American Song

Get in touch!It was the late 1970s and early '80s. New York was bankrupt. Akron's tire factories were closing. Regular families were struggling with double-digit inflation. The AIDS epidemic was raging. The Soviets invaded Afghanistan and the US boycotted the Olympics in protest. John Lennon was assassinated.  And somewhere in the background, always, that low hum — nuclear warheads, patient at the edge of the light. Into that America walked Blondie, Talking Heads, Devo, the B-52s, the Cars, and Oingo Boingo. You Might Think you know what they were doing. Quirky! Fun! Great hair! Here's what they were actually doing: holding a mirror up to everything that was broken and making it danceable. Whether that was a fun house mirror or a regular one — you'll have to decide. This episode, we find out what New Wave was really made of. And who was really making it.Continue the American Song journey on Substack! Music Featured In This EpisodeBlondie - X OffenderBlondie - Rip Her to ShredsThe Stillettos - Anti DiscoBlondie - One Way or AnotherBlondie - Heart of GlassBlondie - Call MeBlondie - RaptureBlondie - DreamingTalking Heads - Psycho KillerTalking Heads - Take Me to the RiverTalking Heads - Life During WartimeTalking Heads - I ZimbraTalking Heads - Once in a LifetimeTalking Heads - Burning Down the HouseDEVO - Jocko HomoDEVO - Whip ItDEVO - Wiggly WorldB-52s - Planet ClaireB-52s - Rock LobsterThe Cars - My Best Friend's GirlThe Cars - Just What I NeededThe Cars - You Might ThinkOingo Boingo - CapitalismOingo Boingo - Only A LadOingo Boingo - Private LifeOingo Boingo - Dead Man's PartyOingo Boingo - Goodbye, GoodbyeOingo Boingo - We Close Our EyesInterviews WithChris Stein David ByrneMark Mothersbaugh and Gerry CasaleCindy Wilson and Fred SchneiderJohn LennonRick Ocasek and Benjamin OrrBrandon FlowersDanny ElfmanContinue the American Song journey on Substack!Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Five hundred million years ago, ( approximately 1977), something extraordinary happened on the floor of an ancient sea. Life — which had spent billions of years as little more than a few unremarkable blobs drifting in the dark — suddenly exploded into every possible form simultaneously. Claws. Fins. Shells. Eyes. Creatures of impossible elegance and alien strangeness, emerging from the murk and becoming something the world had never seen before. Scientists call it the Cambrian Explosion. It was the moment life stopped playing it safe.Rock music had its own Cambrian moment. And like the original, it happened in the dark, in conditions nobody would have designed on purpose, among creatures that looked like nothing that had come before.This is the first episode of American Song: New Wave — a new series tracing the origins, explosions, and enduring legacy of the genre that turned anxiety into an art form, made nervousness a fashion statement, and somehow got America dancing to songs about the end of the world.In this episode: Kraftwerk emerges from postwar Düsseldorf like something that evolved independently of everything else — precise, alien, and more perfectly adapted to the future than anything sharing its environment. The Ramones reduce rock to its purest possible form and discover that what's left is still everything. Television proves that minimalism and virtuosity are not opposites. And Patti Smith walks into a twelve-foot room on the Bowery and claims the entire territory of rock and poetry for herself, without asking anyone's permission, because it hadn't occurred to her that permission was required.New Wave didn't descend from the mainstream. It crawled up from somewhere older and stranger and more alive — from musicians too weird, too restless, or too furious to stay in the shallows. This is where it started. This is the murk.Music In This EpisodePeter Gabriel: IntruderKraftwerk: AutobahnKraftwerk: Trans Europ ExpressGary Numan: CarsThe Feelies: The Boy With the Perpetual NervousnessRamones: I Wanna Be SedatedRamones: Beat on the BratRamones: I Wanna Be Your BoyfriendTelevision: See No EvilTelevision: Marquee MoonPatti Smith: GloriaBlondie (Rhythm Only): One Way Or AnotherB-52's: Rock LobsterInterviewsRalf Hutter (Kraftwerk)Hilly Krystal (CBGB's)Marky Ramone (Ramones)Tom Verlaine (Television)Patti Smith (Patti Smith)Next episode: Blondie. Talking Heads. Devo. The B-52s. Oingo Boingo. New Wave goes national — and it turns out the whole country had been waiting.Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Part 2Happy New Year, Everybody! (Even if you're reading this in July....)Across the last five seasons of American Song, we've traveled the arc of American music and listened to some of the greatest songs ever recorded, by some of the best loved artists over a century of thrilling music that changed the world. But what about all those artists whose music is as good, if not better, than those "giants", who (but for the fickle finger of fate) never got the massive acclaim that those rarified few received?  What is it within a songwriter that drives their art and compells them to write, even if they're not filling stadiums, or winning Grammy's (questionnable why some of the folks who do receive them deserved it!). I've been fortunate to share many road miles with one of these artists for most of my life, and in today's episode, I introduce him to you. In 1995, LA Time music critic, Mike Boehm, said this about Mark's first album: "The two albums I couldn’t stop listening to in ’95 were a tie for the number-one position in my Top Ten. [One of these was] Mark Davis, “You Came Screaming”. Davis’ first album is graced by superb melodies and hall-of-fame influences. His intensely realized subject is the embattled condition of idealism in a fallen world."  Other music critics have said this:"Getting at large truths with songs full of human-scale detail and unsentamentalized beauty.  - Los Angeles Times “Davis is truly a master of his craft… able to lift spirits even while supporting the weight of the world.” - Orange County Register I hope you'll listen closely to this two part episode. I have a special feeling that when you do, you just might come to love this music and appreciate this artistic soul as much as I do.Learn more about Mark Davis and support his music through these links:https://songrites.com/mark-davis-and-the-inklingshttps://markdavisinklings.bandcamp.comJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Part 1Happy New Year, Everybody! (Even if you're reading this in July....)Across the last five seasons of American Song, we've traveled the arc of American music and listened to some of the greatest songs ever recorded, by some of the best loved artists over a century of thrilling music that changed the world. But what about all those artists whose music is as good, if not better, than those "giants", who (but for the fickle finger of fate) never got the massive acclaim that those rarified few received?  What is it within a songwriter that drives their art and compells them to write, even if they're not filling stadiums, or winning Grammy's (questionnable why some of the folks who do receive them deserved it!). I've been fortunate to share many road miles with one of these artists for most of my life, and in today's episode, I introduce him to you. In 1995, LA Time music critic, Mike Boehm, said this about Mark's first album: "The two albums I couldn’t stop listening to in ’95 were a tie for the number-one position in my Top Ten. [One of these was] Mark Davis, “You Came Screaming”. Davis’ first album is graced by superb melodies and hall-of-fame influences. His intensely realized subject is the embattled condition of idealism in a fallen world."  Other music critics have said this:"Getting at large truths with songs full of human-scale detail and unsentamentalized beauty.  - Los Angeles Times “Davis is truly a master of his craft… able to lift spirits even while supporting the weight of the world.” - Orange County Register I hope you'll listen closely to this two part episode. I have a special feeling that when you do, you just might come to love this music and appreciate this artistic soul as much as I do.Learn more about Mark Davis and support his music through these links:https://songrites.com/mark-davis-and-the-inklingshttps://markdavisinklings.bandcamp.comJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Part Five starts with a funeral and a realization: when Bruce's friend and former Castile's band mate, George Theiss, dies, Bruce becomes the last man left from his teenage band. That shock pushes him into Springsteen on Broadway, Western Stars, and Letter to You—projects that ask what kind of ancestor, and what kind of citizen, you want to be when you’re running out of time. We follow him into those late-career marathon shows and finally to a 2025 European stage, where he calls out a "incompetent, corrupt, and treasonous administration" and then sings about hope, duty, and “we the people” anyway. This final chapter ties Bruce back to everyone we’ve studied in 2025 on American Song—including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Cockburn, Randy Newman, Warren Zevon and Jackson Browne —and makes the subtext plain: if we want a better America, we’re going to have to live up to the American values embodied in the songs of the artists we say we admire.Music In This Episode: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street BandMy City of RuinsShackled and DrawnRocky GroundSundownHello SunshineLast Man StandingOne Minute You're HereThe Power of PrayerLong Walk HomeWe Shall OvercomeArchival InterviewsRick Rubin/ Malcolm GladwellJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Part Four is where the story cuts close to the bone. Bruce lets the E Street Band go, stares down his own failures on Tunnel of Love, and writes The Ghost of Tom Joad for the people that some Americans prefer not to see: migrants, the unemployed, the left-behind. The band reunites, “American Skin (41 Shots)” forces a conversation about race and fear, and The Rising and Wrecking Ball turn grief and economic anger into something like a shared civic ritual. We carry all of that forward into Trump’s first administration and Charlottesville, and we hold Bruce’s choices up as a different model of Americanness—one where loving your country means telling it the truth and standing with the people it’s hurting, even when that costs you.Music in This Episode: Bruce Springsteen (With and Without) the E Street BandTunnel of LoveHuman TouchLiving ProofThe Ghost of Tom JoadTheme from Ken Burns 'The Civil War'*The Price You Pay**American Skin (41 Shots)This Land Is Your LandArchival InterviewsRick Rubin/ Malcolm Gladwell Mark Maron Howard SternBank Street Podcast*As performed by my second cousin, Molly Hines of Wilmington, NC. A massively talented violinist, during our family reunion in Yellowstone National Park; Summer, 2025. Thank you, Molly! Visit https://www.mollyjhines.com/** E Street Band backing track; no vocals. Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Factories closing, marriages cracking, the glitter of the ’80s hiding a lot of hurt—Part 3 lives right in that gap between the American dream and the American day-to-day. Bruce digs into Darkness, The River, and Nebraska, writing about people who rarely get a mic: laid-off workers, young couples in over their heads, neighbors hanging on by their fingernails. Then Born in the U.S.A. turns into a worldwide roar, and politicians try to strip the songs of their doubts and their compassion. We end in East Berlin, 1988, with Springsteen singing to a divided crowd about freedom and walls coming down, and we ask: what if this kind of complicated, honest patriotism was the version we measured ourselves against instead of the cheap, loud kind?Music in this Episode: Bruce Spingsteen (With and Without) the E Street BandI Fought the Law - LiveBadlandsThe Promised LandProve it All Night - Live from Hammersmith Odeon. 1978The Ties That BindThe River album medley: Point Blank/ The River/ Hungry Heart/ Cadillac Ranch/ I'm a Rocker/ Drive All NightAtlantic CityJohnny 99Born in the USABorn in the USA Nebraska era demoDownbound TrainDancing in the DarkChimes of Freedom - Live in East Berlin 1988Archival InterviewsLetter to You era interviewNPR/ Loren Anki - Born in the USANPR/ Terry GrossJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Part two picks up in the clubs and dives where Bruce and the band are trying to outrun obscurity. We walk with them through the struggle to get the first records heard, the critics who saw the spark, and the brutal work of making Born to Run: months of second-guessing, endless mixes, and the very real possibility that it might all collapse under its own ambition. We hear about Jon Landau’s famous “I saw rock and roll future” review, the Bottom Line breakthrough, the U.K. trip that almost derailed him, and the strange, exhausting new life of a band suddenly under the lights. This chapter closes with one of the great stories in the Springsteen mythos: the bomb scare in Milwaukee, the evacuated club, and a night that turns from chaos into a legendary, delayed show—a perfect snapshot of how fragile and how powerful this whole thing really was.Music in this Episode: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street BandBorn to RunThunder RoadJunglelandTenth Avenue Freeze OutKitty's BackMountain of LoveI Fought the LawArchival InterviewsMark Maron InterviewRick Rubin/ Malcolm  Gladwell InterviewJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!We start the series in 2025, at Springsteen's show in Manchester, UK where he makes a landmark statement about America's "leadership" before we flash back to his formative years.A cramped house in Freehold. A father smoking in the dark kitchen. A kid staring at the radio like it’s a way out and a way in. In Part one, we meet Bruce not as a legend, but as a working-class American kid learning early what struggle, pride, and community look like. As we follow him into those early Jersey bar gigs and up to the Cherry Hill shows, we start using his story as a counterexample to our current politics: a picture of American life rooted in responsibility, neighborliness, and the refusal to quit on your own town.Music in This Episode: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street BandLand of Hopes and DreamsGrowin' UpBaby I* It's Hard to Be a Saint in the CitySpirit in the NightRosalita* Bruce's first teenage band, The Castiles. Archival InterviewsMark Maron Howard SternRick Rubin and Malcolm GladwellJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!For over five decades, Jackson Browne has stood at the intersection of melody and message—crafting songs that speak not only to the heart, but also to the conscience. In an age of division and disinformation, his music feels like a lifeline to an older, more grounded sense of American democratic values—truth, empathy, accountability, and moral courage. This episode dives into Browne’s lifelong journey as both a master songwriter and a tireless activist, examining how his music has evolved into a public reckoning with the soul of the nation.He grew up in Southern California, crossing the "Orange Curtain" from the sleepy bedroom towns of Orange County and making his way into Laurel Canyon, and from his earliest days playing shows at the Troubadour, Browne’s lyrics were already infused with a deep introspection and a search for authenticity. But as the political landscape shifted in the 1980s and beyond, so too did his writing—growing sharper, more explicit, and unapologetically political. With albums like Lives in the Balance and The Naked Ride Home, he began naming names, challenging war, corporate greed, and environmental neglect. Browne wasn’t content to merely reflect the times—he wanted to change them.This episode traces the arc of his transformation—from a quiet observer to a clarion voice for peace, climate justice, and human rights. We explore his deep friendships with figures like David Crosby and Bonnie Raitt, his influence on the Eagles and the Southern California sound, and his early alliances with causes like MUSE and the anti-nuclear movement. But we also go deeper: into the heartbreak of Phyllis Major’s death, the personal toll of activism, and the spiritual core that drives his pursuit of justice.Jackson Browne’s legacy is not one of stardom chased or fame inflated. It’s a body of work that demands we pay attention—not just to the world around us, but to the values we claim to stand for. In a moment where America seems to be asking itself who it really is, Jackson Browne has never stopped answering with clarity, humility, and song.In This EpisodeSongs by Jackson Browne, except where noted otherwiseThese DaysWhere I’m FromThese Days (Nico (From Chelsea Girl)To Ramona - Bob DylanDoctor My EyesTake It Easy (Jackson Browne/ The Eagles mash-up)Wooden Ships (Crosby, Stills & Nash)For Every ManRunning on EmptyBefore the DelugeLives in the BalanceI Am a PatriotI’m AliveWhich SideDownhill From EverywhereStanding in the BreachDig DeeperTo learn more about several of the topics discussed in this episode, I encouirage you to check out these other American Song episode.Action: Reaction - American Bands and American Society Respond to the English InvasionPunk - The Shot Heard Round the WorldThe Singer-Songwriters Part Two: Truth to PowerJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In this episode of American Song, we explore the life and legacy of Warren Zevon, one of America’s most fearless and darkly funny songwriters. Known for his biting wit and uncompromising honesty, Zevon built a career chronicling the messier sides of the human experience—addiction, regret, heartbreak, and mortality.From his early days as a struggling songwriter in Los Angeles to the unexpected success of “Werewolves of London,” Zevon never stopped grappling with the contradictions of fame and self-destruction. We trace how his battles with alcoholism nearly cost him everything, and how sobriety led to some of his most poignant work, including “Detox Mansion” and “Reconsider Me.”When faced with a terminal cancer diagnosis, Zevon responded the only way he knew how: with humor and unflinching clarity. His final message—“Enjoy every sandwich”—has become a lasting reminder to savor the ordinary moments, even when life feels overwhelming.Drawing parallels between Zevon’s story and today’s America, we consider what his example has to offer in an era of division, anxiety, and distrust. In a time when many feel adrift, Zevon’s insistence on telling the truth—even when it was uncomfortable—feels more important than ever. His songs are proof that honesty and irony can coexist with tenderness and hope.Through archival interviews, cultural commentary, and the music itself, this episode reflects on what it means to face your demons, make peace with impermanence, and still find something worth laughing about. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or just discovering his work, this is an invitation to see Warren Zevon not just as a songwriter, but as a guide to living—and dying—with your eyes wide open.Warren Zevon's Songs In This EpisodeDesperadoes Under the EavesVeracruzI'm Your Mutineer (Bob Dylan)French InhalerOutside Chance (The Turtles)Follow Me (Lyme & Cybelle)Poor, Poor Pitiful MeTenderness on the BlockWerewolves of LondonLawyers, Guns & MoneyDetox MansionSentimental HygieneRaspberry Beret (Prince Cover)Run Straight DownSplendid IsolationI Was in the House Til the House Burned DownFor My Next Trick, I'll Need a VolunteerDisorder in the HouseKeep Me in Your Heart For A WhileMutineerKeep Me in Your Hear For A While (Eddie Vedder)Looking For the Next Best ThingArchival InterviewsCrystal ZevonWaddy WachtelJason ZevonWarren ZevonDavid LettermanRelated Episodes - Dig Deeper!The Singer-Songwriters: Truth to Power/ Bruce CockburnGod's Song and Other American Prayers: The Story of Randy NewmanThe Singer-Songwriters: Part One/ Bob DylanThe Masters of FunkJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!You could think of Randy Newman as a musical Mark Twain. His songs draw up from a range of curiously disconnected observations about life in this era’s America in some of the same ways that Twain’s pen spoke of the America he lived in. Twain’s Mississippi paddlewheels churned the dark waters of that rolling river mixing old and new, sacred and profane and In his songs, Newman is doing the same thing. He draws from American roots music, Tin Pan Alley, the blues, and orchestral pop. You’ll instantly recognize a Randy Newman song from his instantly hummable tunes mixed with wry humor, irony, and social commentary.  His songs are full of wry observations about slightly uncomfortable subjects.Randy Newman knows America in all its contradictions—its kindness and cruelty, its promises and hypocrisies. His songs expose the voices we pretend not to hear, from backroom bigots to lonely losers, from crooked politicians to a God who’s tempted to give up on us. Listening to Randy is like reading between the lines of the American songbook—he doesn’t just entertain, he reveals. And maybe, by sitting with his uncomfortable truths, we can wake from our own fog, and see this country—its history, its people, its future—with clearer eyes. If ever there was a time when we needed clearer eyes, this is that time.In This EpisodePiano: You've Got a Friend in MeRandy Newman - Golden Gridiron BoySoundtrack from The Grapes of WrathMarilyn Monroe - Diamonds are a Girl's Best FriendSoundtrack from Hello DollyThree Dog Night - Mama Told Me Not to ComeRandy Newman - Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing BearRandy Newman - I Think It's Going to Rain TodayRandy Newman - Short PeopleRandy Newman - How Great Our LordRandy Newman - ShameRandy Newman - You Can Leave Your Hat OnJoe Cocker - You Can Leave Your Hat OnRandy Newman - BaltimoreRandy Newman - God's SongRandy Newman - Sail AwayRandy Newman - Political ScienceRandy Newman - RednecksRandy Newman - The Girls In My Life (Part 1)Randy Newman - Old Kentucky HomeRandy Newman - The NaturalRandy Newman/ Billy Crystal/ John Goodman - If I Didn't Have YouRandy Newman/ Sarah McLachlan - When She Loved MeRandy Newman -  A Few Words in Defense of Our CountryRandy Newman - I'm DreamingRandy Newman - I Love L.A.Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In this haunting and deeply reflective episode, we explore the music of Bruce Cockburn—an artist who persistently challenges our indifference and urges us to reckon with the moral weight of being human. His songs are not just art; they are calls to awareness, rooted in compassion and fierce clarity.We delve into the global injustices that course through his music: the devastation of climate change, and the brutal legacy of capitalism in the Global South, where lives are often sacrificed for profit. Later in the episode, Cockburn’s Postcards from Cambodia becomes a stark meditation on memory, violence, and the spiritual toll of silence.The episode closes with a powerful capstone—an excerpt from Elie Wiesel’s 1999 White House address—offering a final, unforgettable reflection on the dangers of indifference, and the sacred responsibility to bear witness. This is not an episode about despair. It’s about the quiet courage of paying attention.America is going through some troubling times today. I don't need to remind anyone of that. But I do hope that this warning about the dangers of being 'indifferent' stirs - at minimum - a time of deeper reflection. In This EpisodeMUSICBruce CockburnSunrise on the MississippiShining Mountain (live from Le Hibou, 1971)Call it DemocracyCreation DreamFalse RiverRadium RainPostcards From CambodiaJohn Lennon: GodJohn Luther Adams: Become OceanSPOKENBruce CockburnDouglas CockburnEvan Hadfield/ Rare Earth Frontline Interviews with Fossil Fuel Industry RepresentativesElie WieselJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In these days, when people play fast and loose with truth for the purpose of personal gain at the expense of important things like rights, and even survival, I hope this episode, and the next one help us all regain a little sanity and peace. Personal Truth takes you on a powerful journey through the birth of the singer-songwriter era, spotlighting artists who didn't just sing about the world—but cracked themselves wide open to show us their own. Starting in the fertile grounds of Greenwich Village’s folk revival, we trace Judy Collins’ leap from classical prodigy to folk icon, discover how her mentorship helped launch the poetic brilliance of Joni Mitchell, and explore how deeply personal songwriting reshaped the music landscape.From the haunting honesty of Blue to the communal power of We Shall Overcome, and the electric turning points of Dylan and Elton at the Troubadour, this story is as much about music as it is about the courage to be vulnerable. These artists weren’t just performers—they were truth-tellers, risking emotional exposure to connect with something universal.If you've ever been moved by a lyric that felt like it was written just for you, you’re already part of this legacy. Dive in and discover how raw truth, vulnerability, and fearless authenticity led American music in yet another bold direction.In this Episode:MUSICJackson Brown: Lives in the BalanceWolfgang Amadeus Mozart Concerto for Two PianosJudi CollinsJohn RileyBarbara AllenLoch LomondBoth Sides NowJoni MitchellBoth Sides NowThe Circle GameChelsea MorningCactus (audience recording from The Troubadour)Car On a HillDown to YouRiverLesson in SurvivalElton John - 60 Years OnINTERVIEWSJudi CollinsPete SeegerGordon LightfootJames TaylorElton John/ Joni MitchellNigel OlsenLinks to Related EpisodesThe Second Folk Revival: A Passing of the Torch.https://www.buzzsprout.com/1622638/episodes/10030031-the-second-folk-revival-a-passing-of-the-torch1960’s Folk Music: How the Fire Spreadhttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1622638/episodes/10030131-1960-s-folk-music-how-the-fire-spreadThe Other Side of Fusion: Jazz Rockhttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1622638/episodes/12426684-the-other-side-of-fusion-jazz-rock     Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!By the late 1960’s, folk was beginning to feel “scarred and battered”, so what came next in this tradition was less political, and much more personal. The world was changing politically, socially, and culturally. Some of the new generation of singers and songwriters felt that staying relevant meant they had to move away from folk, towards more personal themes. The ‘70s was the “Me” decade. Instead of drawing from what was happening in the outside world, one group of song-writers turned inward. Another group turned toward broader political issues, instead of the Hattie Carroll, situation-specific inspirations that had inspired writers in the early. ‘60s. There’s no better artist to start with than Bob Dylan, the single artist without whom, this whole series may not have even been possible, his impact is so huge. And yet, even Dylan owes his position as the Mount Everest of rock music to the people who came before him. One very important inspiration was the great Woody Guthrie.  And even Guthrie you have to put in context, amidst all of the other great artists we’ve been talking about since day one of the American Song podcast.  It’s like Pete Seeger, the great folk musician and a closer friend and collaborator of Guthrie’s, said,  "All songwriters are links in a chain."  In This EpisodeBruce Springsteen: Atlantic CityPete Seeger - This Land is Your LandBob Dylan - The Times They are a ChangingJim Croce - OperatorBob Dylan - Song to WoodyBob Dylan - Big Yellow TaxiBuddy Holly and the Crickets - Not Fade AwayBuddy Holly and the Crickets - Maybe BabyBob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine ManBob Dylan - JokermanBob Dylan - Foot of PrideBob Dylan - House of the Rising SunBob Dylan - Rollin' and Tumblin'Bob Dylan - Arthur McBrideBob Dylan - HurricaneBob Dylan/ Tom Petty - I've Forgot More than You'll Ever KnowBob Dylan - Blind Willie McTellBob Dylan - Cantina ThemeBob Dylan - A Hard Rain's a Gonna FallBob Dylan - Sad Eyes Lady of the LowlandsBob Dylan - Masters of WarBob Dylan - Every Grain of SandBob Dylan - I'll Be Your Baby TonightBob Dylan - High Water (for Charlie Patton)Bob Dylan - Meet Me in the MorningBob Dylan - Sweetheart Like YouBob Dylan - Not Dark YetBob Dylan - False ProphetBob Dylan - Murder Most Foul InterviewsPete Seeger (on Woody Guthrie)Bob Dylan (on 'the muse' and Hoagy Carmichael)Louie Kemp (Bob Dylan's childhood friend)Bob Dylan/ Ed Bradley (60 Minutes Interview)Bob Dylan (on receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature)Alan Ginsberg (on first hearing Bob Dylan)Penn Jillette (Bob Dylan is America's Shakespeare)Links to earlier American Song EpisodesAllman Bros. - Southern Rock: Coming to Terms with a Complicated PastFolk Revival in England - The Second Folk Revival: A Passing of the TorchJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!It seems like every ten years or so, society experiences a great reset.  The end of the ‘60s was like that.  The idealism and teen-culture of the ‘60’s was ten years older and moving into adult life.  Just like everything else in life that was questioned and re-invented, some musicians began pushing the boundaries of what rock music could become.  Across the Atlantic, and as Ian Anderson, of Jethro Tull put it, English rockers “were trying to be originators and not simply relying on American music." Some of the most ground-breaking ‘60s albums led directly to the rise of prog, most prominently, The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band .  This album set a whole new expectation for what bands could do, and for what rock could become. In this third and final part of our Progressive Rock episode, we're rocking out with some of the greats - including Jethro Tull, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer! Life is a long song, friends.  Come sing it with us!Themes In this Episode: Classical touches in progressive rockEarly Jethro TullMartin Barre joins the bandTull's themes - a more relatable sort of progIan Anderson - An Extraordinary MinstrelWhy the flute?What made Tull so uniqueEarly Emerson, Lake and PalmerELP put their unique stamp on classical musicA dystopian future: TarkusFood For Thought or Thoughtful Food? Brain Salad SurgeryTracksGenesis - The Lamb Lies Down on BroadwayGenesis - Blood on the RooftopsJethro Tull - BoureeThe John Evan Smash - Blues for the 18thJethro Tull - Locomotive BreathJethro Tull - Wind UpJethro Tull - Cup of WonderJethro Tull - Songs from the WoodJethro Tull - Thick as a Brick Part 1Jethro Tull - My Sunday FeelingJethro Tull - Excerpt; Thick as a Brick Part 2The Nice - The Thoughts of Emerlist DavjackThe Crazy World of Arthur Brown - FireELP - The NutcrackerELP - Still You Turn Me OnELP - From the BeginningELP - The BarbarianELP - TarkusELP - Still... You Turn Me OnELP - Karn Evil #9 (first impression)Genesis - Duke's Travels/ Duke's EndJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!It seems like every ten years or so, society experiences a great reset.  The end of the ‘60s was like that.  The idealism and teen-culture of the ‘60’s was ten years older and moving into adult life.  Just like everything else in life that was questioned and re-invented.  Some musicians began pushing the boundaries of what rock music could become.  Across the Atlantic, and as Ian Anderson, of Jethro Tull put it, English rockers “were trying to be originators and not simply relying on American music." Some of the most ground-breaking ‘60s albums led directly to the rise of prog, most prominently, The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  This album set a whole new expectation for what bands could do, and for what rock could become. In this second episode on Progressive Rock, we're going deep into 'prog rock'. So, "Welcome back, my friends to the show that never ends!"  Come explore progressive rock with me!Themes In this Episode: Some of the concepts in the biggest prog rock "Concept Albums"The roots of YesSome of Yes' greatest work: Close to the Edge, Tales from Topographic OceansTime and a Word: The lyrics in progressive rock songsHaving dinner with the band: Genesis - Supper's ReadyThe classic Genesis line-up: Steve Hackett and Phil Collins join the bandTracksRush - 2112Yes - The Revealing Science of GodThe Beatles - Within You Without YouJon Anderson and the Band Geeks - True MessengerThe Syn - FlowermanYes - Giants Under the SunDavid Bowie - Life on MarsYes - Excerpts; Roundabout, South Side of the SkyYes - Close to the EdgeYes - Ritual; Nous Sommes du SoleilThe Beatles - Golden SlumbersJethro Tull - My GodGenesis - Excerpt; Watcher of the SkiesGenesis - Supper's Ready Genesis - Excerpt; Firth of FifthGenesis - Los EndosGenesis - Phil Collins & Chester Thompson drum duet from Mama Tour (1984)Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch! It seems like every ten years or so, society experiences a great reset.  The end of the ‘60s was like that.  The idealism and teen-culture of the ‘60’s was ten years older and moving into adult life.  Just like everything else in life that was questioned and re-invented, some musicians began pushing the boundaries of what rock music could become.   Across the Atlantic, and as Ian Anderson, of Jethro Tull put it, English rockers  "were trying to be originators and not simply relying on American music." Some of the most ground-breaking ‘60s albums led directly to the rise of prog, most prominently, The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  This album set a whole new expectation for what bands could do, and for what rock could become. In this first of a three-part episode on Progressive Rock, we'll take a deep dive into the fascinating world of 'prog rock'.  It's time to 'set your controls for the heart of the sun', everybody!  Come explore progressive rock with me!Themes In this Episode: Progressive rock in the context of the late 1960's and 1970's; flower power, and the counter-culture.Musical context - Classical music and Jazz as foundationsInfluenced by The Beatles and  Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club BandThe Beatles and The Beach Boys rivalry Social unrest - Kent State, Bobby Kennedy, Martiin Luther KingConcept albumsHarnessing new technologyTracksThe Who - UndertureThe Beatles - Tomorrow Never KnowsJim Ladd/ KMET; HeadsetsThe Beatles - A Day in the LifeThe Beach Boys - God Only KnowsFrank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention - Invocation & Ritual Dance Of The Young PumpkinSoft Machine - A Certain KindIgor Stravinsky - The Firebird SuitePink Floyd - Suite from Atom Heart MotherGenesis - The Revenge of the Giant HogweedRush - 2112The Beach Boys - Good VibrationsThe Beatles - Strawberry Fields ForeverSwitched On BachThe Who - Baba O'RileyAlan Holdsworth - Non-brewed CondimentThe Giles Brothers - Boyfriends & GirlfriendsKing Crimson - 21st Century Schizoid ManKing Crimson - EpitaphEmerson Lake & Palmer - Pictures at an ExhibitionThe Beatles - Lucy in the Sky with DiamondsPink Floyd - The TrialDig deeper by checking out these reference episodes from previous American Song seasons:Electric Walls of Sound: Jazz Fusion Part 1Electric Walls of Sound: Jazz Fusion Part 2Musique Contrete: A Radical Rethinking of Sound and PerformanceAction: Reaction - American Bands and American Society Respond to the English InvasionJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Punk may have been born in America, but it had many homes around the world.  In every place it went, punk became part of the struggle for social change.Punk's roots are in the blues, music made for expressing struggles and refusing to accept things the way they are.  With heritage like this, it should be no surprise that it moved people and shook things up in the powerful ways it did!Join us, as we see how punk expressed the real lives of the people making and listening to the music in far away places like the UK, the USSR, South Africa and East Germany.  Witness the remarkable impact the music had on the social fabric of the times - showing that music really can change the world!This is an inspiring story of people pushed into a corner, and battling their way out, armed with guitars, drums, and a pen.Warning:  This episode includes quotes of song lyrics, including some "f-bombs".  If you have young children around, you may want to choose an appropriate time to listen.  In This Episode:Robert JohnsonIggy PopEnglish PunkThe Sex PistolsThe ClashMalcolm McLarenRichard Hell and the VoidoidsThe JamBonoElvis CostelloThe AlarmPunk from the USSRGrazhdanskaya Oborona Avtomaticheskie Udovletvoriteli South African PunkFokofpolisiekar Kalahari SurfersNational WakeEast German PunkNamenlosSchleim KeimWutanfallRelated EpisodesThe Duality of the BluesR&B Was Born on the American Song RiverMusique Concrete: A Radical Rethinking of Sound and PerformanceJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!America's Punk movement was started on both coasts.  Early proto-punks like the MC5 and the New York Dolls were followed by a number of other early iconic acts who played at several New York clubs, including CBGB's (Country Blue Grass and Blues), such as the The Ramones, the Talking Heads, Blondie, and Patti Smith.  Meanwhile, LA and San Francisco had a decidedly more political movement propelled by bands like X, The Dead Kennedy's, and Black Flag.  These bands had more in common musically with UK groups like the Sex Pistols and the Clash.  In this episode, you'll see how the Punk Movement on both coasts continued to develop in the early 1980s, and you'll see what made these bands so utterly unique.  You won't want to miss a minute!In This EpisodeThe Ramones – Beat on the BratThe Ramones – Rock and Roll High SchoolU2 – The Miracle of Joey RamoneThe Ramones Family – Grammy AwardsThe Talking Heads – Psycho KillerThe Talking Heads – Once in a LifetimeThe Talking Heads – Burning Down the HouseDavid Byrne Interview – David LettermanBlondie – Hanging on the TelephoneBlondie – One Way or AnotherPatti Smith – GloriaPatti Smith – InterviewPatti Smith – Piss FactoryThe Dead Kennedy’s – Holiday in CambodiaThe Dead Kennedy’s – Kill the PoorJello Biafra – PMRC Interview (Parent’s Music Resources Council)Black Flag – Rise AboveBlag Flag – DepressionX – Los AngelesX – Johnny Hit and Run PaulineThe Violent Femmes – Gone Daddy GoneThe Pogues – If I Should Fall From Grace with GodGogol Bordello – ImmigradiadaGreen Day – American IdiotFlush the Orange TurdLinks to related show content from prior episodesThis episode refers back to a few topics covered in prior episodes.We invite you to learn more about these ideas!Use the links, below.Minimalismhttps://americansong.buzzsprout.com/1622638/9672982-the-celestial-pulse-of-minimalismThe Blueshttps://americansong.buzzsprout.com/1622638/8276409-the-duality-of-the-blues-episode-7-of-american-song Call and Responsehttps://americansong.buzzsprout.com/1622638/8532047-the-rising-of-gospel-music-and-how-it-inspired-the-worldJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!When the dreams and promises you’ve placed your hopes in end up being a mirage, its only human to feel angry.  In the mid 1970’s, a lot of teens and young adults found themselves in this camp.  The nation’s shift toward a decidedly more cynical era could be heard in anti-war statements such as "War is not healthy for children and other living things"  On the equal rights agenda, the demand for black civil rights encouraged a louder beating of the drum as seen in the rise of feminism.  At the same time, both movements continued receiving backlash from the country’s conservatives, especially The "Silent Majority" campaign, responding to the ‘liberal excesses’ of the counterculture.Running through everything, there was a feeling that the social changes that the ‘60s had promised were as far away as ever.  America’s kids were caught in the cross-hairs.  America was experiencing an epidemic of frustration, anxiety and anger.  With nothing to do, and a sense that the walls were closing in, teens living in places like New York, Detroit and Los Angeles, swam in an ocean of boredom and alienation that needed venting.  Punk’s rawness and DIY attitude made it easy for anyone who had the need to hit back, or at least spit into the audience, to become an anti-hero.  In this first of two episodes on the origins of American Punk, we draw a through line from early New York proto-punk bands like the Velvet Underground, the MC5 and the New York Dolls through to California bands like X, Black Flag and the Dead Kennedy's.  You'll come away understanding how the idealism of the 1960's gave way to the cynicism and anger of the 1970's punk movement.  And yet, through it all, America's kids were still demanding change and even in the cynicism, holding out for something better.In This EpisodeJohn Lennon - Give Me Some TruthScene from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegasthe Rolling Stones - Gimme ShelterTV News – End of Vietnam WarScene from “Network”Scene from the GodfatherThe Clash – Police on My BackPink Floyd – Have a CigarThe MC5 – Kick Out the JamsThe Stooges – I Wanna Be Your DogIggy Pop – InterviewThe Velvet Underground – Venus in FursThe New York Dolls – Jet BoyDavid Bowie – SuffragetteDavid Bowie – InterviewDavie Bowie – Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from MarsDavid Bowie – Rock and Roll SuicideThe Ramones – Blitzkrieg BopThe Ramones - InterviewLinks to related show content from prior episodesThis episode refers back to a few topics covered in prior episodes.We invite you to learn more about these ideas!Use the links, below. Minimalism https://americansong.buzzsprout.com/1622638/9672982-the-celestial-pulse-of-minimalismThe Blueshttps://americansong.buzzsprout.com/1622638/8276409-the-duality-of-the-blues-episode-7-of-american-song Call and Responsehttps://americansong.buzzsprout.com/1622638/8532047-the-rising-of-gospel-music-and-how-it-inspired-the-worldJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!This is the second half of a two-part episodeIn the late 1960's and early 1970's, Southern rock, a rebellious fusion of blues, rock and roll, and country music, emerged as the defiant cry from the heart of the South. Lynyrd Skynyrd's guitars wailed like banshees, their lyrics echoing the region's resistance to outside finger-pointing and strengthened a determination to preserve their own cultural identity.  Never mind the warts and blemishes.  The Allman Brothers Band played with improvisations like soaring eagles.  Their music captured the untamed spirit, passion and raw energy of the South.The intensity of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Outlaws was a force of nature, their music was a raw and unfiltered expression of southern pride. Their guitars roared like thunder, their drums pounded like a heartbeat, and their lyrics spoke of rebellion, and the indomitable spirit of the South. John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival's showed that Southern music extended past Southern borders.  Their music, infused with idealism and earthiness, captured the hopes and dreams of ordinary people. Their melodies were catchy and memorable, their lyrics were simple yet profound, and their art spoke directly to the hearts of their listeners.  CCR offered a sense of hope and possibility in a world often filled with uncertainty.Robbie Robertson and the Band's music was a tapestry of Americana, woven from the threads of blues, country, rock and roll, and folk. With songs written by a member of America’s first people, who crafted melodies that were both familiar and fresh, The Band captured the essence of the American experience.  All its triumphs and tragedies, from the pinnacle of joy to the depths of sorrow, Robertson helped reveal a nation in search of an identity.All of this and more await you in this latest episode!  Hope you enjoy it!Featured ArtistsAlabamaThe Allman Bros.The BandBlack Oak ArkansasCarl PerkinsThe Charlie Daniels BandCreedence Clearwater RevivalGraham ParkerHank WilliamsJohn Lee HookerLonnie MackLynyrd SkynyrdMolly HatchettMuddy WatersNeil YoungThe OutlawsRossington Collins BandTom Petty and the HeartbreakersLinks to Supporting EpisodesSeason One Episode FourSeason One Episode SevenSeason One Episode EightSeason Two Episode EightJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In the late 1960's and early 1970's, Southern rock, a rebellious fusion of blues, rock and roll, and country music, emerged as the defiant cry from the heart of the South. Lynyrd Skynyrd's guitars wailed like banshees, their lyrics echoing the region's resistance to outside fingerpointing and strengthened a determination to preserve their own cultural identity.  Never mind the warts and blemishes.  The Allman Brothers Band played with improvisations like soaring eagles.  Their music captured the untamed spirit, passion and raw energy of the South.The intensity of Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Outlaws was a force of nature, their music was a raw and unfiltered expression of southern pride. Their guitars roared like thunder, their drums pounded like a heartbeat, and their lyrics spoke of rebellion, and the indomitable spirit of the South. John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival's showed that Southern music extended past Southern borders.  Their music, infused with idealism and earthiness, captured the hopes and dreams of ordinary people. Their melodies were catchy and memorable, their lyrics were simple yet profound, and their art spoke directly to the hearts of their listeners.  CCR offered a sense of hope and possibility in a world often filled with uncertainty.Robbie Robertson and the Band's music was a tapestry of Americana, woven from the threads of blues, country, rock and roll, and folk. With songs written by a member of America’s first people, who crafted melodies that were both familiar and fresh, The Band captured the essence of the American experience.  All its triumphs and tragedies, from the pinnacle of joy to the depths of sorrow, Robertson helped reveal a nation in search of an identity.All of this and more await you in this latest episode!  Hope you enjoy it!Featured ArtistsAlabamaThe Allman Bros.The BandBlack Oak ArkansasCarl PerkinsThe Charlie Daniels BandCreedence Clearwater RevivalGraham ParkerHank WilliamsJohn Lee HookerLonnie MackLynyrd SkynyrdMolly HatchettMuddy WatersNeil YoungThe OutlawsRossington Collins BandTom Petty and the HeartbreakersLinks to Supporting EpisodesSeason One Episode FourSeason One Episode SevenSeason One Episode EightSeason Two Episode EightJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!This is part two of a two-part focus on Reggae music.The heart of Reggae music has always been politics and spirituality. In this two part episode, you'll learn about some of the musical and political forces in Jamaica's colorful past that all contributed to the music that we celebrate as reggae today.   From Marcus Garvey, the modern-day prophet who  had a vision for the black people living in the new world, and Ethiopia's Emperor Hailie Salassie, whose formal title included "Lord of Lord, King of Kings, and Conquering Lion of Judah", and claimed to be a direct descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Shebah, to great early reggae musicians like Derrick Morgan, and Desmond Dekker, to the firey Peter Tosh, and the brilliant reggae, who brought reggae to the rest of the world, Bob Marley - they're all here and you'll learn their stories, hear their music, and understand the major forces that fused to create a brand new genre.In this latest episode, learn the inside story of how Bob Marley came from crippling poverty in one of Jamaica's poorest neighborhoods to became reggae's greatest musical luminary, and how he then faced off against the brutality of systemic Jamaican racism to permanently change his country and the rest of the world.  In This EpisodeBob Marley and the Wailers1.  Trench Town Rock2.  Simmer Down3.  400 Years4.  I Shot the Sheriff5.  Rebel Music (3 0'Clock Road Block)6.  War7.  Exodus8.  Is This Love9.  Survival10.  Could You Be LovedAlso in this episode:Interview with Bunny Wailer, formerly with the WailersInterview with Marlon James, Jamaican author of A Brief History of Seven Killings Continue the experience on line.Visit American Song Podcast Facebook page.Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!This is part one of a two-part focus on Reggae music.The heart of Reggae music has always been politics and spirituality.  In this two part episode, you'll learn about some of the musical and political forces in Jamaica's colorful past that all contributed to the music that we celebrate as reggae today.   From Marcus Garvey, the modern-day prophet who  had a vision for the black people living in the new world, and Ethiopia's Emperor Hailie Salassie, whose formal title included "Lord of Lord, King of Kings, and Conquering Lion of Judah", and claimed to be a direct descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Shebah, to great early reggae musicians like Derrick Morgan, and Desmond Dekker, to the firey Peter Tosh, and the brilliant reggae, who brought reggae to the rest of the world, Bob Marley - they're all here and you'll learn their stories, hear their music, and understand the major forces that fused to create a brand new genre.In this latest episode of American Song, you'll see how a tiny Spanish colony developed to become Jamaica as we know it today, and how Reggae was instrumental in helping Jamaican culture 'conquer the world'!In This EpisodePaul Simon - Mother and Child ReunionThe Flying Lizards - Money (That's What I Want)Bob Marley  - Redemption SongBob Marley and the Walers - 400 YearsBurning Spear - Slavery DaysSly Mongoose - Count LasherThe Folkes Brothers - Oh CarolinaToots and the Maytals - 54-46 Was My NumberMarcus Garvey (Political Speech)Derek Morgan -  Forward MarchErnest Ranglin - Below the BasslineDerrick Morgan - Tougher than Though (Rudie's in Court)Desmond Dekker - 007 ShantytownDesmond Dekker - IsraelitesStephen Marley (with Ziggy Marley) - Selassie is the ChapelPeter Tosh - Let Jah be PraisedCulture - BeholdSonjah Stanley - (Academic discussion)Third World - 96 Degrees in the ShadePeter Tosh - AfricanThe Skatalites - The Guns of NavarroneMutabaruka - (Jamaican Poet; Dis Poem)Bob Marley and the Wailers - No Woman, No CryPeter Tosh - Steppin' RazorBurning Spear - LionContinue the experience online:Visit the American Song Podcast facebook page. Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In today's episode, we’re going further up the musical family tree – into the funk.  Funk grew in the shade of jazz, soul, R&B, gospel and rock.  In time it’s going to give rise to other branches – for instance, disco, and hip-hop.  It will influence branches that have been growing for a while already, like rock, jazz, even classical music believe it or not.   Funk is growing in some difficult environments, like urban ghettoes.  It’s impacted by some heavy weather, like the Civil Rights movement, and the war in Vietnam.  There’s been a ton of cross-fertilization along the way.   Funk’s going to become another important branch in our tree.   Funk has a direct lineage out the blues and plantation communities, jazz, Pentecostal gospel music, soul and R& B.   In a lot of ways, funk is a proud, positive re-telling of the African American social story.  Heavy with improvisation, and syncopation – just like its musical grandparents are.  Like the blues, jazz, R&B and soul, funks driving rhythms were the hardpan roadways that carried its soulful vocals.  Likewise, funk sprang out of rock and roll which also grew out of the blues and soul.  Funk and rock are first cousins in music’s family tree.  And like soul, funk is steeped in emotion and feeling. In This Episode:James BrownThe MetersSly and the Family StoneStevie WonderGeorge Clinton/ Parliament-FunkadelicJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In this second episode of our third season, we pick up the trail and continue our exploration of jazz rock - a journey we started in episode one.  In this episode, we'll take a close look at the amazing work done by three great bands in that genre; Steely Dan, Traffic, and Supertramp.  Great songs, and interesting artist interviews abound!  Here's what you can look forward to:INTERVIEWS WITHDonald FagenDave MatthewsJim CapaldiDave MasonSteve WinwoodRoger HodgsonJohn HelliwellFEATURED SONGSSteely Dan     My Old School     Deacon Blues     Bodhisatva     Reelin' in the Years     Aja     Cousn DupreeTraffic     Mr. Fantasy     John Barleycorn (Must Die)     Medicated Goo     The Low Spark of High Heeled BoysSupertramp     All Along the Watchtower     Surely     Your Poppa Don't Mind     Dreamer     School     Hide in Your Shell     Easy Does It     The Meaning     Fool's Overture     Breakfast in America     Goodbye Stranger     Don't Leave Me NowCURIOUSITIES     Tom Lehrer - World War Three Blues     Jay and the Americans - Capture the Moment     The Joint - Freak     Argosy - Mr. Boyd     Argosy - Imagine     Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!The first generation of jazz rock musicians had been heavily influenced by some of the pioneering jazz musicians who forged jazz fusion, beginning with Miles Davis.  Miles was the first of the great jazz artists to venture into the new, amplified and electronic sounds of 1960’s rock music, and in doing it he recruited a number of very young, incredibly talented, and mostly unknown musicians who became giants in their own right, As a number of jazz musicians embraced elements of rock music, rock’s audience re-discovered jazz.  Music is a living, breathing part of our culture, it is changeable in the hands of both listeners and players.  We take it up and use it as it gives us pleasure.  Just as jazz musicians were blending rock music into their art, rock musicians were equally influenced by jazz players, and they also added jazz elements into their own music.  This is the first of a two-part deep dive into the world of jazz rock.  In this episode, you'll see how some of rock's greatest musicians have been influenced by jazz.  We'll also spend some time on a deeper dive into a few of the great jazz rock bands of the past, including Blood Sweat and Tears, and Chicago.  In part two, we'll come back and explore the music of Steely Dan, Traffic and Supertramp.  I think you'll enjoy it!Music In this episode:Weather Report: Boogie Woogie WaltzThe Grateful Dead: Help On the WayJohn Coltrane: A Love SupremeDuke Ellington: Take the A TrainThe Modern Jazz Quartet: BluesologyDavid Bowie: Life On MarsKeith Richards: Blues JamNat King Cole Trio: Straighten Up and Fly RightOrnette Coleman: Jimi Hendrix: South Saturn DeltaJohn McLaughlin: DevotionCharlie Watts: All or Nothing at AllTim Ries: Miss YouGinger Baker's Air Force: Da Da ManMiles Davis: GuinnevereDavid Crosby: AmeliaBob Dylan: Like a Rolling StoneBlood Sweat and Tears: I Love You More than You'll Ever KnowBlood Sweat and Tears: God Bless the ChildThe Buckinghams: Kind of a DragChicago: Questions 67 and 68Chicago: Make Me SmileChicago: If You Leave Me NowChicago: It Better End SoonChicago: Alive AgainInterviews in This EpisodeAl KooperDavid CrosbyJames PankowDanny SerafineThis episode is dedicated to the memories of: Charlie WattsWayne ShorterDavid CrosbyThank you for all the beautiful music!Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In today's podcast episode, we pick up our exploration of jazz fusion by looking at the amazing careers and music produced by a number of genius musicians who came out of Miles Davis' bands.  We'll visit with Herbie Hancock, John McLaughlin and his band, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Joe Zawinul, Jaco Pastorious and the band Weather Report, Chick Corea and his bands Return to Forever and the Elektrik Band.  The forces that Miles pioneered and set in motion continued to evolve in multiple directions. You'll discover in today's episode, and you'll be able to hear from the musicians themselves about what it was like to play in these bands and create this adventurous, beautiful new music!IN TODAY'S EPISODE:Interview;  Herbie Hancock from a lecture given at Harvard UniversityHerbie Hancock       Chameleon       Watermelon ManInterview:  John McLaughlin talks about what it was like to play with Miles Davis.Graham Bond Organisation:  Train TimeThe Mahavishnu Orchestra       Inner Mounting Flame       One Word       Eternity's Breath Pt. 1Weather Report       Birdland       Nubian Sundance       Tears       HerandnuInterview:  Jaco Pastorious talks about his collaboration with Joe ZawinulJaco Pastorious/ Weather Report       Teen TownInterview:  Pat MathenyInterview:  Chick Corea talks about joining Miles Davis' band.Return to Forever       Return to ForeverInterview:  Chick Corea talks about forming his band,  Return to Forever       SpainThe Elektrik Band:  RumbleSteely Dan:  AjaJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!As jazz musicians started realizing that rock and electric bands were stealing their audiences, Miles Davis, who’s alternately been called most important musician in the history of jazz, the man who transformed jazz, and even the man who changed music itself, took the music in a new direction when he invented jazz fusion.  In fact, during his lifetime, Miles didn’t change music just once, he did it five times.  Fusion started happening in the late 1960s and early 1970s.   Like trad jazz, it uses acoustic instruments like trumpet, trombone, saxophone, piano, guitar, bass, and drums, but to all that, fusion also adds heavy use of synthesizers, electric piano, drum machines, and effects-saturated electric guitars. IN THIS EPISODE:Santana:  WelcomeInterview:  Teo Macero; Miles Davis' legendary record producer.The Free Spirits (featuring Larry Coryell) - Girl of the MountainGary Burton              Norwegian Wood              I Want YouSteve Marcus            Tomorrow Never KnowsInterview:  Larry Coryell talks about his early days in '60s New York CityMiles Davis             So What             Stuff             Tout de Suite             Mademoiselle Mabry             In a Silent WayInterview:  John McLaughlin talks about playing with Miles DavisInterview:  Teo MaceroJimi Hendrix             Little Miss LoverMiles Davis             John McLaughlin             Miles Runs the Voodoo Down             Time After TimeInterview:  Miles Davis talks about PrinceJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!First of all, Happy Independence Day everybody!  I'm so pleased to publish another episode of American Song on America's birthday!Back in America, ever since the plane crash in the winter of 1959 that ended the lives of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, the Big Bopper, American rock and roll had been sort of losing steam.  By 1964, it very easily could have just petered out.   Certainly, the likes of Frankie Avalon, and post-army Elvis were not going anywhere exciting.  It was a new day, what was needed was music for a new generation.  The British Invasion shot a whole new attitude, excitement and energy right into the veins of American culture. Just like American culture changed England, the Brits changed American music.   You can see that play out in the competition between the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and the Beatles.  The English band's changed American culture, too.  Sex was prolific.   Drugs were everywhere.   On the Merv Griffin show,  Timothy Leary told his audience he'd used LSD 311 times and predicted a coming age when kids would be educated through the use of psychedelic drugs, unlocking their internal Smithsonian Institutes or Libraries of Congress. The British Invasion also caused a chain reaction all across America when local musicians formed new bands, for instance Roger McGuinn and David Crosby who formed the Byrds.  It was a powerful response to the excitement, new sounds, perspectives, and inspiration that bands like the Beatles, the Stones, and the Who injected back into our rock scene.All this, and lots more, in this month's episode of American Song!IN THIS MONTH'S EPISODE:The Who - My GenerationBob Dylan - 4th Time AroundThe Beatles - Norwegian WoodThe Beatles - You've Got to Hide Your Love AwayBob Dylan - Got to Serve SomeoneJohn Lennon - Serve YourselfThe Rolling Stones - Crackin' UpThe Beatles - RainThe Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be NiceThe Beatles - Sargeant Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club BandThe Beach Boys - Good VibrationsBrian Wilson - Our Prayer/ GeeJohn Lennon - Promo for Tower RecordsElton John - Texan Love SongLed Zepellin - Whole Lotta LoveJohn Lennon - Cold TurkeyPaul McCartney - Interview 1967The Beatles - Lucy in the Sky With DiamondsThe Rolling Stones - 2000 Light Years from HomeDr. Timothy Leary - Interview 1967Blind Faith - In the Presence of the LordJohn Lennon - GodJohn Lennon - Interview 1966The Byrds - Eight Miles HighThe Standells - Dirty WaterThe Monkees - The Last Train to ClarksvilleJimi Hendrix - Purple HazeBob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine ManPaul Revere and the Raiders - Indian ReservationThe Turtles - Happy TogetherThe Lovin' Spoonful - Do You Believe in MagicSimon & Garfunkel - Mrs. RobinsonThe Young Rascals - Good Lovin'The Mama's and the Papa's - California DreamingTommy James and the Shondells - Hanky PankyThe Beatles - Revolution 9The Doors - The EndVedder/ Tierney/ Krieger/ Manzarek - Doors Induction to Rock and Roll Hall of FameThe Velvet Underground - HeroinThe Strokes - Walk on the Wild SideSonic Youth - European SonU2 - Satellite of LoveREM - Femme FataleDavid Byrne - Candy SaysBowie/ Reed - Waiting for the ManQueen - God Save the QueenJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!With the big English interest in blues music, suddenly, America’s original bluesmen started hearing about the chance to reignite their careers with English, French and German audiences.  Unbelievably, they found themselves welcomed, even celebrated. American Bluesmen like Big Bill Broonzy, after living years in poverty, discovered they could actually have careers in Europe.   The Cunard Yanks, and the American Folk Blues Festival were the catalysts behind cultural and musical changes that revolutionized Britain in the years after World War 2.The impact on young English musicians was epic.  The bands and musical brilliance of the period has been an inspiration for several generations that followed.   You know the names: The Beatles,  the Rolling Stones, the Who, The Kinks and many more.  Now, hear the music, and learn the history!In this episode, you'll hear the stories, the music, and the artists who lived and created this formidable library of music that millions around the world are still listening to!Inspired by American music, sculpted, painted, and built by the English, the music is in many ways, still with us today.  Enjoy this second installment in the story of the British Invasion!Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!England was caught between two cultures: the old order and whatever came after it.  The rigid class distinctions between upper and middle classes were disappearing, and government reforms had a lot to do with it.  The Conservative Party with their slogan, “Set the People Free,” won the 1951 election, and popular culture began to replace stuffy, upper crust stuff like classical music, opera, theatre, and fine art with mass-market media like radio, movies, and television. The BBC believed they had a responsibility to the nation to uphold the pre-war idea of ‘respectability’, or, at least, not broadcast music that could threaten the morality of England’s youth.  It was a lot like the U.S. stations refused to broadcast black music in the U.S. in the ‘20s and ‘30s.  More than that, they believed they claimed a responsibility to inform and educate the public in what it perceived as ‘good music’.  English kids were being seduced by the rhythm and forward thrust of American entertainment with movies like Blackboard Jungle (where Rock Around the Clock was heard for the first time), Elvis, and Bill Haley & the Comets.  Both these bands were MAJOR influences on those four guys from Liverpool, England.  The other musical influencers from America were the living legends of American Blues.The timing was perfect for a musical revolution that would impact two continents!Welcome to Episode Eight, Season Two in the American Song series:  American Song Ushers in a Changing of the British Guard.Thanks to Mark Davis, for the new bumper music included in this episode.You can learn more about Mark and his music at www.towakeyou.com! Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Before the arrival of Colombus and the Spanish, Puerto Rico was peopled by the Taino tribe.  They’d called it home – and paradise – for over 1,000 years, having come either from the Amazon river basin, or maybe from the Colombian Andes before they arrived on the island.  In our March episode, we talked about the Jones Act – a law made during the Wilson presidency.  The chief goal of that act was to help the U.S. shipping industry recover after World War I.  It also annexed Puerto Rico, and gave citizenship to everyone living there.  U.S. citizenship started major migration to the U.S. mainland.  At first, Puerto Ricans settled into East Coast cities like New York and later Miami where mostly they were stuck in the bottom end of the labor market, working as domestic workers, in manufacturing jobs (back in the old days when we still had those in America, and maintenance industries.  Puerto Rican Americans, on both sides of the US coast, have contributed beautiful music to the American Song jukebox.  These songs echo the rich cultures that became Puerto Rico, their love for their island home, their struggles in the United States and their determination to succeed, despite the hardships.  Today's episode builds on what I began in March, adding more current sounds to the mix.  I think you'll find it equal parts fascinating, and entertaining!In This Episode:Bomba street musicians in Old San Juan Puerto RicoFiel a La VegaField Recording of La Tierruca (old Puerto Rican woman)Haciendo Punto en Otro SonHector Carrasquillo Sr.Original Cast from West Side StoryPablo Milanés Piri ThomasRicky MartinRoy BrownSteven ColbertTaina AsliJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In a country based on freedom, equal opportunity, and democracy, you’d think that lessons related to social justice would not need to be re-hashed so often.  But that does seem to be our fate.  And so, in every generation, we’ve witnessed one group after another struggle to claim their own share of the American dream.Music has had a huge role in raising awareness, unifying people, inspiring empathy, and challenging the status quo in every major social wave of change.  Today, we’re looking at how American music was used, like the trumpets at Jericho, to knock down the walls that separated Hispanic Americans from the promises made to all Americans, beginning in 1776.  In many ways, this is a fight that continues today, and its as true about the Hispanic struggle for justice as it's been for every group in our history.  Hispanics have had a wide range of musical inspirations, including familiar faces such as Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie, and musical heroes from their own communities.  Music from the black civil rights struggle was also borrowed, early on.  But the most important parts of the cultural foundations that the Chicano community drew from came from their own Mexican heritage – especially the corrido, which we talked about last month in the Roots of Latin American music episode.  As the revolutionary tide of the 1960s began to swell in American culture, Chicanos started by resurrecting the corrido, and added to it a new, political consciousness, giving air to their grievances and struggles.   Soon, out of the streets, and in the rising youth movement, Chicano rock and roll bands from both sides of the border were filling the radio waves, and encouraging their own people to advance towards a better future.Welcome to Episode 22, American Song and the Fight for Hispanic Equality.In This Episode:Agustin LiraAztecaCannibal and the Head HuntersChan RomeroEl ChicanoCarlos SantanaChuy NegreteClarence Sonny HenryThe Village CallersEl JarochoThee MidnightersFreddy FenderTrini LopezJose SuarezLos ShakersLos LobosLos Teen TopsOzomatliRichie ValensRobert DeNiroSon Jarocho Master MusiciansJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Latin music and 'American' music were once considered to be separate and unique. They had distinctly different properties and music labels managed them differently. But not anymore.Danny Ocean is a singer-songwriter and native of Caracas, Venezuela, and has said “Music is something that transcends beyond any language or nationality…it’s all about being a global artist.”   Latin music has become mainstream - it's no longer a 'crossover' genre.  Today, Latin culture is American culture. Latins are now the largest minority in the United States, and the second largest ethnic group after whites.  All across Latin America, the cultures that we talked about in episode 4 have combined to create distinct, regional music and dances that have each entertained and inspired the people in their home nations, while also making their way to our homes in the United States and entertaining people across the entire world! Salsa,  mambo, rumba, calpyso,  bomba, latin jazz, samba, batucada, samba de enredo, bossa nova, tango, festejo and lando.  These are the names of the inspired music that came out of the New World once the Spanish, Portuguese, Native Americans, and Africans blended their music and rhythm.  In this episode, we'll hear examples and learn about the artists, and cultures that devoted their lives to this fabulous art!You're in for a treat!  Enjoy!In Today's EpisodeTango - La CumparsitaIgnacio Pineiro - Echale SalsitaEl Orquesta Belisario Lopez - El CimarronOrquesta Arcano y sus Maravillas - MamboPerez Prado - Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom WhiteJulian Whiterose - Iron Duke in the Land Hubert "Roaring Lion" Charles - Mary AnneHary Belafonte - Jump in the LineBP Renegades Steel Orchestra - Like Ah BossWinston "Mighty Shadow" Bailey - Bass ManBomba ExampleIsmael Rivera - VolarePlena De Puerto RicoTito PuenteMachito _ Ni Chi, Ni ChaWilly Colon y Ruben Blades - Buscando GuayabaRumba Examples:1.  Yambu2.  Guaguanco3.  ColumbiaStan Getz / Luiz Bonfa - So Danco SambaCandomble Example - Orixa OssaimErnesto "Donga" Dos Santos - Pelo TelefoneOs Oito Batutas - Meu PassarinhoNoel Rossa- Com Que Roupa?Batucada BradileiraRatos e Urubus - Larguem Minha FantasiaFrank Sinatra / Antonio Carlos Jobim  - The Girl from ImpanemaJorge Ben - Mais Que NadaBola Sete - BaccaraLuis Correa - Siete MujeresLibertad Lamarque - Yo Soy La MorochaCarlos Gardel - Mi Noche TristeAnibal Troilo - Te Aconsejo Que Me OlvidesPepe Vasquez - Ritmo de NegrosOscar Aviles/ Arturo Cavero - El AlcatrazCharango example - Sebastián Pérez Cajon Example - Maestros del Cajon PeruanoCharagua Example - Son de los DiablosJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In this episode, we shift focus to consider another important cultural vein, brought here by the Spanish, and rising out of the American west and Southwest as well as New York City – and obviously all of Central and South America,  Cuba and Puerto Rico.  A few things have struck me as I’ve been putting my thoughts together for these next few episodes.  Of course, the first thing is that – just like in earlier genres that we’ve talked about – the music we hear today has gone through a long journey of changes.  Second, like jazz and the blues, the music often gives voice to the frustrations and struggles Latin Americans have experienced while hacking and carving out their own rightful place in America. In this episodes, we’ll explore the origins of Latin music, – not just in the United States, but on a wider level, across most of the New World.  When the Spanish and Portuguese came to the New World, they brought European music traditions with them, including the influences from several hundred years of Moorish occupation of Southern Spain.  They were coming to a land that had already been hope to millions of Native Americans - stretching from the Bering Strait to the southern tip of Argentina - and the people that lived here had their own musical traditions that made their way into Latin music.  African slaves also brought their rhythms.  Like we've seen in American music, African traditions would have an enormous impact on music that would develop over centuries.This is a fascinating musical journey -  I’m so excited to share it with you!In Today's Episode:Gypsy Kings - Una AmorAncient Consort Singers - Serenisima Una NocheSpanish-Arabic Music of AndaluciaFlor De Un DiaDjembe tribal drummingNative American Flute with Tribal DrumJorge Reyes - Native American (Mexico) MusicTraditional Inca Music Being Played in CuzcoLos Monjes del Monasterio de Silos - Gregorian ChantGloria Missa de Los Angeles - JUan Bautista Sancho - 18th Century California Mission MusicZephyr -El Cantico del Alba - A Choir of Angels II:  Mission MusicCharles Lummis Wax Cylinder - Corrido de Leandro RiveraLydia Mendoza - Mal HombreEl Vez - Rock and Roll Suicide/ If I Can DreamJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In our July, 2021 episode on the first generation of folk music, “Folk Music Stood for America”, we talked about how the music was swept up in the major social movements of the day, especially the socialist/ American Communist party movements which gathered speed because of events like the Great Depression and the Dustbowl.  The second revival of the 1960’s also had its own causes; the war in Vietnam, Civil Rights, and the Women’s  movement primarily.  The ‘60s was the era when all the WWII war babies grew up.  Highly idealistic, they wanted to seize the moment in history and change the world for the better.  Raised in the suburbs of the concensus-driven fifties, and living under the palatable fear of the Cold War, with Eishenhower’s warning about the military industrial complex ringing in their ears, seeing their classmates ship off to Vietnam, and shipped back home in body bags, they’d grown cynical about their parent’s generation and demanded change NOW.  Folk music was the soundtrack to their rebellion; you could hear it played on college campuses all over America.  Many of the musicians matched that idealism note for note.   That’s the theme of today’s episode, Folk Music Played the Changes in American Society. Artists Featured in This EpisodeTom PaxtonRichie HavensPeter, Paul & MaryRev. Martin Luther King, Jr.Bob DylanPhil OchsCrosby, Stills & NashJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!The 1960’s  were a period of massive social change and tension all over the country – all over North America in fact - because we have to include Canada, too.  The conditions were just right for a whole group of passionate, inspired, and gifted young singers and songwriters to lift their voices.    They came from many different American communities; Jewish immigrants, First Nations people, Americans, Canadians, African Americans, Hispanics, Caucasians, from the cities and from the heartland.  All of them had a message to share with their generation, and a desire to build a better world. This episode is about a number of these artists, and the legacies they’ve left behind.  Many of them are still with us today, and a few of them still create new music.    Welcome to today’s episode, 1960’s Folk Music:  How the Fire Spread.  Artists Featured in this EpisodeFred NeilDave Van RonkKarem DaltonBuffy Sainte-MarieLeonard CohenRamblin' Jack ElliottBrothers & CurryBob DylanSimon & GarfunkelPaul SimonJoni MitchellJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Happy New Year and welcome to season two in the American Song podcast series!  It's been a bit since we last got together.  I hope you all are doing well.  In both the first and second folks waves, many of the musicians were heavily influenced by the times and events that lived in.  During the first folk revival, the most important social issues included the Great Depression, and the Oklahoma Dust Bowl.  In different ways, both of these catastrophes laid waste to the dreams and scrapped together  fortunes of the hard-working American people.  Overseas, political revolutions had overthrown ancient monarchies, the latest one being Russia’s Romanov dynasty where powerful winds of change had driven the half starved and long-neglected Russian peasants to revolt, and whose actions were spurred on by ideologues like Marx and Lenin.  The second folk revival that started in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s was, again, another social movement bent on change, but this time, the causes were different.  The 1960’s have been romanticized in a lot of ways.  It’s difficult today to still feel the thrill, and electric charge of what Beatlemania must have been like, or to experience the ‘Us’ versus ‘Them’ pitched emotions that led to student riots and slain college students at Kent State, but they were very real.  Folk music was at the heart of it all.  Just like Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie had demanded better treatment for workers, and economic assistance to America’s poor, the second folk revival rallied people behind Civil Rights, Equal Rights for women, and an end to the war in Vietnam war.   A chorus of new musicians, were inspired by, and in turn inspired social change.  Brave young kids, like Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Barry McGuire, and  Joan Baez – as well as a few old-timers from the first wave - gave voice to a new generation of Americans who dreamed of better things and better days.Welcome to season two in  the American Song Podcast series; today’s episode, “The Second Folk Revival – A Passing of the Torch.”Featured Artists in this EpisodeBob DylanWoody Guthriethe Kingston TrioBill & Belle ReedJoan BaezSteve Allen and Jack KerouacBonnie DobsonSimon & GarfunkelMax YasgurJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!If there’s an over-riding theme across the last several episodes, it is that music can be whatever we say it is.  In this third and last episode on this theme, we’re talking about Musique Concrete. It’s the name applied to a one of the most radical descriptions of music ever imagined.  Think of this music like you do when you think of abstract, visual art.  For instance, Picasso’s Guernica.  There aren’t too many people that think of that painting as traditionally beautiful, but there is a shocking, provocative, stirring power to it. The same holds true with this challenging music.With musique concrète, (French: “concrete music”), natural and mechanical sounds were captured or created using new inventions, the tape recorder, and later the computer and the synthesizer.   Sounds can either be used in their natural forms, or they could be processed and changed and then combined with other sounds to create a montage.   Other traits that define musique concrete include randomness, and the discard of the traditional composer-performer roles.  Sounds can be looped, played backward, sped up, slowed down, cut short or extended.  Their natural pitches could be varied, echoes could be added and so on.  As I did with episodes 14 and 15, I'm also going to show you how these really bizarre ideas eventually made their way into our current popular music scene.  Musique Concrete has made an impact in jazz and rock, too.   This is fun stuff!In This Episode:Pierre SchaefferPierre HenryJohn CageHarry PartchKarlheinz StockhausenThe BeatlesPink FloydIndustrial bandsPlunderphonicsJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!In the world of American art music, Minimalism is another push away from traditional music.  It’s earliest beginnings are found in the 1950’s again, with two American composers;  Steve Reich (b.1936) and Philip Glass (b.1937).  Reich, Glass, and another minimalist, John Adams, were all heavily influenced by mid-century popular music.  Together, they’re known as the ‘big three’ in minimalist music.  The founders of minimalist music absorbed a wide range of sonic influences – African rhythms, Indian ragas, bebop, rock and roll to create something startlingly original.   It abounds in film scores, pop albums, jazz riffs, and other forms of more experimental music.Jazz and rock were influenced by minimalism, too.  Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Pat Matheny all wrote music that show minimalism's influences.  So does the music of Peter Gabriel, Brian Eno, David Bowie, Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, and Radiohead - just to name a few! In This Episode:Steve ReichPhillip GlassJohn AdamsMiles DavisJohn CagePat Matheny and Lyle MaysBrian EnoDavid BowiePeter GabrielKraftwerkTangerine DreamRadioheadJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!The 20th century scientific explosion had been in the works since the Enlightenment, but the rate of change, which had been slow, and adaptable, now came in flashes – like a supernova - and repeatedly,  one major wave after another and in ways that dramatically changed our society; instead of having time to gradually adapt and fold these changes into our ordered lives, our lives were forced to conform instead.I hope you’re ready for an adventure, because this episode, and actually the next two after this, are going to challenge you.  You see, the music we’ll discover together was written in complete rejection of the basic assumptions about western music.   What’s equally fascinating is what the rest of the music world did with these musical ideas!  To understand what was happening in America, we have to start away from home, in Europe, in the late 1930’s.  There were a number of European musicians and composers who developed completely new ways of creating, performing, and sharing music that had an equally transformative influence on the music being made in America. In This EpisodeArnold Schoenberg Milton BabbittCharles Wuorinen Jerrald Goldsmith Gerard Schurman Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind The BeatlesPrimusDave BrubeckBill EvansJohn ColtraneOrnette Coleman Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Newton’s Third Law of Motion;  For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction.   I mentioned that rock and music was equal parts music and social movement.  This was a totally new event for music.  In earlier episodes, we’ve seen how jazz was borrowed by the US Government for global PR purposes, and of course, music has always given a voice to the hopes, dreams, hurts, and fears of people everywhere.  But this was something totally different.  Ever since the ‘50s, we’ve never been sure whether art imitates life, or life imitates art.  The most dramatic examples were still in the future, but it started in the 1950’s, and I’ve wondered why then, and not some other time.   Let’s look at the 1950’s together for a few minutes and see if we can’t figure out why that might be.IN THIS SPECIAL FEATURE Bobby DarinMalvina ReynoldsThe Crew CutsCharlie Ryan and the Timberline RidersChuck BerryThe SilhouettesBobby "Boris" PickettSheb WooleyDanny and the JuniorsTodd Rhodes and His Orchestra, Featuring Connie AllenThe Del VikingsJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!By the 1950’s, American Music had been on a fascinating journey.  Rolling out of the Appalachian Mountains and into southern cities; drifting out of the cotton plantations of the south, winding its way up from New Orleans, along the Mississippi Delta, carried along many musical creeks, tributaries, and rivers, rolling its way along mysterious trails past the crossroads, and chugging its way across railroad lines.   American Music had evolved, and grown, and changed, just like the culture that produced it.  We’ve seen the rise of jazz in its different forms, and heard the echoes of slavery in the blues – as it evolved from the country blues of Robert Johnson and Huddie Ledbedder to the electric blues of Muddy Waters and BB King – and the evolution of Country music as it grew out of English, Scottish, and Welsh ballads into the slick, urbanized sound of Nashville or the honky tonks and juke joints - the urban sounds of Hank Williams.  In the few decades that led up to the mid-1950’s,  there were just a few more cobblestones that needed to be laid into the roadbed that ended with the birth of rock music.  Among these were Western Swing and Rockabilly.  The rock and roll attitude – rebellion, sexuality, and freedom – is a rockabilly hand-me-down sweatshirt from rock’s big brother.  However, the true rockers that came later were true, dyed in the wool non-conformists and rebels.  There’s a world of difference between someone like, say, Jim Morrison, and Kung-Fu Elvis.  Morrison’s disgust for authority was the real thing.  Elvis, on the other hand, had his picture taken at the White House next to Richard "Tricky Dick" Nixon.   Compare that to many, very public apologies that aging rockabilly artists made later for their antics in younger years.  Good Golly, Miss Molly…. Welcome to the latest edition of American Song; episode 13.  Hail Hail Rock and Roll!IN THIS EPISODETex WilliamsMoon MullicanArthur Smith's Hot QuintetTennessee Ernie FordThe Maddox Bros. and RoseElvis PresleyJerry Lee LewisBuddy HollyJohn LennonPaul McCartneyRingo StarrJackie BrentsonRoy BrownBig Mama ThorntonSister Rosetta TharpeChuck BerryFat's DominoLittle RichardEddie Cochranthe Teen QueensBobby FreemanWanda JacksonPat BooneAllen FreedThe PlattersThe DominoesThomas Hardin/ MoondogThe WhoJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!This episode is dedicated to the memory of  Rolling Stones drummer, Charlie Watts,.  Charlie passed away while I was preparing this episode.  In a career that spanned more than sixty years,  he left us all a massive library of songs and memories that we all will treasure forever.  Thanks for everything, Charlie.  It was only Rock and Roll, but I liked it!Episode DescriptionIt was a new day in America.  The middle class was big and growing.  Businesses were flush with cash it had come by, which meant people were working and saving and getting ahead. Those returning war-heroes had gotten to work making money, and making babies and America was a young country, too.  So this young, expressive, exuberant, happy music was ideal for a nation that was feeling the same way. The fact that this new, young music became THE music of the day represented a sea change in what America was all about.Even more, Rhythm’n Blues set the stage for the next big arrival – rock and roll….. like the great R&B singer, Ruth Brown said, “when the white kids started dancing to it, R&B turned into Rock and Roll.”  Hold that thought for a future episode!  Welcome to American Song, Episode 12:  R&B Was Born on the Great American Music River.TracksIke and Tina Turner - River Deep, Mountain HighBarrett Strong - Money, That’s What I WantNina Simone - Mississippi GoddamErskine Hawkins - After HoursAhmet Ertegün and Charlie Rose Interview ExcerptBib Mama Thornton - Hound DogJames Jamerson (isolated bass) - What’s Goin’ OnLouis Jordan - Is You Is, Or Is You Ain’t My Baby?Louis Jordan - Saturday Night Fish FryErskine Hawkins - Tuxedo JunctionHarlem Hamfats - Weed Smokers DreamCab Calloway - Minnie the MoocherCount Basie - One O’CLock JumpBullmoose Jackson - Big Ten InchKing Curtis - Instant GrooveLionel Hampton - Flying HomeLionel Hampton - Hey!  Bop a Re BopT Bone Walker - Stormy MondayBB King - Live at Sing Sing PrisonElvis Presley - That’s Alright MamaHoss Allen InterviewIke & Tina Turner - Proud MaryBooker T and the MGs - Green OnionsMartha and the Vandella’s - Dancing in the StreetStevie Wonder - Heaven Help Us AllFunk Bros. - Aint No Mountain High EnoughFunk Bros. - You Keep My Hangin’ OnFunk Bros. - I Was Made to Love HerMarvin Gaye - What’s Goin’ OnThe New Moonglows - Twelve Months of the YearMarvin Gaye - How Sweet it IsBerry Gordy Talks about Marvin GayeRay Charles - Hit the Road JackRay Charles Interview on Dick CavettMaxin Trio - Blues Before SunriseRay Charles - I Got a WomanRay Charles - What’d I SayRay Charles - Georgia on My MindRuth Brown - 5-10-15 HoursRuth Brown - I’ll Wait For YouRuth Brown Interview with Terri Gross (NPR)Aretha Franklin - Do Right Woman, Do Right ManAretha Franklin Interview with Terri Gross (NPR)Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural WomanAretha Franklin - RespectAretha Franklin - I Say a Little Prayer For YouAretha Franklin - Chain of FoolsSam & Dave - Soul ManJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Today’s episode is all about the first of the two 20th century waves in the folk music movement and how that movement rallied people behind some big themes to help them fight for social justice. As a people, Americans are inclined towards optimism and a belief that if things aren’t working, they can be fixed.  How improvement is defined, which issues get the focus, and how those improvements are managed comes down to party philosophy.  Practically speaking, America has been a two-party system with a number of other minor parties that represent the people that don’t line up with everyone else.  On the ‘left’, we’ve had three parties, progressives, socialists and communists.    Woody Guthrie, and a number of ‘folkie’ musicians like Pete Seeger, Josh White, Burl Ives and others, did something that hadn’t been done before in American music; they used it as a weapon against the things they thought were wrong in the world.  For instance, Woody Guthrie’s guitar had the words “This machine kills fascists” on it.They taught a nation to sing powerful songs about hope – Woody Guthrie did that – and when you do, you may sow the seeds of change in future generations, like the way Guthrie stood as  Bob Dylan’s musical mentor.  But music is just the drum beat that the rest of us have to march to.  If we don’t like how things are going, we’re still Americans.  We can still change it.  We need to act on it.  Ghandi said “Be the change you want to see in the world.”  When we do, we’ll see that just like things improved in working conditions, and minimum wage laws, and many other ways, the world can become a better place.  Our country belongs to the people, not the tiny fraction on top.  And this is a country that promises equality, but that equality is something we have to continuously protect TracksWoody Guthrie:  This Land Is Your LandPete Seeger - Talking Union BluesBurl Ives:  Wayfaring StrangerJosh White - TroubleThis Train is Bound for GloryWoody Guthrie - Do Re MiWoody Guthrie - 1913 MassacreThe Almanac Singers - Which Side Are You On?Woody Guthrie - All You Fascists Bound to LoseThe Almanac Singers - The Sinking of the Good Reuben JamesPete Seeger - Deliver the Goods60 Minutes with Charles Kuralt - Interview with Alan LomaxCBS Radio Network - HootenanyAlan Lomax Interviews Muddy WatersMuddy Waters - My Home is in the DeltaMáire Ní Shúilleabháin, Ballylicky, Co. Cor - An Cailín Aerach (The Airy [Light-Hearted] Girl)Burl Ives - John HenryHUAC Hearings - The Hollywood 10 In CourtCasablanca (Warner Bros.) - Play It SamVictims of Hollywood BlacklistEarl Robinson - Keeping Score in ’44Rudy Giuliani - Trial By CombatBurl Ives/ Paul Newman - Mendacity Scene (From Cat On a Hot Tin Roof) Burl Ives - Funny Way of LaughingJosh White - House of the Rising SunJosh White - In My Time of DyingJosh White - There’s a Man Going ‘Round Taking NamesJosh White - The House I Live InJosh White - Free and Equal BluesHUAC Hearings - Paul Robeson’s Testimony (Excerpt)Pete Seeger - Goodnight IrenePete Seeger Interview - The Power of MusicPete Seeger - Way Over TherePete Seeger with the Almanac Singers - The Strange Death of John DoeHenry Wallace 1948 Campaign SongThe Weavers - If I HadJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!America’s music, at least through 1955, was jazz.  In this episode, we’ll take a deep dive into the predominant forms jazz took on from 1930 through the 1950’s and into the 1960’s, including swing, bebop, hard bop and cool jazz.  In many ways during these years, Jazz gave voice to the difficult tensions and struggles confronting Americans in those years, and which tested our belief in our own convictions.   Welcome to American Song, episode ten; Jazz In Defense of Equality and Justice For AllThrough its history, Jazz has played a very important social role in America and abroad.  It is the voice of democracy and freedom.  It represents our continuing desire for social justice and equality in America and has supported that role abroad.  In this episode, we see how jazz evolved through Swing to Bebop and how members of the same group who have been most historically oppressed have risen – both in the music world and out of it – to be the ones to defend the country, and inspire the effort needed to face our own demons.  Because they did, America has begun to live up to its promises of equality and justice for all.    I am certain that America’s music will continue to inspire us,  encourage us, and unite us.  Just as it always has.In This Episode:In the Mood - Glenn MillerKing Porter Stomp - Fletcher HendersonFly Me to The Moon - Sinatra/ BasieStraighten Up and Fly Right - Nat King ColeNorthwest Passage - Woody Herman and His Thundering HerdLet’s Call the Whole Thing Off - Astaire/ RogersBoogie Woogie Bugle Boy - The Andrews SistersStomp Your Feet - Fred Elizalde and His Cambridge UndergraduatesMinor Swing - Django ReinhartAdolf Hitler at EssenPraise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition - Kay KiserGI Jive - Kay KiserMaking Whoopie - Charlie and His OrchestraThe Man With the Big Cigar - Charlie and His OrchestraI Sustain the Wings/ Jam Don’t Shake Like That - Glenn Miller and the Army Airforce BandThe Secret Broadcast - Music Fur Die Wermacht - Glenn Miller and “Ilse”Perfidia - Benny Goodman and Helen Forrest (V-Records)Koko - John ColtraneMussolini’s Letter to Hitler - Carson RobisonDer Fuehrer’s Face - Spike Jones and His City SlickersBody and Soul - Coleman HawkinsStraight No Chaser - Miles Davis(What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue - Louis ArmstrongWE INSIST!  Freedom Now Suite! - Max Roach with Abbey Lincoln, Coleman Hawkins and OlatunjiFables of Faubus - Charles MingusAlabama Governor George Wallace (1964 Campaign)Acknowledgement (From a Love Supreme) - John ColtraneAlabama - John ColtraneKlactovesedstene - Charlie ParkerJust Friends - Charlie ParkerNight in Tunisia - Dizzy GillespieRound Midnight - Thelonious MonkFifty-Second Street Theme - Thelonious MonkNikita Kruschev at UN 1960Manteca - Dizzy GillespieDuke Ellington on American MusicReprise: (What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue - Louis ArmstrongPresident Dwight D Eisenhower Addresses Little Rock CrisisThe Real Ambassador - Dave Brubeck/ Louis ArmstrongSing Sing Sing! - Benny Goodman in USSRMoaning’ - Charles MingusU.S. Attorney General Derrick Garland on Voter Suppression Crisis As always, thanks for listening and downloading!  Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!Imagine a people, passing through the crucible of slavery, for hundreds of years, until the first people in your new lineage are often lost in time – because slaves have no more families or histories any more than cattle or sheep do – and coming out the other side, proud, shining, and triumphant.  Imagine using that experience to lay the foundations of music that became the soundtrack within the lives of billions of people around the world.  In the wake of so much devastation, the sounds of faith, love, dignity and freedom were heard and shared until they echoed the world over.  Many times, they were there to drown out more modern pains, and were used to inspire other people to face new adversities.  It started with African Spirituals, and those Spirituals gradually became Gospel Music.  This is a music that has given people a sense of holy urgency and righteousness all over the world.  The Christians that created this music believed with everything they had in them that it was ‘the holy spirit’ that gave them the authority.  This was not performance.  This was leadership.PS.  My sincerest thanks to all of you repeat listeners out there in the following cities.  Your interests in what I'm doing makes this so rewarding!·       As Sulaymānīyah, As Sulaymānīyah·       Atlanta, GA·       Austin, TX·       Birmingham, Al·       Centennial, CO·       Charlotte, NC·       Chatillon, Ile-d-France·       Clermont, FL·       Clinchy, Ile-de-France·       Columbus, OH·       Compton, CA·       Cordoba, Andalusia·       Dallas, TX ·       Dusseldorf, N Rhine-Westpghalia·       Fruitland, ID·       Hough, OH·       Hyderabad, Telangana·       Islington, England·       Lake Stevens, WA·       Lanham-Seabrook, MD·       Lillenthal, Lower Saxony·       Los Angeles·       Maidenhead, England·       Manhattan, NY·       Munster, North Rhine-Westphalia·       Olympia, WA·       Osaka, Japan·       Placentia, CA·       Reno, NV·       San Antonio, TX·       San Diego, CA·       San Francisco, CA·       Sao Paulo,  Brazil·       Sharjah, UAE·       South Salt Lake, UT·       Tokyo, Japan·       Walsall, England·       Washington, VA·       Yorba Linda, CA Included in this episode:·        Excerpt from Amistad·       Excerpt from Fountain Hughes interview; WPA and John Lomax·       Work Holler·       West Indies Slave Chant - Roger Gibbs (Earliest Recorded Slave Chant from 1775)·       Roll Jordan Roll - From 12 Years a Slave·       Title Unknown - The Singing and Praying Band·       Title Unknown - The McIntosh County Shouters·       Rock My Soul - The Spirit Chorale of Los AngJoin our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.  

Get in touch!During the first half of the 1900’s, Country music grew from a small group of naïve country musicians who shared their love of the old songs and the old ways with a country that was coming of age.  As even now, the players that created the music Americans loved came from colorful backgrounds, and gave all they had to the music.  Along the way, some of them gave too much – guys like Hank Williams who died so young and lived such a hard life – come to mind.  The stories they told and created and shared left deep impressions in the hearts of the country – almost like the wagon wheel ruts you can still see in some places out along the prairie.  At the same time, they forged a trail for newer sounds, first Honky Tonk, then Nashville that cleared a path for what was soon coming behind them – like Rockabilly and Rock and Roll.  By the early 1950’s, you began to hear the first chords ringing out.  Tracks and Interviews In This EpisodeCan the Circle Be Unbroken - The Carter FamilyWildwood Flower - The Carter FamilySitting On Top of the World - The Mississippi SheiksWabash Cannonball - Roy Acuff and His Smoky Mountain BoysWalking the Floor Over You - Ernest TubbWhen Ernest Tubb Wrote Walking the Floor Over You - from A Celebration of Ernest Tubb(See the American Song Facebook page for the link to the full symposium)Hello Walls - Faron YoungJole Blon - Harry ChoatesHank and Audrey Williams Radio Interview with Bob McKinnon; 1950I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank WilliamsJambalaya (On the Bayou) - Hank WilliamsIf You've Got the Money, I've Got the Time - Lefty FrizzellSingle Girl, Married Girl - The Carter FamilyMy Big Iron Skillet - Wanda JacksonStand By Your Man - Tammy WynetteKiss An Angel Good Morning -   Charlie PrideHow Charlie Broke Country's Color Barrier; Interview with Dan RatherGod Bless the U.S.A. - Al GreenwoodA Soldier's Last Letter - Ernest TubbThere's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere - Elton BrittAtom Bomb Baby - Five StarMarty Robbins - El PasoThe Jordanaire's Remember Recording with Patsy Cline - InterviewShe'll Be Coming Round the Mountain - The Skillet LickersCrazy - Patsy ClineRoot Hog or Die - June Carter CashCowboy, Harry Stephens, Talks About Writing "The Night Herding Song" - Library of Congress recordingTumbling Tumbleweeds - Sons of the PioneersWhen the Work's All Done This Fall - Roy RogersBlue Shadows on the Trail - Roy RogersI Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart - Patsy MontanaMan of Constant Sorrows - Soggy Bottom BoysVisit Our Facebook PageIf you're enjoying our podcast episodes, you'd probably love our Facebook page!There, you'll find links to all our research, and many of the interviews we access for our content.    Join our community and continue your journey through American Song: Visit us on Facebook.There, you'll get more information, video content, and more about the music and personalities covered in all our episodes.