Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – June 25, 2024: 50 years ago, I took over The Golem, Part 3/Songs and Conversation with Michael Jerome Browne & Mary Flower

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/595/65724.html

Themes: 50 years ago, I took over The Golem, Part 3/Songs and Conversation with Michael Jerome Browne & Mary Flower

50 years ago, I took over The Golem, Part 3

Mike Regenstreif at The Golem (1987) (Montreal Gazette photo)

It was just over 50 years ago, on May 24, 1974, that I took over running The Golem, Montreal folk club. 

The Golem had been established in 1973 in the McGill Hillel building at 3460 Stanley Street by Saul Markowicz. I had done my basic training in folk club management with Chuck Baker at the Yellow Door, and had been producing concerts in Montreal at Dawson College and McGill University for about two years when Saul approached me in the spring of 1974 and asked if I’d be interested in taking over The Golem.

I actually ran The Golem twice – from 1974 until 1976 and from 1981 until 1987. The Golem was also run for about a year after my first tenure by Marc Nerenberg (who, by the way, is responsible for keeping the Yellow Door going still). The Golem was closed between 1977 and when I returned and re-opened it in 1981. And, after my second tenure, a committee including Helen Fortin and Dave Clarke of Steel Rail fame kept the Golem going until 1991.

All of the songs on this part of the show were played back in the day by artists who performed during my two tenures running the Golem.

Connie Kaldor- Wood River

Wood River (Coyote Entertainment)

The Friends of Fiddler's Green- The Golden Vanity

This Side of the Ocean (FOFG Productions)

Margaret Christl- Rattlin Roarin Willie

The Picture in My Mind (Waterbug)

Willie P. Bennett- Me and Molly

Tryin’ to Start Out Clean (Bnatural Music)

Mike Regenstreif & Steve Gillette (1994)

Steve Gillette- Darcy Farrow

Steve Gillette (Vanguard)

Jack Hardy- Potter’s Field

The Nameless One (Great Divide)

Stephen Barry Band- Poor Boy

Live (Fix it in the Mix Music)

Saul Broudy & Mike Regenstreif (1993)

Saul Broudy- Bei Mir Bist Du Sheyn

Travels with Broudy (Saul Broudy)

“50 years ago, I took over The Golem, Part 1” was heard on the May 28 edition of Stranger Songs and can be streamed at this link. https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/65341.html

“50 years ago, I took over The Golem, Part w” was heard on the June 18 edition of Stranger Songs and can be streamed at this link. https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/65644.html

Songs and Conversation with Michael Jerome Browne & Mary Flower

My conversation with Michael Jerome Browne and Mary Flower was recorded earlier this month on Zoom. I was in Ottawa, Michael was in Montreal and Mary was in Portland, Oregon. 

Michael Jerome Browne with John Sebastian, Happy Traum & John McColgan- Living with the Blues

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Mary Flower- Livin’ with the Blues Again

Livin’ with the Blues Again (Little Village Foundation)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mary Flower- I’ve Got the Big River Blues

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mary Flower with John Sebastian- Coffee Blues

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mary Flower- Black Dog Blues

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mary Flower- Married Man Blues

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mary Flower- Wisecrack

Gettin’ Together (Borealis/Stony Plain)

Mary Flower- See See Rider

Livin’ with the Blues Again (Little Village Foundation)

Stephen Barry Band featuring Michael Jerome Browne- Sugar Baby

Happy Man (Bros)

MARY FLOWER- Brother, Can You Spare a Dime

Bywater Dance (Yellow Dog)

Michael and Mary will be here in Ottawa at Red Bird Live on Saturday June 29. They’re also doing a guitar workshop in Ottawa that afternoon. They’ll also be at Hugh’s Room Live in Toronto on Wednesday June 26, at Emmanuel United Church in Waterloo on Thursday June 27, and at a house concert in Morin Heights, Quebec on Monday July 1. More information and links to buy tickets at this link. https://www.michaeljeromebrowne.com/shows

Next week: 1964.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – February 20, 2024: Songs of Chuck Berry

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/595/63977.html

Theme: Songs of Chuck Berry (1926-2017)

Chuck Berry, who died in 2017 at the age of 90, was an influential guitar player, singer and songwriter and one of the founding and foundational figures of rock ‘n’ roll. Berry was a St. Louis blues musician who signed with Chess Records in Chicago and began releasing singles in 1955 and LPs in 1957. It wasn’t long before he was one of the early stars of rock ‘n’ roll.

Chuck Berry- Rock and Roll Music

Best of the Chess Years (Not Now Music)

The Beatles- Roll Over Beethoven

With The Beatles (Parlophone)

The Rolling Stones- Carol

The Rolling Stones (Decca)

Mollie O'Brien- Brown Eyed Handsome Man

Big Red Sun (Sugar Hill)

Ken Hamm- Maybellene

Live ’05 (North Track)

Chuck Berry- Beautiful Delilah

Best of the Chess Years (Not Now Music)

Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks- Forty Days

The EP Collection (See for Miles)

The Band- Promised Land

Moondog Matinee (Capitol)

Linda Ronstadt- Back in the U.S.A.

Living in the U.S.A. (Asylum)

Chuck Berry- Sweet Little Sixteen

Best of the Chess Years (Not Now Music)

Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band- Memphis, Tennessee

Jug Band Music (Vanguard)

Geoff & Maria Muldaur- Havana Moon

Sweet Potatoes (Omnivore)

Geoff Muldaur & Amos Garrett- La Juanda

Geoff Muldaur & Amos Garrett (Flying Fish)

George Benson- How You’ve Changed

Walking to New Orleans: Remembering Chuck Berry and Fats Domino (Provogue)

The Stephen Barry Band- You Can’t Catch Me

Happy Man (Bros)

Tom Rush- Too Much Monkey Business

Tom Rush/Take a Little Walk with Me (BGO)

Emmylou Harris- (You Never Can Tell) C’est La Vie

Luxury Liner (Warner Bros./Rhino)

Dion- Johnny B. Goode

Born in the Bronx (Dance House)

Chuck Berry- Bye Bye Johnny

Best of the Chess Years (Not Now Music)

Jim Byrnes- Nadine

St. Louis Times (Black Hen Music)

Ry Cooder- 13 Question Method

Get Rhythm (Warner Bros.)

Ann Rabson- School Days

Struttin’ My Stuff (M.C.)

Jerry Lee Lewis- Little Queenie

Jerry Rocks (Bear Family)

Chuck Berry- Let It Rock

Best of the Chess Years (Not Now Music)

Chris Smither- Tulane

Another Way to Find You (Flying Fish)

Geoff Bartley- No Money Down

Hear That Wind Howl (Waterbug)

Gerry & The Pacemakers- Reelin’ and Rockin’

The EP Collection (See for Miles)

Chuck Berry- Downbound Train

Best of the Chess Years (Not Now Music)

Chuck Berry- Berry Pickin’

Best of the Chess Years (Not Now Music)

Next week: “Take the ‘A’ Train”: A Tribute to Duke Ellington.

--Mike Regenstreif

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday June 8, 2021

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/595/52246.html

Theme: Thinking About Elvis. Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 at the very young age of 42, is probably the most mythologized figure in the history of popular music. This show features a few of Elvis’s recordings, some versions of songs from his repertoire performed by other artists, and some songs that were at least partially inspired Elvis.

Doug McArthur- Boots & Saddles
Tears Like Rain (Doug McArthur)

Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys- Blue Moon of Kentucky
Live Recordings 1956-1959 (Smithsonian Folkways)
Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup- That’s All Right (Mama)
Mean Ole Frisco (Collectables)
Elvis Presley- Treat Me Nice
Elvis Presley Sings Leiber & Stoller (RCA/Legacy)
Diana Braithwaite & Chris Whiteley- Hound Dog
Gold Cadillac (G-Three)
The Persuasions- Return to Sender
Comin’ At Ya (Flying Fish)
Elvis Presley- Jailhouse Rock
Elvis Presley Sings Leiber & Stoller (RCA/Legacy)
Gillian Welch- Elvis Presley Blues
Time (The Revelator) (Acony/Stony Plain)

Jesse Winchester & Mike Regenstreif (2006)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Tryin’ to Get to You
Pronto Monto (Ominivore)
Stephen Barry Band- Mystery Train
Live (Fix it in the Mix Music)
Elvis Presley- Don’t Be Cruel
50 Worldwide Gold Hits (BMG)
Jesse Winchester- Just Like New
Gentleman of Leisure (Sugar Hill)

Ian & Sylvia- Swing Down, Chariot
Northern Journey (Vanguard)
Elvis Presley- Saved
Elvis Presley Sings Leiber & Stoller (RCA/Legacy)
Kate Campbell- Tupelo’s Too Far
The Portable Kate Campbell (Compadre)

Carl Perkins- Blue Suede Shoes
The Rockin’ Guitar Man (Jasmine)
Holly Cole- Viva Las Vegas
Night (Rumpus Room)
Elvis Presley- Poor Boy
For LP Fans Only (RCA)
Mary Coughlan- Heartbreak Hotel
Uncertain Pleasures (EastWest)
Jimmy LaFave- Elvis Loved His Momma
Texoma (Bohemia Beat)

Linda Ronstadt- Love Me Tender
Living in the USA (Asylum)
Elvis Presley- All Shook Up
50 Worldwide Gold Hits (BMG)
Arlo Guthrie- Can’t Help Falling in Love
More Together Again in Concert (Rising Son)
Ken Tizzard- King is Gone
All Together Now (Ken Tizzard)

Elvis Presley- Suspicious Minds
From Elvis in Memphis (RCA)

Next week – Working in the Coal Mine

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

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday June 22, 2019

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 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/128/43530.html

David Newland- No Way to Stay Warm

Northbound: The Northwest Passage in Story and Song (David Newland)

The Afro-Métis Nation (featuring Russ Kelley)- It’s a Wonder

Constitution (The Afro-Métis Nation)

Our Native Daughters (featuring Allison Russell w/Rhiannon Giddens & Leyla McCalla)- You’re Not Alone

Songs of Our Native Daughters (Smithsonian Folkways)

Rising Appalachia- Sassafras

Leylines (Rising Appalachia)

Joel Rafael- Glory Bound

Rose Avenue (Inside)

Brooksie Wells- Maybe Not

In My Pocket (Down Home Diva)

Jay Linden- It’s a Crooked Train

Under the Radar (Jay Linden)

Tom Mitchell- Eastern Beer

1976 live recording – used with permission

Steve Howell & Jason Weinheimer- There’ll Be Some Changes Made

History Rhymes (Out of the Past Music)

Tom Russell- Small Engine Repair

October in the Railroad Earth (Frontera)

Jamie Andersen- Man in Black

The Truth Appears (Tsunami)

Crowes Pasture- Slow It Down

Slow It Down (Crowes Pasture)

The Lark and the Loon- Take the Stairs

2 (Jeff Rolfzen & Rocky Steen-Rolfzen)

Old Man Luedecke- Wake Up Call

Easy Money (True North)

Extended feature: Songs of Michael Smith – the next 15 songs were written by Michael Smith.

Steve Goodman- Roving Cowboy (Ballad of Dan Moody)

Words We Can Dance To (Red Pajamas)

Claudia Schmidt & Betsy Redhed- Spoon River

Claudia Schmidt (Flying Fish)

Anne Hills- Rondi’s Birthday

October Child (Flying Fish)

Michael Smith- The Ballad of Elizabeth Dark

Such Things are Finely Done (Tales from the Tavern)

Mike Regenstreif & Michael Smith in Tampa (2014)

Jamie O'Reilly- Waving to Picasso

Swimming Deeper (Bird Avenue Publishing)

Tom Rush- Hobo’s Mandolin (This Here Mandolin)

Ladies Love Outlaws (Columbia)

Bonnie Koloc- Crazy Mary

Timeless (Mr. Biscuit)

Michael Smith- Sister Clarissa

Such Things are Finely Done (Tales from the Tavern)

Fourtold- Panther in Michigan

Fourtold (Appleseed)

Skyline with Tony Trischka- Stranded in the Moonlight

Ticket Back: A Retrospective (Flying Fish)

Michael Smith- Coffeehouse Days

Michael Margaret Pat & Kate (Wind River)

Barbara Barrow- A Real Good One

Remembering Fred: A Tribute to Fred Holstein (The Remembering Fred Group)

Small Potatoes- I Brought My Father with Me

Time Flies (Folk Era)

John Gorka- The Dutchman

So Dark You See (Red House)

Michael Smith- Such Things are Finely Done

Such Things are Finely Done (Tales from the Tavern)

Judy Collins- Suzanne

Judy Collins Sings Leonard Cohen: Democracy (Elektra/Rhino)

Steel Rail- Wooden Ships

River Song (Crossties)

Jesse Winchester- I Wave Bye Bye

Gentleman of Leisure (Sugar Hill)

Susan Werner- The Night I Ate New Orleans

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

Victor Mecyssne (Victor Anthony)- Going to New Orleans

Hush Money (Sweetfish)

Jennifer Warnes- I Am the Big Easy

Another Time, Another Place (BMG)

Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee- Rock Island Line

Blues Masters, Vol. 5 (Storyville)

Stephen Barry Band- Poor Boy

Live (Fix it in the Mix Music)

Stephen Barry Band- Crazy Man

Live (Fix it in the Mix Music)

J. Reissner- Rocks Have Been My Pillow

Fallen Star (J. Reissner)

Stephen Barry Band- Pickin’ the Blues

Live (Fix it in the Mix Music)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on July 20.

Find me on Twitter. @MikeRegenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

The Yellow Door to celebrate 50th anniversary

On November 12, I’ll be in Montreal with a bunch of old friends to help the Yellow Door Coffee House celebrate its 50th anniversary. While it used to be conventional wisdom that the Yellow Door started up in 1967, Marc Nerenberg, who was around at the beginning and has kept folk music going at the Yellow Door in recent years, has traced the coffee house launch back to 1966 – which means the Yellow Door is, by far, Canada’s longest-running folk venue, and one of the last surviving folk venues of the 1960s anywhere.

I was 15 years old in 1969 when I started going to the Yellow Door. I went to a concert at the Back Door – a sister club to the Yellow Door that was open from 1969 to 1971 – where I heard about the Yellow Door and headed there the following weekend.

Back then, the Yellow Door was run by Chuck Baker and the format was to book lesser-known acts for three-night gigs from Monday to Wednesday and headliners for three nights from Thursday to Saturday. Sunday night was Hootenanny Night at the Yellow Door when performers – professionals and amateurs – put their names in the hat for chance to play three songs (or 15 minutes, whichever came first). As I recall, 12 performers got to play – in the order their names came out of the hat – on Hoot Nights.

In short order, I was a regular at the Yellow Door (and the Back Door) soaking up performances by almost everyone who played there. While some of them are largely forgotten, some became well known, and a few became legendary.

At some point in 1970 or ’71, I got involved in helping run the Yellow Door. I think Chuck just drafted me one night to work the coffee counter or sell tickets. I eventually did a lot of both, and then started to MC the occasional set. By 1972, I was MCing the Hoots every Sunday. Once in a while, when Chuck was away, I took over – even sleeping in his apartment on the Yellow Door’s top floor.

So, like so many performers who started out on the Yellow Door’s small stage, I got my start learning how to run folk clubs and concerts at the Yellow Door. In the fall of 1972, I started to produce folk music concerts at Dawson College and McGill University (while staying involved at the Yellow Door) and in the spring of 1974, I took over running another folk coffee house, the Golem, whose booking policy I modeled after the Back Door’s. And even though I’d moved on to the Golem, I was still around the Yellow Door a fair bit.

Perhaps my most memorable night at the Yellow Door was in the spring of 1972 when Jerry Jeff Walker and his guitarist (I recall his name being Travis something) happened to pass through town – I think they were en route from Ottawa to New York – and showed up at the Yellow Door on a Monday or Tuesday night. I was MCing that night and Jerry Jeff asked me if he could do a guest set. I told him that I’d have to clear it with the artist – his name was Merle Michaels, an American, I think, who was then living in Montreal and who I’ve not seen or heard of in the past 40 years. I asked Merle if it was OK for someone to do a guest set. “Sure,” he said, “Who?” At first he didn’t believe me when I said it was Jerry Jeff Walker. Anyway, after the show, maybe a dozen of us were on hand to hear Jerry Jeff play for about an hour-and-a-half without a break. He didn’t do “Mr. Bojangles” that night, but he did do “Stoney,” my request.

So, 50 years after the Yellow Door first opened as a folk music venue, and about 47 years after I first showed up at the basement coffee house, a bunch of us from the old days will join with today’s generation of Yellow Door performers to celebrate at a special 50th anniversary reunion concert, curated by Marc Nerenberg, on Saturday, November 12, 7:30 pm, at Petit Café Campus (57 Prince Arthur Street East in Montreal).

Among the old friends from my Yellow Door era who will perform are Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop, Bill Russell, Chris Rawlings, Danny Greenspoon, Joel Zifkin, Kevin Head, Linda Morrison, Marc Nerenberg, Michael Jerome Browne, Noah Zacharin, Peter Paul Van Camp, Ronney Abramson, Russ Kelley, and an acoustic version of the Stephen Barry Band.

Among the younger performers from today’s generation of Yellow Door performers will be Bashu Naimi-Roy, the Chinese Kiwis, Corinna Rose, Gabrielle Marlena, Jesse Daniel Smith, Jitensha, Lauriel Lewis, Simon Banderob, and Thanya Iyer.

The MCs for the evening will be Chuck Baker, Marc Nerenberg, Mike Regenstreif (Hey, that’s me!) and Penny Rose.

Tickets for the anniversary concert are available on the Yellow Door website.

The anniversary weekend will also include several events at the Yellow Door itself (3625 Aylmer Street) including a Friday night Hootenanny, a free concert on Saturday afternoon and a brunch on Sunday. See the website for details.

Fifty years – half a century – imagine that. Congratulations to all who have played at the Yellow Door over the years – and especially to everyone who’s had a role in keeping it going against all odds for five full decades. It will be something to see everyone again.

Pictured: A drawing from the 1970s by Marc Nerenberg that is being used on 50th anniversary T-shirts; and Mike Regenstreif, Penny Rose and Jesse Winchester receiving the Yellow Door Award at the Yellow Door 35th Anniversary Concert, April 27, 2002 at Café Campus. (Photo: Judith Cezar)

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif