Sunday, October 8, 2023 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 8 am to 10 am Sundays Mountain Time Substitute Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's the playlist :
Blue Endless Highway by Nick Shoulders
Ruby, Are You Mad at Your Man by Carolina Chocolate Drops
Keep Your Soul by Son Volt
Silver Dollar by Sierra Ferrell
Mississippi by The Cactus Blossoms
The Way It Goes by Gillian Welch
Viva Sequin / Do Re Mi by Ry Cooder with Flaco Jimenez
Life Love Death And The Meter Man by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Crow Hollow Blues by Stan Ridgway
Too Close To Heaven by Dad Horse Experience
Longest Train I Ever Saw by John Wadley Quartet
Willow Garden by Charlie Higgins & Wade Ward
Giddyup Do-Nut by Don Bowman
Forever Has Come To An End by Buddy & Julie Miller
Ay, Ai, Ai by Clifton Chenier
Big Man by DM Bob & Speedy Jake
It Doesn't Change Anything by Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Kentucky by The Everly Brothers
Billy Grimes The Rover by The Massey Family
I Want to Live and Love Always by The Maddox Brothers & Rose
Graveyard Blues by Hobart Smith
Get a Load of This by R. Crumb & His Cheap Suit Serenaders
Pie In The Sky by Utah Phillips & Ani DiFranco
Hum's Liquor by Lucinda Williams
I Don't Like the Man I Am by Billy Childish & The Singing Loins
I Guess I'm Crazy by Charlie Feathers
Playing Guitars by Jim White
Jesus Don't Love Me by Holly Goligtly & The Brokeoffs
The Sky Above, the Mud Below by Tom Russell
Right Track Now by Powell St.John with Roky Erikson
Sixty six years ago on this date, the Godless communists of the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite into space, a 183-pound metal sphere called "Sputnik 1."
I was barely four years old at the time, so if I do any memories of it, they're buried under tons of rock 'n' roll, television commercial jingles and odd recollections of Andy's Gang episodes.
But all my life I've had it drilled into my head that Sputnik caused a wave of paranoia in the U.S.A.
"... Sputnik struck fear into the hearts of Cold War Americans, who realized that the Soviets could just as well have lofted a nuclear-tipped missile to North America," declared a 2003 reminiscence on NBC.
A 2005 dissertation by Ian Kennedy called The Sputnik Crisis And America's Response looks at how the satellite affected America's psyche:
But how did the American reaction unfold? Did hysteria follow immediately after the launch of Sputnik I, as so many sources on the event would lead us to believe? An examination of the public reaction, combined with analysis of it in the proper contextual framework, suggest that the public reaction may not have been immediately fearful. There is evidence to suggest that many Americans were concerned after their communist foes launched the first Sputnik, but not really afraid. Other than the shame of being beaten to the achievement, a large portion of the public felt that they would soon be back on top and that Russian satellite did not pose an immediate threat.
This “not too much to worry about” mentality did not last long into the following month. When the Soviets repeated their achievement with the launch of Sputnik II in early November 1957, a much larger and heavier satellite that included a canine passenger, Americans had more cause for concern. As that month drew to a close, further events would breed a more worried reaction. …
On 25 November, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a bulwark of leadership that had almost always inspired public confidence, suffered a stroke, causing many to speculate whether the aging leader could still fulfill the weighty obligations of the presidency. Finally, as if to add insult to injury, the first attempt by the United States to match the Soviets in the new space race resulted in spectacular failure. On 15 December 1957, American rocket technicians attempted to launch their nation’s first satellite. This small sphere, called Vanguard I, barely made it off of the launch pad before the rocket carrying crashed back to Earth in a massive ball of flame. Once Americans saw this highly publicized disaster, most of the “not too much to worry about” feelings that may have existed after the first Sputnik were replaced by genuine concern.
So how did this genuine concern affect American music?
In my quick and not-very-scholarly look at this issue, I found many songs obviously inspired by Sputnik. But what I didn't find was much real paranoia.
In the world of country music, Ray Anderson, with his band The Homefolks, declared that "Sputniks and Mutniks" (almost certainly a reference to Laika the space dog, who the Soviets sent to into orbit just a few weeks after Sputnik) "have got me scared."
But still, considering the title and the upbeat tempo of the song might lead a listener to believe his fear was tongue and cheek. Hear for yourself:
Rockabilly Jerry Engler in his song "Sputnik (Satellite Girl)" didn't seem scared at all:"
Likewise, bluesman Roosevelt Sykes was inspired by Sputnik to celebrate his sexy girlfriend, a "hot rocket baby [who] will leave you flyin' blind":
Another rockabilly, Carl Mann, sang of "Satellite No. 2," I guess a successor to Sputnik 1. Mann's reaction was not to run in fear, but to "dance, dance, dance / Let's dance, to that satellite no. 2":
Even pop star Teresa Brewer saw satellites as something new and cool. "I'm spinning around like a satellite/ And I can see the sun for the stars / Everyday is as gay as a Saturday night / Or a ride on a rocket to Mars":
So if Sputnik caused panic and paranoia, it was my kind of panic and paranoia!
On this Throwback Thursday let's celebrate the zoot suit, a type of apparel that's inspired many musicians -- as well as sparking a bloody, racist 10-day riot in Los Angeles.
With its super-sized shoulder pads, sprawling lapels and peg leg pants, the zoot suit grew out of the “drape” suits popular in Harlem dance halls in the mid-1930s. The flowing trousers were tapered at the ankles to prevent jitterbugging couples from getting tripped up while they twirled. By the ’40s, the suits were worn by minority men in working-class neighborhoods throughout the country. Though the zoot suit would be donned by the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrong, it was “not a costume or uniform from the world of entertainment,” the Chicago big-band trumpeter and clothier Harold Fox once said. “It came right off the street and out of the ghetto.’’
Maybe the first song with "zoot suit" in the title was "A Zoot Suit (for my Sunday Girl)." It was recorded by all sorts of folks in the '40s including the Kay Kyser Orchestra (who did the original in early 1942), Benny Goodman, The Andrews Sisters and, later, even Dave Van Ronk.
My favorite version is the one by Dorothy Danridge and Paul White:
Then there's these guys, whoever they are. (Seriously, does anyone know? Please tell me!)
WARNING: This video probably is illegal in Florida!
Skip ahead to the early 1960s and we'll find a little combo called The High Numbers.
The who?
That's right! It's the band later known as The Who. I don't think Pete and Roger and the boys actually ever wore an actual zoot suit though:
Known as the first Chicano play on Broadway, Luis Valdez's 1979 musical Zoot Suit (made into a movie starring Edward James Olmos in 1981) was based partly on the 1943 zoot suit "riots" in Los Angeles, in which U.S. Navy members stationed in southern California attacked zoot-attired Chicanos (and Filipinos. And Blacks) in East L.A., as the cops turned a blind eye. Because, you know, patriotism. (Just a few months ago, the Los Angeles City Council formally apologized for "effectively sanctioning the violence perpetuated eight decades ago.")
The Cherry-Poppin' Daddies had a huge hit in 1997 with their own song about that ugly little stain on American history.
Now those sailors know where their women went for love!
Monday, September 25, 2023 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell
Email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
I'll Be Gone by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Hook Line and Sinker by Nick Shoulders
Freakin’ Out by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
Rockin' Bones by The Cramps
Burn Baby, Burn by Stud Cole
Go Go Go For Louie's Place by The A-Bones
Hot Skillet Momma by Yochanan
Get In The Groove by The Mighty Hannibal
Swingin' Little Chicky by The Beltones
I Couldn't Spell !!*@! by Roy Loney And The Young Fresh Fellows
Bang Bang Bang by Eilen Jewell
Please Come On Home by Esquerita
Pumping (My Heart) by Patti Smith
Honky Tonk Merry Go Round by Patsy Cline
Little Ramona (Gone Hillbilly Nuts) by BR5-49
Ramona by The Ramones
Deputy Dog by Great Gaylord & The Friggs
Lonely Street by Bobby Charles
Hey! Sister Lucy (What Makes Your Lips So Juicy?) by The Treniers
Rocket To The Moon by Lenny Welch
Marie by Martin, Bogan & Armstrong
The Jim Rob Song by Miss Tammy Faye Starlite
Daddy Rockin' Strong by The Dirtbombs
Little Red Book by Benny Joy
Flesh Eating Cocaine Blues by Daddy Long Legs
Harlem Shuffle by The 5.6.7.8's
Jungle Fever by Charlie Feathers
Shanty Tramp by Betty Dickson
Flyin' Saucers Rock And Roll by Billy Lee Riley & The Little Green Men
DooI'll Never Be Mean by The Radiants
The Jones Girl by The Five Satins
Teenage Bells by The Loungers
Love In The Afternoon by The Dreamtones
Your Tender Lips by The Syncopates
Bob-O-Link by The Smart Tones
What's Your Name by Don & Juan
School day Crush by Nicky & The Nobles
She's Gone (with the wind) by Fred Parris & The Scarlets
Sunday, September 24, 2023 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrell(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
I'm Ready by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Bad Boy by The A-Bones
Baby Baby Baby by Barreracudas
Mera Naam Bano Hey by Tandoori Knights
Everyday Vacation by Alien Space Kitchen
Go Go Gorilla by The Ideals
Walkin' With The Beast by Gun Club
Vegas by Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
Tower Of Song by Tom Jones
I'm Your Man by Leonard Cohen
Dirt Bag Fever by Quintron
Burning Down The House by Talking Heads
Rough And Tumble Guy by Webb Wilder
The Sea by Sierra Ferrell
Robot Man by Jamie Horton
Voodoo Eyes by The Silhouettes
Rat Fink by Ron Haydock & The Boppers
GRAM PARSONS, RIP
(all songs by GP except where noted)
Still Feeling Blue
The New Soft Shoe by Polly Parsons & Eden
Hearts On Fire
Hickory Wind by Bob Mould & Vic Chesnutt
Boulder To Birmingham by Emmylou Harris
Hot Burrito #1 by The Mavericks
Sin City by The Mekons
In My Hour Of Darkness by Gram Parsons
Is Heaven Real? by Johnny Dowd
By The Fire by Jon Dee Graham
If I Had You by Johnny Gimble with Emily Gimble
Whalebone by The Dead Brothers
Steadfast, Loyal And True by Elvis Presley
All Bad by Nick Shoulders
Crow Hollow Blues by Stan Ridgway
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
