
Archives – Volume 1: The Early Years 1963-1967 (Rhino)
Joni Mitchell- Carnival in Kenora
Archives – Volume 1: The Early Years 1963-1967 (Rhino)
Bob Franke- Hard Love
The Other Evening in Chicago (Waterbug)
Steel Rail- Darkest Night
Coming Home (Crossties)
Katy Moffatt- Mother of Pearl
Chrysalis (Sunset Blvd. Records)

Murray McLauchlan- I Live On a White Cloud
I Live On a White Cloud – single (Murray McLauchlan)
Leyla McCalla- Song for a Dark Girl
Vari-Colored Songs: A Tribute to Langston Hughes (Smithsonian Folkways)
Marc Nerenberg- Hear the Sirens in the Night: A Topical Blues
Little Birdie: Birds, Beasts & Banjo Blues (Marc Nerenberg)
Dan Hill- What About Black Lives?
What About Black Lives? – single (Sunandsky/ADA/Warner)

Extended feature – Songs of Ewan MacColl. The next 14 songs were written by Ewan MacColl (1915-1989), one of the most influential figures in the British folk revival.

Bonnie Dobson- The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Philadelphia Folk Festival 40th Anniversary (Sliced Bread)
Swing & Tears- Dirty Old Town
Swing & Tears (Swing & Tears)
Short Sisters- Schoolday’s Over
A Little Gracefulness (Black Socks Press)
Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger- Ballad of Accounting
Black and White: The Definitive Collection (Cooking Vinyl)
James Keelaghan- Sweet Thames Flow Softly
A Few Simple Verses (Jericho Beach Music)

Eliza Carthy- Thirty-Foot Trailer
Joy of Living: A Tribute to Ewan MacColl (Compass)
Norma Waterson- Moving On Song
Joy of Living: A Tribute to Ewan MacColl (Compass)
Martin Carthy- I’m Champion at Keeping ‘Em Rolling
Joy of Living: A Tribute to Ewan MacColl (Compass)
Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger- The Driver’s Song
Black and White: The Definitive Collection (Cooking Vinyl)

Sean Gagnier- Shoals of Herring
Circle Harbor (Sean Gagnier)
Windborne- The Terror Time
Recollections/Revolutions (Wand’ring Feet Records)
Chaim Tannenbaum- My Old Man
Joy of Living: A Tribute to Ewan MacColl (Compass)
Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger- Nobody Knew She was There
Black and White: The Definitive Collection (Cooking Vinyl)
Garnet Rogers- The Joy of Living
At a High Window (Snow Goose Songs)

Doc & Merle Watson- Below Freezing
Songs Doc Didn’t Sing (FLI Records)

Christine Lavin- On My Way to Hooterville (pt. 3)
On My Way to Hooterville (Christine Lavin)
Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche- Little
I Can Still Hear You (StorySound)

Andy Cohen- Step It Up and Go
Tryin’ to Get Home (Earwig)
Etta Baker- Railroad Bill
One-Dime Blues (Rounder)
Last Forever- Louis Collins/Spike Driver Blues
Trainfare Home (StorySound)
Mississippi John Hurt- My Creole Belle
Live (Vanguard)
Andy Cohen- Talkin’ Casey
Tryin’ to Get Home (Earwig)
Rahsaan Roland Kirk- Make Me a Pallet on the Floor
Boogie Woogie String Along for Real (Warner Bros.)

Rosalie Sorrels- Feather Ben
Travelin’ Lady Rides Again (Green Linnet)
Tom Mitchell- Old Cloth
Old Cloth (Yabut Music)
Braden Gates- Song for the Line Cook
Kitchen Days (Borealis)
Rodney Rice- Walk Across Texas
Same Shirt, Different Day (Moody Spring Music)
Jimmy LaFave- Rt. 66 One More Time
Highway Angels…Full Moon Rain (Night Tribe Music)

Ofra Harnoy- She’s Like the Swallow
On the Rock (Analekta)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on January 2, 2021.

Find me on Twitter. @MikeRegenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Rory Block – A Woman’s Soul: A Tribute to Bessie Smith

RORY BLOCK

A Woman’s Soul: A Tribute to Bessie Smith

Stony Plain Records

roryblock.com

In 2006, after more than three decades as one of the finest contemporary interpreters of traditional country blues, and as an accomplished songwriter in the country blues tradition, Rory Block released an album called The Lady and Mr. Johnson, a magnificent tribute to Robert Johnson, the Delta blues singer, songwriter and guitarist who made a series of what would eventually become highly influential recordings in 1936 and 1937 before his death at age 27 in 1938. Rory followed that album with a series of equally fine tributes to her mentors – blues legends she met and was influenced by while growing up in Greenwich Village – including Son House, Skip James, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Mississippi John Hurt, Bukka White and Reverend Gary Davis.

Now, with A Woman’s Soul: A Tribute to Bessie Smith, Rory begins a new series of tributes to legendary women blues singers. Bessie Smith (1894-1937) was a logical artist with whom to begin this series. The 160 recordings Smith made between 1923 and 1933 remain among the most influential of the classic blues era and earned her the title of “The Empress of the Blues.”

While Smith recorded with pianists and other jazz musicians – including Louis Armstrong – Rory has arranged these songs in her own country blues style for vocals and guitar, sometimes overdubbing more guitar parts, bass, homemade percussion and harmony vocals herself. So, while these 10 songs are familiar from Smith’s versions, Rory makes them her own – with her powerful guitar playing and soulful singing.

Among my favorites here are “Jazzbo Brown from Memphis Town,” a song that pays tribute to a turn-of-the-20th-century musician from before the recording era; “Gimme a Pigfoot and a Bottle of Beer,” which evokes a Harlem speakeasy during Prohibition; and a very sexy version of “Empty Bed Blues.”

I’m looking forward to more volumes in Rory’s tribute series to legendary blues women with great anticipation.

The photo of Bessie Smith, taken in 1936, is from the Carl Van Vechten Photographs collection at the Library of Congress.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

The Facebook 10-Day Album Cover Challenge

Marc Nerenberg nominated me to participate in the 10-day album cover challenge. I was in high school from 1967 to 1971 and my choices were all LPs that I bought when they were newly released back then and that I still listen to a half-century – or almost a half-century – later. This was also the period that I began serving my time on the Montreal folk scene.

I will play a song from each of these albums when I host the Saturday Morning show on CKCU on May 26. The albums are not ranked in order, they are arranged in an order that will make for good radio sets.

Day 1: Leonard Cohen’s first LP, Songs of Leonard Cohen, was essential for almost all of us who lived in Montreal in those years.

Day 2: I saw Joni Mitchell live for the first time in July 1969. Clouds was her current LP at the time.

Day 3: The brilliant enigmatic songs of John Wesley Harding, with their rustic acoustic arrangements make this one of my all-time favorite Bob Dylan albums.

Day 4: The Band was probably my favorite rock band when I was in high school and my favorite of their albums was Stage Fright, their third.

Day 5: I had already met Jesse Winchester on the Montreal folk scene before Jesse Winchester, his first, self-titled LP came out. Produced by Robbie Robertson of The Band, the album was filled with enduring classics that established Jesse – who became a lifelong friend – as one of our greatest singer-songwriters.

Day 6: I was a little too young to have heard songster Mississippi John Hurt live before he died in 1966, but I spent many hours listening to his LPs, including The Immortal Mississippi John Hurt, with their infectious guitar lines, gentle singing, and vivid, memorable songs.

Day 7: Bluesmen Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee were the first older (older than my parents) musicians I got to know personally. In London was a great album with a bad cover and no info released on a budget label in 1969. I bought it after meeting Sonny and Brownie around that time. I later found out the tracks were recorded in London in 1958.

Day 8: I met Tom Paxton for the first time when I was 14 or 15 in 1968 or ’69. It was encounter that had a lot to do with my becoming involved in the folk music scene. Morning Again was Tom’s current album at the time.

Day 9: Paul Siebel only made two albums as a singer-songwriter. The second, Jackknife Gypsy, one was quite good, but I think his first LP, Woodsmoke and Oranges, was one of the best singer-songwriter albums of all time.

Day 10: Judy Collins made several excellent LPs in the time period under consideration. Who Knows Where the Time Goes was, arguably, the finest.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif