Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – April 23, 2024: Songs of Shel Silverstein

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/595/64883.html

Theme: Songs of Shel Silverstein (1930-1999)

Shel Silverstein – who died of a heart attack in 1999 at age 68 – was a renaissance man: an author, poet, cartoonist, singer-songwriter, musician, and playwright.

Shel Silverstein- Folk Singer’s Blues

Inside Folk Songs (Water)

Tom Paxton, Anne Hills & Bob Gibson- Sing for the Song

Best of Friends (Appleseed)

Bob Gibson- Whistlers & Jugglers

Makin’ a Mess: Bob Gibson Sings Shel Silverstein (Asylum)

Martin Simpson- In the Hills of Shiloh

Rooted (Topic)

Sarah Jarosz with Black Prairie- Queen of the Silver Dollar

Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein (Sugar Hill)

Shel Silverstein- Bury Me in My Shades

Inside Folk Songs (Water)

John Prine- This Guitar is for Sale

Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein (Sugar Hill)

The Irish Rovers- The Unicorn

The Best of The Irish Rovers (MCA)

Dr. Hook- Sylvia’s Mother

Gold (Crimson)

Johnny Cash- A Boy Named Sue

The Legend of Johnny Cash (American/Columbia/Legacy)

Shel Silverstein- 25 Minutes to Go

Inside Folk Songs (Water)

Gordon Lightfoot- On Susan’s Floor

Don Quixote (Reprise)

Bob Gibson- Stops Along the Way

Makin’ a Mess: Bob Gibson Sings Shel Silverstein (Asylum)

Lucinda Williams- The Ballad of Lucy Jordan

Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein (Sugar Hill)

Papa John Kolstad & Wildman Mike Turk- Beans Taste Fine

Beans Taste Fine (Wampus Cat)

Shel Silverstein- Have Another Espresso

Inside Folk Songs (Water)

The Folk Legacy Trio- The Mermaid

Homecoming (The Folk Legacy Trio)

Rosalie Sorrels- You’re Always Welcome at Our House

Be Careful, There’s a Baby in the House (Green Linnet)

Shel Silverstein- Boa Constrictor

Inside Folk Songs (Water)

Nanci Griffith- The Giving Tree

Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein (Sugar Hill)

Bobby Bare- Rosalie’s Good Eats Café

Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies (RCA)

Bob Gibson- Living Legend

The Living Legend Years (Bob Gibson Legacy).

Next week: Remembering Pete Seeger.

--Mike Regenstreif 

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday August 2, 2022: The Legacy of Johnny Cash

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 be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/57120.html

Theme: The Legacy of Johnny Cash.

In my opinion, Johnny Cash – who died in 2003 at age 71 and who drew on folk music, blues and rockabilly influences – was the single greatest figure in country music history. On this show, we’ll hear a few of Johnny Cash’s recordings and some songs from his repertoire performed by other artists.

Johnny Cash- I Walk the Line
Classic Cash (Mercury)

Johnny Cash- Red Velvet
The Man in Black, 1963-1969, Plus (Bear Family)
Ian & Sylvia- Come in Stranger
Early Morning Rain (Vanguard)
Johnny Cash- Four Strong Winds
American V: A Hundred Highways (American Recordings)
Ian & Sylvia- Big River
Movin’ On 1967-1968 (Mercury)

Rosanne Cash- Tennessee Flat Top Box
King’s Record Shop (Columbia)
John Stewart- Get Rhythm
Airdream Believer (Shanachie)
Johnny Cash- W. Lee O’Daniel (and the Light Crust Dougboys)
Johnny Cash is Coming to Town (Mercury)
Fred Holstein- Folsom Prison Blues
Live at the Earl of Old Town (Holstein)

Johnny Cash- Veteran’s Day
Wounded Heart of America (Tom Russell Songs) (HighTone)
Tom Russell- Wreck of the Old 97
October in the Railroad Earth (Frontera)
Norah Jones- Cry, Cry, Cry
The Fall: Deluxe Edition (Blue Note)
Roy Forbes- I Still Miss Someone
Some Tunes for that Mother of Mine (AKA)

Johnny Cash- Joshua Gone Barbados
Johnny 99 (Columbia)
Brendan Nolan- The Forty Shades of Green
Live at the Side Door (Ould Segosha)
Emmylou Harris, Mary Chapin Carpenter & Sheryl Crow- Flesh and Blood
Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to the Songs of Johnny Cash (Lucky Dog)
Johnny Cash- If You Could Read My Mind
American V: A Hundred Highways (American Recordings)

Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash- Girl from the North Country
Travelin’ Thru: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 15, 1967-1969 (Columbia Legacy)
Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash- It Ain’t Me Babe

Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration (Columbia/Legacy)
Bob Dylan- Train of Love
Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to the Songs of Johnny Cash (Lucky Dog)
Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash- Guess Things Happen That Way
Travelin’ Thru: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 15, 1967-1969 (Columbia Legacy)

Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash- Jackson
The Legend of Johnny Cash (American Recordings)
Shel Silverstein- Boy Named Sue
Boy Named Sue and His Other Country Songs (Water)
Kris Kristofferson- Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down
Me and Bobby McGee (Monument)
Johnny Cash- Bird on a Wire
American Recordings (American Recordings)

Next week: “Acapella Stella” and other a cappella songs.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday July 5, 2022: Just Who Was It Who Wrote That Song?

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/595/56819.html

Theme: Just Who Was It Who Wrote That Song?

These are songs that have been widely covered by other artists, or that were hits by other artists, but these versions are by the original songwriters.

Kris Kristofferson- Me and Bobby McGee
Me and Bobby McGee (Monument)

Sylvia Tyson & Mike Regenstreif (1997)

Ian & Sylvia- Four Strong Winds (Ian Tyson)
Four Strong Winds (Vanguard)
Ian & Sylvia- You Were On My Mind (Sylvia Tyson)
Northern Journey (Vanguard)
Steve Gillette- Darcy Farrow
Steve Gillette (Vanguard)
Gordon Lightfoot- Early Morning Rain
Songbook (Warner Archives/Rhino)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle & Mike Regenstreif (1976) Photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Heart Like a Wheel (Anna McGarrigle)
Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Talk to Me of Mendocino (Kate McGarrigle)
Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)
Fred Neil- Everybody’s Talkin’
The Many Sides of Fred Neil (Collectors’ Choice Music)

Mike Regenstreif & Michael Smith (2014)

Shel Silverstein- The Unicorn
Inside Folk Songs (Water)
Steve Goodman- City of New Orleans
No Big Surprise: The Steve Goodman Anthology (Red Pajamas)
Michael Smith- The Dutchman
Michael Smith/Love Stories (Flying Fish)

Elizabeth Cotten- Freight Train
Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes (Smithsonian Folkways)
Jesse Fuller- San Francisco Bay Blues
San Francisco Bay Blues (Good Time Jazz)
John Hartford- Gentle On My Mind
Gentle On My Mind and Other Originals (RCA)
Jerry Jeff Walker- Mr. Bojangles
Five Years Gone (Atco)

Ron Hynes & Mike Regenstreif (2007)

Jesse Winchester- The Brand New Tennessee Waltz
Jesse Winchester (Stony Plain)
Ron Hynes- Sonny’s Dream
Face to the Gale (Artisan Music)
Bonnie Dobson- Morning Dew
Take Me for a Walk in the Morning Dew (Hornbeam)
Joni Mitchell- Both Sides Now
Clouds (Reprise)
Leonard Cohen- Hallelujah
Various Positions (Columbia)

John Stewart- Daydream Believer
The Lonesome Picker Rides Again (Collectors’ Choice Music)
Townes Van Zandt- Pancho & Lefty
Sunshine Boy: The Unheard Studio Sessions and Demos (Omnivore)

Tom Paxton- The Last Thing On My Mind
The Compleat Tom Paxton (Even Compleater) (Rhino Handmade)

Next week: Songs of Woody Guthrie, Part 1: Classic Songs

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Katie Moore & Andrew Horton – Six More Miles

KATIE MOORE & ANDREW HORTON

Six More Miles

katiemoore.ca

After several solo albums, Montreal-based country and folk singer-songwriter Katie Moore is joined by Andrew Horton for Six More Miles, a lovely set of (mostly) sad duets of eight country and folk classics and four original songs – two each by Katie and Andrew.

Katie and Andrew have a musical history together. Andrew played in Yonder Hill, a bluegrass band from about a decade ago that was fronted by Katie, Dara Weiss and Angela Desveaux, and has since played and sung in Katie’s bands. He also plays bass and sings harmony and occasional lead vocals in Notre Dame de Grass. They have developed a seemingly natural ease at singing together as lead and harmony vocalists.

They lead off the album with the title track. A lesser known Hank Williams composition, “Six More Miles (to the Graveyard)” sets the sad tone for the album as the narrator – Katie and Andrew singing in harmony – prepares to say a last farewell to his (her) “darling.”

A couple of my other favorites include a gorgeously haunting version of Bill Monroe’s “The One I Love is Gone,” that seems to come from deep in the well, and Shel Silverstein’s older but wiser song “A Couple More Years.”

Although there is a slow pace to most of these songs (they are, after all, sad songs), the pace does pick up on the traditional murder ballad (and sad story) “Wild Bill Jones” and the Carter Family classic “Lover’s Return.”

As mentioned, Katie and Andrew each contribute a couple of original pieces and these blend seamlessly with the classics. Katie’s “When We Reach the Valley” could easily be mistaken for an old-time country song while her “Blue Days” is an achingly beautiful song of lost love. Andrew’s “Since My Baby Been Gone” could be a companion song to “Blue Days,” while his “Owen’s Lullaby” is a gentle guitar composition – the album’s only instrumental – presumably written to send a baby off to sleep.

Katie and Andrew on vocals and guitars are ably and unobtrusively supported by Joe Grass on Dobro, mandolin and guitar; Alex Kehler on nyckelharpa (a bowed Swedish instrument) and fiddle; and Sage Reynolds on bass.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Twistable Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein

VARIOUS ARTISTS
Twistable Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein
Sugar Hill Records
twistableturnable.sugarhillrecords.com

The late Shel Silverstein, who died in 1999 at the age of 69, had a multi-faceted career. He first made his mark as a cartoonist and was best-known in that department for his work with Playboy Magazine. He was a noted author of children’s books and a folk, country, and rock singer-songwriter who made some interesting albums of his own – several, including his 1962 classic Inside Folk Songs were reissued just a couple of years ago – and wrote such hits as “A Boy Named Sue” for Johnny Cash, and “The Unicorn” for the Irish Rovers.

Versions of those two songs, and 13 more, are included on this loving tribute to the great songwriter from artists representing several generations of peers and admirers. While Todd Snider plays it pretty close to Johnny Cash’s chest on his version of “A Boy Named Sue,” Dr. Dog’s rendition of “The Unicorn” bears little resemblance to the Irish Rovers version as it cleverly moves between barbershop quartet singing to indie rock to folk rock and back again.

My favourite Shel Silverstein song is “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan,” a brilliant description of a suburban woman’s descent into madness. I remember thinking when I first heard Marianne Faithfull’s synth-laden arrangement in 1979 that it would have been a great country song and then saying “oh yeah” when I checked the credits and saw it was a Shel Silverstein song. This country-rock version by Lucinda Williams must now be regarded as definitive.

Another of my favourite Silverstein songs is “The Living Legend,” a song that must be forever associated with the late Bob Gibson, who recorded it back in 1974. The song essentially tells the story of Gibson’s life as a legendary artist who self-destructed and was back to doing any small-time gig he could get. Bobby Bare, Sr. does a fine job with it.

Another Silverstein song that I associate with Gibson is “Me and Jimmy Rodgers,” which classic country singer Ray Price sings as a classic country song.

Other great tracks include Kris Kristofferson’s version of “The Winner” and John Prine’s take on “This Guitar is For Sale.” Both Kris and John are at the top of their games. Also not to be missed is the fine version of “Queen of the Silver Dollar” by young Sarah Jarosz.

Then, near the end of the album, Nanci Griffith offers a beautifully poignant version of “The Giving Tree,” a song Silverstein based on one of his most popular children’s books.

What an amazing, multi-faceted talent Shel Silverstein was.

--Mike Regenstreif

This week in Folk Roots/Folk Branches history (May 25-May 31)

Folk Roots/Folk Branches with Mike Regenstreif was a Thursday tradition on CKUT in Montreal for nearly 14 years from February 3, 1994 until August 30, 2007 and around the world via the web for most of those years). Folk Roots/Folk Branches continued for some time as occasional features on CKUT, and is now a blog. Here’s the 39th instalment of “This week in Folk Roots/Folk Branches,” a weekly look back continuing through next August at some of the most notable guests, features and moments in Folk Roots/Folk Branches history.

May 26, 1994: Extended feature- Tom Russell.
May 25, 1995: Show theme- 25 years of Rounder Records.
May 28, 1998: Guest- Penny Lang.
May 31, 2001: Guests- John & Michele Law (The Laws).
May 29, 2003: Guest- Samantha Parton (Be Good Tanyas).
May 27, 2004: Guest- Murray McLauchlan.
May 25, 2006: Show theme- Hommage à Bob Dylan on the occasion of (the day after) his 65th birthday.
May 31, 2007: Guests- Dawn Tyler Watson & Paul Deslauriers.
May 29, 2008 (Folk Roots/Folk Branches feature): Recent reissues by Shel Silverstein and Bob Gibson.

Pictured: Mike Regenstreif and Penny Lang at the Folk Alliance Conference, February 2005 (Photo: Taylor Caffery).

--Mike Regenstreif