Category: Pop

We’re at Midweek With ‘Music From Laurel Canyon’, Chrissie Hynde as our Singer-Songwriter and The Mamas & The Papas In The Spotlight, Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Good morning, musicologists! We’re at midweek and it’s all downhill to the weekend from here! We’ve go a wonderful lineup for you today, starting with our ‘Music From Laurel Canyon’ longplayer!

Here’s your midweek lineup:

9:00 a.m. Music From Laurel Canyon: Various Artists

The music that was heard ’round the world. Just as the British Invasion had an influence on American music, the music that came out of two generations of musicians in the states had the same effect overseas. You’ll hear The Byrds, The Mamas & The Papas, Buffalo Springfield, The Beach Boys, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Doors, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, The Monkees, CSNY, Manassas, John Mayall, The Eagles, J.D. Souther, Harry Nilsson, Canned Heat, Linda Ronstadt, Carole King, James Taylor, the Souther-Hillman-Furay Band, Judy Collins, Joan Baez and more!

4:00 p.m. The Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Chrissie Hynde

The heart and soul of The Pretenders takes her second spin as our featured singer-songwriter today.

8:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of The Mamas & The Papas

One of the most influential group to emerge from the Laurel Canyon scene takes center stage tonight for a spell as they deliver their beautiful harmonies. Their recording career may have been short, but their influence has been long.

Get rid of those midweek blues here at #BecomeUngovernable Radio as we spin the best music on the planet free of charge 24/7. And best of all, there’s absolutely no commercial advertising!

Midweek From Laurel Canyon!

The Big Summer Weekend is Here With Buffalo Springfield, The Beatles Top 100, and Guy Clark Later, Saturday, May 27, 2023

Happy Memorial Day Weekend, musicologists! We have excellent music lined up for you today as we get into the first official weekend of the summer season!

Here’s your Saturday lineup:

9:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Buffalo Springfield by Buffalo Springfield FINAL AIRING!

Today we bid a fond farewell to Buffalo Springfield’s debut album as our Album of the Week. Tomorrow, we’ll have a brand new selection for you.

11:00 a.m. The Beatles: Top 100 Countdown

We aired this last year at this time and we repeat the process today as we pay homage to one of our House Bands, the band that changed everything from haircuts, to clothing styles and, most importantly, to music itself in just seven years together. There was never a band like them before, and we are still waiting for their equal. From our perspective, that day will never come.

8:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Guy Clark NEW!

A Mermaid Lounge favorite for sure. On a freezing winter night in Harvard Square with my friends, we were looking for a break from the cold. We walked in to Passim’s Coffee House to warm up, sat down, and were treated to a very unexpected event. A singer-songwriter named Guy Clark was playing there live that night. We stuck around. It was an amazing revelation. We were certainly happy we did. The next day, I went out and bought everything I could find. Tonight, we introduce him as our featured singer-songwriter.

It’s a looong weekend, so kick your shoes off. We’ve got great music in store for you right through Monday. If you haven’t yet tuned us in, this would definitely be a good weekend to do it. We’re totally free 24/7, and we’re also totally free of commercial advertising. It’s just wall-to-wall music.

The Beatles Top 100!

Today Gives You Buddy Holly In the Spotlight, Features Bob Dylan’s Final Turn as Our Singer-Songwriter, and The Beatles Give Us a Change in Time, Friday, May 26 2023

Happy Friday, musicologists! You know, our House Bands had their influencers, just as our House Bands have influenced others. Today we put one of the Beatles’ biggest influencers In the Spotlight as we work on some new summer playlists featuring the founding fathers and mothers of rock and roll.

Here’s today’s musical lineup:

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

Buddy Holly was an American singer and songwriter who played a central and pioneering role in the development of rock and roll. Born in Lubbock, Texas, Holly learned to sing and play guitar along side his siblings. The Beatles cite Holly and his Crickets as a major influence in their early style. They studied his music and his delivery, and chose the name The Beatles in tribute to his band, The Crickets. Although Lennon wore his patented round wire-rimmed glasses later in his life, his first set of eyeglasses were Buddy Holly style. Today we put him In the Spotlight.

4:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Bob Dylan FINAL AIRING!

Mr. Dylan takes his final spin as this week’s featured singer-songwriter. Bob Dylan is also an artist who has claimed Buddy Holly as a major influence. He saw Holly for the first time when he was just 17-years-old in Duluth, and cited his infuence as he received his 1998 Grammy for his album Time Out Of Mind.

8:00 p.m. The Beatles: A Change In Time NEW!

Speaking of The Fab Four, they too have influenced many, and they changed just about everything musically- and culturally-related in their seven years together. Unhappy with touring (they felt like nobody was actually listening to what they were singing), they decided to give up the road and focus on their art. Once they took this step, their creativity took a leap to a whole other level. Tonight we intro a new playlist of Beatle songs that feature mixes of different time signatures. We think you’ll like it.

We’re at the end of the work week, except for those who continue to toil through the weekend in retail hell. Personally, I think the blue laws should make a comeback. Sunday should be a day off for everyone. The greedy capitalists don’t quite see it that way. But here in The Mermaid Lounge, we’re on 24/7 at absolutely no charge to the public. And we accept no commercial advertising either. It’s all about the music.

Buddy Holly Spotlight!

It’s ‘Ladies Day Out’ in The Mermaid Lounge, the Final Airing of “No Dice,” and the Introduction of Karla Bonoff as Our Featured Singer-Songwriter on Saturday, April 15, 2023

Good morning, weekenders! We have reached the first full day of the weekend! We have a great day with our five-hour, all-women music extravaganza to kick things off!

Here’s your Saturday lineup:

10:00 a.m. Ladies Day Out: Various Artists

Yes, the women of music own The Mermaid Lounge for a chunk of the day today. You will hear Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, Emmylou Harris, 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, Dolly Parton, Dusty Springfield, The Ronettes, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Norah Jones, Phoebe Snow, Nicolette Larson, Sheryl Crow, Valerie Carter, Susan Tedeschi and more!

5:00 p.m. Album of The Week: No Dice by Badfinger FINAL AIRING!

We bid a fond farewell to this great power pop album by Badfinger, the album that put them on the map, particularly in the U.S., and gave us the hit No Matter What. Tomorrow there’ll be a brand new album here for you.

8:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Karla Bonoff NEW!

Although Karla Bonoff has released several really wonderful albums, she is best known as one of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation. Linda Ronstadt feasted off Karla’s work, including Someone To Lay Down Beside Me, Lose Again, Trouble Again and others. Others who have sung Karla’s songs include Wynnona Judd, Lynn Anderson, and Bonnie Raitt (an amazing rendition of Home for one). Tonight, we get to hear Karla sing her compositions herself.

It is Saturday, folks, and we’ve made it to the weekend. Why not give yourself a real treat and tune us in. We’re on 24/7. We’re totally free of charge. We do not run any commercial advertising. And we offer great programming you won’t hear anywhere else. What’s not to love here?

Ladies Day Out!

We Start Off the Work Week With Dylan’s 1966 Concert at Royal Albert Hall, Valerie Carter In the Spotlight, and Some Live Little Feat Later, Monday, March 6, 2023

We kick off the work week in style today with three great programming interludes interspersed among all that great wide Open Stream!

Here’s your Monday lineup:

11:00 a.m. Bob Dylan Live at Royal Albert Hall, London, May 17, 1966

Dylan was just about 24 years old when he played the Royal Albert Hall in London. We have that performance here to kick off our programming today.

3:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Valerie Carter

Valerie Carter began her singing career in coffeehouses as a teen, then became part of a trio called Howdy Moon. The band released one album, now fairly obscure. However, she wrote the song Cook With Honey, which became a hit for Judy Collins later and managed to meet Lowell George of Little Feat, who produced her next album and became her mentor until his death. He introduced her to Jackson Browne, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt and so it began. Valerie Carter has an amazing voice and that girl can sing. Give a listen as we continue to celebrate Women’s (Musical) History Month.

7:00 p.m. Little Feat Live at The Rainbow Room, London, August 4, 1977

Speaking of Little Feat, we’re back in London tonight for their performance at The Rainbow Room. It’s a good one. Don’t miss it!

Let me repeat. We’re on 24/7 and we’re totally free of charge and free of commercial advertising. We have absolutely nothing to sell you. Not even a subscription. Because you don’t need one. What more can you ask for?

Monday! It’s Back!

We’re One Day From the Weekend and We Feature Our Final Airing of Shawn Colvin as Our Singer-Songwriter, We Have Our ‘In Your Dreams’ EP, and We Put Dusty Springfield In the Spotlight Later, Friday, January 27, 2023

Hell, music lovers, we’re almost at the end of the first month of the new year and we’re one day away from the weekend! We’ve got a great lineup for you today with our ‘In Your Dreams’ EP sandwiched in between two of our favorite Mermaid Lounge women.

Here’s Friday’s musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Shawn Colvin FINAL AIRING!

Today is the final airing of Shawn Colvin as this week’s featured singer-songwriter, a woman who turned the folk music genre on its head with her 1998 release A Few Small Repairs and her double-winning Grammy hit Sunny Came Home. I never had the pleasure of seeing Shawn Colvin live, but I did see her in a great multi-artist concert joining friends Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, David Lindley and Bruce Hornsby back in the late 90’s. We’ll be airing that concert next week, in fact.

12:00 p.m. In Your Dreams: Various Artists

Dreams are a funny thing. I almost never remember mine unless they are the craziest. Yet, they are certainly the subject of some great music. You’ll hear the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Aerosmith, Crowded House, the Moody Blues, Van Morrison, The Eurythmics, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Nanci Griffith, The Electric Prunes, Fleetwood Mac, Roy Orbison, The Mamas & The Papas, Jimmy Buffett, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Allman Brothers Band, Supertramp, Randy Newman, Aretha Franklin, Widespread Panic, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, The Youngbloods, Jimmy Ruffin, Jackson Browne, Mudcrutch, Patsy Cline, Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen, k.d. lang, Dusty Springfield and more!

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

British-born Dusty Springfield is a Mermaid Lounge favorite. Her sultry mezzo-soprano voice is immediately recognizable and she was one of the most popular female singers of the sixties. Her repertoire encompassed blue-eyed soul, pop, country, jazz and soulful ballads. This is a great playlist.

We’re one day away from being ‘weekenders’ folks. If you’ve got an office, a free tab and a mouse, we can make your Friday a hell of a lot better. Just play us in the background. There’s no effort involved. We don’t ask for a subscription, a credit card or your name. Just click on the button below.

In Your Dreams.

It’s Both a Mudcrutch AND Macca Monday Here in The Lounge With Some ‘Live’ Poco In Between. The Ultimate Sandwich on January 16, 2023.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr., day freedom fighters. We’ve got a great day of music here in the lounge and we’ve created the ultimate cookie for you today with Macca and Mudcrutch as the start and the finish and ‘live’ Poco in between.

Here’s your Monday-Monday lineup:

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

It’s the beginning of another work week here in the world, and we’ve got some great music on tap to ease you in, starting with McCartney In the Spotlight. This guy has made so much music over his long career that this playlist only touches the surface, focusing mostly on his work with The Beatles and Wings and just a bit of his solo stuff. We’re planning a second playlist down the road.

3:00 p.m. Poco Live at Fairleigh-Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ, November 2, 1973

This is one sweet country-rock band that is sometimes overlooked on the spectrum, but shouldn’t be. We’re working on beefing up their presence in our rotation but, in the meantime, we’ve got this great live performance that was broadcast live on KBFH-FM.

7:00 p.m. Mudcrutch Monday Madness! The Complete Collection

We close the programming by giving you Mudcrutch Monday Madness, the full collection of songs ever made by Tom Petty’s ‘other’ band. It’s actually the band that he left Gainesville with as he headed off to California and fame. This was the band that morphed into Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, more on the country side than the rock n’ roll side. Enjoy. It was a great band.

I don’t know what it’s doing where you are, but it’s finally snowing here. But the weather gods says it’s going to be little to no accumulation as it will turn to rain as the temperature rises. Either way, it’s my day off and I’m hunkering down here in The Mermaid Lounge and putting on my listening ears. You should do the same.

Macca-Poco-Mudcrutch

It’s Saturday in The Mermaid Lounge With the ‘Travelin’ Fever’ EP to Start Followed by Our AOW and Laura Nyro as the New Featured Singer-Songwriter, January 7, 2023

Good morning, music lovers across the globe! We are here on another Saturday bring you the best music on the planet. We’re starting off with our multi-hour, multi-artist EP about having that travelin’ fever!

Here’s your Saturday lineup:

9:00 a.m. Travelin’ Fever: Various Artists

The road is a powerful magnet for some people, and musicians love to sing about it. You’ll hear Canned Heat, the Steve Miller Band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Dan Fogelberg, Bruce Springsteen, Linda Ronstadt, Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney & Wings, The Doors, The Eagles, Little Feat, The Band, Willie Nelson, Edwin Starr, Janis Joplin, Guy Clark, The Byrds, Asleep at The Wheel, The Traveling Wilburys, Joan Baez, Mudcrutch, Loggins & Messina, Buffalo Springfield and more!

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Idlewild South by The Allman Brothers Band FINAL AIRING!

We bid a fond farewell to this great album today. Tomorrow when you roll out of bed, we’ll have a brand new selection!

7:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Laura Nyro NEW!

Today we intro our new singer-songwriter, Laura Nyro. She’s wrote so many hits for so many people over her career, including The Fifth Dimension (Wedding Bell Blues, Stoned Soul Picnic), Barbra Streisand (Stoney End), Blood, Sweat and Tears (And When I Die), and Three Dog Night (Eli’s Comin’). She also had a formidable solo career of her own, and there is nothing like hearing Laura Nyro singer her own songs. You’ll get to do that tonight. We love her here in The Mermaid Lounge.

Tuning our station in is never a bad idea, folks. There’s always the chance you won’t like us, but hey, finding out won’t cost you a thing. We don’t even ask for a credit card. Hell, we don’t even ask your name. Just hit the button below and give us a shot. No strings. No lie.

Travelin’ Fever is Back!

It’s a Simple Start to the Week With One New Playlist and One of Our Veteran EP’s Later, Monday, November 28, 2022

Good Morning and welcome to another work week. Today we’ve got a couple of multi-artist playlists, one an EP and one not quite but, hey, everything is relative isn’t it? Including time. And that’s how we begin our musical programming today.

Here’s Monday’s musical journey:

10:00 a.m. Time is Relative: Various Artists NEW!

According to Einstein, everything’s relative, including time. Today’s new playlist gives you songs with references to time in the title, lyrics or both. You’ll hear from The Guess Who, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, the J. Geils Band, Warren Zevon, Paul McCartney & Wings, The Doors, Carly Simon, Willie Nelson, Little Feat, Joni Mitchell, Canned Heat, J.D. Souther, The Chambers Brothers, The Eagles, Paul Simon, The Byrds, Nina Simone, Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real, Shawn Colvin, Fairport Convention and more!

3:00 p.m. In Your Dreams: Various Artists

We’ve got a second multi-artist list here to bring us into the evening so that our overnight visitors have access to some of our material. This is one of our most popular EP’s with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Aerosmith, Crowded House, the Moody Blues, Van Morrison, The Eurythmics, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Nanci Griffith, the Electric Prunes, Fleetwood Mac, Roy Orbison, The Manas & The Papas, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jimmy Buffett, The Allman Brothers Band, Supertramp, Randy Newman, Aretha Franklin, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Widespread Panic, The Youngbloods, Jimmy Ruffin, Jackson Browne, Mudcrutch, Patsy Cline, Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen, k.d. lang, Dusty Springfield and more!

Hey, it’s like a name-droppers convention here today so get on board. We’ve got artists from all over the musical spectrum featured in today’s programming, so it’s a good day to give us a shot. And then, there’s our wide Open Stream that takes over before, after and in between the programs. You can’t go wrong.

Time is Relative

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!