AMERICAN ROUTES
Songs as Poems; Poems as Songs Songs as Poems; Poems as Songs August 10th, 2022 (Hour 1)
Songs as Poems; Poems as Songs

We listen for poetry in music and music in poetry, songs as poems and poems as songs with Langston Hughes, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Ken Nordine. Plus, a visit to New York’s City Lore with poet-folklorist Steve Zeitlin, who rides the POEMobile to the People’s Poetry Gathering and then back to New Orleans to meet Louisiana’s poet laureate, Mona Lisa Saloy.

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EARL SCRUGGS & TOM RUSH

June 22nd, 2022

Earl Scruggs‘ legendary banjo playing, aptly named “Scruggs Style,” has left its mark on American pop culture and inspired generations of banjo players. In the late 1960s, Scruggs, along with his sons, bravely crossed musical boundaries, but his musical journey really started back at the beginnings of bluegrass, playing with Bill Monroe and later, Lester Flatt. In this American Routes encore, we talk to Earl and his sons, Randy and Gary, about performing on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium and why he doesn’t need to crack jokes about the banjo. New Hampshire-born folk singer songwriter Tom Rush may have gone to Harvard and studied with a ballad scholar, but he still knows how to sing the blues. We’ll visit with Rush to learn more about Boston’s folk scene in the 1960s, his time as a radio DJ and his inspired approach to songwriting.

  • Listen to Hour One
  • Listen to Hour Two

HOUR ONE

  • Open Bed: Nashville Skyline Rag Flatt & Scruggs
    The Essential, Columbia/Legacy
  • Hey Porter Earl Scruggs Revue with Johnny Cash
    The Earl Scruggs Revue: Anniversary Special Volume One & Two, Sony BMG
  • Move Along Train Levon Helm
    Electric Dirt, Vanguard
  • SEGMENT: Earl Scruggs

    Listen
  • Instrumental: Cripple Creek Junie Scruggs
    American Banjo Three Finger and Scruggs Style, Smithsonian Folkways
  • SEGMENT: Earl Scruggs Pt. 2

    Listen
  • Ode to Earl Bela Fleck
    The Bluegrass Sessions: Takes from the Acoustic Planet, Volume 2, Warner
  • Glendale Train New Riders of the Purple Sage
    New Riders of the Purple Sage, Columbia
  • Instrumental: RS Stomp Roosevelt Sykes
    Blues by Roosevelt 'the Honeydripper' Sykes, Smithsonian Folkways
  • La Valse de Meche Red Stick Ramblers
    My Suitcase is Always Packed, Sugar Hill
  • Be Real Freda and the Firedogs
    Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm, Vanguard
  • Nightlife John Doe & the Sadies
    Country Club, Yep Roc
  • St. James Infirmary Allen Toussaint
    The Bright Mississippi, Nonesuch
  • Baby Baby Blues Josh White
    Empty Bed Blues, Elektra
  • End Bed: Tipitina Allen Toussaint
    American Routes Original Recording,

HOUR two

  • Open Bed: San Francisco Bay Blues Tom Rush
    Blues, Songs & Ballads, Fantasy
  • Good Time Music The Lovin' Spoonful
    Forever Changing: Golden Age of Elektra Records 1963-1973, Rhino
  • Sugar Mama Lil' Son Jackson
    The Complete Imperial Recordings, Capitol
  • Love Me Like A Man Bonnie Raitt
    The Bonnie Raitt Collection, Warner Bros.
  • Two Trains Running Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis
    Forever Changing: Golden Age of Elektra Records 1963-1973, Rhino
  • Mobile-Texas Line Tom Rush
    The Very Best of Tom Rush: No Regrets, Columbia
  • Instrumental: She's a Women The Charles River Valley Boys
    Forever Changing: Golden Age of Elektra Records 1963-1973, Rhino
  • San Francisco Bay Blues Jessie Fuller
    Brother Lowdown, Fantasy
  • On the Road Again Tom Rush
    Take a Little Walk with Me, Elektra
  • Who Do You Love Bo Diddley
    His Best, MCA
  • Blood & Fire Niney the Observer
    Reggae Anthology: Niney the Observer - Roots with Quality, VP
  • Kids These Days Tom Rush
    The Very Best of Tom Rush: No Regrets, Columbia
  • Instrumental: Flat Foot & Buck Dance John Jackson
    Don't Let the Deal Go Down, Arhoolie
  • SEGMENT: Tom Rush

    Listen
  • The Circle Game Joni Mitchell
    Hits, Reprise
  • Urge for Going Tom Rush
    The Circle Game, Elektra
  • End Bed: Rockport Sunday Tom Rush
    The Circle Game, Elektra

THE LATEST STREAMS

  • August 10th, 2022

    SONGS AS POEMS; POEMS AS SONGS

    Listen
  • August 3rd, 2022

    CARIBBEAN CRUISE & SOUTH LOUISIANA SOJOURN: GARIFUNA GUITARIST AURELIO & CREOLE ACCORDIONIST CEDRIC WATSON

    Listen
  • July 27th, 2022

    THE FOLK REVIVAL REVISITED

    Listen
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