May 2013
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Words & Music
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Do the words make the song or the notes? What does it take to tell a good tale in music or about music? We put those questions to a few writers of both songs and stories. Singer-songwriter and memoirist Rosanne Cash sits down before a live audience to tell us about her authorial journey, then we chat with novelist Cyril Vetter on translating a musician’s...
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Men of Steel and Soul
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We’re bringing the blues from the clubs to the church this week on American Routes. The Campbell Brothers, from Rochester, NY, are masters of sacred steel. With both pedal and lap steel guitars, they summon the spirit in voice and sound. We’ll talk about growing up in the church and playing gospel blues on the guitar. Then, New Orleans bluesman...
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The Black Keys & The Soul Rebels
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We’re sitting down this week with two bands who make their hometowns proud. The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney, from Akron, Ohio, have roots in the blues and rock but construct a sound all their own. We chat with them backstage at a performance in the Crescent City. Then New Orleans brass band innovators the Soul Rebels talk about bringing...
April 2013
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Songs & Stories of the River
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As the muddy Mississippi winds its way past us in New Orleans, we’re reminded of the power and place of these waterways in American culture. First, we seek the source of the mighty river at the headwaters in Minnesota. Then listen to stories of steamboat captains, riverboats and rural fisherman. And learn about New Orleans own relation to the river with...
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Looking for America: Elvis Costello and Carla Bley
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We’re seeking out the “American” in American music with two eclectic artists: Elvis Costello and Carla Bley. For British songman Elvis Costello, American music has shaped much of his musical creativity. We’ll hear about his love of American country and blues, his musical upbringing in Liverpool, and his current fascination with P.T....
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“I went to Nashville on a 2-week leave I had, and it changed my life. It was like...”
– Kris Kristofferson, on his decision to move to Nashville.
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“The thing is, with country music…most performers were songwriters. But the song...”
– Kris Kristofferson, on songwriters. We’ve got two hours with the singer-songwriter, actor and counter-culture icon on this week’s show.
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A Grateful Journey: Kris Kristofferson
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A conversation with a man of many talents: songwriter, actor, boxer, military man, among many titles, Kris Kristofferson, reflecting on his life in music, his songwriting craft, and the nature of gratitude for his life’s adventures, as expressed in his recent album, Feeling Mortal.
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Festival Time in Lafayette, LA
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Join us on the festival grounds in Lafayette, LA for the 25th annual Festival International. We’ll sample outstanding live performances in Cajun, Creole, Latin and Blues, including Keb’ Mo’, Sonny Landreth, and Steve Riley. Be sure to get out your dancing shoes for cumbia with Miami’s Locos Por Juana, two-steps with Yvette Landry and...
March 2013
16 posts
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Home Grown Soul: Booker T. Jones & Jimmy Hughes
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This week we visit with two masters of Southern soul. Multi-instrumentalist Booker T. Jones, along with his group the MGs, helped to create the legendary Stax sound. We talk with Booker T. about growing up in Memphis and his current work with the up and coming Southern rock band, the Drive-By Truckers. Soul singer Jimmy Hughes got his start at another landmark...
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Giants of Jazz: Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane
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For this special American Routes program, we follow the lives of two giants of jazz: Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane. From their humble North Carolina beginnings to their triumphs on the world stage, we’ll trace their individual and inspired paths to creativity. And we’ll visit with the musicians who played with the greats, including McCoy Tyner...
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“He also saw an entire people, black people in the South, which became a...”
– John Szwed, on Alan Lomax’s engagement with the African diaspora.
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“When he recorded people in the field, he played them back for them. It’s...”
– Biographer John Szwed on Alan Lomax.
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“Well, you’d be…lots of times you’d be busy singing out in the field, You don’t...”
– Heuston Earns, a prisoner at Mississippi’s notorious Parchman Farm, on why he sings. Listen to this week’s show for more of Alan Lomax’s extraordinary recordings.
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“He started with the crudest equipment, and then as better stuff came up, like...”
– John Szwed, on the recording equipment used by John and Alan Lomax.
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The Sonic Journey of Alan Lomax: Recording America...
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American Routes follows the journeys made by folklorist Alan Lomax as he documented the diversity of the traditional music of America, in the face of what he felt was the increased threat by popular “monoculture.” We’ll look into Lomax’s work as a sound recordist, cultural theorist, radio host and above all, shaper of 20th century pop...
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The Funk Soul Universe: Galactic and Joe Bataan
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It’s an exploration of the funk universe on American Routes. New York City’s pioneer of Afro-Latin Soul, Joe Bataan, tells us about his boogaloo beginnings, melding latin beats with soulful sounds and his move toward “salsoul” and rap. And a conversation with Stanton Moore and Ben Ellman from New Orleans’ Galactic about their love...
February 2013
16 posts
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Recordmen: Collector, Producer, DJ
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We’re hauling out the vinyl and giving it a spin this week on American Routes. First, we’ll revisit our 2005 interview with the late Jerry Wexler, who produced many soul and R&B hits on Atlantic Records. Then we’ll go down into Maryland record connoisseur Joe Bussard’s basement to sample his wall-to-wall collection of rare blues and...
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Riding the Rivers and Rails: Justin Townes Earle...
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Have you ever sailed the Mississippi on a riverboat? Heard a calliope bounce notes off a barge? Caught the freight train boogie? This week on American Routes, we’re riding the rails and sailing sails with words and music dedicated to two old forms of transport. We’ll visit with Captain Doc Hawley, a calliope player on the “Natchez” in...
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Sacred Steel Brothers and a Jazz Master: Robert...
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Sacred steel guitarist Robert Randolph has gathered together the leading players of the genre for a recent recording, paying tribute to the past, and covering tunes outside the cannon. We’ll speak with him and one of his fellow Slide Brothers, Calvin Cooke. Then a conversation with jazz adventurist Yusef Lateef about his musical mentors and inspirations.
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Happy Mardi Gras from all of us here at American...
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