Category: Power Pop

We’ve Got ‘The Original Sixties Rotation’ EP at Midweek Along With Jefferson Airplane ‘Live’ in Copenhagen, Wednesday, July 20, 2022

It is, without a doubt, a totally sixties midweek musical adventure here in The Mermaid Lounge as we give you the ‘Original Sixties Rotation’ EP and some ‘live’ Jefferson Airplane

Here’s your midweek musical landscape:

10:00 a.m. The Original Sixties Rotation: Various Artists

This is the original focusing mainly (but not completely) on the early-to-mid sixties. You will hear Del Shannon, Little Eva, The Drifters, The Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Hollies, The Walker Brothers, Mary Wells, Dusty Springfield, The Searchers, The Monkees, Sonny & Cher, Petula Clark, Glen Campbell, Johnny Rivers, The Dave Clark Five, Harry Nilsson, Diana Ross & The Supremes, The Band, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, Simon & Garfunkel, Blind Faith, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, Tony Joe White, Barry McGuire, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Procol Harum, The Temptations, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and more!

7:00 p.m. Jefferson Airplane Live at The Falconer Salen, Copenhagen, Denmark, August 28, 1968

We’ve got one of the greatest bands of the psychedelic era live tonight from Copenhagen, Denmark. Not to be confused with the poppy, zippy sounds of The Jefferson Starship, thank you very much, no. This is the real deal here before Grace Slick totally lost her shit.

This is undoubtedly our favorite musical era here in The Mermaid Lounge. It’s what made us start the station to begin with. So, we’ve come full circle on this fine Wednesday. Before, in between and all night long we’ve got non-stop, commercial-free music. And our DJ’s are virtually mute. Even better. I listen to those guys on the sixties channel on that station you have to pay for and they make me cringe. We don’t do that here. And we’re totally 100%, no-strings-attached free. Every damned day.

The Original 60s Rotation!

Today, We Celebrate Ronstadt’s 76th Birthday Mixed in With All That Wide Open Stream, Sunday, July 17, 2022

Today we celebrate the 76th birthday of Linda Ronstadt, a woman whose indelible mark on music is legendary. From the very beginning, Linda Ronstadt made sure she was in charge of her own career, and she did a hell of a job with it. She defied those who wanted to pigeon-hole her sound to sing just about any damned thing she wanted.

She can no longer sing, but her music is timeless.

Here’s your musical landscape for today:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Hasten Down The Wind by Linda Ronstadt

This was a very tough selection. Like asking me to pick one singular favorite Linda Ronstadt song. But in the end, it made its case. Released in 1976, this was Ronstadt’s seventh studio album during a time when she was the undisputed Queen of Rock. (Some of us believe she still is, frankly.) Although the Laurel Canyon influence is all over this album, Linda Ronstadt switched gears on this one a bit and began to sing the songs of some new songwriters, like Karla Bonoff and Warren Zevon, who would soon be on the map. Two songs were also co-authored by Ronstadt, Try Me Again and Lo Siento Mi Vida, the latter being her first move into the Spanish sound.

The album became her third consecutive million-selling album, the first such feat by a female singer. Hasten Down The Wind earned Ronstadt a Grammy for the Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, in 1977, her second of 13 career Grammys. It was also the second of four country #1 albums for her.

2:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt Live at The Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA, May 14, 1995

I had the absolute pleasure of being at this show in 1995. I remember it well. It was a real treat to have two brilliant women on stage that night as the late, great Valerie Carter was the opening act and joined Ronstadt on stage for a couple of beautiful songs. The best thing about Linda Ronstadt is that she was never threatened by sharing the stage with others, male or female, and that she felt like she was better as part of a bigger whole…in spite of her amazing solo career. And this brings us to our final programming for the day.

7:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt & Friends: Duets and More

We close out the day with a great playlist of songs where Ronstadt shares the limelight. She’s either a back-up singer or a duet singer on these songs, sharing the duties with the likes of Glenn Frey, Valerie Carter, J.D. Souther, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Bette Midler, Emmylou Harris, The McGarrigle Sisters, Bonnie Raitt, Maria Muldaur, Nicolette Larson, James Taylor, Hoyt Axton and others. A fitting ending to our birthday celebration.

Before, in between and after, there’ll be all that wide Open Stream. Join us for Linda’s 76th birthday bash today. We’re sure you won’t regret it.

Happy Birthday, Linda Ronstadt!

We Start Off the Day Fittingly With Our ‘Ode to Morning’ EP Then Pay Tribute to Ringo Later on Friday, July 8, 2022

Happy 82nd Birthday, Ringo! Still filling stadiums around the world with his All Starr band!

Here’s your Friday lineup:

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

We opened the month with our playlist about the night time, so it’s only fitting that we begin the day with our flip-side EP. You will 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. The Best of Ringo Starr UPDATED AND EXPANDED!

You know, there’s urban legend, and then there’s sheer musical ignorance. The notion that Ringo isn’t a “good” drummer is patently absurd. In fact, his peers will tell you otherwise. Perhaps you should watch this video featuring Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Jim Keltner, Stewart Copeland, Tre Cool, Chad Smith and others. Remember, The Beatles wanted Ringo and stole him from Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, dumping Pete Best in the process. He’s a drummer’s drummer, and most of the criticism is because he isn’t John Bonham with his 40-minute drum solos. But that shit? That shit breaks up the continuity of a song, in my humble opinion. And Ringo was and still is all about giving the song what it needs. His attitude about drum solos is all that it proves is that you took lessons. But best of all is that Ringo is just a good guy who has fun on stage with his All Starr band, and at 82, he’s still filling stadiums to spread his feel-good sounds. Today, we celebrate Ringo’s 82nd birthday (yesterday) with some of our favorites where he was only the drummer, every song he sang solo on as a member of The Beatles, and his own solo stuff.

Get on board the weekend train because we are almost there, people. It’s all downhill from here, as they say. I will, of course, have one day left after today since I toil in the very real world of retail hell in a nation where buying is equated with freedom. So are guns. But we won’t go there. Instead, we’ll focus on the music, so join us. We promise no chatty DJs, and no news here. Just music 24/7. And did I mention we’re totally FREE (in all caps and with NO strings)?

Happy Birthday, Ringo!

Monday Starts Our Summer of Love Run, We Have The Heartbreakers Covering Others, and New ‘Live’ Music From The Band, July 4, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists and welcome to another Monday! Forget the date, folks, we’re not celebrating the nation until this march to fascism is halted and we all have the same rights as the rich, bloated white men that own the GOP. Today, the only thing we celebrate is music.

The Summer of Love starts the day off at 11:00 a.m.

Here’s today’s lineup:

11:00 a.m. The Summer of Love, Volume One: Various Artists

Proving once again that misinformation is everywhere, I often see 1969 heralded as the year of ‘The Summer of Love.’ Nope. In fact, it was 1967, and the Summer of Love ran from June to October. And while we here in The Mermaid Lounge know that it wasn’t all peace n’ love in the sixties, that cultural time in history produced some of the greatest music on the planet. You’ll hear The Electric Prunes, The Yardbirds, The Box Tops, Petula Clark, The Rolling Stones, Grace Slick & The Great Society, Cream, The Doors, The Association, The Spencer-Davis Group, Donovan, The Grass Roots, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Paul Revere & The Raiders and more! This is volume one. You’ll also be hearing volumes two and three later this week!

3:00 p.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Under the Covers

One of the greatest rock n’ roll bands of all time was also one of the greatest cover bands of all time. Today Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers cover those who inspired them, including J.J. Cale, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Carole King, The Byrds, Bob Dylan and The Clash, to name a few.

7:00 p.m. The Band Live From Kosei Nenkin Hall, Tokyo, Japan, September 2, 1983 NEW!

We’ve got a brand new ‘live’ performance for you from one of the most influential bands in the history of popular music. They started as Bob Dylan’s back-up band but became a force in their own right. It’s hard to describe the magic of The Band, but it’s real. And they are just great on stage.

Listen, you could do worse on a Monday. Most people have this particular Monday off, and what better day to give us a shot and join your friends from around the globe. Today we have folks from Chile, Canada, Poland, Germany, the UK, Croatia, Australia, Mexico, Spain, Portugal, Norway, The Netherlands, Cleveland, Dallas, and Frisco tuned in. Where are you today?

The Summer of Love

Today We Feature Steely Dan’s “The Royal Scam” as Our AOW, and ‘The Female Species’ EP a Bit Later, Sunday, July 3, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers everywhere! It is another day here in The Mermaid Lounge and we’ve got Steely Dan as our featured album artist and ‘The Female Species’ EP bringing up the rear.

Today we feature “The Royal Scam” and ‘The Female Species’ EP later this afternoon

Here’s your Sunday lineup:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: The Royal Scam by Steely Dan NEW!

The Dan is a Mermaid Lounge favorite. They have, in our opinion, successfully danced the line between their intricate jazz arrangements and their flat-out energetic rock style. This is their fifth studio album, released in 1976 by ABC Records, and features the songs Kid Charlemagne, The Fez, Don’t Take Me Alive and Haitian Divorce.

5:00 p.m. The Female Species: Various Artists

Yes, not to be confused with our ‘Ladies Day Out’ EP, this one features songs about women, ladies, girls, chicks, which abound across the musical spectrum. You’ll hear Talking Heads, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Boogaloo Swamis, John Mayall, Hot Tuna, The Eagles, Elvis Presley, Fleetwood Mac, Electric Light Orchestra, Percy Sledge, The Beatles, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, America, Roy Orbison, Billy Joel, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, The Temptations, The Beach Boys, Linda Ronstadt and more!

Before, after, in between and throughout the 24-hour cycle, we have our wide Open Stream courtesy of The Music Mermaid. Get on it. It’s a holiday weekend. We ain’t raising the flag until this country is safely out of the grasps of full-on fascism, but we are raising the ‘great music’ banner!

The Female Species!

We Are at Midweek With Our ‘In Your Dreams’ EP and Our New ‘Long Live the Queens’ Playlist, Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! We are already at midweek and we’ve got great stuff for you today, including our brand new ‘Long Live The Queens’ playlist. Read on for details!

The Queens make their debut at 7:00 p.m. this evening

Here is your midweek lineup:

10:00 a.m. In Your Dreams: Various Artists

Dreams are funny things. Some people have them. Some don’t. But plenty have sung songs about them or we wouldn’t have nearly five hours of uninterrupted music from 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, 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, Dusty Springfield, k.d. lang, and more!

7:00 p.m. Long Live The Queens: Various Artists NEW!

We feature four queens here for you: Linda Ronstadt, the undisputed Queen of Rock; Aretha Franklin, the undisputed Queen of Soul; Irma Thomas, The Soul Queen of New Orleans; and Koko Taylor, Queen of The Blues. Tune in for something really special here.

We’re here every day uninterrupted 24/7 at absofuckinglutely no charge to you. Your money is no good here in The Mermaid Lounge. This is all about the music. Get on board, people. You won’t be disturbed by advertising or overly-chatty DJ’s either.

Long Live The Queens!

It’s Our Official ‘Summertime’ Kick-off With a Brand New Playlist, Badfinger at the BBC, and Joni In The Spotlight, Monday, June 27, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! We hope we can brighten your work-week start today with some great music. It’s summertime, and we’ve got some brand new music for you.

We officially kick off summer with a brand new playlist today!

Here’s your Monday programming:

11:00 a.m. Summertime: Various Artists NEW!

This is the beginning of a week where we feature some new music. We start here with our new ‘Summertime’ playlist. We’ve got songs with the word summer, summertime, and variations thereof in the title but, if you listen closely, you’ll hear some surf music in there as well. You’ll hear from Paul McCartney, Electric Light Orchestra, Eddie Cochran, Joni Mitchell, Sly & The Family Stone, Poco, The Blue Stingrays, The Doors, The Beach Boys, Jimmy Cliff, Joan Baez, Foo Fighters, Donovan, Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Nina Simone, John Prine, Johnny Rivers, Gary Hoey, The Desert Rose Band, Dick Dale & His Del-Tones, The Stone Poneys, Chrissie Hynde, Bob Dylan, The Surfaris, Nanci Griffith, and more!

4:00 p.m. Badfinger: Live at The BBC Studios, 1972-1973

Today’s live music offering is Badfinger, a true power pop band that made some great music in its time. Today we’ve got them live at BBC Studios in London recorded in 1972 and 1973. Undoubtedly the best signing ever by Apple Records.

7:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Joni Mitchell

It’s been a spell since we featured Joni Mitchell In the Spotlight, so we’re remedying that little miscue today. She’s kind of the sound of summer in a way. We’ve always loved Joni’s music here in The Mermaid Lounge. She is one of the most brilliant singer-songwriters on the planet.

Come on. It’s Monday. And we all know Monday’s suck. I’ve been sick with COVID for a second time here and I return to retail hell myself tomorrow, so why not join me today in kicking back and enjoying some great tunes.

Happy Monday!

The Weekend is Knocking and We’ve Got ‘The #BecomeUngovernable House Playlist’ EP, and Lukas Nelson and Promise of The Real Later, on Friday, June 24, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We are cookin’ today with our very own House playlist, which is also an EP, so that means five hours of great uninterrupted music. As we say, there is music that has inspired this station, and we have lots of it today. Later on, we have Lukas Nelson & POTR to take you into the night.

Starts today at 11:00 a.m.

Here’s Friday’s lineup:

11:00 a.m. The #BecomeUngovernable House Playlist: Various Artists

Yes, music lovers, it’s our very own House EP full of great music from Barry McGuire, The Temptations, Edwin Starr, Peter Tosh, The Beatles, Genesis, T. Rex, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Country Joe & The Fish, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, CSNY, Pink Floyd, The Animals, Ten Year’s After, The Plastic Ono Band, Billy Joel, George Harrison, The Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Three Dog Night, Jimmy Cliff, Richie Havens, Marvin Gaye, Phil Ochs, The Association, Tom Rush, Pete Seeger, The Band, Nina Simone, and more!

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

Here’s a great little country rock band that’s fronted by Willie’s boy, Lukas. Any band that does road duty with Neil Young is okay with us. But POTR is a band in its own right as well, so give them a listen.

Here we are again on the cusp of another weekend, and we’re starting it off with a great extended playlist here. Before, in between, and after our programming, we give you that great, wide Open Stream. We’ve added new music from Bobbie Gentry, Tedeschi-Trucks Band, Gov’t Mule, Koko Taylor, Tracy Nelson, Chuck Berry, and more! We’ve also got brand new playlists in the works to get us through the dog days of summer here. Just. Do. It.

Just Push Play!

We’re Sliding Toward The Weekend With Bobbie Gentry & Some Friends at BBC Studios, Our ‘Rock, Blues & Ballads’ Playlist, and our AOW, Thursday, June 16, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists. We’ve got some great new stuff to start off the day today as we’ve discovered a Bobbie Gentry BBC Studios performance with a couple of friends along for support.

A couple of friends dropped by to help Bobbie Gentry out with her BBC Studios show

Here’s Thursday’s lineup:

11:00 a.m. Bobbie Gentry Live at The BBC Studios, London, 1968-1969 NEW!

This was a great find, given the fact that Bobbie Gentry was always a bit reclusive and shunned the limelight. She just wanted to write songs for other people. But she did perform live music, and she did so at BBC Studios in 1968 and 1969. Maybe she brought Donovan and James Taylor along for moral support! We’re glad she did!

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: American Tune by Eva Cassidy

We’re winding down on this week’s album selection as we’ve reached our next-to-last airing here. The final will be sometime on Saturday. Don’t wait too long!

7:00 p.m. Rock, Blues and Ballads, Volume One: Various Artists

I know. It’s about time I got volume two together. And I totally agree, so it’s on my weekend list. But this one’s pretty damned good and we haven’t heard it in a while. You’ll hear Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Van Morrison, James Taylor, Aretha Franklin, Tom Petty, Delbert McClinton, Bonnie Raitt, J.J. Cale, Dusty Springfield, Neil Young, Paul McCartney & Wings, Long John Baldry, Randy Newman, Maria Muldaur, Ry Cooder, Gregg Allman, Linda Ronstadt, and more!

We’re sliding steadily toward the weekend here in The Mermaid Lounge, although I’ll grant you it’s not getting here fast enough this week. But good music goes a long way toward making the work week easier, so give us a shot. Because we play some seriously good shit with absolutely no commercial interruption, no chatty disc jockeys who’d rather talk than play music, or cost to you. Not one penny. And we’re open 24/7. What more do you want?

Open 24/7!

Monday Rolls Around Again and We’ve Got Some ‘Live’ Guess Who, Jackson Browne In the Spotlight, and Some ‘Drivin’ Songs’ Later On, June 13, 2022

Here we are again from The Mermaid Lounge on another back-to-work day. If you’re working where you can listen in, just pull up a tab and make your day so much brighter right here.

It’s a ‘first’ here in The Mermaid Lounge as we kick off today’s programming with some ‘live’ Guess Who!

Here’s your back-to-work lineup:

11:00 a.m. The Guess Who Live at The Ambassador Theater, St. Louis, MO, May 6, 1974 NEW!

The Guess Who is, without a doubt, a fantastic band. We’ve got some of their stuff in our rotation, but we’re on the hunt for all of it. That’s where we found this gem. As we expand our horizons for the summer, we’re kicking off the day with this live performance which was broadcast on KSHE 95FM.

3:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Jackson Browne

It’s time to put Jackson Browne back In the Spotlight. It has been a while. Every time we hear this playlist we’re reminded why he’s considered one of the greatest song writers of all time.

7:00 p.m. Drivin’ Songs: Various Artists

And then, we close out the night with songs about driving. But it doesn’t stop there. Some of these songs may not actually be about driving, but they help you go just a little bit faster than you were originally planning. Hey, that’s why they’re driving songs. You’ll be riding with The Doobie Brothers, Tom Petty, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Beatles, The Grateful Dead, The Eagles, Emmylou Harris, Van Morrison, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Golden Earring, CSNY, Linda Ronstadt, Willie Nelson, The Kinks, The Byrds, The Moody Blues, Deep Purple, Rare Earth, Canned Heat, Bruce Springsteen and more!

Start your Monday with a little boost from The Music Mermaid here in the Lounge. We’ve got several new playlists to unveil this week, and we start today! We’re on 24/7 totally free of commercial advertising and at absolutely no cost to you. What’s not to love?

Just Press Play.