Category: Acoustic Music

It’s a Busy Saturday in The Mermaid Lounge With Our ‘Folk Music From A-to-Z’ EP, Spanky & Our Gang In the Spotlight, Our AOW, and LIVE DEAD! Later, September 17, 2022

Good Morning, Weekenders! We’ve got a great slate of music for you today here in The Lounge, including a new playlist from the Sixties “sunshine pop” band, Spanky & Our Gang. But they were more than that.

Here’s your Saturday musical landscape:

9:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Electric Music For The Mind and Body by Country Joe & The Fish FINAL AIRING!

We bid a fond farewell to this great piece of psychedelia, one of the first psychedelic albums to come out of San Francisco. Tomorrow, we’ll have a new piece of psychedelia for you. Get this one in today!

11:00 a.m. Folk Music From A-to-Z: Various Artists

We follow up Country Joe with our great folk/folk-rock EP featuring John Prine, Dave Van Ronk, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, Odetta, Cat Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Beatles, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez, The Band, Eric Andersen, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Nanci Griffith, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Lead Belly, Tim Hardin, The Kingston Trio, Simon & Garfunkel, Richie Havens, Jackson Browne, Guy Clark, James Taylor, The Carter Family, Linda Ronstadt, Harry Chapin, Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs, The Stone Poneys and more!

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Spanky & Our Gang NEW!

Pop was a big part of the sixties music scene, and some bands did it better than others. This is one such band. Led by singer Elaine “Spanky” McFarlane, Spanky & Our Gang became known for their amazing harmonies and for a string of hits in both the U.S. and Canada, including Like To Get To Know You, Sunday Will Never Be The Same, Sunday Mornin’, and Lazy Day. But in my mind, the best song they ever made was Give A Damn. You’ll hear all of them and more here tonight.

10:00 p.m. LIVE DEAD! The Grateful Dead Live at The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, New York, June 24, 1970

We last aired this concert in 2019, so it’s definitely like brand new. When you tool around the Internet, you’ll see people saying this was their best live performance ever. Others say their Cornell University concert was the best. Beauty is in the ear of the beholder when it comes to The Dead. But one thing’s for certain: No two concerts are ever the same, even on the same tour.

Great day to give us a listen. We’ve got a lot of people on already this morning from around the globe, including Ireland, the UK, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Australia, Germany, Japan, Russian Federation, Spain, Kansas, California, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York. Get with it, people. We’re totally free, we don’t accept advertising, and we’re on 24/7. No Joe Rogan either. What’s not to love?

Folk Music From A-to-Z!

Today It’s Music About Being ‘Under The Influence’ With Volume Two of ‘Repeat After Me’ Up Later On, Friday, September 16, 2022

Come on. We’ve all been under the influence at one time or another, whether it be legal or illegal. There’s no shortage of music out there talking about the subject, from John Lee Hooker to Jimi Hendrix. We’ve got it all for you in today’s EP.

Here’s your Friday lineup!

10:00 a.m. Under The Influence: Various Artists

There’s no shortage of songs on this subject, and we’ve got a very eclectic cast of characters here with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Arlo Guthrie, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Donovan, Glenn Frey, John Lee Hooker, Jonathan Edwards, Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt, The Traveling Wilburys, The Temptations, Small Faces, Steely Dan, Talking Heads, The Beatles, Neil Young, New Riders of The Purple Sage, Lynyrd Skynyrd, 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! Enough to fill up just about five hours of fun, both legal and not.

7:00 p.m. Repeat After Me, Volume Two: Various Artists

More of what we began last night at 7:00 p.m. with artists covering each others songs. The Great Reboot, as it were (as opposed to the right-wing Great Reset bullshit). They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the music business is literal proof. We have a third volume in the works.

Before, in between and after we have our great wide Open Stream courtesy of The Music Mermaid. She is in full control and, as you well know, she has great taste in music. Join our friends from Greece, Italy, France, the UK, Russian Federation, Portugal, Spain, Australia, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Kansas, Massachusetts, Texas and Cali. They are all on this busy morning.

Under The Influence

We’re Heading For the Weekend With The Animals, Our ‘Repeat After Me’ Playlist, and Our Album of The Week, Thursday, September 15, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! We’re on the downslide to the weekend this morning, and we’ve got some great programming on the way!

We’ve got that great British blues-rock band, The Animals, In the Spotlight to start it all off!

Here’s Thursday’s lineup:

11:00 a.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of The Animals

Nothing like a little Eric Burdon & The Animals to get the blood boiling early. Truly one of the most influential bands in the early days of blues-rock and part of The British Invasion. We love them here in The Mermaid Lounge. We give you this from a book on the subject:

The Animals, thanks in large part to Eric Burdon’s powerful, gritty vocals, were one of the most authentic-sounding rhythm and blues revival groups of the British Invasion. The band was also one of the few First Wave acts to make a successful transition from mainstream pop to progressive rock in the late 1960s.

Survey of American Popular Music
by Frank Hoffmann and modified for the web by Robert Birkline

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Electric Music for The Mind and Body by Country Joe & The Fish

We’re on our next-to-last airing of this great psychedelic masterpiece. Saturday will be our final farewell as we move into a brand new psychedelic selection on Sunday.

7:00 p.m. Repeat After Me, Volume One: Various Artists

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and music provides plenty of proof. In this particular volume of Repeat After Me, you’ll hear Aretha Franklin sing Carole King, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers sing The Animals, Tracy Nelson sing Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris sing Simon & Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt sing Tom Petty, The Beatles sing Barrett Strong, and on and on. It’s a great concept because you get to hear the original and the reboot! Volume Two is tomorrow, and Volume Three is in the works!

This is a fine day to join the fun here in The Mermaid Lounge. We have programming for sure, but the bulk of our day is spent on our wide Open Stream of 27,000+ songs. It’s a challenge to hear a repeat any time during the week. Give us a shot. We’re also completely free, no surprises, no strings.

Repeat After Me returns!

We’re at The Midweek Point with Our ‘Are You Ready for The Country’ EP and The Band ‘Live’ in Asbury Park Later, Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We begin the day just a bit early as it is Truck Day in ACE Hardware retail land. But we will have control of the music we have to listen to, and it’ll be right here.

They started as Dylan’s back-up band and became one of the most influential bands in popular music history. And they are most certainly a Mermaid Lounge favorite.

Here’s your midweek line-up:

10:00 a.m. Are You Ready for The Country: Various Artists

We’re back with our tribute to real country music (not bad pop bands with fiddles, as Tom Petty calls the pretenders), and the Laurel Canyon crowd who were instrumental in the development of country-rock. You’ll hear Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, The Byrds, Gram Parsons, Pure Prairie League, Asleep at The Wheel, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, The Marshall Tucker Band, Jerry Jeff Walker, Mudcrutch, The Band, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Bonnie Raitt, Glen Campbell, Rosanne Cash, Dan Fogelberg, New Riders of The Purple Sage, John Prine and more!

7:00 p.m. The Band Live at The Casino Arena, Asbury Park, New Jersey, July 20, 1976

As Robbie Robertson explains, they wound up with their name because that’s what everyone referred to them as when they were recording in the early years. From their beginnings as Dylan’s back-up band, The Band became one of the most revered and influential bands in music history. We here in The Mermaid Lounge love The Band. They are in our top three. Guess who the other two are.

One more day on the front lines of retail hell coming up. We had a totally unhinged woman with a paintbrush up her ass come in yesterday. It was a thing of beauty. We’re going to see if we caught her tirade on camera. But hey, it’s a new day and we’ve got great music on tap.

Are you ready?

It’s Tuesday Bluesday with Our ‘Best of Chicago Blues’ EP and ‘Live’ Johnny Winter Bringing Up The Rear, September 13, 2022

Good Morning, Bluesologists! Here we are again in the midst of another Tuesday Bluesday! Today we take a trip to Chicago for some blues.

We start off Tuesday Bluesday with our big, bad Chicago blues EP!

Here’s today’s musical landscape:

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

We travel to Chicago for a dose of the blues with Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, Albert King, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, Lowell Fulson, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Magic Slim, Son Seals, Sonny Boy Williamson, James Cotton, Paul Butterfield, Elmore James, Jimmy Reed, Otis Spann and more!

7:00 p.m. Johnny Winter Live at The Bottom Line, New York City, NY, September 5, 1978

One of the best bluesmen of all time here, albeit a bit overlooked at times. Winter was not only a great blues guitarist and singer, known for his high-energy blues albums and live performances in the late 60s and 70s, but he also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for the great Muddy Waters.

9:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Electric Music for The Mind and Body, Country Joe & The Fish

We close out the day’s programming outside the realm of the blues with one of the first psychedelic albums to come out of San Francisco.

Tuesday Bluesday in The Mermaid Lounge is always a great take, so why not join us today. If you’ve never experienced #BecomeUngovernable Radio before, this would be a great day to start. We’re on with our friends from around the world already. Join us. We’re totally free and ask for no information. The only requirement is curiosity, a computer, a free tab and the will to switch to a better music source.

Welcome to Tuesday Bluesday!

Monday Brings Two ‘Live’ Gigs, One From Hot Tuna and One From Mudcrutch, Later It’s Open Stream With Trifectas, September 12, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! Monday has reared its head here in The Mermaid Lounge and I’ve got a morning mission of mercy on tap. The Music Mermaid, however, is here to take care of our musical musings for the day.

Here’s your musical landscape today:

12:00 p.m. Hot Tuna Live at Sweetwater, Mill Valley, CA, January 27-28, 1992

It’s been a minute since we’ve heard this one, so step right up and get yourself some live acoustic blues from a great band that knows how to deliver.

4:00 p.m. Mudcrutch Live at The Fonda Theatre, Hollywood, CA, June 26, 2016

Speaking of great bands, we’ve got the tour I deeply regret missing when it pulled into Boston’s House of Blues where the definitive live version of Hungry No More was recorded. I haven’t yet gotten over my short-sightedness on this one. It is a Monday and this is Mudcrutch and, while I’m not declaring it Mudcrutch Monday, it technically is. I felt the need to say that.

After Mudcrutch, it’s wide Open Stream with the Mermaid in charge. I hear she’s got some unannounced Trifectas planned, so I’d better leave it that way. She says you’re just going to have to listen to find out who’s on tap at the top of selected hours. Some of them are new. But my lips are sealed.

Monday, Monday.

We Begin Delving Into the World of Psychedelic Music With Our AOW, and Then The Women of Music Take Over, Sunday, September 11, 2022

Good Morning, Psychedelic Music Lovers! We’ll delve into the world of psychedelic music over the next few weeks with our Album of The Week. We start it off with Country Joe & The Fish!

Today we take a mind-expanding trip into psychedelic music!

Here’s your musical lineup for Sunday:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Electric Music For the Mind and Body by Country Joe & The Fish NEW!

Country Joe & The Fish’s debut album was released in May of 1967, and was one of the very first psychedelic music albums to come out of San Francisco. We include the write up from DiscoverMusic below:

An early 1967 release, Country Joe And The Fish’s debut album opened up all kinds of possibilities: heady jams, poetic ballads, free-form ragas and even a taste of political satire. Because Joe McDonald was a songwriter first, the whole album is wrapped in a tuneful package. The closing “Grace” is a romantic epic in honour of Grace Slick (Janis Joplin would get similar treatment on the follow-up album).

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/best-psychedelic-albums/

Songs from the LP made it to the airwaves of progressive radio stations like KSAN and KMPX in San Francisco, and I distinctly remember listening to Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine on Boston’s WMEX back in the day. I managed to catch Country Joe live at Boston Garden as well.

3:00 p.m. Ladies Day Out: Various Artists

Starting mid-afternoon, the ladies of music take over the lounge and what a line-up it is with Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Emmylou Harris, Carly Simon, Chrissie Hynde, Petula Clark, Laura Nyro, Cilla Black, Irma Thomas, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Carole King, Maria Muldaur, Lucinda Williams, 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, Valerie Carter and more!

It’ a keep-it-simple Sunday here in The Lounge. The Music Mermaid is fully in charge today pushing out the great mind-expanding sounds for our friends from Germany, the UK, Chile, Finland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Japan, the Faroe Islands, Texas, Kansas and New York this morning. Why not join us?

Tune in. Turn on. Drop out.

It’s One of Those Saturdays With Our AOW, The ‘A Little Bit O’ Soul’ EP, Some ‘Live’ Magnolia Sisters, and LIVE DEAD! September 10, 2022

Good Morning! There is no shortage of great music lined up today, including a visit from the Magnolia Sisters, an all-female Cajun band featuring Ann Savoy.

The Magnolia Sisters pay us a visit today here in The Mermaid Lounge!

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Album of The Week: First Take by Roberta Flack FINAL AIRING!

We start a bit early today with the final airing of our Album of The Week, First Take by Roberta Flack. This album is viewed as one of the greatest R & B albums of all time, so get on board while you can. Tomorrow we’ll have a new selection!

11:00 a.m. A Little Bit O’ Soul: Various Artists

One of our favorite EP’s here in The Lounge. This is an all-encompassing tribute to soul and R & B that includes more than just Motown. You’ll hear Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Ronettes, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Jimmy Ruffin, The Drifters, Chuck Berry, Stevie Wonder, Carla Thomas, James Brown, The Shirelles, Etta James, Curtis Mayfield, Sam & Dave, The Staple Singers, Nina Simone, LaVern Baker, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Sam Cooke, Edwin Starr, Fontella Bass, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Irma Thomas and more!

7:00 p.m. The Magnolia Sisters Live at The Simi Valley Cajun & Blues Festival, Simi Valley, CA, May 23, 2015

This is one sweet band, led by Ann Savoy who teamed up with Linda Ronstadt as the ZoZo Sisters for the great album, Adieu False Heart. The Savoys have a long history of traditional Cajun music and it shows. This is a totally captivating musical genre, and these women have it down cold. We are currently on the hunt for more of their stuff and will be adding it to our rotation very soon.

10:00 p.m. LIVE DEAD! The Grateful Dead Live at The Zoo Amphitheater, Oklahoma City, OK, September 2, 1985

We have another repeat performance here, but we haven’t aired this one since 2020, so it’ll be like brand new. Would it matter? If you’re a true Deadhead, you’re open to listening over and over and over and over…

Well, Weekenders, here we are again kicking off a two-day reprieve from the teeming masses of consuming humanity (all except for me; I’ve got one more day to go). What better way to go? Today, it’ll be musical mutiny in the workplace after the boss leaves. We’ll be flipping on #BecomeUngovernable Radio. After all, the only things I need are a computer, a free tab and a mouse. We’re on.

Saturday in The Lounge!

It’s Friday and We’ve Got Our ‘Ode To Morning’ EP and Jeff Lynne’s ELO In The Spotlight Later, September 9, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! Here we are again at the end of another work week (almost, if you’re a retail slave), and we’re getting you through with some great music today.

Later tonight we have the music of Jeff Lynne’s ELO In the Spotlight!

Here’s your music for today:

11:00 a.m. Ode To Morning: Various Artists

Looking out my window here in The Mermaid Lounge, it’s a beautiful morning. And what better way to kick off the programming today than with our ‘Ode to Morning’ EP. You’ll hear Joni Mitchell, The Move, Fleetwood Mac, Foreigner, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Nina Simone, 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!

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra

We have not heard this one for a while now, and we’re happy to be airing this tonight. We give you former Petty producer and lifetime Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne’s primary music project by putting ELO In the Spotlight.

We could go on and on this morning, but we won’t. All we’ll say is that we have listeners from around the world on here every day: Germany, Greece, Italy, Peru, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Japan, Russian Federation, as well as Kansas, Cali, New Hampshire and Wisconsin on this morning. We’re totally free 24/7 with no commercial interruption. Done here.

It’s a beautiful morning…

We’re On the Downslide to The Weekend With The Wallflowers, Our Album of The Week, and ‘Live’ Bonnie Raitt, Thursday, September 8, 2022

Yes, folks, we’re heading for the weekend with some great music today. We’ve got Jakob Dylan & The Wallflowers In the Spotlight to start things off, Bonnie Raitt to close them out, and Roberta Flack’s AOW in between. What could be better?

Here’s today’s musical landscape:

11:00 a.m. In The Spotlight: Jakob Dylan & The Wallflowers

And some Jakob Dylan without The Wallflowers as well. Bob’s boy is no slouch. He comes from great genetic stock when it comes to being a singer-songwriter. Today we put him and his mates front and center to start it all off.

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: First Take by Roberta Flack

This will be our next-to-last airing of this great R & B album by Roberta Flack. This seems to be on everyone’s list of the best R & B albums ever made, and rightfully so. Give it a listen before it goes away. Saturday will be the final airing. Time TBD.

7:00 p.m. Bonnie Raitt Live In Studio: The Wonderland Tape, Vara Studios, Hilversum, The Netherlands, August 5, 1977

Enjoy this early Bonnie Raitt outing, a rare copy of the original tape complete with raw material, some of which was used for broadcast on Dutch television. This is a mono recording, but should captivate any Bonnie Raitt fan.

Kick back and enjoy some music from The Mermaid Lounge. You’re always in good hands here with The Music Mermaid in charge. She’s got her shit together. (At least musically.) We’re on 24/7 totally free and uninterrupted by commercial advertising of any kind. We’re all about the music.

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