Reelin' In The Years (RITY)
by Ryan Janson
Reelin' In The Years (RITY) is your weekly dose of music education! Enjoy a blend of Rock, Blues, and Americana. Plus stories about the songs and artists. Give it a listen! I promise you'll learn something! For more information on the show, visit reelinwithryan.com
Episodes
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Seasons Change: Episode 107 - Nov. 6, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is "Seasons Change": Songs that mention that phrase in the lyrics. Also, Devo paid tribute to the Beatles - and John Lennon shouted the tribute right back... Daryl Hall partnered with Robert Fripp and made a solo album that his record label…
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Ghost In The Machine: Episode 106 - Oct. 29, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is Ghost In The Machine: Songs recorded at haunted recording spaces... Also, a storm spoiled Ann Peebles’ plans - and inspired a song John Lennon loved... The fundraiser performance that connected a teenage Joanne Shaw Taylor with Dave...
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Fortune Tellers: Episode 105 - Oct. 23, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is Fortune Tellers... Also, A Grateful Dead mining song so convincing, a miner thought it was an old standard... Stevie Wonder's one beer recording strategy and the effect he wanted it to have on his voice... The young fan Chrissie Hynde left...
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Pavlov's Dog: Episode 104 - Oct. 16, 2026
On this episode on Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is Pavlov's Dog... Also, A shipping clerk, his record-label boss’s rejection, and the $2,500 that launched Alligator Records... A Jimi Hendrix recording that spent nearly 44 years in the vault before reaching listeners in 2013... A Chicago…
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The Suburbs: Episode 103 - Oct. 9, 2026
This week on Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is The Suburbs... Plus, Robert Plant, a fifteen-foot tree, and a song title born out of a winter firewood problem... Six four-hour sessions and a day job - the making of Elvis Costello’s debut album, My Aim Is True... A Hall & Oates song about...
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A Needle In A Haystack: Episode 102 - Oct. 2, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is A Needle In A Haystack: Songs that were hidden on albums... Plus, the Beatles song that changed animals after Paul McCartney started barking... Music Stevie Wonder left off Songs in the Key of Life - finally seeing the light of day 50 years...
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Commercially Brewed: Episode 101 - Sept. 25, 2026
This week on Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is Commercially Brewed: Songs and beer commercials... The ’90s hit whose title can be traced all the way back to a second-grade book report... What happened when someone sent one of John Prine’s fictional problems to the Dear Abby... The ’60s dance...
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100!: Episode 100 - Sept. 18, 2026
This week on Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is 100: Songs that mention that number in the lyrics... Plus, Johnny Cash, a cocaine-fueled murder and a 99-year prison sentence - recorded LIVE at Folsom... A spontaneous rehearsal-room jam captured on tape then rebuilt with an Atari computer...…
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It's All Greek To Me: Episode 99 - Sept. 11, 2026
This week on Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is It's All Greek To Me: Songs with references to Greece... The future Monkee whose song was rejected for not sounding enough like The Monkees... The soul album recorded in a basement for a grand total of $452.11 - that includes the beer!... The...
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Friday Night Lights: Episode 98 - Sept. 4, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is Friday Night Lights: Songs that make some sort of reference to high school football in the lyrics... Also, the basement recording that became an indie-rock phenomenon - thanks to a movie scene... David Bowie’s eye patch looked...
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"Bay" Watch: Episode 97 - Aug. 28, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is "Bay" Watch... Plus, the deliberately “uncommercial” song written in a room at a Holiday Inn that became a hit... The accidental guitar tuning that left Pete Townshend and David Gilmour searching for answers... The soul classic...
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Paying The Bills: Episode 96 - Aug. 21, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is Paying The Bills... Also, the reggae legend who refused a Chuck Berry classic - until Louisiana became Jamaica... The New Orleans classic featuring a future superstar - still in her teens - singing backup with her mother... The...
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Back To School: Episode 95 - Aug. 14, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is "Back To School"... Also, The song inspired by an open window, a missing cat and one very worried songwriter... How a trip to Elvis’s home helped a songwriter turn a broken relationship into a journey toward healing... How a…
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The Roots Of Rock: Episode 94 - Aug. 7, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... For the Featured Five Theme, we explore the roots of rock 'n' roll... Plus, The ancient empire, missing verse and faulty mixing console behind a Neil Young epic... The Linda Ronstadt hit that began when six encores left her band with nothing else prepared...…
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Lucky No. 7: Episode 93 - July 31, 2026
This week on Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is Lucky No. 7... Also, the phone call that arrived just before a songwriter’s phone service was disconnected... A hit song from 1991 that was inspired by two events that reshaped the world in 1989... The story behind a famous “bass line” that…
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Smoke From A Distant Fire: Episode 92 - July 24, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is Smoke From A Distant Fire... Plus, The Waterboys revive a Prince recording that sat unheard for nearly 40 years... The Canadian band that landed on the cover of Rolling Stone before they even had a record deal... What song by Andrew...
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Finding Some Shade: Episode 91 - July 17, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is Finding Some Shade... Plus, what band got its name from an Aboriginal Australian expression?... How a single overheard sentence became one of rock's greatest mysteries... What Queen song nearly featured backing vocals from David Bowie?...…
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Making The Cut: Episode 90 - July 10, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is Making The "Cut"... Also, the day Paul McCartney unknowingly became Nirvana's lead singer... Why Berry Gordy almost kept a Stevie Wonder classic off the radio... The strange story behind Jefferson Airplane's most unusual song title... A…
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Boom!: Episode 89 - July 3, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is Boom!... What Beatles song was inspired by a phrase uttered by reggae singer, Jimmy Scott?... A Motown song that had to be recorded three different times before it passed quality control... Amphetamine abuse + Occultism = A 1968 title track...
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Celebrating America's Independence: Episode 88 - June 26, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness: Celebrating America's Independence... Also, music from a singer who's been out of the public eye for 16 years! I'll tell you why... What Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' tune was inspired by a…
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Hiking: Episode 87 - June 19, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is Hiking... Also, the story of Johnnie Taylor's death and the lengthy legal battle that ensued... A Smashing Pumpkins song that was initially titled "Strolling" and nearly cut from the album... What band formed in England, but...
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A Backyard Barbeque: Episode 86 - June 12, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is A Backyard Barbeque... Also, a 90s hit song that was inspired by the disappearance of Lela & Raymond Howard... A tune that went from a love song to one of the creepiest songs ever thanks to alcohol... One of three Pink Floyd tunes to…
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Subconscious Behaviors: Episode 85 - June 5, 2026
On this edition of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is Subconscious Behavior: Song titles that represent responsibilites of the subconscious... Also, a demo of the most played song in the history of American radio... What Stevie Ray Vaughan song is inspired by "shaggin' wagons"…
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What's Your Fortune: Episode 84 - May 29, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is What's Your Fortune: Song titles that could serve as a message inside of a fortune cookie... Also, who is the woman on the cover of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan?... A song about an alternate universe where J Mascis of Dinosaur…
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Playing "Favorites": Episode 83 - May 22, 2026
On this edition of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is Playing "Favorites": Songs that mention the word "favorite" in the title... Also, Paul McCartney talks about partnering with John Lennon to write "A Day In The Life"... Paul Simon on finding love on the set of Saturday Night Live... What…
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Car Trouble: Episode 82 - May 15, 2026
On this episode of RITY... The Featured Five Theme is Car Trouble: Songs that mention some sort of car-related issue in the lyrics... Also, Norman Greenbaum explains the process of writing his big hit from 1970... What do people from Vermont call the period between Halloween and the winter…
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At The Library: Episode 81 - May 8, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is At The Library... Plus, A band that gets their name from a term they found in a TV Guide Magazine... The story behind one of Bob Seger's most well-known songs... The Tubes will give us a deep cut about rich kids in Hollywood with drug...
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Gone Fishin': Episode 80 - May 1, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is Gone Fishin'... Plus, a song inspired by Peter Fonda's near-death experience that happened when he was a kid... A Bowie tune that's nearly a reworking of "I'm Waiting For The Man" by Velvet Underground... What influential Delta...
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The State Line: Episode 79 - April 24, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is The State Line: Songs that mention "state line" in the lyrics... Also, The Beatles give us a diss track inspired by the illegitimacy of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi... An 80s hit inspired by the story of a murderous plastic surgeon who…
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The Ocean: Episode 78 - April 17, 2026
On this episode of Reelin'... The Featured Five is The Ocean... Plus, a Steely Dan song inspired by the rise and fall of LSD Chemist, Owsley Stanley... An ode to a train caboose that's been turned into a vacation rental in WA... Music from a guy who enjoyed occasionally streaking on stage... What...
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Bootlegs: Episode 77 - April 10, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years, The Featured Five Theme is Bootlegs. These are considered some of the best Bootlegs of all-time according to multiple sources online... Also, a song inspired by a dream that involved Jimi Hendrix and a Holiday Inn bathroom... A Collective Soul song inspired by a...
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American Folk Heroes: Episode 76 - April 3, 2026
On this week's edition of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is American Folk Heroes... Plus, Rock 'n' Roll muse - Annabella Corro - shares the true meaning behind "Spill The Wine"... Music from an artist who sadly took his own life by jumping from his hotel room window... The Byrds,...
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The CIA Theme: Episode 75 - Mar. 27, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is Secret Agent Man: The CIA Theme... Plus, who was John Sinclair and how John Lennon had a role in getting him out of prison... A song written for the 1989 film, Say Anything, but was omitted from the movie... A song that was inspired…
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In Bloom: Episode 74 - Mar. 20, 2026
This week on Reelin'... The Featured Five Theme is In Bloom: The Spring Theme... Plus, music from a former mailman who used to write songs in his head during routes... A young and relatively unknown Angelina Jolie appeared on what band's album cover?... How a child running wild in a grocery store...
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Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs: Episode 73 - Mar. 13, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is songs that correspond with the five levels of Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs... A song that Van Morrison nailed in one take!... Idol turned Rival? Todd Rundgren's beef with John Lennon in the 70s... The song that was the end…
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At The Diner: Episode 72 - Mar. 6, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is At The Diner: Song titles that mention something you could probably order from the menu... Also, a cut from the newly released soundtrack to the McCartney documentary, Man On The Run... Music from an artist who had a habit of...
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Local On The 8s: Episode 71 - Feb. 27, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is songs used as background music during the Local On The 8s Segment on The Weather Channel... Music from a band that's named after the psychological concept of Primal Therapy... What band is comprised of members from Wilco, Soul…
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The Silver Spoon: Episode 70 - Feb. 20, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is The "Silver Spoon"... Plus, a song David Bowie wrote about actress, model, and Warhol superstar - Cyrinda Foxe... A hit by Badfinger that was first recorded at a slower tempo and was nearly not released... A song inspired by an…
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1 Is The Loneliest Number: Episode 69 - Feb. 13, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is 1 Is The Loneliest Number: Bands or Artists who only released one album... That one time when Rick James & Neil Young played in the same band in the 1960s... Arthur Lee of the band - Love - explains the meaning behind "7 And 7...
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Stage Fright: Episode 68 - Feb. 6, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is Stage Fright... Music from a short-lived California band formed by Neil Young & Bob Mosley... A band that formed in 1970, but didn't release their debut album until '08... Music from a former professional boxer, who was a...
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Units Of Measurement: Episode 67 - Jan. 30, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is Units Of Measurement... The story behind the cover of Abandoned Luncheonette by Hall & Oates... How the discovery of lost Bob Dylan lyrics led to the formation of a supergroup... A song inspired by the tragic story of a…
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Author: Unknown: Episode 66 - Jan. 23, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is Author: Unknown - Songs with an unknown origin... A song that features the longest sustained note of all songs to have ever charted in the U.S.... An R.E.M. song inspired by a torrential downpour that occurred in their hometown...
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7 Days A Week: Episode 65 - Jan. 16, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is 7 Days A Week: Songs that mention each day of the week in the lyrics... Plus, a song by The Cure that drove frontman - Robert Smith - into a state of paranoia... New music from Carl Perkins - The same guy who sang "Blue Suede Shoes"...
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Flu Season: Episode 64 - Jan. 9, 2026
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The story behind those odd soundbites in Pink Floyd's song "The Great Gig In The Sky"... The time when Sonny Boy Williamson played in the UK with an 18-year-old Eric Clapton... The fascinating, but also sad story about the career of the late Charles Bradley......
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Goals: Episode 63 - Jan. 2, 2026
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is "Goals": Songs that mention some sort of Goal in the lyrics... A Beatles song that's essentially a reworking of Del Shannon's "Runaway"... A song written for Aretha Franklin, but first recorded by Dusty Springfield... The lead...
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Dec. 26, 2025
On this episode of Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is "You Say You Want A Revolution": Songs titles that include "revolution" in the title... A song by Squeeze that's loosely based on "White Punks On Dope" by The Tubes... What's the connection between the late actress - Carrie...
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Dec. 19, 2025
This week on RITY... For The Featured Five Theme, I'm playing songs that mention Christmas, but are not Christmas songs... A Stones song that's based in the American South, but inspired by the Caipira people of Brazil... Burton Cummings of The Guess Who shares the backstory behind "These Eyes"...…
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Dec. 12, 2025
This week on RITY... The Featured Five Theme is Does Your Conscience Bother You? Songs that mention a troubled conscience... Plus, a song written for a film that had to be retitled after an accidental death during filming... Which Tom Petty song was inspired by The Psychic Capital Of The…
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Dec. 5, 2025
This week on RITY, the Featured Five Theme is "I'm Hypnotized": Songs that mention that phrase in the lyrics... Plus, music from a band that gained popularity thanks to a Miller commercial... One of the most expensive singles recorded - equivalent to $250K in '25... Donald Fagen of Steely Dan...
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Nov. 28, 2025
This week on Reelin' In The Years... The Featured Five Theme is What's The Deal: The Shopping Theme... Also, music from a new rock supergroup that's fronted by Darius Rucker... Ronnie Spector's attempt at a comeback (thanks to George Harrison)... What song by The Police is an example of a...
About this show
Reelin' In The Years (RITY) is your weekly dose of music education! Enjoy a blend of Rock, Blues, and Americana. Plus stories about the songs and artists. Give it a listen! I promise you'll learn something! For more information on the show, visit reelinwithryan.com
Hosted by
Ryan Janson