Month: December 2020

It’s A Great Day When You Have Harris & Ronstadt Live On Stage Together, Laura Nyro Owns the Album of The Week, and The Band Closes Out The Programming, Sunday, December 6, 2020

Good Morning, Music Lovers! This is my prototypical perfect programming day. The ladies dominate today, but we have The Band bringing up the rear later to close out the programming. (We do, however, return to Open Stream after; we are 24/7 baby; no interruptions.)

Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris together. Today, we have their Boston concert from 1999 on The Western Wall tour.

Here’s today’s line-up:

11:00 a.m. Album of the Week: Eli and The Thirteenth Confession by Laura Nyro NEW!

Laura Nyro has made many people famous because she was such a fucking amazing songwriter. But when she sings her songs herself, it’s amazing. She has a special place in our hearts here in The Mermaid Lounge.

3:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris, Live at The Orpheum Theater, Boston, MA, on The Western Wall Tour, October 1, 1999 NEW!

It is not often that you have two amazingly talented singers on stage together. To say that they sound like angels is a phrase that is often over-used, but not in this case. The singing would be enough for me, but hearing them talk about the history of some of their songs and introducing their amazing band is an added bonus. This is the reason I spend so much time “finding” music out there. It’s a lot of work but, when you find something like this, it makes it all worthwhile.

7:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of The Band

The Beatles. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. The Band. My big three. They started out as Bob Dylan’s back-up band. Then they managed to forge a musical career of their own that is unrivaled in many ways. Tonight we close out the programming by putting them In The Spotlight.

I don’t know what you’re waiting for. We have some people from Denmark and Norway who have been on for three days solid now. We’ve recently added listeners from Argentina and the Russian Federation. Maybe people here just take this shit for granted. I feel sorry for you. Your lives must be empty if you don’t listen to music. And if you’re still paying for this stuff, your wallets are also empty.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

More News From The College of Rock N’ Roll Knowledge: 12/6/2020

Good Morning, Students! We have a great musical day lined up for you, so let’s dispense with all this knowledge we have here.

Paul Simon, another brilliant singer-songwriter loved in The Mermaid Lounge.

Here’s today’s lesson from the College:

December 6, 1965: The Beatles released We Can Work It Out with Day Tripper on the flip side.

Also on this day in 1965, the Beatles released the magnificent album, Rubber Soul.

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles released Going To A Go-Go.

And if all of this wasn’t enough for you on December 6, 1965, The Rolling Stones recorded 19th Nervous Breakdown and Mother’s Little Helper at RCA’s Hollywood Studios in LA.

December 6, 1968: James Taylor released his self-titled first album in the UK.

December 6, 1969: The Rolling Stones released Beggars Banquet (and we told you about the actual pre-release banquet itself yesterday).

Also on this day, Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love enters the Billboard Pop chart. It peaked at #4 and was the first of six Top 40 hits for Zep.

December 6, 1970: Gimme Shelter, a documentary about The Rolling Stones’ 1969 US tour, opened in theaters.

December 6, 1975: The album Still Crazy After All These Years by Paul Simon hit #1 on the US Album chart. The album resulted in four Top 40 US hits, Gone At Last, My Little Town, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover (#1), and the title track.

December 6, 1977: Jackson Browne released Running On Empty, a live album of performances at various stops on his summer tour.

December 6, 1988: After spending the day with his sons and his mother, Rob Orbison has a fatal heart attack and dies at the age of 52. During his career, the Caruso of rock n’ roll had 23 Top 40 hits. He had recently regained a huge fan following as a member of The Traveling Wilburys with George Harrison, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, and Jeff Lynne. Orbison’s new album, Mystery Girl, is completed posthumously and released in January 1989.

December 6, 1994: Tower Records released Live At The BBC, a 69-track compilation of Beatles songs recorded for shows like Top Gear, Easy Beat, the Saturday Club, and Pop Go The Beatles. The double-album set goes straight to #1 in the UK, selling 600,000 copies by the end of the year, and 2,000,000 in the US four weeks later.

Born On This Day

December 6, 1943: Mike Smith, lead singer of Paul Revere & The Raiders, is born in Edmonton, North London, England.

And that is it for this fine Sunday from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge.

The British Are Coming! Our Album of The Week’s Final Airing, and “Live Dead” Later, Saturday, December 5, 2020

Good Morning, Music Lovers! It’s once again time for a visit from the bands and singers who brought you The British Invasion, one of the absolute best times in all of music. We have it here today from The Mermaid Lounge.

The Rolling Stones.

Here’s today’s line-up!

11:00 a.m. The British Invasion: Various Artists

We’ve got more than five hours of some of the best music on the planet, uninterrupted save for a couple of station ID’s along the way. Hear The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Petula Clark, Lulu, Dusty Springfield, The Kinks, The Who, The Zombies, The Dave Clark Five, Gerry & The Pacemakers, and many more.

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Wreckless Abandon by The Dirty Knobs

We bid a fond farewell to Mike Campbell and his band as this is our final airing for this cycle. Don’t miss it. It is indeed like hearing old friends. Tomorrow, we’ll have a brand new Album of The Week.

10:00 p.m. Live Dead! The Grateful Dead Live at The Capitol Center, Landover, Maryland, September 25, 1976 (aka, Dick’s Picks Volume 20) NEW!

Yet another brand new outing from the world’s preeminent jam band, this one from The Capitol Center in Landover.

Tune us in, people. This is a solid day of programming guaranteed to please. No advertising. No political speeches. No news to speak of except for music news. No credit card or personal information required. Just click the damned link below, already.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

It’s Saturday Morning in the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/5/2020

Good Morning, Music Trivia Buffs! Here we are at the proverbial weekend. Today will be my final day of retail servitude for a couple of days and I’m very much looking forward to being a full-time DJ once again.

The late great singer-songwriter J.J. Cale, who gave us the Tulsa sound. You’ll be hearing him later this coming week.

Here’s today’s lesson:

December 5, 1964: The Zombies’ debut single, She’s Not There, tops the Cashbox Best Sellers Chart. It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it peaked at #12 in the UK.

December 5, 1965: The Beatles played their final gig in their own hometown of Liverpool. On December 5, 1980, John Lennon called his Aunt Mimi saying he was homesick and was planning a trip back home. On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed.

December 5, 1968: An actual, real-life banquet was held for the launch of the Rolling Stones album Beggars Banquet. It ended abruptly at the (unplanned) pie-throwing fight.

December 5, 1969: Badfinger released Come And Get It, written by Paul McCartney. It is the first hit on Apple Records that is not from The Beatles.

Also on this day, the Rolling Stones release my absolute favorite Stones album, Let It Bleed, loaded with great songs including Gimme Shelter (this could be my favorite Stones song ever) and Midnight Rambler. The title might have been prophetic. The next day, a fan is killed during their performance at the Altamont Speedway.

December 5, 1975: Fleetwood Mac’s tenth album is certified Gold, and will eventually go Platinum. This is the first album of the post-Peter Green era (my preferred version of Fleetwood Mac). John McVie, Mick Fleetwood and Christine McVie are all there. The newcomers are Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham. The band’s singles cracks Billboard Top 40 for the first time. They are Rhiannon, Over My Head, and Say You Love Me.

December 5, 1976: Three days after surviving an assassination attempt, Bob Marley performs at the Smile Jamaica Festival, which he organized to promote peace in his country. It is estimated that 80,000 Jamaican’s attend the festival. Marley does a 90-minute set.

December 5, 1980: John Lennon gives his final interview to Jonathan Cott of Rolling Stone magazine. You know the rest, sadly.

Born On This Day

December 5, 1912: Legendary bluesman Sonny Boy Williamson was born Alex Miller in Tallahachie County, Mississippi.

December 5, 1932: Richard Wayne Penniman, later know to the world as Little Richard, was born in Macon, Georgia.

December 5, 1938: Singer-songwriter J.J. Cale, who brought us the Tulsa sound, was born John Weldon Cale in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

December 5, 1947: Jim Messina (Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and Loggins & Messina) was born in Maywood, California.

And that is it for today from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge here in The Mermaid Lounge.

It’s an Open Stream Friday All Day Until The Beatles and The Shadow Drop By, Friday, December 4, 2020

Good Morning, Musicologists! We have a planned server upgrade today, so we will be Open Streaming right up until this evening when The Beatles and The Shadow drop by.

Here’s today’s line-up:

All Day Open Stream Friday with Three-in-a-Row’s!

We have an all-day Open Stream. Whatever the Streaming Mermaid picks up is what will play. We’re circulating 26,000+ songs all day. No two days ever sound the same here in The Mermaid Lounge.

7:00 p.m. The Beatles: The Endgame

The endgame battles of the Fab Four are legendary, but they continued to make outstanding music right up until the end, and they resolved their personal issues over time. What they contributed to rock music far outweighs their personal issues. This is the third and final portion of our Beatles Retrospective series.

10:00 p.m. The Shadow: Aboard The Steamship Amazon

Our final airing of this week’s episode of The Shadow. We got off to a late start with the opening of the show this week, but next week, The Shadow airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Watch the schedule!

This is a good day to tune us in and get the flavor for what our music and programming is all about. Tomorrow, we kick off some new playlists, and new artists in our general rotation as we prepare for The Winter of Our Discontent.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

More Details From The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/4/2020

Good Morning, Music Trivialists! We here at the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge draw from our own archive of totally useless information and pour over various electronic sources to bring this to you every day. As you may expect, some sites differ from others about locations of events, timing, etc. Needless to say, research, critical thinking and weed is required to complete this task.

The Million Dollar Quartet: Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Here’s today’s lesson!

December 4, 1956: Elvis Presley stopped by Sun Studios unexpectedly to find Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash watching Carl Perkins in the studio. The four would tape several songs together on that day, but it would be 25 years before that day would be immortalized on vinyl as The Million Dollar Quartet.

December 4, 1964: The Beatles release their fourth album, Beatles For Sale, which spends 11 weeks as the #1 album in the UK.

December 4, 1965: Turn, Turn, Turn would give The Byrds their second consecutive #1 hit, following up Mr. Tambourine Man.

December 4, 1969: President Richard M. Nixon, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew and forty governors spend the day watching simulated acid trips and listening to rock music to help them understand the “generation gap.” We have been led by idiots for a very long fucking time.

December 4, 1971: Don MacLean’s eight-minute epic, American Pie, enters Billboard’s Hot 100. Before all is said and done, it will sell 3 million copies. To this day, it remains one of the most analyzed and debated songs in music history.

Also on this day, Sly & The Family Stone’s Family Affair begins a three-week run at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. This will be their third and final #1 and their last song in the top 10 before the band implodes under the weight of personal issues, and falls apart. Too bad. They were a great band.

Led Zeppelin also began a two-week stint at the top of the UK Album chart with the Four Symbols album, which includes Stairway To Heaven. The album will eventually sell 11 million copies and remained on the US charts for nearly five years.

December 4, 1980: Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones announce that Led Zeppelin will not continue on after the death of drummer John Bonham.

December 4, 1982: A retrospective album of John Lennon’s solo work called The John Lennon Collection, started a six-week run at #1 on he UK Album chart. The front and back covers were shot by Annie Liebovitz on December 8, 1980, just five hours before John Lennon’s murder.

December 4, 1987: Alison Krauss, just sixteen years old, releases her debut album, Too Late To Cry, with her backing band, Union Station.

December 4, 1988: Roy Orbison (aka, Lefty Wilbury) plays his final gig at The Front Row Theater in Akron, Ohio. Orbison dies of a heart attack two days later.

Born On This Day

December 4, 1942: Chris Hillman, of The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and the Desert Rose Band, was born in Los Angeles.

December 4, 1944: Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys was born in Inglewood, California.

And that, my friends, is as they say — all the news that’s fit to print because there are a lot of singers we simply don’t give a shit about here in The Mermaid Lounge.

More From The Beatles, Album of The Week, and Linda Ronstadt Live in My Town on Thursday, December 3, 2020

It’s another great day of music from The Mermaid Lounge: Just enough programming and plenty of Open Stream as we chug on toward a weekend of new music playlists!

Linda Ronstadt performs on stage in Boston with Valerie Carter (1995).

Here’s today’s line-up:

11:00 a.m. The Beatles: The Transformation

I guess I could have come up with a better title for this playlist, but it was hard for me to describe the giant leap The Beatles took from Rubber Soul onward. It was gigantic. This was undoubtedly their most creative and experimental time as a musical group in their writing and in the studio. George Martin was no small part of that endeavor.

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Wreckless Abandon by The Dirty Knobs

Time is winding down on this week’s Album of The Week. We’ve got one more chance for you to acquaint yourselves with The Dirty Knobs before we move on to a brand new selection on Sunday!

7:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt Live at The Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA, May 14, 1995

The photo above isn’t the best, but good photos of this show are very hard to come by. I was there, and this was undoubtedly one of the most amazing shows I’ve ever seen Linda Ronstadt perform. She was helped by friend Valerie Carter, who also opened for her. You don’t get the opportunity to see two great singers on stage together very often. I, luckily, did. (By the way, if you’re not familiar with Valerie Carter, you should make it a point to become familiar. We love her here in The Mermaid Lounge.)

Tune us in. Grease your wheels. This weekend we’ve got some brand new playlists coming up, along with some new live shows. We’ve been out there hunting, and all of this will carry over into the winter of our discontent. Hopefully, #BecomeUngovernable Radio can be an oasis in this vast wasteland.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

Another Early Morning Lesson From The Mermaid Lounge: 12/3/2020

Good Morning, Students! Here we are again with a lesson in rock n’ roll history from the College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge. We’re not as active as some days today, but we do pick and choose our subjects here. There are a lot of people we don’t give a flying fuck about, like Madonna. JayZ. Lady GaGa. Kanye West, the waste of musical space, and so on.

Tom Petty’s final shows. Ever.

And now, today’s lesson:

December 3, 1955: Elvis Presley’s first release on RCA Victor Records was announced. The first two were purchased from Sam Phillips at Sun Records, Mystery Train and I Forgot To Remember To Forget.

December 3, 1961: Brian Epstein makes his first pitch to become The Beatles’ manager. Although the meeting goes well, there is no decision on this day.

December 3, 1965: Keith Richards cuts it close. He steps on a microphone cable and is electrocuted and knocked unconscious during a Stones concert in Sacramento. After a short break, Richards is able to come back and play.

Also on this day, The Beatles release the album Rubber Soul and the single Nowhere Man in the UK.

December 3, 1966: Paul Revere & The Raiders had their sixth Billboard Top 40 hit enter the Top 100. Good Thing will climb the charts and eventually reach #4, It stays on the charts for ten weeks.

December 3, 1968: It’s a Banner Day for Gold Records: The Grass Roots song Midnight Confessions is certified Gold on this day; and the albums Aretha Now by Aretha Franklin and Fresh Cream by Cream are certified Gold as well.

The Montreux Casino caught fire and burned during a show by Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention. The event is immortalized in the song Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple. Deep Purple was supposed to begin working on their Machine Head album the following day.

December 3, 1976: Bob Marley narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. Seven gunmen sprayed bullets into his Kingston, Jamaica, home where he and the Wailers were rehearsing. Marley had become unpopular in some circles due to his influence over some local politicians. He moved to Florida a short time after the incident.

December 3, 2003: The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) gave Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers a Diamond Award, markng the sale of 10 million copies of their Greatest Hits album in the U.S.

Born On This Day

There’s really only one person mentioned that we give a shit about here.

December 3, 1947: John Wilson, drummer for Them, was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

It’s Another (Mostly) Open-Stream Wednesday With Warren Zevon In The Spotlight, and The Shadow Coming Up Later, on December 2, 2020

Good Morning, Musicologists! Here we are with another (Mostly) Open-Stream Wednesday where we circulate 26,000+ songs every day, including Three-in-Rows, for your listening pleasure.

Warren Zevon, no ordinary singer-songwriter.

Here’s is your mid-week line-up!

All Day Open Stream: Circulating 26,000+ Songs With Three-in-a-Row Interludes!

We’ve got our library wide open and streaming right up until our first bit of programming for the day! You’ll hear three-in-a-row’s from your favorites as you stream through the day.

6:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Warren Zevon

Today we put Warren Zevon’s considerable musical talents In The Spotlight. He wasn’t just a songwriter; he was also a hell of a performer. Warren’s demons notwithstanding (drugs, alcohol, partying, and the resulting blackouts), Zevon managed to put together an incredible musical career. We love this guy’s music in The Mermaid Lounge.

9:00 p.m. The Shadow, Episode 1: Aboard The Steamship Amazon NEW!

Today we kick off our Winter Suspense Series with The Shadow. Find out what happens to the unsuspecting passengers upon the luxury cruise ship Amazon, which is being used to smuggle munitions for a band of revolutionaries. We’re certainly not going to tell you. You’re going to have to tune it in.

If you tune us in early, you’ll certainly get more than a flavor for what we’re all about musically. We are free. No strings. No credit card required, and no personal information requested.

www.tinyurl.com/Ungovernable-Radio

It’s Mid-Week at The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge: 12/2/2020

School is never out here in The Mermaid Lounge. We are here every day giving you all the news that’s fit to print. Of course, you know we post early for Wednesdays as retail slavery starts early.

Taj Mahal 1968, one of our favorites here in The Mermaid Lounge.

Here’s today’s lesson:

December 2, 1957: Sam Cooke proves third time’s a charm when You Send Me becomes his first hit on the Billboard Pop chart.

December 2, 1962: The Beatles are the opening act for a gentleman named Frank Ifield. However, contrary to his calm crooning style, the Fab Four were pounding out blistering rock n’ roll, prompting some in the crowd to tell them to “turn it down.”

December 2, 1963: Roy Orbison released the single “Pretty Paper.”

Also on this day, the Beatles performed This Boy, All My Loving, and I Want To Hold Your Hand for the UK’s Morecambe & Wise Show.

December 2, 1967: Gladys Knight & The Pips hit #1 on the R & B chart with a remake of Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through The Grapevine.

Also on this day, Donovan had one of the hottest songs on the charts with Wear Your Love Like Heaven.

December 2, 1968: The Bee Gees released the song I Started A Joke. They made some fine fucking music before turning disco. After that? Nah.

December 2, 1969: George Harrison joined Delaney & Bonnie on stage at Colston Hall in Bristol, England.

Also on December 2, The Rolling Stones stop by Muscle Shoals Recording Studios in Alabama on their way to their ill-fated Altamont show on December 6. There, they record Wild Horses, You Gotta Move, and Brown Sugar over a three-day session.

December 2, 1971: Taj Mahal plays for death row inmates at North Carolina’s Wilmington State Penetentiary.

December 2, 1972: The Temptations’ version of Papa Was a Rolling Stone gives them their fourth US #1 song.

Steely Dan made The Billboard 200 for the first time with their debut album, Can’t Buy A Thrill. The album’s name is taken from a line in the Bob Dylan song, It Takes A Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.

And Cat Stevens’ album, Catch Bull At Four, continued at #1 for a third week. This would also be Cat’s most commercially successful album.

Born On This Day

December 2, 1941: Tom McGuinness, bass guitarist with Manfred Mann, was born in Wimbledon, London, England.

December 2, 1942: Ted Bluechel, drummer for The Association, was born in San Pedro, California.

And that’s it for today from The College of Rock n’ Roll Knowledge!