Category: blues

At Midweek, We Put the Music of New Orleans Front and Center with Our ‘Down In New Orleans’ EP and Dr. John In the Spotlight, January 12, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! We’ve taken our NOLA fetish out of the closet and have put it in the mainstream. It’s no longer just for airing during Mardi Gras week. (And we start a bit early today.)

Not only does New Orleans have great food, but it also has great music!

Here’s your midweek line-up:

10:00 a.m. Down in New Orleans: Various Artists NEW!

We usually dust this playlist off once a year, but that is a thing of the past. Today, we move it into the mainstream after a bit of an updating. It not only features authentic New Orleans music, but highlights the musicians who were born in Louisiana, like Lucinda Williams, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint. In addition to those artists, you’ll hear BeauSoleil, Clifton Chenier, The Neville Brothers, Tony Joe White, Professor Longhair, Irma Thomas (The Soul Queen of New Orleans), Allen Fontenot, Aaron Neville, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Chance Bushman, The Daywalkers, The Boogaloo Swamis, Kermit Ruffins, The Magnolia Sisters, The Meters, Queen Ida & The Bon Temps, Boozoo Chavis, and many more. Chance Bushman and The Daywalkers are local NOLA artists whose music I had the pleasure of hearing during a 2014 trip. The Boogaloo Swamis, oddly enough, were a band we fell in love with here in Boston at a local place called Johnny D’s in Somerville, Massachusetts. We hope you enjoy this extended playlist.

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

We thought we’d make all of the programming a celebration of New Orleans today, and we could think of nobody more deserving of the Spotlight than Dr. John, also known as The Nitetripper. Dr. John was a New Orleans legend whose career spanned decades. He was musically active from the 1950’s up until his death in 2019. His musical style combined New Orleans blues, jazz, funk and R & B.

Before, in between and after our programming, you’ll be treated to our wide Open Stream courtesy of The Music Mermaid. We stream 24/7 at no charge to you whatsoever. We run no commercial advertising, and we do not ask for either a credit card or your personal information. We’re all about the music.

NOLA Rules!

It’s Tuesday Bluesday With Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Allman Brothers Band, and Our Album of The Week, January 11, 2022

Welcome to another Tuesday Bluesday here in The Mermaid Lounge! We’ve got some great blues guitar for you today for sure, with our Album of The Week sandwiched in between!

It’s Tuesday Bluesday in The Lounge!

Here’s your line-up:

11:00 a.m. Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan: In Session

Two great bluesmen in session recorded live for television on December 6, 1983 at CHCH-TV studious in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Barn by Neil Young & Crazy Horse

The second airing of Neil Young’s 41st studio album and 14th with Crazy Horse. They’re still kicking ass after all these years. Give it a listen; it’s a good one, something we’ve come to expect from them.

7:00 p.m. The Allman Brothers Band Live at Woodstock ’94, Saugerties, New York, August 14, 1994

Undoubtedly one of my very favorite bands of all time here, and the grand daddies of Southern rock. This is their performance at Woodstock ’94 (not to be confused with the real Woodstock).

Here we are again with listeners from around the world, including today China, Russian Federation, Portugal, Spain, Germany, the UK, Greece, Iceland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland, and points beyond. Join them, will ya?

Tuesday Bluesday!

The First Tuesday Bluesday of the Year is Upon Us and We’ve Got Johnny Winter and a Blues Trifecta Afternoon, January 4, 2022

Good Morning, Bluesologists! I know that day will come when I’ll write 2021 by mistake. But that’s not today. We’ve got a great Tuesday Bluesday line-up going on today and we hope you’ll join us.

Here’s your Tuesday Bluesday line-up:

11:00 a.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Johnny Winter NEW!

John Dawson Winter III is one of our favorite bluesmen here in The Mermaid Lounge. He’s got his own high-energy blues-rock style. Although not a pure bluesman, Johnny Winter was sought out by other bluesmen and jammed with many, including Muddy Waters, Roy Head and the Traits, Mike Bloomfield, Willie Dixon, and Big Walter Horton. Winter was groundbreaking in many ways and was recognized as one of the best guitarists in the business. You can learn more about him right here. Today, we kick off Tuesday Bluesday by putting him In the Spotlight.

Afternoon Trifectas

We open up the afternoon to Open Stream, but open up each hour from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. with Blues Trifectas!

2:00 p.m. B.B. King

3:00 p.m. Janis Joplin

4:00 p.m. Stevie Ray Vaughan

5:00 p.m. The Allman Brothers Band

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Teaser and the Firecat by Cat Stevens

Tonight we have our second airing of our Album of The Week, and that’s how we close our programming for the day and open up the stream again.

We’re here again in The Mermaid Lounge streaming you the best music money cannot buy every day. That’s because we’re totally free 24/7. We make no profit. We do not accept advertising. We do not require your credit card. And we don’t want your personal information. Know what I mean?

Tuesday Bluesday!

It’s The First Moan-Day of the Year, But We’ll Cheer You With Our ‘Water, Water Everywhere’ EP and Valerie Carter In the Spotlight, January 3, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! Yes. It’s the very first Monday of 2022 and, unfortunately, I’m working on my day off due to a COVID outbreak. Therefore, I can empathize with you all on this one. But we have got something to cheer you up for sure.

Indeed more than a pretty face. One of the most brilliant singer-songwriters of her generation.

Here’s your Moan-Day, Moan-Day line-up:

12:00 p.m. Water, Water Everywhere: Various Artists

Water makes up 71% of the earth. When I say that to people, they look at me like I’m a loon. Hey, look it up. I’m not making that shit up. So, therefore, it’s only fitting that we bring you this playlist. (Not to mention the fact that it’s been raining here in the Beantown area for the last five days.) You’ll hear Bob Dylan, Valerie Carter, The Band, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, Deep Purple, Bruce Springsteen, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Bruce Hornsby, The Grass Roots, Lindisfarne, Electric Light Orchestra, Gordon Lightfoot, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Mudcrutch, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Tracy Nelson, B.J. Thomas, Al Green, Foo Fighters, and more! Just about five hours of uninterrupted music about water in the title, lyrics, or both.

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Valerie Carter

On this particular count, let’s start off by saying that there are still times when I mention Valerie Carter and people look at me like they’re lost in the ozone. That’s because they are if they don’t know who she is or what she accomplished in her career. I could write a tome here, but I don’t have to. Just read this article instead and you’ll know who she is. Then you can tune this playlist in and understand why she’s a Mermaid Lounge favorite.

Before, in between and after, we are streaming 24/7 free of charge. We don’t ask for a damned thing, except that you give us a spin. Join your friends today from the UK, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Denmark, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Russian Federation, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, and points beyond. All you need to do is click the button below for immediate connection.

Just Push Play

Sunday Brings a Brand New Album of The Week, Our Original Sixties EP, and Plenty of Wide Open Stream, January 2, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We’ve got our Original Sixties EP to bring you through the afternoon and early evening, plus a brand new Album of The Week from Yusuf Islam, also known as the great Cat Stevens!

We bring you the music that inspired the station and the very first playlist we ever built!

Here’s Sunday’s line-up:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Teaser and the Firecat by Cat Stevens (also known as Yusuf Islam) NEW!

This is one of the Cat’s best albums and is undoubtedly one of my favorite albums of all time. I recently read a review of the album where the author stated that Cat Stevens was a “pop” artist at heart. It’s funny how music is in the ears of the beholder. I’ve always viewed Cat Stevens as a folk-rock musician. Labels do not matter, at the end of the day. It’s what you like. On a more somber note, I remember the dark days after the 9-11 attacks, and Cat Stevens being denied entry into the United States because he had converted to Islam. I have a difficult time imagining Cat Stevens as a terrorist. Seriously.

3:00 p.m. The Original Sixties Rotation: Various Artists

This was the very first playlist we ever built back in June of 2017, when we started this up and opened our Facebook page. You’ll hear The Monkees, Sonny & Cher, Mary Wells, Dusty Springfield, Tommy James & The Shondells, The Drifters, The Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Hollies, Buddy Holly, Petula Clark, The Kinks, Neil Diamond, The Band, The Yardbirds, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Searchers, Donovan, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Rivers, and more!

Before, in between, and after, we’ve got that great wide Open Stream where we put you in the capable hands of the Music Mermaid. As you well know, she has impeccable taste in music, and there are days when she simply feels like picking up a playlist or two. Give a listen and see for yourself.

Just click here

Welcome to Tuesday Bluesday With The Blues Project, The Rolling Stones ‘Live’ at The Checkerboard Lounge With Muddy Waters, and Our Album of The Week, December 28, 2021

Happy Tuesday, Bluesologists! We’ve got a couple of ‘live’ blues entries today sandwiched around our Album of The Week. Check it out below!

Here’s your Tuesday Bluesday line-up:

11:00 a.m. The Blues Project: Reunion in Central Park, NY, June 24, 1973 NEW!

The original members of The Blues Project reunited as part of the Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park in 1973 and we’ve got their live performance here for you today. The Schaefer Music Festival was a “thing” back in the day. I believe they had their name on the Bicentennial Concert (Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, among others) here back in 1976 also. That one was held at…wait for it…Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Just a bit of non-essential music history.

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles

An EP in the UK, but a full-blown album here in the U.S. as Capitol Records added their five hit releases from 1967 to create an album of timeless music. If you want to know what five tunes were added, take a look at Sunday’s blog entry, or click on the album image in the right-hand sidebar for all the details on the album!

7:00 p.m. Muddy Waters & The Rolling Stones, Live from The Checkerboard Lounge, Chicago, IL, November 22, 1981

The Stones and Muddy Waters join forces to bring you some great blues classics, like Baby Please Don’t Go, Got My Mojo Workin’, Hoochie Coochie Man and more live from The Checkerboard Lounge. You can get all the details right here about who played in the band, and who sat in, and other songs in their set.

We’re up and running this morning and have some new locations to report, like Indonesia, Iceland, and Finland to go along with Germany, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Russian Federation, the UK, Ireland, and Texas. Yes. Texas. Join the party.

It’s Tuesday Bluesday!

Merry Christmas From The Mermaid Lounge! We’ve Got All Sixties Programming All Day For You, Saturday, December 25, 2021

Hey, but that ain’t all. Before, after and in between we’ve got a 27,000+ song rotation that may or may not be sixties related! But one thing’s for sure, there’s no disco, rap, hip-hop, or head banging heavy metal.

Here’s your Christmas Day line-up:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Big Brother & The Holding Company by Big Brother & The Holding Company FINAL AIRING!

The band’s debut album was recorded over three days in 1966 and released in 1967. After the band’s success at the Monterey Pop festival, their contract was taken over by Columbia. The album was then re-released with the words “featuring Janis Joplin” on the cover. That was the beginning of her meteoric rise before her sad demise. This is our final airing today. Don’t miss it.

2:00 p.m. The Sixties Rotation, Volume Two: Various Artists

The music that inspired me to start this station takes over here and brings you into the evening. You’ll hear The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Buffalo Springfield, The Four Tops, Roy Orbison, The Yardbirds, James Brown, Chuck Berry, The Box Tops, Vanilla Fudge, Sly & The Family Stone, Three Dog Night, The Doors, The Zombies, The Chambers Brothers, The Animals, The Who, The Spencer Davis Group, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, and many more!

10:00 p.m. LIVE DEAD! The Grateful Dead Live at The Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, May 19, 1966

This is a rare repeat here in The Mermaid Lounge, but it hasn’t been aired since right around this time in 2019. It’s as good as new, folks. Another soundboard gem from the world’s premier jam band.

What could be better than spending your Christmas with some great music, and listeners from around the world. We’ve got Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Faroe Islands, Russian Federation, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Ireland, and Germany all on this morning. Give us a shot.

Merry Christmas!

‘Twas The Day Before Christmas and We’re All Still Rocking Here in The Mermaid Lounge, Friday, December 24, 2021

Good Morning, Revelers! Yes, it’s our programming for the day before Christmas and we continue on with the greatest music and programming on the planet. Hang those stockings and rock around the Christmas tree with us!

Hop aboard The Psychedelic Express with us today! Hey, if you can get into a guy in a sled being pulled across the sky by eight tiny reindeer, you’ve got to be on something.

Here’s your pre-Christmas line-up:

9:00 a.m. Linda Ronstadt & Friends: Duets and More

You know, Linda Ronstadt had an amazing solo career and a run in the seventies that leveled the musical playing field with the boys. In spite of all that, Linda loved singing with others most. In this two-hour playlist, you’ll hear her sing with Frank Sinatra, Emmylou Harris, Don Henley, J.D. Souther, Ann Savoy, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Wendy Waldman, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, Maria Muldaur, Hoyt Axton, James Taylor, Neil Young, James Ingram, Paul Simon, Valerie Carter, Rosemary Clooney, Bette Midler, Aaron Neville, and as part of Trio — the only bona fide all-woman supergroup (with Emmylou Harris & Dolly Parton).

3:00 p.m. The Psychedelic Express: Various Artists

Yeah, baby. Like I said, if you’re waiting around for a guy named Santa in a sled pulled across the sky by eight tiny flying reindeer, this is your extended playlist. You’ll hear Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, The Animals, Eric Burdon & War, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, The Doors, The Who, Fleetwood Mac, Kenny Rogers & The First Edition, Yes, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Mudcrutch, Tommy James & The Shondells, Vanilla Fudge, Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Traffic, The Grateful Dead, Procol Harum, Blues Image, Donovan, The Byrds, Blind Faith, The Chambers Brothers, Pink Floyd, Velvet Underground and more!

Nothing like a little psychedelia for Christmas. That’s my motto. And where better to get that than right here. We give you all this for free, not just at Christmas but every damned day! Who needs capitalism?

‘Twas the Day Before Christmas

It’s Tuesday Bluesday With Stevie Ray Vaughan, James Cotton Live in New Orleans, and Our Album of The Week, December 21, 2021

Good Morning, Bluesologists! I’m in the retail slave mines early today, but we leave you in good hands with great blues programming and the Open Stream handled by The Music Mermaid.

Our Blues programming today includes James Cotton and Stevie Ray Vaughan

Here’s today’s programming:

11:00 a.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Stevie Ray Vaughan

I don’t know what I can say about Stevie Ray Vaughan that hasn’t already been said. We lost him too soon would be a cliche. Today we feature his music as both a solo artist and with Double Trouble. Perhaps the words of B.B. King say it best. When somebody stated that you have to be black to play the blues, B. B. King replied, “Tell that to Stevie Ray Vaughan.”

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Big Brother & The Holding Company by Big Brother & The Holding Company

This is the second airing of our Album of The Week, initially released in 1967. The album was then re-released by Columbia Records with Janis Joplin’s name on the cover after they took over Big Brother’s contract (as a result of the band’s huge success at the Monterey Pop Festival the same year).

7:00 p.m. The James Cotton Band Live at Antoine’s Night Club, New Orleans, Louisiana, July 1987 NEW!

To say that I’d have loved to be a fly on the wall for this one is an understatement. New Orleans is one of my favorite places on the planet. I was fortunate enough to visit the city many times on both business and pleasure, and the music was always the big draw for me (the food isn’t too shabby either). Joining Cotton for this performance is Matt “Guitar” Murphy (guitars), Luther Tucker (guitar), Calvin Jones (bass), Willie Smith (drums), and the legendary Pinetop Perkins on piano. James Cotton, of course, was on harp and vocals.

If you’re a bluesologist, this is your day. In between the blues programming, it’s wide Open Stream brought to you by the Lounge’s Music Mermaid who, as you well know if you’re a listener, has impeccable taste. Just pull up a tab and click the button below.

It’s Tuesday Bluesday!

We’ve Got a Mudcrutch Monday, a Brand New Beatles Playlist, and Lukas Nelson & POTR In The Spotlight Later, December 20, 2021

Yes, I’ll say it: Happy Monday, Musicologists! We’ve got a great opening day of the work week that features a fun, new Beatles playlist, Mudcrutch, and Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real later.

We’ve got a great, new Beatles playlist up today at 3:00 p.m.

Here’s your Monday line-up:

11:00 a.m. MUDCRUTCH MONDAY! Mudcrutch Live at The Fonda Theater, Hollywood, California, June 26, 2016

Yes, it’s a Mudcrutch Monday again and we’ve got the tour I may never forgive myself for missing. Why? Because it was one of the last opportunities I had to see Mudcrutch for the first time ever, and Tom Petty for the fifth. And, by the way, they blew the doors off the Boston House of Blues with Hungry No More, my favorite Mudcrutch song. What’s not to be upset about here?

3:00 p.m. The Beatles: Songs With Character NEW!

This was a fun one to put together. It’s all about the man in the mack, a lonely woman named Eleanor Rigby, an ode to Dear Prudence, the barber shaving another customer on Penny Lane, a serial killer with a hammer, the walrus, the eggman, the taxman, Bungalow Bill, a racoon named Rocky, a lady trying to make ends meet, a Nowhere Man named Jeremy Hillary Boob, Ph.D., a chick flying around the sky with diamonds while another leaves home, and more! The Beatles know how to tell a story.

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real

Also known as POTR for short. A week ago we played Dylan’s boy. Today we feature Willie’s boy, and he’s no slouch either. Get yourself ready for some great country rock to cap off our programming.

Monday. Start the week on the right foot here at #BecomeUngovernable Radio. We’re totally free and uninterrupted by commercial bullshit and DJ banter. It’s all about the music, people. And we’re 24/7.

Happy Monday!