Here’s the rare Capital Radio show that was recorded but never played (at its regular time). So here it is a day late, belatedly celebrating what would have been the 124th birthday of baseball great Satchel Paige, the Negro League and MLB pitcher who is remembered not only for his five-decade-long career but for his
Out traveling, so I haven’t been able to post the last show of June until now. It was dedicated largely to a holiday already passed (though some are still shooting off remaining firecrackers). But it was also the birthday of, among others, Lena Horne, Stanley Clark, Florence Ballard and Andy Scott (from Sweet, turning 76!).
We began with a salute to Lou Christie, who died last week at 82. Then it was an onslaught of summer, which itself came a day early this year and immediately hit the gas and hit a 101 heat index down here. After two dozen summer songs, there were birthdays to note, from Grateful Dead
The one-two punch of Sly Stone’s death last week followed by that of Brian Wilson led to a packed double tribute this week for both of them. For Wilson it meant the whole of “Pet Sounds” surrounded by what led up to it and what followed. As much as we played, there was much more
Jury duty left an impression last week, so there were more than two dozen songs about judges, juries, pleas and sentences. Some used the nomenclature of the courtroom as romantic metaphors, but others had gavel sound effects. All were preceded by “Here Comes the Judge,” a catch phrase so potent they named a GTO after
The weirdly formatted Capital Radio this week was due to my own miscalculations about the American justice system. That is to say, I didn’t think I’d get picked for jury duty. Therefore, the usual 1 o’clock show was delayed by five hours and cut in half by a previously scheduled program. Still, it was fun
What they used to call Decoration Day was noted on Capital Radio last Monday (posted only now because I’ve been away). But there were two dozen songs about soldiers, war and repercussions of a military-based society. We began by saluting Miles Davis, born that day in 1926, and had more birthdays later for early blues
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
Things don’t always go right when you pre-record a show. Sometimes, last week’s show repeats by mistake, which it did today. And as happy as I was with that show, I’m sadder that the today’s Shane MacGowan-dominated show didn’t go live. But here it is, a few hours later, in archived form. Besides our full-bodied
