To mark the moment the U.S. Mint stopped making pennies, we had a half dozen songs about the copper coin.
We paid tribute to Todd Snider, who died Friday at 59, and to Hilly Michaels, the glam drummer from New Haven. And we noted the birthdays of Gordon Lightfoot, Jeff Buckley, Gene Clarke, Bob Gaudio, Martin Barre, Ronnie Bivens, Dean Martin Jr. and Kimya Dawson.
Mostly we tried to play every song mentioned in Bob Dylan’s epic song “Murder Most Foul,” which was played to mark both the 63rd anniversary of the JFK assassination this week (and the fourth anniversary of Capital Radio). The 17-minute dirge has more than 70 songs mentioned in it, though, so we could only fit in half. (The rest come next week).
Here’s the setlist:
Capital Radio. Nov. 17, 2025. 1 – 4:35 p.m. www.cygnusradio.com
“Capital Radio Two,” The Clash
“Calling All Girls,” Hilly Michaels
“All Right Guy,” Todd Snider
“Illegal Smile [live],” Todd Snider
“Like a Force of Nature,” Todd Snider with Jason Isbell
“Sundown,” Gordon Lightfoot
“Rag Doll,” The Four Seasons
“Cross-Eyed Mary,” Jethro Tull
“So Real,” Jeff Buckley
“She Don’t Care About Time,” The Byrds
“I’m a Fool,” Dino, Desi & Billy
“Poison,” Bell BIv DeVoe
“Loose Lips,” Kimya Dawson
“Pennies from Heaven,” Louis Prima
“Pennies,” Smashing Pumpkins
“Penny Music,” The Monkees
“And Penny Knows,” Wondermints
“Penny Loafers and Bobby Socks,” Joe Bennett & The Sparkletones
“Pennyroyal Tea,” Nirvana
“Penny Lane,” The Beatles
“Murder Most Foul,” Bob Dylan
“Clap for the Wolfman,” The Guess Who
“I Want to Hold Your Hand,” The Beatles
“Ferry Cross the Mersey,” Gerry and the Pacemakers
“Let the Good Times Roll,” Shirley & Lee
“There’s a Party Goin’ On,” Wanda Jackson
“Crossroads,” Robert Johnson
“Tommy Can You Hear Me,” The Who
“The Acid Queen,” The Who
“Long Black Limousine,” Elvis Presley
“Lincoln Limousine,” Jerry Lee Lewis
“Send Me Some Loving,” Solomon Burke
“Walk on By,” Dionne Warwick
“Wake Up Little Suzie,” The Everly Brothers
“Dizzy Miss Lizzy,” Larry Williams
“Walking After Midnight,” Patsy Cline
“What’s New, Pussycat?” Tom Jones
“What’d I Say,” Ray Charles
“Wolfman Jack,” Todd Rundgren
“Long White Cadillac,” The Blasters
“Only the Good Die Young,” Billy Joel
“Tom Dooley,” The Kingston Trio
“St. James Infirmary,” Louis Armstrong & His Savoy Ballroom Five
“I’d Rather Go Blind,” Etta James
“Boom Boom,” John Lee Hooker
“Scratch My Back,” Slim Harpo
“Going Down Slow,” Guitar Slim
“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” Nina Simone
“Take It to the Limit,” The Eagles
“Desperados Under the Eaves,” Warren Zevon
“Tragedy,” The Fleetwoods
Twilight Time,” The Platters
“Take Me Back to Tulsa,” Bob Willis and His Texas Playboys
“The Day John Kennedy Died [live],” Lou Reed
Capital Radio returns Nov. 24 at 1 p.m. until after 4 on www.cygnusradio.com. The show can also be heard via the cygnusradio.com app, available free at iTunes or GooglePlay. Older shows are available at Substack.com/@rogercatlin.
