Sunday, November 26, 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 :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
So Glad You're Mine by Elvis Presley
Family Fun Night by Figures Of Light
Stay Out Of Automobiles by Webb Wilder
She Lives (In A Time Of Her Own) by 13th Floor Elevators
Sunday, November 19, 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 :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Talk Talk by The Music Machine
Bad Bad Man by The Mullens
Subsonic Dream by The Darts
Tropical Breakdown by Pierre Omer`s Swing Revue
Up To The Gate by The Dead Brothers
Model Ex Citizen by Quintron
Papa Lou And Gran by Little Victor
Dirty Like An Angel by Divine Horsemen
Primary Baby by Jon Spencer & The HITmakers
Lost Songs by Howlin' Jaws
Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band by Jimi Hendrix Experience
All the Smart People by The Grawks
I Do My Best to Survive by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Bloody Mary by King Salami & The Cumberland 3
Louisiana Trainwreck by Pere Ubu
Emerê by Tom Zé
Sweet Young Thing by The Chocolate Watchband
Conspiranoia by Primus
You Make Your Own Heaven And Hell Right Here On Earth by The Temptations
Tura Satana Tribute Song by The Dustaphonics
Give Me Five Minutes More by Peter Case
Keep Warm by The Minks
Funny Farm by Boris McCutcheon
The Girl With The Wandering Eye by Movie Movie
Ice Cream (Pay Phone) by Black Pumas
No Quiero by Ry Cooder with Domingo Samudio
The Cold Hard Facts Of Life by John Doe & The Sadies
Born in Memphis, Tennessee by Memphis Slim
I Know Sometimes A Man Is Wrong by David Byrne
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Doug Sahm with Freddy Fender during a Texas Tornados set during the
1997 South by Southwest at Austin's Hole in the Wall.
Three days ago, November 6, would have been Doug Sahm's 82nd
birthday. And later this month, Nov. 18, will be the 24th anniversary of Doug's
death.
Congress should just go ahead and declare November to be Doug Sahm month!
Son Volt sings songs of Sahm in Ft. Collins
Earlier this week, I posted on Facebook about Doug's birthday, mentioning the
fact that I recently saw Son Volt up in Colorado. That band's most recent
album, Day of The Doug, is a Sahm tribute album, and their show
kicked off with a lengthy set of some of those songs as well as a take on
"Give Back the Keys to My Heart," a Sahm song on Uncle Tupelo's final album.
which featured a guest appearance by Doug himself. (For those not familiar,
Uncle Tupelo was the previous band of Son Volt leader Jay Farrar.)
This morning, two of my friends, Rick and Walt, reminded me that there were
previous Sahm tribute albums. So on this Throwback Thursday, let's look at all
these albums.
Way back in 2002, The Bottle Rockets did an album called Songs of Sahm
honoring Sir Doug. Here's a tune from that album:
Skip ahead to 2009 and we'll find a various-artists compilation called
Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm,
with contributions from the likes of Dave Alvin, Alejandro Escovedo,
Delbert McClinton, Little Willie G of Thee Midnighters and Greg Dulli of The
Afghan Whigs. Santa Fe's own Terry Allen did one of the best tracks on this
tribute, "I'm Not That Kat Anymore":
But my favorite song on Keep Your Soul was the extremely soulful "Be Real," performed by Freda & The Firedogs, vocals by long, tall Marcia Ball:
Here's a track, from the latest Son Volt album, Day of The Doug, which happens to be the title track of the previous tribute:
And though it's not from a tribute album, one of my favorite Sahm coverd through the years is this one by Alvin Youngblood Hart:
So happy Doug Sahm Month to all who celebrate. Keep groovin'!
Footnote: I was the reporter who broke the news that Sahm had died in Taos in 1999. As I was about to go home from a long day of work at the Santa Fe New Mexican, an editor got a tip that he'd died in a Taos hotel room. Sadly, it turned out to be true.
For
my coverage of Sir Doug's death in 1999 -- the initial scoop, plus a second-day story, in which I interviewed a local woman who'd spent time with Doug in Santa Fe before he died -- check this old blog post:
CLICK HERE
Sunday, November 5 , 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 :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
It was 79 years ago today, Nov. 1, 1944, that singer, songwriter, humorist, novelist, failed political candidate and cigar aficionado Richard Samet Friedman was born in Chicago. A few years later the Friedman family moved to Texas and a little later still, young Richard became Kinky Friedman, king of the wild frontier.
I've previously, in Wacky Wednesday, celebrated Kinky's birthday, back in November 2016, where I explained how God led me to Kinky back in 1973 and how a couple of decades later, I got to open for him a couple of times at Albuquerque shows.
So today I'll just say "Happy birthday, Kinky!" and post a few songs that I hadn't previously,
To start off, here's a tune that didn't make Kinky popular in the hospitality industry. Oh, waitret ... :
With the current rise in anti-Semitism, this Kinky Klassic might be even more relevant than before:
This one explains an alternative use for religious pamphlets left in restroom stalls:
And, from the same concert as the video above, is another Kinky waitress song. But, though obviously satirical, it's full of pathos and full of heart. (But one thing I've always wanted to know: how many American truckdrivers actually order corn and how many truckstops actually offer beef on rye?):
Sunday, October 29, 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 :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
It's Money That Matters by Randy Newman
Money by Wolfman Jack & The Wolfpack
Cape May Diamond by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Night of the Monsters by Robbie Quine
Greenback Dollar Bill by Louis Prima & Sam Butera
Graveyard by Dead Moon
Do the Pig by Rodd Keith
Blue Moon Baby by Dave 'Diddle' Day
$ Bill the Cowboy by Waco Brothers
Brother Can You Spare a Dime by Rudy Vallee
The Vampire Dog Of Jesus Christ by Gregg Turner Group
Old Hickory leads The Wonderful 99 at the Battle of The Alamo
In the late 1950s and early '60s there was a fun little trend in country
music. With songs like Johnny Horton's "The Battle of New Orleans,""El Paso"
by Marty Robbins, and Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John" suddenly there were all these
story songs on country radio -- with many of them crossing over to Top 40
stations.
With many such hits concerning historical events and characters, this
phenomenon sometimes is referred to as "faux folk." Some say faux folk was a
response -- basically a chance to cash in -- on the rising popularity of
actual "folk" music, such as the surprising success in 1958 of The Kingston
Trio's "Tom Dooley."
Also, I suspect that at some of these were reactions to current events of the
day. More on that later.
"The Battle of New Orleans" probably is the best known of the faux folk songs.
But Johnny Horton sang others as well, including "Sink the Bismark," a
historical song about more recent history, the 1941 sinking of a German
battleship during WWII:
In addition to "El Paso," (Fun fact: El Paso is the only city in New Mexico
that is not a city in New Mexico) Marty Robbins also sang of a bigger
violent skirmish in the great state of Texas. Robbins' "The Ballad of The
Alamo" was a tie-in with the 1960 John Wayne movie The Alamo. The
melody, which can be heard in the movie, was composed by Ukrainian-born
Hollywood soundtrack genius Dimitri Tiomkin (whose other "hits" include "Do
Not Forsake Me" from the Gary Cooper classic High Noon). The lyrics
were by Paul Francis Webster, who also wrote the words for "Black
Coffee," The Twelfth of Never" and the Spiderman theme (!).
There's no known recording of Marty Robbins singing "Spiderman."
Speaking of New Mexico, here's some faux folk from Johnny Cash:
Also from that era came "The Ballad of Davy Crocket," which tied in with the
huge Disney-inspired Crocket craze of the mid '50s. (Here's a good recent
podcast about
that phenomenon.) This version below appeared on a Doug Sahm album, with some help from The
Gourds:
I wrote about Claude King's "The Burning of Atlanta" in an old Tune-up column a few years ago. So being the pompous cheeseball that I am, allow me to quote myself:
This 1962 single was the follow-up to Claude King’s biggest hit, the country classic “Wolverton Mountain.” In many ways, the song — which concerns Gen. William Sherman’s torching of the Georgia city in Nov. 1864 — fits in the “faux folk song” phenomenon of that era ... But “Atlanta” has an edge to it, especially considering what was going on with the civil rights movement in the South in 1962. King singing, “We don’t care what the Yankees say, the South’s gonna rise again,” was more than a little charged in this context.
Like all trends in popular music, the faux-folk era ended quietly and faded into the mist of our memories. Many of the songs live on, "El Paso" being the best example. (The blast couple of times I've seen Marty Stuart, he's sung the song by that other Marty.)
But a few decades later, John Prine and Peter Case (who's appearing in Santa Fe on Nov. 12) co-wrote a little tune called
"Wonderful 99," which satirized the faux-folk era. It appeared on Case's 1992
album Six-Pack of Love.
The first verse goes:
You've heard about the dirty dozen and the tales of the green beret
The men that sank the Bismarck and the fighting C.I. A.
But if you're talkin' danger then one name comes to mind
Sunday, October , 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 :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Destroy All Monsters by Jad Fair & Samuel Locke Ward
Save All Monsters by Xposed 4Heads
The Price Of Love by Buddy Miller
Kool Thing by Sonic Youth
Headless Ghost by The Nightmares
Viking by Los Lobos
Stranger by Black Lips
Framed by The Robins
Only Time Will Tell by Movie Movie
Snake Doctor Blues by Jelly Jaw Short
The Payback by James Brown
Broken Heart Man by Yol Aularong
Killing Floor by Jimi Hendrix Experience
Are You Experienced? by Devo
Bloodstains On The Wall by Honeyboy
Grandma by Long John Hunter
Rock 'n' Roll Murder by The Leaving Trains
Mera Naam Bano Hey by Tandoori Knights
Zombie Walk by The Magics
This Funky Music Makes You Feel Good by WAR
Ice Pick by Johnny Dowd
Hush, Hush, Hush (Here Comes The Boogie Man) by Henry Hall
La Llarona by Kid Congo & The Pink Monkey Birds
Spooksville by The Nu-Trends
Stand Beside Me by The Dreamtones
My Dawlin' New Orleans by Lil' Queenie & The Percolators
Why I Cry by Pitiful Panics
I'm in the Ground for Good by The Newports
House Carpenter by Boris McCutcheon
Winter Garden by Steve Leon & The Accusations
West Virginia Waltz by Sierra Ferrell
Yesterday Is Here by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Sunday, October 15 , 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 :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Hey Miss Glynis by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
A Lap Full Of Hate by Movie Star Junkies
Current Events by Joe "King" Carrasco & Los Corona
Screamin' Ball (At Dracula Hall) by Duponts
Zombi B. Good by Horror Deluxe
Sometimes You've Got To Stop Chasing Rainbows by Son Volt
A Real Good High by Movie Movie
2 Big Pumpkins by Elvira
Space Rock Band by City of My Death
Remember by John Lennon
I Found Out by Nathaniel Mayer
We're All Water by tUnE-yArDs
Transvestopyre by The Barbarellatones
The Creature From The Black Leather Lagoon by The Cramps
Candyman by Cornershop
That's My Little Suzie by Ritchie Valens
Let's Make It by John Lee Hooker & Canned Heat
Atomic Swing by Pierre Omer`s Swing Revue
Jack The Ripper by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
LSD by Johnny Dowd
Because Of LSD by Bud Freeman
My Friend Is A Stooge by Pere Ubu
Bang Your Thing at the Ball by Bob Log III
Cruella De Vil by Mutagénicos
Spooky Girlfriend by Elvis Costello
Demon In My Head by Joe Buck Yourself
Negatory Romance by Boris McCutcheon
Fare Thee Well by The Dead Brothers
Nightshift by The Commodores
Shenandoah by Tom Waits & Keith Richards
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Sunday, October , 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 :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
The Holygram's Song (Back From The Shadows Again) by Firesign Theatre
Leave Me Alone (A Halloween Song) by The Goldstars
Trick Or Treat by Dave Del Monte & The Cross County Boys
Nshingilile by WITCH
Sarah Lee by Prince Jesse
Good Intentions by Mean Motor Scooter
Burning Bridges Willis Earl Beal
Bang Bang Bang by Eilen Jewell
Teenage Bells by The Loungers
Prix Zombie by Horror Deluxe
I'm So Glad by The Famous Ward Singers
Complications by Weird Omen
Take Me To The River by Al Green
Slippery People by Talking Heads
On My Way to Houston by Powell St. John & The Aliens
Body In Plastic by Glambilly
Loretta The Senators
Spooks by Ghost Bikini
Nutbush City Limits by Frontier Dan & the Hickoids
The Green Manalishi by Fleetwood Mac
7&7 Is by The Standells
Little Girl Of Mine by The Electras
Devil Dance by The A-Bones
Blackout Drunk by MFC Chicken
Burn She-Devil, Burn by The Cramps
Joey by Concrete Blonde
The Body Of An American by The Pogues
Mysterious by Teenage by Vels
Beauty In The Fire by Lady Wray
It's Gonna Be Easy by Son Volt
Diamond Mind by The Dead Brothers
Diamond In Your Mind by Solomon Burke
Feet Start Walking by Doris Duke
Kaatskill Serenade by David Bromberg
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
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
Tomorrow, September 22, 2023, will mark the 8th anniversary of a federal
judge's landmark decision that declared the song "Happy Birthday to You" to be
in the public domain. That decision led to a
subsequent settlement
in which Warner/Chappell, the giant media corporation that claimed to
have owned the copyright, agreed to repay, to the tune of $14 million, those who had licensed the song.
But, contrary to a rumor I just made up, Judge George H. King, did not
admonish Warner/Chappell by declaring, "You look like a monkey and you smell
like one too."
"Happy Birthday to You" undoubtedly is the most sung 10-second song in the
USA.
Yes, 10-seconds. Remember singing it -- twice -- while washing your hands
every few minutes during the early months of the COVID pandemic? As a
2020 article in Billboardnoted:
This has led to some strained attempts at humor, as people try to defuse
the tension we’re all feeling. Mark Ronson tweeted: “Been washing my hands
for 7 minutes singing ‘happy birthday’ by @StevieWonder x2. I didn’t know
they meant the ‘other’ birthday song… smh.”
The melody that everyone loves while someone brings a flaming cake to the
table was written by a couple of sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill in Kentucky
back in 1893.
The first version was titled "Good Morning to All," and was meant to be sung
in the classroom. (Patty was the principal of the Louisville Experimental
Kindergarten School, while Mildred was a teacher there.) This early version of
the song, which didn't mention any birthdays, was published in Song Stories for the Kindergarten and Primary Schools a book written by the sisters. But, according to
The Farmer's Almanac:
Nearly ten years after their first song book was published, the Hill
sisters were invited to a neighbor’s birthday party. It was then that
Patty changed the words of “Good Morning to All” to “Happy Birthday to
You,” in an effort to make the occasion more festive. The song was the
highlight of the party, and obviously caught on.
Sounds like some party!
Oklahoma City's beloved Ho Ho the Clown, about to sing "Happy
Birthday" to my brother, back in the days when we weren't all
afraid of clowns.
Billboard, however, noted that "There are various accounts of how `Good Morning to
All' morphed into `Happy Birthday to You'."
The sisters copyrighted their original song in October 1893 but years
later in March of 1924, it appeared without authorization in a songbook
edited by a Robert H. Coleman. In the book, Coleman used the original
title and first stanza lyrics but altered the second stanza’s opening line
to read, “Happy Birthday To You.” Thus, through Coleman, the sisters’ line
“Good Morning dear children,” became “Happy Birthday dear (name).”
During the next decade, the song was published several times, each time
with minor alterations in the lyrics. By 1933, the widely accepted title
was “Happy Birthday To You.” When the song was soon being belted nightly
in the Broadway musical, As Thousands Cheer, a third Hill sister, Jessica, tired of the ongoing theft of the melody
and total lack of royalty payments, took the case to court.
And apparently she won. The tune was dropped from As Thousands Cheer, and, as the Songwriters Hall of Fame notes, "...Western Union and
Postal Telegraph both ceased using the song in singing telegrams. A Broadway
hit play with Helen Hayes, `Happy Birthday,' arranged for the star to speak
the lyrics so the producers might avoid paying royalties to the authors."
The copyright saga of "Happy Birthday to You" serves as a great example of
corporate greed. The publisher of the Hill sisters'
Song Stories for the Kindergarten and Primary Schools was
the Clayton F. Summy Company, which became the Summy-Birchard Company in
1957, and became a division of the Birch Tree Group in 1970, only to be
gobbled up by Warner/Chappell in 1988.
But that lawsuit against Warner/Chappell, originally filed in 2013
by documentary filmmaker Jennifer Nelson returned the song to the people
two years later.
Just a week after Nelson filed her suit in New York, a singer named Rupa
Marya, singer with a band called Rupa & The April Fishes, filed a similar
suit in California, where the cases were combined.
Marya told
The Hollywood Reporterthat a San Francisco audience had sung the song to her on her birthday in
2013. But... "When the band tried to add that live rendition to an album, she
was hit with a lawyers demand for payment to license the song."
Here is Rupa, in the center, with her lawyers and others at the law firm singing the song they
fought for:
Here is what is song has to be the most famous performance of this song.
Marilyn took more than the mandatory 10 seconds. Nobody complained:
Kermit Ruffins does a version of "Happy Birthday to You," that features lyrics
I first heard in elementary school:
