Playlist: January 13, 2016

David Bowie, Lazarus
     from the new album Blackstar
David Bowie, Rubber Band
Seu Jorge, Space Oddity
Americano Social Club, Let's Dance
David Bowie, Heroes
David Bowie, Starman
David Bowie, Sound and Vision
David Bowie, Modern Love
David Bowie, Young Americans
David Bowie, I Wish You Would
David Bowie, Almost Grown
David Bowie, Bring Me The Disco King
     David Bowie (1947-2016)

Rebirth Brass Band, Feel Like Funkin' It Up
     Fri-Sat 1/15-16 @ Great American Music Hall
     Sun 1/17 @ Moe's Alley
Beaucoup Chapeaux, Gipsy Song
     Sat 1/16 @ Red Poppy Art House
Junk Parlor, Loverfish
     Wed 1/20 @ El Rio
The Crux, Dancing Like The Devil
     Thu 1/14 @ The Chapel
Goodnight Texas, Button Your Collar
     Thu 1/14 @ Lagunitas Brewing Company
Roharpo & The Real Blues Band, Give Me Back My Wig
     Thu 1/14 @ Biscuits & Blues
Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, Don't Waste My Time
     Fri-Sat 1/15-16 @ Biscuits & Blues
Kevin Selfe & The Tornadoes, I'm On Fire
     Thu 1/14 @ Poor House Bistro
     Fri 1/15 @ Torch Club
     Sat 1/16 @ The Pocket
     Sun 1/17 @ Biscuits & Blues
Allen Toussaint, St. James Infirmary
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Oh Didn't He Ramble
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, Trout Mask Replica

Playlist: January 6, 2016

Lightnin' Hopkins, Happy New Year
Johnny Otis Orchestra, Happy New Year Baby
Tiffany Austin, Georgia
     Sun 1/10 @ Studio Grand
Shemekia Copeland, The Battle Is Over
     Sat 1/09 @ Freight & Salvage
Midtown Social, Tilt Sign
     Sat 1/09 @ The Chapel

Freddie Roulette, Key to the Highway
Freddie Roulette, Freddie's Funk
     Mon 1/11 @ Great American Music Hall
Wendy DeWitt with Kirk Harwood, 29 Ways
     Wed 1/13 @ Club Fox
Macy Blackman & The Mighty Fines, Jabber Walks
     Thu 1/07 @ Madrone Art Bar
Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Boogie Woogie
     Fri 1/08 @ The Terrace Room
     Sat 1/09 @ Piedmont Piano Company
     Sun 1/10 @ The Royal Cuckoo
The Mission Seven, Save Yourself
     Sun 1/10 @ Amnesia
Americano Social Club, Make You Feel My Love
     Thu 1/07 @ Blush Wine Bar
Junk Parlor, Gold Star Academy
     Fri 1/08 @ Peri's

Special in-studio guests: Whiskerman

     Fri 1/08 @ Great American Music Hall

Otis
Deep Surprise
Diamond in the Rough
Cardinal City (in-studio)
One Good Way (in-studio)
Paradise
It's Easy Now (in-studio)
Louie (in-studio)
Perfect
     from the new album Nomad

Elvis Presley, Nothingville / Big Boss Mann / Let Yourself Go / It Hurts Me / Guitar Man / Little Egypt

Playlist: December 30, 2015

Whiskerman, Saturday
     Wed 1/06 on Fog City Blues
Blue Rodeo, If We Make It Through December
Tom Waits, New Year's Eve
The Heartbeats, After New Year's Eve
The Orioles, What Are You Doing New Year's Eve

Con Brio, Temptation's Talking
     Thu 12/31 @ The Chapel
Will Magid, The Box
     Thu 12/31 @ Rickshaw Stop
Quinn DeVeaux & The Blue Beat Review, Raindrops
     Thu 12/31 @ Bimbo's 365 Club
Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Walk Right In
     Thu 12/31 @ Alameda Elk's Lodge
Howell Devine, Can't Be Satisfied
     Thu 12/31 @ Club Deluxe
The Stone Foxes, Greasin' Up The Doorman
     Thu 12/31 @ Slim's
Tommy Castro & The Painkillers, Got A Lot
     Thu 12/31 @ Freight & Salvage
Mr. Sipp, Say The Word
     Thu 12/31 @ Biscuits and Blues

Shake Your Peace, My Mom The Realtor (in-studio)
Midtown Social, Can't Stop The Music (in-studio)
Young Musician's Choral Orchestra, Summertime (in-studio)
Kim Nalley, Movin' On Up (in-studio)
Slim Jenkins, Bad Man (in-studio)
The Mission Seven, Boogaloo in Room 802 (in-studio)
La Mandanga, No Hay Más Perro Que Ladre (in-studio)
John Brothers Piano Company, Dumka (in-studio)
Jeremiah Lockwood, Cold Comfort (in-studio)
The Same Chase & The Untraditional, Rock Bottom Never Felt So Good (in-studio)
Jimmy Grant Ensemble, Bunicul (in-studio)

Playlist: December 16, 2015

The Klezmatics, (Do The) Latke Flip-Flip
     Sat 12/19 @ Kuumbwa Jazz Center
     Sun 12/20 @ SFJazz Center
Blind Boys of Alabama, No Room in the Inn
     Thu-Fri 12/17-18 @ SFJazz Center
The Crux, December
     Tue 12/22 @ Great American Music Hall
Brian Sezter Orchestra, Blue Christmas
     Wed 12/23 @ Well Fargo Center for the Arts
     Thu 12/24 @ The Warfield
Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Winter Wonderland
     Thu 12/17 @ Kuumbwa Jazz Center
     Fri 12/18 @ Café du Nord
     Sat 12/19 @ Speisekammer
Christmas Jug Band, S.A.N.T.A.
     Thu 12/17 @ The Big Easy
     Fri 12/18 @ Palms Playhouse
     Sun-Mon 12/20-21 @ Sweetwater Music Hall

Clyde Lasley & The Cadillac Baby Specials, Santa Came Home Drunk
Fathead, Santa's Drunk
Sherwin Linton, Santa Got a DWI
The Debonaires, Crazy Santa Claus
Oscar McLollie & His Honey Jumpers, Dig That Crazy Santa Claus
The Moonglows, Hey Santa Claus
Sonny Boy Williamson, Santa Claus
Clyde McPhatter with The Drifters, White Christmas
Lowell Fulson, I Wanna Spend Christmas With You (Parts 1 & 2)
Charles Brown, Merry Christmas Baby

Special in-studio guests: The T Sisters

     Thu 12/17 @ Freight & Salvage
     Fri 12/18 @ The Chapel

Woo Woo
Playtime (in-studio)
Fight Song (in-studio)
But Not For You

Lara Price, Crazy Lucy
     Thu 12/17 @ Biscuits and Blues
Tiffany Austin, Walk The Line
     Wed 12/30 @ Feinstein's
Toronzo Cannon, Sweet Sweet Sweet
     Fri-Sat 12/18-19 @ Biscuits and Blues
Mighty Mike Schermer, Take My Hand
     Sat 12/26 @ Poor House Bistro
     Sun 12/27 @ Rancho Nicasio
Elvin Bishop, Let You Woman Have Her Way
     Sat 12/19 @ Freight & Salvage
     Wed 12/20 @ Biscuits and Blues
Mark Hummel, Living With The Blues
Paul Butterfield's Better Days, Small Town Talk

Playlist: December 9, 2015

Postmodern Jukebox, Mad World
Postmodern Jukebox, Joy to the World
     Sat-Sun 12/12-13 @ The Warfield
Christmas Jug Band, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
     Wed 12/16 @ Freight & Salvage
T Sisters, But Not For You
     Wed 12/16 on Fog City Blues
Tiffany Austin, Tête-à-Tête
     Fri 12/11 @ The Sound Room

Special in-studio guest: Lara Price

     Thu 12/17 @ Biscuits and Blues

Get It Where I Want It
Cryin' Over You
Undone
Moon In The Mirror
I Mean Business
    from the new album I Mean Business

Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, 8 Days of Hanukkah
Stephen Colbert & Jon Stewart, Can I Interest You in Hanukkah?
Ella Jenkins, Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel
Mickey Katz, Grandma's Dreidel
Don McLean, Dreidel
Jeremiah Lockwood, Ethan Miller & Luther Dickinson, Dreidel
Temple B'nai Abraham of Essex County Children's Choir, Svivon Sov Sov Sov
Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt, Yevonim
Cantor David Putterman, Rock of Ages
Saul Kaye, Ma'oz Tsur
Sol Zim, Ma'oz Tsur
Meshugga Beach Party, Latkes
The Klezmatics, Hanukkah Tree
Woody Guthrie, Hanukkah Dance

Tom Waits, Chocolate Jesus
Tom Waits, Jesus Gonna Be Here
Tom Waits, The Piano Has Been Drinking
Royal Jelly Jive, Way Down In The Hole

Playlist: December 2, 2015

The Sway Machinery, Kith and Kin
     from the forthcoming EP You Will Love No One But Me
     Thu 2/03 @ Berkeley Rose Labyrinth (Book of J)
California Honeydrops, When It Was Wrong
     Thu 12/03 @ The New Parish
     Fri 12/04 @ Freight & Salvage
Lara Price, Happy Blue Year
     Fri 12/04 @ Chaminade
     Wed 12/09 on Fog City Blues
Tiffany Austin, Stardust
     Sat 12/05 @ The Jazz Basement

Speical in-studio guests: Rainbow Girls

     Fri 12/04 @ Doc's Lab

She-Bop Nation
Can We Keep This Love Alive (in-studio)
No Limits (in-studio)
Syd Barrett
Ain't Tryin'
Yuba (in-studio)
Step Down From The Mountain
     from the new album Perceptronium

Special in-studio guest: Nahuel Bronzini

     Thu 12/03 @ Red Poppy Art House (w/ Amaranth Quartet)

Diana Gameros, Libre y Serena
Camille Mai, We Are No Beautiful Children
Kendra McKinley, Poor Boy
Tomás Latorre, Se Irá y Seguirá
Mike Suarez, Little Po
Nahuel Bronzini, Variations on "That to Be Missed"
     from the new album The String Quartet Experience

Robert Cray, Too Many Cooks / T-Bone Shuffle (live)
     Tue 12/08 @ Yoshi's
     Wed 12/09 @ Crest Theatre
Gary Clark Jr, The Healing
     Sun 12/06 @ Fox Theatre

Playlist: November 25, 2015

Sly & The Family Stone, Underdog
Sly & The Family Stone, St. James Infirmary (live)
     Cynthia Robinson (1946-2015)
Amber Gougis, Let Me Love You
     Sun 11/29 @ Studio Grand

Sylvester Cotton, Thanksgiving Blues
Guy Davis, Thanksgiving Day
Carolina Chocolate Drops, Cornbread And Butterbeans
California Honeydrops, Pumpkin Pie
Lonnie Johnson, Sweet Potato Blues
The Robins, Turkey Hop Part 2
The Emotions, Mashed Potatoes
Sly Stone, Buttermilk pt.1
Matthew Childs, Funky Onions
Harold Burrage, You Eat Too Much

Sly & The Family Stone, Stand!
Sly & The Family Stone, Everyday People

Inside the National Recording Registry: Stand!

It's that time of year again, when our Peabody Award-winning series Inside the National Recording Registry begins airing on PRI's Studio360. I wound up producing the first two pieces this year, the first of which I had my eyes and heart set on from the moment this year's Registry was announced:

I was honored to interview Freddie Stone and George Clinton myself for this story, but I'm writing this on the day we learned of the passing of the band's original trumpeter and distinctive vocalist, Cynthia Robinson. We had sought out Cynthia for an interview earlier this year but were unable to make it happen. An early draft of the story had Sly Stone biographer Jeff Kaliss highlighting some of Cynthia's contribution (around three minutes in):



I've certainly got more tape of Jeff and Freddie talking about Cynthia's role on the album and in the band. More significantly, however, friends of the show Micah Dubreuil and Will Magid (who both took part in last year's mega-tribute to Stand!) interviewed most of the Family Stone members, including Cynthia, for what is sure to be the definitive audio documentary about the band:

Playlist: November 18, 2015

Elvin Bishop, Old School

The Sam Chase, Everyone Is Crazy But Me

     Thu 11/19 @ Hopmonk Tavern: Haitian Children's Benefit

     Sat 11/21 @ 19 Broadway

     Mon 11/23 @ Slim's 

Sean Hayes, Boom Boom Goes the Day

     Sat 11/21 @ The Chapel

Mark Growden, Old Lady From Brewster

     Fri 11/20 @ The Lost Church

Junk Parlor, Melusina

     Thu 11/19 @ The Chapel

     Sat 11/21 @ Club Deluxe

Special in-studio guest: Kim Nalley

     Sat 11/21 @ Biscuits and Blues

Movin' On Up (in-studio)

Sugar In My Bowl (in-studio)

Trombone Song (Big Long Sliding Thing) (in-studio)

Big Hooded Black Man 

     from the new album Blues People

Listen Here / Cold Duck / Compared To What? (in-studio)

I Shall Be Released (in-studio)

Summertime

     from the new album Blues People

Bob Dylan, Visions of Johanna (take 4)

Bob Dylan, Outlaw Blues (take 2)

Bob Dylan, It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (take 1)

Bob Dylan, It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry (take 3)

Bob Dylan, Just Like A Woman (take 4)

Bob Dylan, Jet Pilot (take 1)

Bob Dylan, Lunatic Princess (take 1)

Bob Dylan, Medicine Sunday (take 1)

Bob Dylan, I Wanna Be Your Lover (take 1)

Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited (take 7)

Bob Dylan, Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat (take 3)

Bob Dylan, Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat (take 13)

Bob Dylan, Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (take 3)

Bob Dylan, Pledging My Time (take 1)

     from the new box set The Cutting Edge 1965-1966

Playlist: November 11, 2015

Allen Toussaint, Long Long Journey
     Allen Toussaint (1938-2015)
Kim Nalley, Ferguson Blues
     from the new album Blues People
     Wed 11/18 on Fog City Blues
Marcus Shelby Orchestra, Emmett Till (Bobo)
     Thu 11/12 @ Red Poppy Art House: Beyond the Blues
Con Brio, California Cowboy
     Sat 11/14 @ The Fillmore

Special in-studio guest: Lech Wierzynski (California Honeydrops)

     Thu 12/03 @ The New Parish
     Fri 12/04 @ Freight & Salvage
     Sun 12/06 @ Hopmonk Tavern

California Honeydrops, Cry Baby Blues
California Honeydrops, Crazy Girls

California Honeydrops, Jolie
Dennis Brown, Make It Easy On Yourself
Lech Wierzynski, Come Back Baby (in-studio)
California Honeydrops, Long Way
Abdullah Ibrahim, Mannenberg
California Honeydrops, A River's Invitation
     from the new album A River's Invitation

Bob Dylan, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands (Take 1)
Bob Dylan, Like A Rolling Stone (Takes 1-3)
Bob Dylan, Mr. Tambourine Man (Take 3)
Bob Dylan, Visions of Johanna (Take 14)
Bob Dylan, Desolation Row (Take 5)
     from the new box set The Cutting Edge 1965-1966

Playlist: November 4, 2015

Dorado Schmitt, Just a Gigolo
     Thu-Sun 11/05-08 @ SFJazz Center
Barrio Manouche, La Marcha Gatina
     Sat 11/07 @ La Peña Cultural Center
Rebirth Brass Band, Let's Go Get 'Em
     Sat 11/07 @ Heron Arts
Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Sugar Plum
    Fri 11/06 @ The Fillmore

Special in-studio guest: Tiffany Austin

     Sat 11/07 @ Red Poppy Art House

Walk the Line
     from the new album Nothing But Soul
T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do (in-studio)
I'm Gonna Leave You (in-studio)
I Get Along Without You Very Well (in-studio)
Miss Rockwell (in-studio)
Baltimore Oriole
     from the new album Nothing But Soul

Bob Dylan, Visions of Johanna (take 5)

Bob Dylan, California

     from the forthcoming box set The Cutting Edge 1965-66

California Honeydrops, Long Way

     from the new album A River's Invitation

Wendy DeWitt with Kirk Harwood, Sonoma County

     from the forthcoming album Getaway

Bhi Bhiman, Bennie Please

     Thu 11/05 @ Rickshaw Stop

Ruthie Foster, Death Came A-Knockin' (live)

     Fri 11/06 @ City Winery

     Sun 11/08 @ Red White & Blues Festival

Hot Tuna, AK-47 (live)

     Sat 11/07 @ Great America Music Hall

Andy Santana & the West Coast Playboys, Greaseland

     from the new album Watch Your Step!

     Sat 11/07 @ Empress Theatre

Bey Paule Band, This Party's Done

     Sat 11/07 @ Biscuits and Blues

     Sun 11/08 @ Red White & Blues Festival

Playlist: October 28, 2015

Quinn DeVeaux & The Blue Beat Review, One
Nathan James, Look Out Your Window
     Sun 11/01 @ Biscuits and Blues
Marcus Shelby, Somebody's Watching You
      Tiffany Austin – Wed 11/04 on Fog City Blues
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, This Land Is Your Land
     Thu 10/29 @ Christopher Cohan Center
     Fri 10/30 @ Mondavi Center
     Tue 11/03 @ Wells Fargo Center for the Arts
   
Special in-studio guests: Barrio Manouche

     Fri 10/30 @ Octopus Literary Salon
     Sat 11/07 @ La Peña Cultural Center

Coquette
La Vida de un Russo (in-studio)
La Marcha Gatina (in-studio)
Jimmy Grant, Bunicul
Dorado Schmitt, Topsy
Pasión Árabe (in-studio)
Lucía

Funkadelic & Soul Clap (feat. Sly Stone), In da Kar
Sly & The Family Stone, Somebody's Watching You

Special in-studio guests: The Sam Chase & The Untraditional

In A Perfect World
I Saw What I Saw (in-studio)
Everyone Is Crazy But Me (in-studio)
Cold Night
Carry My Bones (in-studio)
Rock Bottom Has Never Felt So Good (in-studio)
Down Below

Funkadelic (feat. Sly Stone), The Naz
     Thu 10/29 @ The New Parish
     Sun 110 @ Uptown Theatre