Category: Rock n’ Roll

Midweek Brings a Ride On ‘The Psychedelic Express’, a Visit From John Fogerty, and ‘Live’ Badfinger, Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Good morning, psychedelic music lovers! We’re boarding ‘The Psychedelic Express’ this morning. You don’t need no stinkin’ tickets either. Just the button at the bottom of this post.

Here’s your musical lineup:

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

Let’s take a trip into musical psychedelia this mornng with The Beatles, The Chambers Brothers, Vanilla Fudge, The Animals, The Electric Prunes, 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, Grateful Dead, Velvet Underground, Big Brother & The Holding Company and more!

4:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of John Fogerty

From Creedence to The Blue Ride Rangers, to his outstanding solo career, John Fogerty takes his second spin as our featured singer-songwriter.

8:00 p.m. Badfinger Live at The Cowtown Auditorium, St. Louis, MO, April 7, 1972

Badfinger hung around on the edges of greatness, but never quite got there. And mostly because of a really bad guy who managed them wiped them out financially (not The Beatles either). They were the one bona fide band the Apple Label signed, and they left us a bucket load of great songs.

Come on. We’re at midweek, and everything is downhill from here. We’re headed for the weekend (and I’m headed for vacation) after today. Let us help you get there!

The Psychedelic Express is Boarding!

It’s Tuesday Bluesday With Our Big, Bad Blues EP, Steve Winwood and Our AOW, and Muddy Waters & Johnny Winter, October 24, 2023

Good morning, bluesologists! We’re back with another Tuesday Bluesday and The Music Mermaid is ready to go! Read on for detail!

Here’s your bluesy lineup:

9:00 a.m. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blues: Various Artists

This is the big kahuna. The all-inclusive, uninterrupted five-hour blues extravaganza with Delbert McClinton, Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Little Walter, Slim Harpo, Ry Cooder, Canned Heat, John Lee Hooker, The Animals, Albert King, Johnny Winter, Muddy Waters, Little Feat, Bonnie Raitt, The Yardbirds, Janis Joplin, The Rolling Stones, Bobby “Blue” Bland, The Allman Brothers Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Elmore James, Robert Cray Band, J.J. Cale, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, James Cotton, Koko Taylor, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Marcia Ball, Duane Allman, Susan Tedeschi, Roomful of Blues, Howlin’ Wolf, Tracy Nelson, Linda Ronstadt and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Roll With It by Steve Winwood

Steve Winwood is a legend in these parts, a pioneer with Traffic, Blind Faith, and The Spencer Davis Group. This was Winwood’s fifth solo studio album, and it was his most commercially successful.

8:00 p.m. Muddy Waters: The Johnny Winter Sessions

Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter were a musical marriage made in heaven. Winter came along later in Muddy’s career and produced three albums for him, winning Grammys along the way. You can read more about it in this excellent article. Tonight, we bring you Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter together in session. And they bring along Pinetop Perkins (piano) and James Cotton (mouth harp). Don’t miss this one!

Tuesday Bluesday is always a busy day in The Lounge. Be here or be square. We start it off with five hours of uninterrupted blues promptly at 9:00 a.m. See you then.

Tuesday Bluesday!

We’ve Got Mudcrutch to Celebrate Tom Petty Week, Followed By the J. Geils Band and The Yardbirds, Monday, October 23, 2023

Good morning, working world! It’s back to Monday today, but we’re also back celebrating Tom Petty’s birthday week with a great Mudcrutch playlist. We’ve also got some J.Geils Band and Yardbirds to round things out.

Here’s your Monday lineup:

11:00 a.m. Mudcrutch: The Best of the 2016 U.S. Tour

From Mudcrutch, to the Heartbreakers to the Traveling Wilburys, Tom Petty’s musical quest never slept. I skipped this 2016 tour and I’ve been kicking myself in the ass ever since because on this playlist is the best damned live version of Hungry No More, and it was recorded at Boston’s House of Blues on this very tour. This is a great playlist. Not to be missed as we continue on with Petty week.

3:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of the J. Geils Band

The original bad boys from Boston right here (actually Worcester if you want to get technical about it, but it’s close enough). J. Geils was a badass Boston band and I saw them more than once. Today we put them In the Spotlight.

7:00 p.m. The Yardbirds: The BBC Sessions 1965-1968

We close out the programming with some Yardbirds recorded live at the fabled BBC Studios between 1965 and 1968.

Monday’s here and so are we! We’ll get you through the day, and then we’ll roll along and get you through the week! Before you know it, we’ll all be weekenders!

Monday, Monday

It’s Simply Sunday in The Lounge with Steve Winwood and Our ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ Multi-Artist EP, October 22, 2023

Good morning, weekenders! As you know, we keep Sunday’s simple here in The Mermaid Lounge and today is no exception. Steve Winwood owns our AOW and we follow that up with our ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ multi-artist EP.

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Roll With It by Steve Winwood NEW!

Steve Winwood is a legend in these here parts. He spent his early musical years in the Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic before embarking on a successful solo career. I saw him live at what was then called The Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts, many years ago out in the open air and it was a fantastic show. This was Winwood’s fifth solo studio album and it was his most commercially successful. It went to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and sold three million copies. It’s our Album of The Week.

3:00 p.m. Folk Music From A-To-Z: Various Artists

We’ve got them all for you today, from the pioneers of the genre to those who pay homage to the genre. You’ll hear John Prine, Dave Van Ronk, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, Odetta, Cat Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & The Hearbreakers, The Beatles, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez, The Band, Eric Andersen, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Nanci Griffith, Jesse Winchester, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Lead Belly, Tim Hardin, The Kingston Trio, Simon & Garfunkel, Richie Havens, Jackson Browne, Guy Clark, James Taylor, Phil Ochs, Harry Chapin, Bob Dylan Townes Van Zndt, Neil Young, The Carter Family and more!

We are workin’ it here all day in The Mermaid Lounge. The Music Mermaid has the situation in complete control and is ready to roll. It’s a beautiful fall day here in the Boston area. This is undoubtedly my favorite time of year. Time to kick back and take it in. Who knows what the climate’s future status will take.

Folk Music From A-To-Z

Saturday Brings Linda Ronstadt, Our ‘Are You ReadyFor the Country’ EP, and John Fogerty as our Singer-Songwriter, October 21, 2023

Welcome, weekenders! It’s Saturday in The Lounge and we kick stuff off today with a final airing of our AOW, followed by our big, bad country EP and John Fogerty later.

Here’s your Saturday lineup:

9:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Duets by Linda Ronstadt FINAL AIRING!

Our official Queen of All Music bids us a fond farewell today as she and her friends serenade us for one more time. But not to worry, all of our AOWs are included in our standard rotation, so you’ll hear all of these songs again.

11:00 a.m. Are You Ready for The Country: Various Artists

This is our big, bad country EP with both traditional country musicians and the pioneers 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, Glen Campbell, Rosanne Cash, Dan Fogelberg, New Riders of The Purple Sage, John Prine, The Desert Rose Band, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and more!

8:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of John Fogerty NEW!

As the heart and soul of Creedence Clearwater Revival, this guy has written some of the most incredible songs of the sixties and seventies, including Proud Mary, Bad Moon Rising, Fortunate Son, and so many more. He also forged a successful solo career after the band broke up, writing Centerfield and The Old Man Down The Road. He is this week’s featured singer-songwriter.

It’s Saturday and it’s pouring rain here. It will probably be one of those dead slow-foot-traffic days in the hardware and paint business. But here in The Mermaid Lounge, you’ll be kicking back and listening to great, commercial-free music.

Just Push Play. It’s Free.

Happy Birthday, Tom Petty! We Open and Close Our Programming Today With The Heartbreakers, Friday, October 20, 2023

Good morning, Petty-ologists! We are celebrating today what would be Dr. Tom Petty’s 73rd birthday by opening and closing our programming with The Heartbreakers! In between, we’ve got singer-songwriter Sam Cooke!

Here’s your musical lineup:

11:00 a.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: Under The Covers

We’ve got two of these playlists going. This is actually one that came out on CD several years ago that is out of print, but we managed to find one on Discogs. The same qualities that make Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers the best damned rock n’ roll band on the planet are the same qualities that make them the best damned cover band on the planet. See for yourself.

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

The ‘King of Soul’ takes his final spin as our featured singer-songwriter for this week. We’ll have a brand new artist tomorrow.

8:00 p.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: The Best of ‘Live’ Wildflowers

We haven’t aired this one since the Wildflowers & All The Rest box was released. This is a great day for us to put it back into circulation. This was an amazing project, a true labor of love curated by Petty’s family and bandmates. For this disc, they carefully chose what they believe to be the best live performances of songs from the Wildflowers period.

Join us in The Mermaid Lounge as we celebrate the birthday anniversary of one of the greatest musical geniuses who ever strapped on a Rickenbacker. He was a great musician, songwriter and guitarist, but most of all he was one of the good guys of music, respected by all, and still missed by his fans, whom he adored.

Happy Birthday, Tom Petty!

Thursday Puts Us ‘Under The Influence’, Brings Our AOW, and Cream’s Final Live Performance at Royal Albert Hall, October 19, 2023

Good morning, workers! We are heading toward the weekend once again. We’ll be there before you know it, and we’ve got some great music to make the trip brighter.

Here’s your musical lineup:

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

Yes, some legal. Some not. Come on. We’ve all been there. You’ll hear The Byrds, Arlo Guthrie, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Dylan, Jefferson Airplane, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Donovan, Glen Frey, John Lee Hooker, Jonathan Edwards, Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt, The Traveling Wilburys, The Temptations, Small Faces, Steely Dan, The Beatles, Talking Heads, 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!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Duets by Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt and her musical friends drop by for another afternoon visit of song. We’re winding down on this one. The final airing will be on Saturday.

7:00 p.m. Cream Live at Royal Albert Hall, London, UK, November 26, 1968

This was Cream’s final live performance ever broadcast on the BBC. Don’t miss it!

We’re rolling now, citizens. Everything here is downhill toward the weekend. We’ll help you get there in style with some great 24/7 music and some fun programming in between all that wide Open Stream.

Under The Influence!

The Ladies Own The Lounge at Midweek, We’ve Got Sam Cooke and New ‘Live’ Neil Young Later, Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Good morning, musicologists, we’re at midweek here in The Mermaid Lounge and the women of music are in control starting at 9:00 a.m. today.

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Ladies Day Out: Various Artists

The ladies are in control and we’ve got all genres here for you today with 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, The Ronettes, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Norah Jones, Phoebe Snow, Nicolette Larson, Sheryl Crow, Susan Tedeschi, Valerie Carter, Dusty Springfield, Dolly Parton and more!

4:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Sam Cooke

Sam Cooke is back for his second spin as this week’s featured singer-songwriter. An amazingly talented and respected artist, Sam Cooke was often called “The King of Soul.”

8:00 p.m. Neil Young Live at Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, January 19, 1971 NEW!

This was Young’s solo Journey Through The Past tour as he played in front of his native countrymen in Toronto. It’s a great performance and we’ve got it to close out the day’s programming.

We’re at midweek, kids, and everything from here on out is a downslide to the weekend. We’ll get you there with some great music, including more this week as we celebrate Tom Petty Month.

Welcome to Midweek!

It’s Tuesday Bluesday and We’ve Got ‘The Best of Louisiana Blues’ EP, Our AOW, and ‘Live’ Peter Green Later, October 17, 2023

Good morning, bluesologists! We are back here in The Mermaid Lounge with another great Tuesday Bluesday lineup, starting with some Louisiana blues.

Here’s your Tuesday Bluesday lineup:

9:00 a.m. The Best of Louisiana Blues: Various Artists

There’s nothing like Louisiana for music. I can attest to that, having visited many times in my life. You will hear Ray Charles, Lillian Glinn, Slim Harpo, Ray Brown, Fats Domino, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Rodney Harris, Roosevelt Sykes, Shirley & Lee, Papa Lightfoot, Guitar Slim, Annie Laurie, Fats Matthews, Big Joe Turner, Big Boy Myles, Little Walter, Mary Butler, Erline Harris, Dave Bartholomew, Marcia Ball, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Professor Longhair, the Neville Brothers, Irma Thomas and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Duets by Linda Ronstadt

Our favorite female singer on the planet takes her second spin with our Album of the Week as she sings with J.D. Souther, Frank Sinatra, Dolly Parton, Don Henley, Ass Savoy, James Taylor, Carl Jackson and more!

7:00 p.m. Peter Green’s Splinter Group Live at The Capitol Theatre, Mannheim, Germany, March 19, 2003

Back in the day, Fleetwood Mac was a blues band and Peter Green was its heart and soul. Then he ventured out on his own. This is a post-Mac band on the road in Mannheim, Germany.

Tuesday Bluesday is always a busy day in The Lounge, but there’s plenty of room for one and all, no elbowing allowed. So get on in here. The button’s below.

It’s Tuesday Bluesday!

Spend Monday With Gram Parsons, and ‘Live’ Music From Both Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and The Beatles, October 16, 2023

Good morning, worker bees! We’re all back in the trenches except for those of us who have Sunday and Monday as our weekends (that would be me). We’ve got some great stuff today including ‘live’ music from our two House Bands!

Here’s your Monday, Monday lineup:

11:00 a.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Gram Parsons

When we lost Gram Parsons tragically at the age of 26, we lost a real pioneer of the country-rock genre. He had just begun to make his mark, having spent time with The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The International Submarine Band, working with Emmylou Harris and as a solo artist popularizing what he called “Cosmic American Music”, a hybrid of country, rhythm & blues, soul, folk and rock. Today we put him In the Spotlight.

3:00 p.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, October 5, 1995

We continue on with Tom Petty Month with a great live performance from the University of Alabama, vintage 1995. This is one of the best set lists from any show that the Heartbreakers performed during this time phase.

7:00 p.m. The Beatles Live at The Karlaplansstudion, Stockholm, Sweden, October 24, 1963

The year was 1963. The Beatles had not yet landed in America. And concerts were short. This one was just about 20 minutes long. But it’s 20 minutes of rock n’ roll musical history.

This is our plan to help make your Monday more palatable. And we’re on 24/7 at no charge. That means that you are free to listen continually at no charge and with absolutely no commercial advertising. What could be better?

Monday, Monday