Category: Acoustic Music

It’s Tuesday Bluesday With The Blues Project and The Robert Cray Band with Stevie Ray Vaughan on October 18, 2022

Good Morning, Blues Lovers! We have got a dandy lined up today with The Blues Project doing a ‘live’ gig in Central Park and SRV out there with The Robert Cray Band. In between, it’s our AOW.

Here’s your Tuesday Bluesday line-up:

11:00 a.m. The Blues Project Reunion in Central Park, New York, October 24, 1973

This reunion, recorded at the Schaefer Festival in 1973 is amazing, in light of their nasty break-up six years prior. The band that helped pioneer blues-rock included Andy Kulberg, Roy Blumenfeld, the great Al Kooper, Steve Katz and Danny Kalb. They were all on the same page for this one and, if there was any acrimony remaining, it certainly didn’t show.

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Their Satanic Majesties Request by The Rolling Stones

We interrupt our blues programming for a bit of psychedelia from The Stones with the second airing of our Album of The Week. Funny thing is, the Rolling Stones are steeped in the blues, so there is a symmetry here.

7:00 p.m. The Robert Cray Band with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Club Redux, Dallas, TX, January 21, 1987

Two blues greats on stage at Club Redux in Dallas. What is not to love here?

Another Tuesday Bluesday rolls around. We expect our usual full house today, and it also marks the first time we’ve had listeners from Iran tune us in. It’s always one of our busiest days in The Lounge. You should give us a try. Hell, we won’t cost you a thing but a little bit of time. We’re totally free and we are on air 24/7, not just when we have programming scheduled. That’s because we have The Music Mermaid running the show here.

It’s Tuesday Bluesday!

Monday is Back and So Are We With The Temptations In the Spotlight, Some ‘Live’ Badfinger, and a Repeat Performance of Our New Singer-Songwriter Series, October 17, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! Another work week rolls around, but we’ve got you covered musically. We have a second airing of our first Singer-Songwriter feature with Paul Simon. We’ll be airing these on Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m. and will repeat them at different time slots a couple of times during the week.

One of Motown’s finest, The Temptations, are In the Spotlight to start our programming.

Here’s Monday’s lineup:

11:00 a.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of The Temptations

The Temptations hailed from Detroit, Michigan, and had an amazing string of hits for the fabled Motown Records during the sixties and seventies. They originated the ‘psychedelic soul’ genre with their Cloud Nine album.

3:00 p.m. Badfinger Live at The Cowtown Auditorium, Kansas City, MO, April 7, 1972

Truly the one band signed by Apple Records that had star power. Under the guidance of the Beatles, Badfinger delivered the goods, resulting in an amazing string of hits. Unfortunately, Apple Records eventually fell apart, and this forced Badfinger out from under the Beatles’ wing. This is where the band’s demise began, eventually resulting in the suicide of Pete Ham who had become the heart and soul of Badfinger. It should be noted that Ham had exhibited deteriorating mental health before this stress occurred, but it certainly didn’t help. He would not be the last member of Badfinger to commit suicide. Their story is told here. Badfinger is definitely a Mermaid Lounge favorite.

7:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: Paul Simon

The second airing of the first airing of our new Saturday night feature on singer-songwriters. We will run these a few times during the week at different times. The debut show features Paul Simon, an artist whose career spans six decades.

It’s the beginning of the week, and you might need a boost to get yourselves going. We’re on 24/7 at absolutely no cost to you. We have no “joining fees,” no “subscription” requirements or any financial surprises coming your way. We are all about the music.

Monday, Monday. Sigh.

It’s Sunday In the Lounge and We’ve Got the Rolling Stones With The AOW, and Our ‘Under The Influence’ EP, October 16, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! We are back in the lounge for another Sunday, technically a day of rest unless you’re The Music Mermaid who is on duty 24/7. We’ve got some great programming planned for you all today!

What exactly do you think they’re smoking here?

Here’s your psychedelic lineup:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Their Satanic Majesties Request NEW!

Here we have The Rolling Stones with their 6th British and 8th American studio album released by Decca Records in December of 1967. The band moved away from its R & B roots and experimented with psychedelic sounds and instruments (Mellotron, sound effects, African rhythms, among others) and produced the album themselves. It too a while as their production was interrupted by drug use, court appearances and jail terms by members of the group. They managed, however, to make a very different album but still sound like The Rolling Stones.

3:00 p.m. Under The Influence: Various Artists

This EP and the Album of The Week managed to just fall together nicely today as we present our long-player of mind-altering substances. Next to love and heartbreak, substance use was probably the favorite topic for music. Some of it was legal; a lot of it not. You’ll hear Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Arlo Guthrie, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Donovan, Glen Frey, John Lee Hooker, Jonathan Edwards, Linda Ronstadt, Little Feat, The Traveling Wilburys, The Temptations, Small Faces, Steely Dan, Talking Heads, The Beatles, Neil Young, New Riders of The Purple Sage, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Velvet Underground, The Rolling Stones, Dave Van Ronk, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Jackson Browne, Steve Winwood, Led Zeppelin, Harry Chapin, The Band, The Fraternity of Man and more!

It’s a great day to tune in, turn on, and drop out as a famous counterculture hero once suggested. After all, it’s a day of rest. If you believe in The Big Guy, he even took a day off. And it was Sunday. So, hell, why not? We’re all waiting for you here in The Mermaid Lounge.

Tune in. Turn on. Drop out.

Saturday Brings Our ‘Are You Ready For The Country’ EP, the Final Airing of Our AOW, and Our New Singer-Songwriter Series, October 15, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! We start the day by announcing a new series revolving around singer-songwriters, some of them travel in pairs (Lennon-McCartney, John-Taupin, and some go solo, like James Taylor and Bob Dylan). To accommodate our new series, we are taking a break from our LIVE DEAD! broadcast. But fear not, we’ll move Dead concerts into the regular programming rotation.

We kick off our new Singer-Songwriter Series tonight at 10:00 p.m.

Here’s today’s line-up:

11:00 a.m. Are You Ready for The Country: Various Artists

Once again, we pay homage to the pioneers of the country-rock genre and also to the artists of real country music (not bad pop bands with fiddles). You’ll hear from Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, The Byrds, Gram Parsons, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Pure Prairie League, Asleep at The Wheel, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Marshall Tucker Band, Jerry Jeff Walker, Mudcrutch, The Band, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Glen Campbell, Rosanne Cash, Dan Fogelberg, New Riders of The Purple Sage, John Prine, The Desert Rose Band and more!

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Gris-Gris by Dr. John FINAL AIRING!

This is the final day for Gris-Gris, Dr. John’s debut album combining New Orleans R & B with Psychedelic Voodoo. Tomorrow when you roll out of bed, we’ll have a new psychedelic album!

10:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriters: The Music of Paul Simon NEW!

We put LIVE DEAD! on hiatus for a while and begin our series on Singer-Songwriters in this broadcast hour. You’ll be hearing from some of our regulars, but there’ll be some new additions as well. Every Saturday night at 10:00 p.m. We begin to night with the music of Paul Simon, both as a member of Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist.

It’s a Mermaid Lounge Saturday and we begin a new feature this week. We hope you’ll give us a shot and tune us in. We’re totally free every single day of the week, no joining fees, no “subscriptions” required, no personal information asked for, and no surprises. Just push the button below.

Singer-Songwriter Debuts!

We Close Out The Work Week With The Ladies in Charge and With Little Feat ‘Live’ in Boston Later On, Friday, October 14, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We are closing out the week in fine style with the women of music fully in charge during the day and Little Feat bringing up the rear later.

Here’s your musical line-up:

11:00 a.m. Ladies Day Out: Various Artists

Here we are at the end of another work week (unless, of course, you work retail; then it never ends) and we put the ladies completely in charge for five hours. You’ll hear Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, Emmylou Harris, Petula Clark, Valerie Carter, Laura Nyro, Cilla Black, Irma Thomas, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Carole King, Maria Muldaur, Lucinda Williams, Dolly Parton, Rosanne Cash, Eva Cassidy, Wendy Waldman, Shawn Colvin, The Ronettes, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Norah Jones, Phoebe Snow, Nicolette Larson, Sheryl Crow, Dusty Springfield and more!

7:00 p.m. Little Feat Live at The Orpheum Theater, Boston, MA, October 31, 1975

Without a doubt, a Mermaid Lounge favorite, but with Lowell George at the helm. Do I think they were good post-George? Yes. But the notion that there’s a Little Feat without Lowell George is the same for me as the Grateful Dead without Jerry Garcia or The Heartbreakers without Tom Petty.

Before, in between and after we’ve got that great wide Open Stream courtesy of our resident music maven, The Music Mermaid. She has impeccable taste in music, as you well know by now.

The Ladies are On The Loose!

We Close With The Heartbreakers, Open With Linda Ronstadt and Give You Our AOW in Between, Thursday, October 13, 2022

We return with our TP Month special today and give you some vintage ‘live’ Linda Ronstadt circa 1974. In between, Dr. John gives us some psychedelic voodoo.

Here’s today’s musical lineup:

11:00 a.m. Linda Ronstadt Live at My Father’s Place at The Roslyn Hotel, Roslyn, New York, July 21, 1974

This popular Long Island music venue was a decades-long influence on the music world with many artists passing through its doors. Linda Ronstadt was one of them on her journey to becoming the Queen of Rock in the seventies. We have her 1974 show from that venue today.

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Gris-Gris by Dr. John

This album has been described as New Orleans R & B meets Psychedelic Voodoo, and we here in The Mermaid Lounge think that’s a pretty accurate description. Hear it for yourself today!

7:00 p.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at The Paradise, Boston, MA, July 16, 1978

This was the very first time I was introduced to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers ‘live’ anywhere. I spent a lot of my formative years at The Paradise, but this one show stands out quite clearly all these years later. Today we give you the show as it was recorded for airing on Boston’s famous WBCN 104.1 FM radio station (another staple of my youth). This show was in support of the band’s album, You’re Gonna’ Get It.

Come on, folks. It doesn’t get any better than this: Ronstadt and Petty on the same day? Great day to step out of that musical shell and tune us in. We’re totally free. Tune us in and out at any time with no “subscription” requirement. No money changes hands. You’re money is absolutely no good here.

Tom Petty Month!

We Hit Our Midweek Stride With The ‘A Little Bit O’ Soul’ EP and John Prine In the Spotlight, Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Here we are hitting our midweek stride with some great soul and R & B to kickstart your day. We follow that up with John Prine In the Spotlight later.

Here’s today’s programming:

10:00 a.m. A Little Bit O’ Soul: Various Artists

Today we pay homage to all of those soul and R & B artists who made America get off its seat. You’ll hear Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Ronettes, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Jimmy Ruffin, The Drifters, Stevie Wonder, Carla Thomas, James Brown, The Shirelles, Etta James, Curtis Mayfield, Sam & Dave, The Staple Singers, Nina Simone, LaVern Baker, The Supremes, Sam Cooke, Edwin Starr, Fontella Bass, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Irma Thomas, The Box Tops, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, Eddie Floyd, The Ad Libs, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex, Wanda Jackson, Percy Sledge and more!

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

October is a busy month, and the late, great John Prine would have celebrated his birthday on October 10. He is one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time who had a unique wit and perspective on life. We’re celebrating his life today by putting him In The Spotlight.

Before, in between and all night long we’ve got all the non-programming filled in with wide Open Stream under the expert guidance of The Music Mermaid. You know her reputation already: She has impeccable taste in music and is ready to share it with you.

A Little Bit O’ Soul

Welcome to Tuesday Bluesday and Our Big ‘Best of Chicago Blues’ EP, Koko Taylor In the Spotlight, and The AOW to Start It All Off October 11, 2022

Good Morning, Bluesologists! Today we’ve got our big ‘Best of Chicago Blues’ EP along with Koko Taylor, The Queen of The Blues, In the Spotlight later. In between, it’s Dr. John’s AOW.

Here’s your Tuesday Bluesday lineup:

9:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Gris-Gris by Dr. John

The second airing of this great New Orleans R & B meets psychedelic voodoo album is here for your listening pleasure. It may not quite be the blues, but it sets the tone.

11:00 a.m. The Best of Chicago Blues: Various Artists

There’s nothing like a trip to Chicago to catch some blues. Been there on business several times and never failed to find a great venue to visit. You’ll hear from Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, Albert King, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, Lowell Fulson, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Magic Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson, Son Seals, James Cotton, Paul Butterfield, Elmore James, Jimmy Reed, Otis Spann and more!

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Koko Taylor

Koko Taylor’s raw, powerful voice led to her title as Queen of The Blues. Koko was no delicate flower; she was a kic-ass, take-no-prisoners blues vocalist with attitude. And we love her in The Mermaid Lounge and give her the spotlight treatment today.

There’s nothing like Tuesday Bluesday to cut your teeth on a great radio station. We don’t infect the airwaves with commercial advertising or mouthy D.J.’s who like to talk through the first minute of every damned song. Instead, we rely on The Music Mermaid to take us through the day. As you know, she has impeccable taste in music.

Tuesday Bluesday is Back!

We Continue Petty Month With Mudcrutch Monday Madness, Followed by Maria Muldaur and Cream’s Farewell Concert, October 10, 2022

Happy Monday, and welcome to Fuck Christopher Columbus and The Ship He Rode In On day. Be that as it may, we don’t have to celebrate him. We can celebrate great music instead.

Here’s Monday’s musical landscape:

11:00 a.m. Mudcrutch Monday Madness!

We continue on with Tom Petty month by giving you the complete Mudcrutch catalogue this morning. They didn’t make it big as Mudcrutch, but they did morph into Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Later on, Petty would reunite the band and make it count. But just because Mudcrutch wasn’t the main act, it doesn’t mean the music wasn’t fantastic. It was.

3:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Maria Muldaur

Maria Muldaur came out of the Greenwich Village folk music scene and created a career that combined folk, blues and just a little bit of jazz tossed in every once in a while. She was one of the great ensemble singers of the seventies (along with Nicolette Larson, Valerie Carter, Wendy Waldman, and others) that everyone wanted on their records. Like the others, she also had a hefty solo career.

7:00 p.m. Cream, The Farewell Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London, November 26, 1968

Cream’s swan song, recorded live and broadcast via BBC Transmission.

Hey, it’s Monday. There’s no better way to blunt the pain of a returning work week than to listen to some great music. We’re here for you 24/7 and, best of all, we’re free of charge. It’s all about the music. No shit.

Mudcrutch Monday Madness!

Sunday in The Lounge Brings Our ‘Ode To Morning’ EP, Our New AOW, and a Birthday Celebration for John Lennon, October 9, 2022

It’s Sunday here in The Mermaid Lounge and the sun is just coming up over the horizon here and will soon be spilling into the studio. It’s a perfect day to celebrate John Lennon’s birthday.

We wish John Lennon a very happy birthday today! His celebration closes out our programming tonight at 7:00 p.m.

Here’s Sunday’s musical offering:

9:00 a.m. Ode To Morning: Various Artists

We opened the month with our ‘Here Comes The Night’ EP, so it’s only fitting that we continue on with our celebration of morning with Joni Mitchell, The Move, Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Nina Simone, Yusef (Cat Stevens), Hoyt Axton, The Beatles, Neil Young, The Rascals, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, James Taylor, Gram Parsons, Simon & Garfunkel, Taj Mahal, Dan Fogelberg, Harry Chapin, Three Dog Night, Ry Cooder, Tim Buckley, Muddy Waters, Linda Ronstadt, Jonathan Edwards, Townes Van Zandt, Pure Prairie League, Bob Dylan, Chris Hillman, Badfinger and more!

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Gris-Gris by Dr. John NEW!

Here we have Dr. John’s debut album, released on January 22,1968. That’s when Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr. introduced us to his alter-ego (that would be Dr. John), reportedly based on a 19th century voodoo doctor. The rest is history. Dr. John shows us his vision right off the top. This album is a great combination of New Orleans R & B and psychedelia. Fun Fact: The entire album was funded by money that Dr. John and his arranger made on Sonny & Cher sessions!

7:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: John Lennon HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We manage, finally, to pull one of these off on the very day as we celebrate the birthday anniversary of John Winston Ono Lennon, one of the greatest rock n’ rollers of all time and a visionary in his own right. We have music from his days with the Beatles, his solo work and his work with the Plastic Ono Band. Join the birthday celebration tonight.

It’s a day of rest. For those of you who’ve got the religion, remember that even the big guy took a day off. You should as well. The lounge is jumping with listeners this morning from Australia, Greece, Italy, France, the UK, Canada, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and our domestic friends in Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maine, and California. Join the fun!

Happy Birthday, John Lennon!