May 2012
31 posts
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This Week on American Routes: Words & Music
(Cover photo of ‘Dirtdobber Blues’ by Philip Gould, courtesy of Cyril Vetter)
May 30th, 2012 ~ Do the words make the song or the notes? What does it take to tell a good tale in music or about music? We asked these 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,...
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“It was real hard. We grew everything we eat. My mother would can stuff through...”
– The late King of Bluegrass, Jimmy Martin, reflected on growing up in rural East Tennessee on this week’s American Routes.
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“For the past 20 years I do nothing but hunt with my ‘coon dogs - Tom T....”
– Jimmy Martin talked about his hunting dogs and more in this 2005 interview on American Routes.
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This week on American Routes~ Southern Men of...
(Photo of Percy Sledge, via www.psledge.com)
May 23rd, 2012 ~ Working class, self-styled and always opinionated, the late King of Bluegrass Jimmy Martin talks guitar-picking, hunting dogs and the Opry. And singer of songs, Percy Sledge recalls going from hospital orderly to Atlantic Records soul singer with “When a Man Loves a Woman.”
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“When you’d sit out on the river and you practice, you would end up going...”
– Clarinet player Dr. Michael White, on practicing alongside the Mississippi River.
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“You know what’s supposed to be around there, but you round the bend, and...”
– Captain Doc Hawley, on the mystery of the Mississippi River.
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“It’s interesting to be looking at something that’ll end up in New...”
– Reflections at the headwaters of the Mississippi, from this week’s show.
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“In the history of our country this was the interstate. This was the highway....”
– Jim McCoy, chief engineer for the Belle of Louisville, on the Ohio River.
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“Life on the boat was beautiful. You get three squares a day.”
– Dave Bartholomew spoke to us about his time as a working musician on a steamboat on the Mississippi River.
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“When I break it down and put that percussion in there, that beat was locking....”
– RIP Chuck Brown, Godfather of Go-Go.
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“Sometimes I equate working on the river and remembering where you are and...”
– Captain Doc Hawley, on navigating the Mississippi River.
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Wade in the Water: Songs and Stories of the River
Listen to this week’s show!
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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“Not long before he died, we were up at his house recording one of those American...”
– Marty Stuart, on Johnny Cash.
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“She was right in my corner, whatever I did. She had great faith in me.”
– Sonny Rollins, on his mother.
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Watchnprmusic:
Dr. John’s new video for “Revolution” showcases his recent collaboration with The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.
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“My mother would come to me and look at me after I done did a whole lot of little...”
– Bo Diddley, on his mother.
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Mother's Day
Listen to this week’s show!
American Routes celebrates Mother’s Day with Marty Stuart and his mom, Hilda. We’ll talk about their shared love of photography and a certain girl singer, Connie Smith. Then we’ll hear stories about mothers from Fontella Bass, Sonny Rollins, Bo Diddley, and Geno Delafose, among others. Plus songs from blues to bluegrass about and for dear old...
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WatchOur friend Nathan Salsburg did this racehorse-themed Tiny Desk Concert at NPR, in honor of the upcoming Kentucky Derby. Very much worth a listen!
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Men of Steel and Soul
Listen to this week’s show!
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...
