Midweek Brings More Sixties Music, a Yusuf/Cat Stevens Spotlight, and Live Dr. John, on Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Good morning, music lovers, here we are again at another midweek. We’ve got a great lineup for you here today, beginning with volume two of our ‘Sixties Rotation’ EP.

Here’s your midweek musical mayhem:

9:00 a.m. The Sixties Rotation, Volume Two: Various Artists

We’re into the latter portion of the sixties here where the feel is much more psychedelic at times. You’ll hear The Mamas & The Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Marvin Gaye, Buffalo Springfield, Sly & The Family Stone, The Temptation, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Roy Orbison, The Yardbirds, The Animals, Linda Ronstadt, Wilson Pickett, The Band, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, The Ronettes, The Kinks, The Byrds, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Blind Faith, The Box Tops, CSNY, B. B. King, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell The Doors and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Cat Stevens

I have always been a fan of The Cat. He is undoubtedly one of the best and brightest of his generation of singer-songwriters. Anybody remember the torture this guy went through after 9-11 simply because he had converted to Islam? It was totally unwarranted. He changed religions. He didn’t become a terrorist. Today, he’s rightfully In The Spotlight.

8:00 p.m. Dr. John Live at Ultrasonic Studios, Hempstead, NY, November 6, 1973

The Good Dr. John Creaux, The Night Tripper (his New Orleans alter ego), and one of our very favorites, is on call tonight at 8:00 p.m.

Great day to join in and it’s an effortless process. Just pull up a tab and hit this button below. No lie. That’s it. And it’s not any stinkin’ free trial either. It’s the way it is every day.

Memorial Day Is Here and We’ve Got Our ‘Free As A Bird’ Playlist and The Beatles Top 100 Songs, Monday, May 27, 2024

Good morning, musicologists and happy Memorial Day! Yesterday was Doctor Petty’s musical highlight day; today it’s The Beatles, simply the greatest band ever.

Here’s your Memorial Day run:

9:00 a.m. Free As A Bird: Various Artists

Today we celebrate those who fought for freedom with songs about being free in all its forms. This is particularly apropos as we head into November. We’re at that point again in history. You will hear Cream, Steve Winwood, Joni Mitchell, Edgar Winter, Otis Redding, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Who, The Kinks, Chicago, The Byrds, Dave Mason, Van Morrison, Tracy Chapman, Delaney & Bonnie, Chicken Shack, Emmylou Harris, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Seeger, Curtis Mayfield, Bob Dylan and more!

3:00 p.m. The Beatles Top 100 Songs

Again, not by voting listeners or scientific calculation. It’s based on sheer love of the music. We’ve got 100 Beatle songs for you today simply for the sheer listening pleasure. There’s no competition among songs; they are not in order. They simply are.

We’ve got great programming today sprinkled among our excellent playlist of 27,000 ever-rotating songs. We’re on 24/7. We’re totally free. And we do not run commercial advertising. We’re all about the music.

We Start With ‘The Psychedelic Express,’ Then Move to Tom Petty’s Top 100 Songs On Sunday, May 26, 2024

Good morning, musicologists! We move into our Memorial Day weekend programming today with Tom Petty’s Top 100. Tomorrow, we close out the weekend with The Beatles Top 100. But before all this, we kick off with ‘The Psychedelic Express.’

Here’s your holiday Sunday playlist:

9:00 a.m. The Psychedelic Express: Various Artists

One of our favorite EPs because psychedelic music is one of our favorite genres to explore. You’ll hear Vanilla Fudge, The Chambers Brothers, The Beatles, Electric Prunes, The Animals, Jefferson Airplane, Blues Image, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Donovan, Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Traffic, Cream, Dr. John, Procol Harum, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, Canned Heat, Yes, Electric Light Orchestra, Tommy James & The Shondells, Mudcrutch, Blind Faith, The Grateful Dead, Velvet Underground, Big Brother & The Holding Company and more!

4:00 p.m. Tom Petty’s Top 100 Songs

It’s time to pull out our House Bands for the holiday, and we start with Tom Petty’s Top 100 Songs as we listen to his music with The Heartbreakers, Mudcrutch, The Traveling Wilburys and as a solo artist. And these are in no particular order. We don’t have the infrastructure to handle votes from listeners, so we took a very scientific method and pulled song names out of a bucket. (No laughing.) From our perspective, all of his songs are great, so it doesn’t really matter what song is arbitrarily number one and which is number one hundred. Just enjoy the experience!

Kick back and relax with us this weekend. It was a beautiful day yesterday here in the Boston area, but it’s pouring rain today and it’s the perfect day to wrap your head around some great music.

We’ve Got ‘Ode To Morning,’ a Carole King Spotlight, and a Steve Winwood History Lesson on Thursday, May 23, 2024

Good morning, music lovers and welcome to the downslide to the weekend! We’re moving through this day in fine style with some great music.

Here’s your Thursday lineup:

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

Yesterday we started out with songs about the night. Today, we get it right with Cat Stevens, Hoyt Axton, The Beatles, Neil Young, The Rascals, Waylon Jennings, Joan Baez, James Taylor, Gram Parsons, Simon & Garfunkel, Taj Mahal, Dan Fogelberg, Linda Ronstadt, Harry Chapin, Three Dog Night, Ry Cooder, Tim Buckley, Muddy Waters, Jonathan Edwards, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Carole King

From her days as a songwriter in the famed Brill Building to this very day, Carole King has been a force in the music world. A true legend in her time.

8:00 p.m. Traffic, Blind Faith, Spencer Davis Group Super Jam

Or, Steve Winwood 1.0. We close out the programming with another musical legend.

The weather is beginning to cool a bit, and that’s just fine with me. May is a bit too early for 90 degrees. Nevertheless, we are here in The Mermaid Lounge for your listening pleasure, where the music is hot but the atmosphere is cool.

It’s Sunday In The Lounge With ‘The Original Sixties’ Rotation, The Byrds, and Van Morrison, May 19, 2024

Good morning, music lovers! This is a sixties trifecta today and that’s always a good thing. While Van the Man’s live performance wasn’t until the 70’s, let’s remember he started out with a British blues band called Them and hasn’t stopped since.

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. The Original Sixties Rotation: Various Artists

This would primarily be the early-to-mid phase of the decade, although we all know some later acts have slipped in here (and vice versa when we get to volume two). You will hear The Beatles, The Monkees, Sonny & Cher, Simon & Garfunkel, Little Eva, The Everly Brothers, The Searchers, Dusty Springfield, The Drifters, The Dave Clark Five, Johnny Rivers, Bob Dylan, The Animals, Petula Clark, The Rolling Stones, Procol Harum, The Turtles, James Brown, The Temptations, Del Shannon, Fontella Bass, The Box Tops, Blues Image, Booker T. & The MG’s, The Four Tops and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of The Byrds

Formed in L.A. in 1964, The Byrds remain a musical stalwart today. Their lineup has changed over the years, with Roger McGuinn being the only consistent member, In spite of that, they made their mark with McGuinn’s jangly 12-string Rickenbacker guitar and their signature harmony vocals, influencing many subsequent acts including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. Today they are In The Spotlight.

8:00 p.m. Van Morrison Live at The Capitol Theater, Passaic, NJ, October 6, 1979

Van Morrison joins us this evening in The Lounge for a very pleasant interlude of live music.

I am on the run once again this morning, but The Music Mermaid is always here and on duty. She’ll take care of you until I return. As always, we remain free of charge and free of commercial interruptions. Enjoy your day of rest!

At Midweek, We’re ‘Under The Influence’ With a Spotlight on The Band, and Some Live Little Feat, Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Good morning, musicologists! We take a favorite EP out of mothballs today and give you a Spotlight feature on The Band and ‘Live’ Little Feat from London.

Here’s your midweek musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Under The Influence: Various Artists

We have all been here. There’s no denying it. Some of our ‘influences’ have been legal; some decidedly not. You’ll hear Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Linda Ronstadt, Little Feat, The Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Jimi Hendrix, Steely Dan, New Riders of The Purple Sage, Talking Heads, Neil Young, The Beatles, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Foreigner, Jonathan Edwards, John Lee Hooker, Donovan and more!

4:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of The Band

They were once Bob Dylan’s backup band. That’s how they got their name. They were referred to as ‘the band’. And then, they morphed into one of the most prolific and influential musical groups of their generation. They are In The Spotlight today.

8:00 p.m. Little Feat Live at The Rainbow Theatre, London, UK, August 4, 1977

Speaking of great bands, we close the programming with a great live performance from Little Feat from The Rainbow in London.

I hear the weather is going to be nasty today here in the Boston area, rainy with possibly our first round of thunderstorms this season. We’ll see. But if I could hunker down here today with this great music, I’d be doing it. The button’s below.

We Close Out Fillmore Fest With A Bang With The Heartbreakers & Music From The Final Days, Monday, May 6, 2024

Good morning, music lovers! Since we’re operating on an ‘eight days a week’ basis, we took an extra day for Fillmore Fest and we’ll close it out in style

Here’s your Fillmore Fest lineup:

10:00 a.m. The Fillmore: The Last Days

Bill Graham’s vaunted Fillmore closed in 1971, a couple of years after The Fillmore East, both the victims of the penchant for booking large arena venues for concerts. The final shows include performances by Hot Tuna, Boz Scaggs, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Cold Blood, The Elvin Bishop Group, The Grateful Dead and more!

6:00 p.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at The Fillmore West, San Francisco, January-February 1997

The Fillmore, of course, was reborn in San Francisco and other cities as well and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers took advantage of the small venue to play a legendary run of 20 sold-out nights in 1997 where they tore up the big arena set lists and allowed the attendees to write down song requests for the band. They played over 100 different songs during their 20-night run, including a series of covers paying tribute to those who inspired them that were simply amazing. Some of those covers included the Kinks’ You Really Got Me, The Dead’s Friend of The Devil, Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine and J.J. Cale’s Call Me The Breeze. There were also special guests, like John Lee Hooker and Roger McGuinn, who joined them on stage. We usually play this selection in three parts, but today it’s a one-sitting event to close out Fillmore Week.

Hell, it’s Monday all over again. What could be better than pulling up a new tab and joining our final day of Fillmore Fest? The button’s below.

We’re Hitting Our Midweek Stride With The #BU House EP, a Dolly Parton ‘Spotlight’ and The Heartbreakers at The Fillmore, Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Good morning, global music lovers! We blast into another month with our House long player, Dolly In The Spotlight and The Heartbreakers continue Fillmore Week!

Here’s your midweek music:

9:00 a.m. The #BecomeUngovernable House EP: Various Artists

We start it off with an uninterrupted love fest of the music and artists that inspired this station, including Barry McGuire, The Temptations, Edwin Starr, Peter Tosh, The Beatles, T. Rex, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Country Joe & The Fish, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Joan Baez, CSNY, Pink Floyd, The Animals, Ten Years After, Plastic Ono Band, Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Three Dog Night, Jimmy Cliff, Richie Havens, Marvin Gaye, The Association, Phil Ochs, Tom Rush, Pete Seeger, The Band, Linda Ronstadt, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Dolly Parton

The country music legend gets her own Spotlight. You’d better believe it. In a career that has spanned half a century, she remains the brightest of lights.

8:00 p.m. FILLMORE WEEK! Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at The Fillmore West, San Francisco, March 15, 1999

This is not the incredible 1997 twenty-night residency, but it is nevertheless another great Fillmore experience from one of our House Bands and one of the finest live bands ever to grace a stage. By the way, the incredible 1997 Fillmore event will come at the end of this Fillmore Fest.

Great day to be here in The Lounge while I toil in hardware hell’s Truck Day. The Music Mermaid has it all under her fin. You’re good to go. So, join us.

We Motor Along With ‘The Psychedelic Express,’ Marvin Gaye and The Beatles on Thursday, April 25, 2024

We are careening toward the weekend again, and we’re taking ‘The Psychedelic Express’ today. Then it’s a Marvin Gaye ‘Spotlight’ feature and psychedelia from The Fab Four.

Here’s your psychedelic lineup:

9:00 a.m. The Psychedelic Express: Various Artists

You don’t need no stinkin’ tickets to ride on the psychedelic express with Vanilla Fudge, The Chambers Brothers, The Beatles, Electric Prunes, The Animals, The Jefferson Airplane, Blues Image, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Donovan, Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Byrds, Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Cream, Dr. John, Procol Harum, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, Canned Heat, Yes, Electric Light Orchestra, Tommy James & The Shondells, Mudcrutch, Blind Faith, The Grateful Dead, Velvet Underground, Big Brother & The Holding Company and more! It’s five hours of mind-bending music!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye isn’t called The Prince of Soul for nothing. This brilliant singer-songwriter helped shape the Motown sound in the sixties, first as an in-house session player and later as a successful solo artist. He’s In The Spotlight this afternoon.

8:00 p.m. The Beatles: Tripping The Light Fantastic

We close this psychedelic adventure with The Fab Four. It should be no surprise to anyone that The Beatles pioneered the psychedelic sound and embraced it before anyone else. We close the day with their contributions to the genre.

I’ll be laboring in hardware hell while The Music Mermaid joins you on your psychedelic journey this fine day. If you are a fan of the genre like me, you will not be disappointed. Best of all, we’re totally free and devoid of commercial interruption all day long.

We’re at Midweek With More Sixties Rotation, Jefferson Airplane, and Jimi Hendrix, Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Good morning, sixties music lovers, we’re back at midweek with volume two of our ‘Sixties Rotation’ EP, and live performances from both Jefferson Airplane and Hendrix.

Here’s your midweek musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. The Sixties Rotation, Volume Two: Various Artists

We’re back with the second half of our Sixties Rotation, this time focusing on the mid-to-late part of the decade with The Mamas & The Papas, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield, Sly & The Family Stone, The Temptations, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Roy Orbison, The Yardbirds, The Animals, Linda Ronstadt, Wilson Pickett, The Band, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, The Ronettes, The Kinks, Jimmy Cliff, Velvet Underground, The Byrds, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Blind Faith, The Spencer Davis Group, The Four Tops, CSNY, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, The Doors, Marvin Gaye and more!

4:00 p.m. The Jefferson Airplane Live at Falconer Salen, Copenhagen, Denmark, January 8, 1968

We’re in the Wayback Machine as we head for Copenhagen to hear the Airplane this afternoon.

8:00 p.m. Jimi Hendrix Live at The Cafe Au Go Go, New York, NY, March 17, 1968

Then, we’re back in the Wayback Machine for a bit of a jam at the iconic Cafe Au Go Go with Jimi Hendrix joined by Paul Butterfield, Elvin Bishop and Harvey Brooks.

It’s an all-Sixties programming kind of day here in The Mermaid Lounge. We’re on 24/7, so we’ll have all that great wide Open Stream before, in between and after.