Showing posts with label Tex König. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tex König. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Saturday Morning with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Saturday May 18, 2024


Saturday Morning is an eclectic roots-oriented program on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa 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 the Saturday Morning show. 

This episode of Saturday Morning was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/128/65234.html

Tex König- One Morning in May
Königsblende (Music Cellar)

Wendy Grossman- My Sweet Wyoming Home
The Last Trip Home (Riverlark)
The Spain Brothers- Roseville Fair
Bright and Better Morning (The Spain Brothers)
Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl- River
Recordings Celebrating 50 Years of a Musical Partnership (Mason Daring & Jeanie Stahl)

Bill Staines- Rompin’ Rovin’ Days
Journey Home (Red House)
Penny Lang- Come Across to You
Gather Honey (Borealis)
Bruce Murdoch- First Robin of Springtime
Matters of the Heart (Bruce Murdoch)

Jaspar Lepak- Dandelion
The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin)
Hilary Field- Esperanza (Hope)
The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin)
Kat Goldman- Weight of the World
The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin)
Declan O’Rourke- The Harbour
The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin)
Christine Lavin- Another New York Afternoon
The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin)

Bill Hearne- Sixteen Miles
Always Trust Your Cape (Howlin’ Dog)
Brittany Jean- Early Morning Rain
Colors & Covers (Brittany Jean)
Gordon Lightfoot- Long River
The Original Lightfoot (EMI)

Stephen Mendel- Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Sing Me a Story (Stephen Mendel)

Evenchick & Hucul- Under Your Wing
This is My Story (Melissa Hucul & Mark Evenchick)
Gentle Sparrow- Shining a Light Over You
River (Heart Alchemy Music)

Boreal- Warm Hands
Recorded for a future album release
Kate Weekes- Tea in Reykjavik
Taken By Surprise (Artiste Extrordinaire Originals)

Tom Lewis- Chicken on a Raft
Sea-Dog, See Dog! (Flying Fish)
Maddy Prior & June Tabor- The Grey Funnel Line
Silly Sisters (Shanachie)
Garnet Rogers- Sammy’s Bar
Summer Lightning: Live (Snow Goose Songs)

Bruce Cockburn- O Sun By Day O Moon By Night
O Sun O Moon (True North)
Lynne Hanson- Hemingway’s Songbird
Just Words (Lynne Hanson)
Ana Egge- Door Won’t Close
Sharing in the Spirit (StorySound)
Paula Cole- Follow the Moon
Lo (675)

Eric Bibb- 500 Miles
Live at the Scala Theatre (Stony Plain)
Steve Howell & The Mighty Men- God’s Gonna Cut You Down
99½ Won’t Do (Out of the Past Music)

Jay Linden- Another Day
Ordinary Sunrise (Americana North)

Tom Mitchell- My Newest Friend
When the Moon is Right (Truesongs)
Heather Little- Saint Christopher
By Now (Heather Little)
James Talley- My Little Corner of the World
Bandits, Ballads and Blues (Cimarron)
Robin Holcomb- Be Still
One Way or Another, Vol. 2 (Robin Holcomb)

Gretchen Peters with Tom Russell- Guadalupe
One to the Heart, One to the Head (Scarlet Letter/Frontera)
Steve Young- Angel of Lyon
Switchblades of Love (Watermelon)
Tom Russell & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Tom Russell & The Norwegian Wind Ensemble- Goodnight Juarez
Aztec Jazz (Frontera)

Magpie- I Just Roll Along
Endless River (Long Tail)
Rosalie Sorrels- Elegant Hobo
What Ever Happened to the Girl That Was (Paramount)
Paul Geremia- I’ll Be Goin’
Just Enough (Folkways)
Judy Roderick- Born in the Country
Woman Blue (Vanguard)
Chris Smither- All About the Bones
All About the Bones (Signature Sounds)

Mike Regenstreif & David Amram (2004)

David Amram- Waltz from After the Fall
No More Walls (Flying Fish)

I’ll be hosting Saturday Morning next on June 15. I also host Stranger Songs on CKCU every Tuesday from 3:30-5 pm.

--Mike Regenstreif

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – April 16, 2024: New York State of Mind


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/595/64765.html

Theme: New York State of Mind


All the songs on this show have something or other to do with New York City.

Tony Bennett & Billy Joel- New York State of Mind
Playin’ with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues (RPM/Columbia)

Bob Dylan- Talkin’ New York
Bob Dylan (Columbia/Legacy)
Tex König- Zen Koans Gonna Rise Again
Königsblende (Music Cellar)
Lucy Wainwright Roche & Suzzy Roche- Bleecker Street
Mud & Apples (Lucy Wainwright Roche & Suzzy Roche)
Garnet Rogers- American Jerusalem
The Outside Track (Snow Goose Songs)
Orit Shimoni- New York 
Winnipeg (Orit Shimoni) 

Mike Regenstreif & David Amram (2017)

David Amram & The Colorado Symphony Orchestra- Variation VI: Street Sounds of New York B) Klezmer Wedding Celebration and Middle Eastern Bazaar
This Land: Symphonic Variations on a Song by Woody Guthrie (Newport Classic)

Suzanne Vega- New York is My Destination
An Evening of New York Songs and Stories (Cooking Vinyl)
Mike Regenstreif & Erik Frandsen (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Erik Frandsen- Unique New York 
Antiques: New & Used (Erik Frandsen) 
Christine Lavin- Another New York Afternoon
The Seasons Project: Spring (Christine Lavin) 
Tom Russell- Biggest Bordertown
Old Songs Yet to Sing (Frontera)

Mike Regenstreif & Chaim Tannenbaum (1976) photo: Felicity Fanjoy

Chaim Tannenbaum- Brooklyn 1955
Chaim Tannenbaum (StorySound)
The Klezmatics- Mermaid’s Avenue
Wonder Wheel: Lyrics by Woody Guthrie (Jewish Music Group)
Frank London’s Klezmer Brass Allstars featuring Michel “Meshach” Nestor- Unity (Carnival in Crown Heights) 
Chronika (Borscht Beat) 
Mike Regenstreif & Lucy Kaplansky (2012)

Lucy Kaplansky- Brooklyn Train
The Red Thread (Red House)

Nat King Cole- Harlem Blues
St. Louis Blues (Capitol)
Reggie Harris- Harlem Renaissance
Ready to Go (Reggie Harris Music)
Lena Horne & Harry Belafonte- There’s a Boat That’s Leaving Soon for New York
Porgy & Bess (RCA)

Harry Nilsson- I Guess the Lord Must Be In New York City
Harry (RCA)
Chava Alberstein- Fellini in New York 
End of the Holiday (Rounder) 
Mike Regenstreif & Priscilla Herdman (2000)

Priscilla Herdman- Goodnight, New York
The Road Home (Redwing Music)

Frank Sinatra- (Theme from) New York, New York
The Reprise Collection (Reprise)

Next week: Songs of Shel Silverstein.

--Mike Regenstreif 

Friday, August 19, 2022

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday August 23, 2022: Artists of My Montreal


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/595/57356.html

Theme: Artists of My Montreal.

I moved to Montreal in 1968 when I was 14 and lived there until 2007. The artists on this show all lived in Montreal at some point in those years and we first crossed paths while they lived there. Many are still friends today. There were many more artists I could have included had time allowed.

Chris Rawlings & Mike Regenstreif (2007)

Chris Rawlings- Pearl River Turnaround
Pearl Soupe (Cooking Fat Music)

Bruce Murdoch- (The Plains of) Jericho
Bruce Murdoch (Radio Canada International)
Sean Gagnier- Circle Harbor
Circle Harbor (Sean Gagnier)
Penny Lang- Ain’t Life Sweet
Ain’t Life Sweet (She-Wolf)
Tex König- Sea Fever
Königsblende (Music Cellar)

Russ Kelley- Elaine
Crazy Shades of Blue (Ark Road Music Productions)
Bill Garrett & Sue Lothrop- Red Shoes
Red Shoes (Borealis)

Stephen Mendel- Old Ties and Companions
Sing Me a Story (Stephen Mendel)

Leonard Cohen- Suzanne
Songs of Leonard Cohen (Columbia/Legacy)
Steel Rail- Wooden Ships
River Song (Crossties)
Jesse Winchester- I Wave Bye Bye
Gentleman of Leisure (Sugar Hill)

Kate & Anna McGarrigle- Complainte pour Ste-Catherine
Tell My Sister: Kate & Anna McGarrigle (Nonesuch)
Ronney Abramson- Song for Canaan
Stowaway (Castor Island Music)
Cathy Fink- The Midnight Prayerlight
Doggone My Time (Sugar Hill)

Chaim Tannenbaum- Coal Man Blues
Chaim Tannenbaum (StorySound)
Marc Nerenberg- Puppets in Raincoats
Delia’s Gone: Murder Ballads & Other Songs of Love & Death (Marc Nerenberg)
Orit Shimoni- One Voice
Strange and Beautiful Things (Orit Shimoni)

Linda Morrison- World Go Round
Line By Line (Heartstrung Music)
Notre Dame de Grass- New Canada Road
New Canada Road (Notre Dame de Grass)
Yonder Hill- Northern Lights
Yonder Hill (Yonder Hill)
Kevin Head- Everyone Needs a Backyard
Hear Them Callin’ (Kevin Head)

Michael Jerome Browne & Mike Regenstreif (2005)

Stephen Barry- Talking Bullet Hole Blues
Original (Bros)
Michael Jerome Browne- Children
Drive On (Borealis)
Rob Lutes- Rob’s Deep River Blues
Gravity (Rob Lutes)

Shtreiml- Rachel’s Bulgar
Spicy Paprikash (I.J. Rosenblatt)

Next week: Festival of Flowers.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Friday, April 16, 2021

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday April 20, 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 – Episode #11 – was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/51656.html

Theme: Celebrating Spring

Garnet Rogers- Old Campfires
Summer’s End (Snow Goose Songs)
Kim Wallach- Come, Spring
Chatter of the Finches (Black Socks Press)
Richie Havens- Here Comes the Sun
Alarm Clock (Stormy Forest)
Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy- Rambles of Spring
The Makem & Clancy Collection (Shanachie)

Wade Hemsworth with the Mountain City Four- The Blackfly Song
Wade Hemsworth with the Mountain City Four (Peter Weldon)
Connie Kaldor- Spring on the Prairies
Wood River (Coyote)
Ian Tyson- Springtime
Cowboyography (Stony Plain)
David Mallett- Greenin’ Up
Midnight on the Water (North Road)

Bruce Cockburn- April in Memphis
Crowing Ignites (True North)

Rosalie Sorrels with Mitch Greenhill- Go With Me
If I Could Be the Rain (Folk-Legacy)
Mark Stepakoff featuring Rose Polenzani- April Fools
Any Port in a Storm (Mark Stepakoff)
Finest Kind- April Morning
Heart’s Delight (Fallen Angle)
Tex König- One Morning in May
Königsblende (Music Cellar)
Grace Griffith- May Morning
Passing Through (Blix Street)

Mike Regenstreif & Tom Paxton (2009)

Tom Paxton
- Virginia Morning
Redemption Road (Pax)
Rod MacDonald- Second Spring
Boulevard (Blue Flute Music)
Jacques Brel- Au Printemps
The Very Best of Jacques Brel (Select)
Frida's Brow- Spring
Frida’s Brow (Frida’s Brow)

Marie Lynn-Hammond- Flying/Spring of ‘44
Marie-Lynn Hammond/Vignettes (Vignettes Media)
Quartette- Spring of ‘45
Work of the Heart (Denon)
Mark Perry- Springtime
Recollections (Northern Sky)

Eleni Mandell- I Believe in Spring
Snakebite (Zedtone)
Erin McKeown- They Say It’s Spring
Sing You Sinners (Nettwerk)
Banjo Nickaru & Western Scooches- When the Red, Red Robin
Very Next Thing (On the Bol)
Lew London- Swingtime in Springtime
Swingtime in Springtime (Philo)
Suzy Bogguss- Jumping Into Spring
Swing (Compadre)

Modern Jazz Quartet- I’ll Remember April
European Concert (Atlantic)

Next week – April in Paris

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

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday, February 6, 2021

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday February 9, 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 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 – Episode #1 – was prerecorded at home and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/50779.html

Today’s show was inspired by the book, Leonard Cohen Untold Stories: The Early Years by Michael Posner, the first of what will be three volumes of Leonard Cohen’s untold stories. The Early Years covers Leonard Cohen’s life from childhood until 1970 and the songs and poems of Leonard Cohen on this show were all written during that period. Click here to read my review of Leonard Cohen Untold Stories: The Early Years

Leonard Cohen- fragment of The Stranger Song
Songs of Leonard Cohen (Columbia/Legacy)
Martin Simpson- The Stranger Song
Vagrant Stanzas (Topic)

Nina Simone- Suzanne
To Love Somebody (RCA)
Leonard Cohen- Warning
Six Montreal Poets (Folkways)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle and Martha Wainwright- Winter Lady
Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man (Verve Forecast)
Leonard Cohen- Stories of the Street
Songs of Leonard Cohen (Columbia/Legacy)
Perla Batalla- So Long, Marianne
Bird on the Wire: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (Mechuda Music)

Leonard Cohen- fragment of The Stranger Song
Songs of Leonard Cohen (Columbia/Legacy)


Tex König- Sisters of Mercy
Königsblende (Music Cellar)
Laura Love- Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye
Pangaea (Octoroon Biography)
Leonard Cohen- One of Us Cannot Be Wrong
Songs of Leonard Cohen (Columbia/Legacy)

Reid Jamieson- Bird on the Wire
Dear Leonard (Reid Jamieson)
Leonard Cohen- The Sparrows
Six Montreal Poets (Folkways)
Judy Collins- Story of Isaac
Judy Collins Sings Leonard Cohen: Democracy (Elektra/Rhino)
Leonard Cohen- A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes
Songs from a Room (Columbia/Legacy)

Perla Batalla- Seems So Long Ago, Nancy
Bird on the Wire: The Songs of Leonard Cohen (Mechuda Music)
Leonard Cohen- Les Vieux
Six Montreal Poets (Folkways)
Crowes Pasture- Tonight Will Be Fine
Edge of America (Crowes Pasture)
Leonard Cohen- The Old Revolution
Songs from a Room (Columbia/Legacy)

Judy Collins- Dress Rehearsal Rag
Judy Collins Sings Leonard Cohen: Democracy (Elektra/Rhino)
Laurie MacAllister- Famous Blue Raincoat
The Things I Choose to Do (Laurie MacAllister)
Jennifer Warnes & Leonard Cohen- Joan of Arc
Famous Blue Raincoat: The Songs of Leonard Cohen – 20th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

Leonard Cohen- fragment of The Stranger Song
Songs of Leonard Cohen (Columbia/Legacy)

Next week’s show falls on Mardi Gras Day (February 16) and the show will feature songs from or inspired by New Orleans – including some Mardi Gras songs.

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

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Canadian Spaces – CKCU – Saturday November 26, 2016


CKCU can be heard at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and http://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web.

Canadian Spaces on CKCU in Ottawa is Canada’s longest-running folk music radio program. It is heard Saturday mornings from 10:00 am until noon (Eastern time).

It was hosted for more than 33 years by the late Chopper McKinnon and is now hosted by Chris White and a rotating cast of co-hosts.

This week’s show was co-hosted by Mike Regenstreif and Chris White.

Guests: The Homestead Band; Geraldine Hollett of The Once.

Fraser/Daley- Young Handsome David
Fifty Miles of Elbow Room (Alec Fraser, Mike Daley)

Amanda Lynn Stubley- Rocky Mountain Road
Gem (Amanda Lynn Stubley)

Jenny Whiteley- Stealin’, Stealin’

Jim Kweskin & Geoff Muldaur- Just a Little While to Stay Here
Penny’s Farm (Kingswood)

Chaim Tannenbaum- Moonshiner
Chaim Tannenbaum (StorySound)

Dave Van Ronk- Urge for Going
…and the tin pan bended, and the story ended (Smithsonian Folkways)

Lynn Miles- Just Let It Snow
Winter (Lynn Miles)

Jesse Winchester- Snow
Jesse Winchester (Stony Plain)

William Bell- All of Your Stories
This is Where I Live (Stax)

Tex König- Sisters of Mercy
Königsblende (Music Cellar)

Orit Shimoni- Playing Chelsea Hotel
Soft Like Snow (MW Music)

Leonard Cohen- You Want It Darker
You Want It Darker (Columbia)

The Homestead Band- Into Loving You
Live in the studio

The Homestead Band- Devil’s Got a Gun
Live in the studio

The Homestead Band- Early Morning Rain
Live in the studio

Corin Raymond- Hard on Things
Hobo Jungle Fever Dreams (Local Rascal)

The Bombadils- The Fountain
New Shoes (Borealis)

The Once- Gonna Get Good
We Win Some We Lose (The Once)

The show is now available for online listening. http://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/129/29958.html

I’ll be co-hosting Canadian Spaces again on January 28.

Find me on Twitter. @MikeRegenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

Saturday, June 6, 2015

John McCutcheon – Joe Hill’s Last Will



JOHN McCUTCHEON
Joe Hill’s Last Will
Appalsongs

Joe Hill (1879-1915) is a legendary figure in the history of folk music and the labor movement. A Swedish immigrant (born Joel Emmanuel Hägglund), he immigrated to the United States in 1902 and learned to speak English as a migrant laborer. Sometime around 1910, Hill joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the Wobblies, a union that believes in industrial unionization, “One Big Union,” as opposed to trade unionism, and began to write songs for them – often set to tunes borrowed from popular songs of the day. In some ways, Woody Guthrie followed in Hill’s footsteps a generation later.

In 1914, Hill was arrested in Salt Lake City, Utah for a murder he did not commit, and was tried and convicted. He was executed by firing squad on November 19, 1915 at the age of 36.

Like many of my generation, I initially learned about Joe Hill from the song written about him in the 1930s by Alfred Hayes and Earl Robinson via recordings by Paul Robeson and recordings and performances in the ‘60s by Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. Much of what I know about Joe Hill, though, came from another great Wobblie songwriter, my late friend Bruce “Utah” Phillips, who I heard sing many of Joe Hill’s songs, and tell many stories about him, over a period of many years.

This year is the 100th anniversary of Hill’s execution and John McCutcheon marks the occasion with Joe Hill’s Last Will, an inspired and inspiring collection of Joe Hill songs – a couple of which I’m hearing for the first time on this CD, others which I know from recordings by such artists as Utah Phillips, Pete Seeger, Cisco Houston, and Hazel Dickens.

One of the astounding things that hits home about these songs is the so very brief period in which they were created. The earliest is from 1911 and the latest from 1915 – just a four year period. But, although these songs date from a century and more ago and are essentially topical songs, most – particularly with John’s infectious and creative arrangements – seem relevant to the (economic) times we’re living in now.

While the entire album is entirely praiseworthy, some of the finest moments include “It’s a Long Way to the Soup Line,” a song Hill wrote in prison in 1915 to the tune of “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary”; “The Preacher & the Slave,” a parody of “In the Sweet Bye and Bye,” that Hill used to mock the Salvation Army (the “Starvation Army”) and their brass bands that were used back in the day to disrupt IWW rallies; and the rousing finale, “There is Power in the Union,” on which John is joined by a bunch of fellow workers from the American Federation of Musicians, Local 1000 (the folksingers' local), and the Seattle Labor Chorus.

Certainly the most moving song is the title track, “Joe Hill’s Last Will,” whose words Hill wrote the day before his execution and which were smuggled out of the prison by a guard.

My will is easy to decide,
For there is nothing to divide.
My kind don't need to fuss and moan –
“Moss does not cling to a rolling stone.”

My body? Ah, If I could choose,
I would to ashes it reduce,
And let the merry breezes blow
My dust to where some flowers grow.

Perhaps some fading flower then
Would come to life and bloom again.
This is my last and final will.
Good luck to all of you.
Joe Hill

“Joe Hill’s Last Will” has been set to music several times over the years – I have a bluegrass version on the collaborative 1976 album by Country Cooking and the Fiction Brothers but John’s lovely version is to a melody of his own. (I’ve also heard it performed as recitation by both Utah Phillips and the late Tex König.)

I’ll also note that a couple of the songs, “Overalls & Snuff,” and “Where the Fraser River Flows,” are of special Canadian interest as they were written for the strike against the Canadian National Railroad in 1912.

An essential recording and an excellent companion to John's Woody Guthrie tribute, This Land: Woody Guthrie's America.

Find me on Twitter. twitter.com/@mikeregenstreif

And on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif