A bumper crop of birthdays today means two hours of great music from Marshall Crenshaw and XTC’s Andy Partridge, both turning 71, to Dave Alvin, 69; Chris Dreja of The Yardbirds, 79; Narvel Felts, 86; and Jon Batiste, 38. Also, LaVern Baker, born this day in 1929; and Mose Allison (1927). Lesser known early works
News this morning of the death of the Quincy Jones at 91 had us scrambling to find a handful of his tracks showing the breadth of his work over the decades. But there were some other recent passings to note, too, from figures ranging from Phil Lesh to Jack Jones and Barbara Dane. Today’s birthday
A handful of takeaways from Saturday’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction brought MC5, Cher and Big Mama Thornton, among others, to start the show. Then it was time to celebrate the birthdays of Steve Cropper, turning 83 today; Elvin Bishop, 82; Manfred Mann, 84; Faces bassist Tetsu Yamauchi, 78; Ron Elliott of the
After noting her 91st birthday on this show just two weeks ago, we bid farewell to Cissy Houston, who died last week, with a survey of her work, solo, and in the Drinkard Singers and the Sweet Inspirations, and especially the background singing that found its way to singles from Paul Simon and John Price
The arrival of the 10th month brought 11 songs about October. Then there were birthdays to note for Thom Yorke of Radiohead, turning 56, to John Mellencamp, who is 73 today. Our birthday salutes have rarely dug back so far, with three from the 19th century: banjoist Uncle Dave Macon, born this day in 1870;
The death of Kris Kristofferson Saturday at 88 triggered a tribute that included five of his songs sung by himself, and five song by others, as well as collaborations with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson in The Highwaymen and with Rosanne Cash and Elvis Costello in a songwriting project. Birthdays were noted for
The death last week of one of my favorite, but still largely unknown, performers led me to a lengthy tribute of Charlie Burton, whose music has fueled me as his lyrics have tickled me since my college days nearly half a century back. His work with Rock Therapy, the Hiccups, the Cutouts,, the Dorothy Lynch
Labor Day means songs of work — getting a job, finding a job, losing a job, and gathering a union, from artists ranging from the Miracles, to Talking Heads, to Pete Seeger and Billy Bragg. But another harbinger for summer’s end — the county fair — is celebrated from artists including Bruce Springsteen, Phil Alvin
Cutting into the annual 24 Hours of Christmas programming for my own holiday edition of Capital Radio, I tried to concentrate on somber, more solemn numbers appropriate for the day rather than dazzle dazzle of jingle bells. Themes of “Christmas Day is Here” were much favored over “Christmas time is coming.” Nice to have Coltrane
The last show before Christmas warrants the annual avalanche of holiday songs, starting with the Bosstones, Aimee Mann and Nick Lowe, shifting to ’60s oddities from Bobby Goldsboro and Brian Hyland, and enduring rokcers from the Kinks and the Ramones. There was so much Yuletide, there wasn’t time for the usual birthday salutes, except for
