1) Jubilee

2) I Double Dare You

3) When the Saints Go Marching In

4) Shadrack

5) I Can’t Give You Anything But Love

6) Elder Eatmore’s Sermon on Generosity

7) Elder Eatmore’s Sermon on Generosity (Bert Williams)

8) What Is This Thing Called Swing?

9) You’ve Got Me Voodoo’d

10) Harlem Stomp

11) Wolverine Blues

This is OUR first show of the new decade dedicated to music from exactly 40 years ago, one of our favorite musical eras, the ‘60s. No, I’m not going insane. The way we see it at American Hit Radio, the ‘60s – as we have come to know them – began in January 1964 with the arrival of the Beatles, and lingered until some time in 1972, when a cultural shift ultimately moved away from the ideals of the ‘60s. I think the music will prove out this theory adequately enough, so here are the songs featured in today’s show;

1) Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – Sly & the Family Stone

2) Everybody Is a Star- Sly & the Family Stone

3) Rainy Night in Georgia – Brook Benton

4) The Thrill Is Gone – B.B.King

5) Bridge Over Troubled Water- Simon & Garfunkel

6) Travelin’ Band – CCR

7) Who’ll Stop the Rain – CCR

8) He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother - The Hollies

9) Call Me – Aretha Franklin

10) Leaving On a Jet Plane – Peter, Paul & Mary

11) Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head – B.J. Thomas

By 1937, Louis Armstrong’s career began to change significantly. His new manager, Joe Glaser, had begun to implement a number of maneuvers to increase Louis’ exposure, and in the process, his income. It was a long time coming, and it was wonderful for Louis to finally have some pocket money (he was only the most artistically important musician in the world at this time!), but the effect this had on his artistry (or his personal integrity) was much more ambiguous. Movies and radio were the two mediums that Glaser pursued, with mixed results. Today’s show focuses on those results.

Here are songs featured in today’s program;

1) The Skeleton in the Closet

2) Public Melody Number One

3) On a Little Bamboo Bridge

4) Sun Showers

5) On the Sunny Side of the Street

6) “Harlem” Radio Broadcast - a)Program Intro

b) I’ve Got a Heart Full of Rhythm

c) After You’ve Gone

d) Pennies from Heaven

e) That’s What I Like

f) Darling Nellie Gray

g) Washington and Lee Swing

h) Fleischmann’s Yeast Commercial

i) Sign-Off Station ID

It’s been a while since the new decade has rolled around, and we’ve spent so much time reviewing some of our favorite stuff from 2009 that we have yet to do a typical ‘anniversary’ show. So then, let’s get back on track by tripping back 50 years to January 1960. All songs from today’s show are now officially 50 years old – hard to believe in some cases, and no surprise in others.

Here, then, are songs covered in today’s program;

1) Let It Be Me – The Everly Brothers

2) Beyond the Sea – Bobby Darin

3) Where Or When – Dion & the Belmonts

4) Theme from “A Summer Place” – Percy Faith & His Orchestra

5) Teen Angel – Mark Dinning

6) Silver Dagger – Joan Baez

7) Wildwood Flower – Joan Baez

8) Bye Bye Johnny – Chuck Berry

9) Down the Road Apiece – Chuck Berry

10) Let It Rock – Chuck Berry

11) It’s So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) – The Everly Brothers

12) Nashville Blues – The Everly Brothers

13) What About Us – The Coasters

PLAY THE SHOW

Songs covered today include;

1) I’m In the Mood for Love

2) Got a Bran’ New Suit

3) Old Man Mose

4) Thanks a Million

5) Shoe Shine Boy

6) Solitude

7) I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket

8) Lyin’ To Myself

9) Ev’ntide

10) Swing That Music

Part 10 in our series covering the music and life of Louis Armstrong covers a period of transition in Louis’ life. Any musician’s life can be hard, especially if you divide most of your time between touring, performing and recording. As an American Black man touring the country in the pre-civil rights era, the difficulties were nearly insurmountable. Add in crooked managers, various mob interests who would just as soon you dead than alive, and the worst economic depression in recent history, and you quickly realize that we can’t really begin to imagine Armstrong’s state of mind during this period.

If you were to judge the times solely by his recorded output, Louis seems eternally happy, self-satisfied and generally pleased with the state of the world. He single-handedly took it upon himself to make others feel good, at a time when feeling good was not an easy thing to accomplish.

Here are song selections featured in today’s program;

1) I’ve Got the World on a String

2) I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues

3) Medley of Armstrong Hits (Part 1)

4) High Society

5) Honey, Do!

6) Hustlin’ and Bustlin’ For Baby

7) Laughin’ Louie

8) Song of the Vipers

9) Sweet Sue, Just You

PLAY THE SHOW

For our second show dedicated to music released in the past year, we were pleasantly surprised to be joined by Chad DePasquale. Chad hosts Ultrasound Lounge on WHPC-FM, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite radio programs, featuring an eclectic mix of just about anything, with a bent toward intelligent alternative contemporary music. Chad is the perfect foil for a show dedicated to new music, and both Heidy and I had a real good time sharing the hour with him. Here’s a list of songs that we manage to cover, between our conversations;

1) Dearest Forsaken – Iron and Wine

2) Cello Song – The Books featuring Jose Gonzalez

3) Knotty Pine – The Dirty Projectors w/ David Byrne

4) Stillness Is the Move – The Dirty Projectors

5) Diamond Dave – The Bird and the Bee

6) Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear

Here are selections that we’ve chosen for today’s show – more will follow next week.

1) Summertime Clothes – Animal Collective (Merriweather Post Pavilion)

2) It’s All Good – Bob Dylan (Together Through Life)

3) Wilco (the Song) – Wilco (Wilco (the Album))

4) This Tornado Loves You – Neko Case (Middle Cyclone)

5) Oh No – Andrew Bird (Noble Beast)

6) The Rake’s Song/Abduction of Margaret – The Decemberists (The Hazards of Love)

7) Baby Boomer – Monsters of Folk (Monsters of Folk)

8) Stars of Leo – M. Ward

Today’s show features Louis at the peak of his fame, when he was a national celebrity with his name (and nicknames) quickly becoming a ‘household word’. That didn’t necessarily mean that life was easy, though, as the details of his life from this era convey. It was a good time to let the music do the talking, so we do our best to abide by that rule ourselves.

Songs featured include;

1) Black and Blue

2) Dinah

3) Tiger Rag

4) Standing on the Corner – Jimmie Rodgers

5) I’m a Ding Dong Daddy

6) If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight

7) Body and Soul

8) Sweethearts on Parade

9) Just a Gigolo

10) Shine

11) When It’s Sleepy Time Down South

Today’s show covers a time span from December 1928 thru December 1929 – one short year in contemporary history, but a year fraught with social change brought on by the collapse of the stock market, and significant stylistic change for Louis Armstrong. As 1928 faded away, Louis was drifting away from the New Orleans playing style that had defined his sound, and toward a more sleek, streamlined and ‘citified’ sound. It was also the time period when Louis decided to leave Chicago once again and return to New York City in his quest for fame and fortune. It was a move that was essential if Louis was to survive the shifting tastes of popular culture, and this show captures that transition as it happened.

Songs include;

1) Save It, Pretty Mama

2) Weather Bird

3) Muggles

4) Tight Like This

5) Knockin’ a Jug

6) I Can’t Give You Anything But Love

7) S’posin (edited) – Seger Ellis

8) How Do You Do It That Way (edited) – Victoria Spivey

9) Ain’t Misbehavin’

10) Ain’t Misbehavin’ (edited) – Seger Ellis

11) Dallas Blues

12) St. Louis Blues

13) Rockin’ Chair

Today’s show features music from forty years ago, December 1969. The music speaks for itself, hopefully, so does the show.

Songs include:

1) I Want You Back – The Jackson Five

2) Whole Lotta Love- Led Zeppelin

3) It Came Out of the Sky – CCR

4) Street Fighting Man – Rod Stewart

5) Compared to What – Les McCann & Eddie Harris

6) Gimme Shelter – The Rolling Stones

7) Let It Bleed – “

8) You Can’t Always Get What You Want – “

Our 6^th episode featuring the music of Louis Armstrong captures the artist at the absolute peak of his powers. Not yet 30 years old, Louis had the energy of a young man and a talent that was incomparable to anyone. This period in his career dating from 1927 to 1928 captures Armstrong at the top of his game. He would continue to cause critics and audiences to marvel at his abilities for his entire life, but he would never be quite as dazzling as he is on these recordings – and neither would anyone else. These are, quite simply, some of the most monumental performances in the history of recorded music.

Featured titles include;

1) Melancholy

2) S.O.L. Blues (edited)

3) Gully Low Blues

4) That’s When I’ll Come Back to You

5) Struttin’ with Some Barbecue

6) Hotter Than That

7) Skip the Gutter

8) A Monday Date

9) West End Blues

10) Two Deuces (edited)

11) Symphonic Raps

12) Basin Street Blues

PLAY THE SHOW

One of the most significant results of the continuing disc jockey scandals is the demise of rock and roll. Although the entire credit cannot be given to revelations of payoffs to sponsors of junk which had no chance otherwise, public disgust at the methods of promoting primitive noises on records has hastened the decline of this fad.

Surveys of record companies, movie makers and distributors and promoters of both mediums taken after the payola investigations began have been unanimous in their conclusions that gyrating dancers and shimmying guitar players are on the decline. It is a decline which began early in the year, as evidenced by scanning lists of the top 10 tunes at various periods in the year...Rock and roll is but another experience, fading into the oblivion from whence it came.

There are few mourners. Many, like the musician (my emphasis – ed.) who is head of Columbia Records popular recording department, Mitch Miller, are openly rejoicing. Long an opponent of the style, Miller’s comment on its decline was, “I refused to make that trash.”

To the cynical mind, accustomed to one musical fad giving way to another more extreme, it is soothing to note the replacement for rock and roll has been the ballad…Looking back on it now, it is easy to see why the bubble burst. But there was a time when music lovers didn’t think they would survive the noise. Peace and quiet – it’s wonderful.

At the time, the article was less humorous than you may think, as evidenced by the top 40 charts. Today’s show features songs that appeared on the pop charts during the week this article went to publication, including;

1) My Favorite Things – Mary Martin (The Sound of Music)

2) I’m Movin’ On – Ray Charles

3) Tear Drop – Santo and Johnny

4) Unforgettable – Dinah Washington

5) Reveille Rock – Johnny & the Hurricanes

6) Dance With Me – The Drifters

7) Way Down Yonder in New Orleans – Freddie Cannon

8) Be My Guest – Fats Domino

9) El Paso – Marty Robbins

10) The Big Hurt – Toni Fisher

11) So Many Ways – Brook Benton

12) We Got Love – Bobby Rydell

13) Why – Frankie Avalon

14) In the Mood – Ernie Fields

15) Heartaches by the Number.

Our fifth episode of ‘How Music Changed’ dedicated to the music of Louis Armstrong covers a very important era in his musical development. Louis’ experience had already brought him far and wide, from New Orleans and the Mississippi River excursions, to Chicago, New York City, and back to Chicago. Besides hearing all sorts of sophisticated (or ‘sweet’) band music, he couldn’t help but notice how the ‘hot’ bands were attracting most of the attention.

By 1926, the wheels were turning in a way that would allow Louis to inextricably combine the two strains, demanding sophistication from the ‘hot’ players, while making it virtually essential for all musicians to ad lib around the central theme. Within these recordings lies the birth of the “Swing’ era, and the key to virtually all contemporary music.

Titles covered include;

1) Don’t Forget to Mess Around

2) King of the Zulus

3) Skid-Dat-De-Dat

4) Big Butter and Egg Man

5) Irish Black Bottom

6) I’m Goin’ Huntin’ – Jimmy Bertrand’s Washboard Wizards

7) Wild Man Blues – Johnny Dodds’ Black Bottom Stompers

8) Wild Man Blues – Louis Armstrong’s Hot Seven

9) Chicago Breakdown – Louis Armstrong and his Stompers

10) Potato Head Blues

Maybe it’s the difficult years when we have the best chance to reflect on all of the things that we really have to be thankful for. 2009 was not an easy year for an awful lot of people, but when I reflect on my family, my friends, my band, and even this radio show, I recognize that I’m a pretty lucky guy, so why do I spend so much of my energy worrying about everything? This Thanksgiving, I want to make a serious effort to relax my mind, and give thanks to all of the people who make my life easier and distract me from my own negativity. I’m truly grateful for my friends and my family, and that applies to the personnel here at WHPC, and it especially applies to the listeners who give me a reason to be here at all.

So, in all sincerity, thank you very much for spending some time with Heidy and me, and I hope that in some small way, we manage to return the favor. These songs are for you.

1) Be Thankful for What You Got – William DeVaughn

2) Now Be Thankful – Fairport Convention

3) Thanks a Million – Louis Armstrong

4) Thank You – Led Zeppelin

5) Thanks to You – Emmylou Harris

6) Thank You- Dido

7) I Wanna Thank You Baby – Delbert McClinton

9) Thank You, Girl - The Beatles

10) Thank You - Solomon Burke

11) Thank You and Goodnight – The Angels

12) Thanksgiving Day – Ray Davies

13) Thank You - Charlatans UK

Here we are, already three episodes into our coverage of Louis Armstrong, and so far, we’ve only covered the portion of Louis’ career when he worked as a sideman for others. If the point of this series is to discuss how the genius of Louis Armstrong was disseminated throughout the world, then today’s show, episode four, is where our story truly begins. From this point forward, Louis is his own man, fronting his own band, and changing the face of Jazz and the direction of popular music in general, with each released recording. In short, the music featured in today’s program represents the Rosetta Stone of jazz music.

All tracks are credited to Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five, except as noted. Songs covered include;

1) My Heart

2) Yes! I’m in the Barrel

3) Gut Bucket Blues

4) Georgia Grind

5) Muskrat Ramble

6) Heebie Jeebies

7) Cornet Chop Suey

8) Oriental Strut

9) Stomp Off, Let’s Go – Erskine Tate’s Vendome Orchestra

10) Georgia Bo-Bo – Lil’s Hot Shots

11) He Likes It Slow – Butterbeans and Susie

If it’s Wednesday, then it must be 1959, or 1969…or as is the case today, 1979. 1979 was not one of my favorite years for popular music, and unfortunately, today’s show dwells a bit on some of the most rancid hits to ever reach the top 40. Luckily, we absolve ourselves by playing a few select album tracks as well. We hope you enjoy the show, but to avoid embarrassment, you might want to make sure that your windows are closed while listening (one caller actually told us that he had to crank up is car window so people wouldn’t think he actually liked the stuff we were playing. I thought that was hysterically funny, so I’m compelled to do it again!).

Here’s what we play today;

1) Crusin’ – Smokey Robinson

2) Chiquitita – Abba

3) Escape (The Pina Colada Song) – Rupert Holmes (as a ‘Bad Hit’)

4) Jane – Jefferson Starship (another ‘Bad Hit’)

5) Coward of the County – Kenny Rogers (yet another ‘Bad Hit’)

6) Tusk – Fleetwood Mac

7) Broken English – Marianne Faithful

8) I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide – ZZ Top

PLAY THE SHOW

Our third episode featuring the remarkable music of Louis Armstrong covers the time when Louis Armstrong arrived in New York to play with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, and in the process, kicking off ‘the jazz era’. This was a remarkably vital and diverse time for Louis, as he also found himself in demand to back up numerous vocal performers, making him perhaps the very first ‘famous’ studio session musician. His time in New York was relatively short, lasting approximately one year from 1924-25, but it was eventful, as shown by the following featured recordings;

1) Go ‘Long, Mule – Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra

2) Copenhagen – Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra

3) Shanghai Shuffle – Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra

4) Everybody Loves My Baby – Clarence Williams Blue Five

5) Everybody Loves My Baby – Fletcher Henderson & his Orchestra

6) See See Rider Blues – Ma Rainey

7) Baby, I Can’t Use You No More – Sippie Wallace

8) Anybody Here Want to Try My Cabbage – Maggie Jones

9) The World’s Gone Jazz Crazy – Trixie Smith

10) Shipwrecked Blues – Clara Smith

11) St. Louis Blues – Bessie Smith

12) Cake Walkin’ Babies From Home – Red Onion Jazz Babies

13) Cake Walkin’ Babies from Home – Clarence Williams’ Blue Five

14) Sugar Foot Stomp – Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra

15) Carolina Stomp – Fletcher Henderson & His Orchestra

As usual, it takes more than one show to cover the diversity of music that was being released in the late ‘60s, and November 1969 is certainly no exception. Last week, we took a look at the single s chart. This week, we cover six different albums, each of which having since reached some degree of ‘classic’ status.

Songs (and albums) include –

1) She Came In Through the Bathroom Window – Joe Cocker (Cocker!)

2) Bird on a Wire - “

3) Hot Rats (Radio Promo) – Frank Zappa

4) Peaches en Regalia – Frank Zappa (Hot Rats)

5) Hot Rats Radio Promo – Frank Zappa

6) Out and In – Moody Blues (To Our Children’s Children’s Children)

7) Gypsy - +

8) I Never Thought I’ds Live to Be a Million - “

9) What Is and What Should Never Be – Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin II)

10) Ramble On - “

11) Space Oddity – David Bowie (Space Oddity)

12) Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed - “

13) Volunteers – Jefferson Airplane (Volunteers)

This is our second show dedicated to the life and music of Louis Armstrong, but our first to at least partially cover the era of recorded music! Louis’ life had been incredibly rich and complex, giving us a lot of ground to cover, with no recorded evidence to convey that history. Today’s show finds Louis joining his mentor Joe Oliver in Chicago. It also features Louis’s very first recording session with Oliver’s band, the New Orleans Creole Jazz Band, and also his first recorded composition (also with Oliver).

Here’s a list of songs featured in today’s show (all are by King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, unless indicated otherwise);

1) Basin Street Blues - Louis Armstrong

2) Zulu's Ball

3) Just Gone

4) Canal Street Blues

5) Chimes Blues

6) Weather Bird Rag

7) Dipper Mouth Blues

Today, we look at hit singles from forty years ago this month. Just a couple of weeks ago, we featured two albums from October 1969 that went on to become two of the most influential albums of all time (‘The Band’ and ‘Abbey Road’). Today’s show starts off with the lead single from ‘The Band’, then moves on to cover a few other notable singles that debuted in November 1969. Most are remembered fondly, although we do include one ‘bad hit,’ just for perspective.

Titles include;

1) Up on Cripple Creek – The Band

2) Undun – The Guess Who

3) Holly Holy – Neil Diamond

4) Down on the Corner – Creedence Clearwater Revival

5) Fortunate Son - “

6) Make Your Own Kind of Music – Mama Cass (as a ‘Bad Hit’)

7) Someday We’ll Be Together – Diana Ross & the Supremes

8) Na Na Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye) – Steam

9) Sugar Sugar – The Archies

10) Wedding Bell Blues – The 5^th Dimension

11) Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley

Today’s show is somewhat intimidating for us. Setting out to convey the essence of the single most important musician of the 20^th century is no easy task, but I must admit that doing research has been a blast. I have always appreciated the music of Louis Armstrong, but studying his life and the way that it affected his own sensibilities has added depth to my own understanding of the man, and that is exactly what we hope to convey as we wind our way through the various phases of Louis Armstrong’s rather incredible life. It’s a Herculean task, but we look forward to it.

Naturally, we start our coverage with the earliest years of his life, covering the time period before he actually did any recording at all. For that reason, the music for today’s show is not in any chronological sequence. Rather, it is intended to convey some aspect of the information that we cover. For those very same reasons, not every track features Louis Armstrong. Songs include

1) When It’s Sleepy Time Down South

2) Louis Armstrong Monologue

3) Muskrat Ramble

4) Mahogany Hall Stomp

5) Workingman’s Blues (King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band)

6) Make Me a Pallet On Your Floor – Bunk Johnson’s Street Paraders

7) Coal Cart Blues

8) Sister Kate – (Kid Ory)

9) Black Rag – (Original Tuxedo Jazz Band)

10) Frankie and Johnny – (Fate Marable’s Society Syncopators)