November 2011
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“When I was a kid, I just knew that my mama would let me stay up…the only...”
– Ray Charles on Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry.
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Nashville
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Take a two-hour trip to Music City, U.S.A. as we hit the high-class and the low-class joints. Nashville has been a hub of playing and recording country music for over 50 years while also generating a steady stream of regional R&B hits. Come backstage at the Grand Ole Opry and meet the people who make it work, from ushers and announcers to long-time cast...
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2011 NEA Heritage Fellowship Concert
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Celebrate the 2011 National Heritage Fellows live in concert with American Routes. Nick hosts the evening of music and stories, honoring the nation’s finest practitioners of traditional arts. In this 30th anniversary year of the Fellowship, fellows include Hawaiian slat key guitarist Ledward Kaapana, Piedmont bluesman Warner Williams, Brazilian...
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New Orleans Artist Charles Gillam (American... →
gambleitaway:
Nick Spitzer of American Routes visits New Orleans artist Charles Gillam’s studio and museum to see how Katrina has changed folk culture - and preserved it. Part of the Routes to Recovery project.
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Horsepower: The Cowboy Rides into the Future
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This week on American Routes we’re exploring the life of the cowboy. From the Nevada deserts to the swampy forests of Florida, the cowboy is an enduring symbol of American individualism and self-reliance. We’ll visit with several real, working cowboys, including a few who can sing a tune or two. Wylie Gustafson might be better known as the man...
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“Sophie Tucker told me, ‘Always wear makeup. And you walk on the stage like...”
– Frankie Ford lets us in on a little show biz advice from singer Sophie Tucker.
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“Being 13, you learn quickly and you remember. And at 13, from seeing the racism...”
– La La Brooks, on the racism she encountered while on tour with Dick Clark’s Cavalcade of Stars in the 1960s.
allthingslive asked: i love american roots! i'm so glad i found this tumblr by searching for hot tuna. i've missed parties because american roots came on the radio, and that's totally fine by me. thanks!
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“I don’t know whether it’s cheapness or just madness with...”
– La La Brooks, on the travails of recording with Phil Spector.
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La La Brooks & Frankie Ford
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We’re rocking and rolling with two icons of 60s pop. First, it’s the voice behind some of the most well-known songs from the girl group era: La La Brooks, of the Crystals. La La sang the lead on the classic hit “Da Doo Ron Ron” when she was just a teenager! She shares stories of her time singing for Phil Spector, and starring on...
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“Introduced to “Under The Street Lamp,” I knew I had found what I was looking...”
– Paul Pennington discovers boogalu singer Joe Bataan through a 2006 track by Common and Bilal — another example in which hip hop serves as a “graduate-level study in the history of sound.”
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“As a young child, I was very percussive. I was banging on things all around the...”
– Tito Puente, on growing up in Spanish Harlem as a budding percussionist.
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This Week on American Routes: Crossover Dreams:...
This week on American Routes, we’ll sample the sabor latino in American music. Join us for conversation with Los Lobos on their mix of American pop and Mexican traditions. We’ll visit Los Cenzontles, a community arts center in San Francisco dedicated to the teaching of Mexican music, and drop by a Philadelphia radio show spinning salsa hits for the neighborhood. Then, we’ll sit...
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