Category: ROCK

As We Return to the Work Week, We’ve Got That ‘Travelin’ Fever’ and Live Bob Marley & The Wailers Up Later, on Monday, February 6, 2023

Good morning and we hope we can ease you back into the work week with some great music. If you’ve got an office, shut the door and pull up a tab. We provide great background musical motivation. If you work at home, even better!

Here’s your Monday, Monday lineup:

10:00 a.m. Travelin’ Fever: Various Artists

We begin the day by celebrating the travelin’ life on foot, in vehicles, on trains, on planes and boats. It’s a popular subject in popular music, and you’ll hear from Canned Heat, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Steve Miller Band, 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 Travelin’ Wilburys, Joan Baez, Mudcrutch, Loggins & Messina, Buffalo Springfield and more!

7:00 p.m. Bob Marley & The Wailers Live at The Roxy, West Hollywood, CA, March 12, 1976

Tonight we’ve got Bob Marley and the band live on the Rastaman Vibration Tour at the Roxy.

Before, in between and after we’ve got our great, big wide Open Stream. We’re not just on the air when we have programming on tap. We’re on 24/7 uninterrupted by commercial advertising and DJ’s who don’t know when to STFU. And we’re totally free. No strings. No lies. No credit card or personal info required. What’s not to love here?

Just Push Play!

We Keep It Simple On Sunday With Our New AOW, a Tribute Album to Townes Van Zandt, and Our ‘Here Comes The Night’ EP, February 5, 2023

It’s Sunday Funday here in The Mermaid Lounge where we love to keep it simple on the seventh day of the week. We’ve got a great new AOW this morning to start it off. Read on!

Here’s your Sunday lineup:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Poet, A Tribute to Townes Van Zandt, Various Artists NEW!

This is a great multi-artist album featuring the music of singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt, who wrote many songs including Pancho & Lefty, For The Sake of The Song, If I Needed You, and To Live Is To Fly. Many of his compositions are considered to be masterpieces of American songwriting. His personal story is a sad one as he struggled with substance abuse and alcoholism and a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, but it does not diminish this man’s contribution to American popular music. On this album you will hear Emmylou Harris, Willie Nelson, John Prine, Delbert McClinton, Lucinda Williams, Guy Clark, Nanci Griffith, and many more pay tribute to his brilliance.

3:00 p.m. Here Comes The Night: Various Artists

This afternoon we feature a great EP extolling the virtues of the night. You’ll hear The Traveling Wilburys, Sam Cooke, Jimmy Cliff, Bonnie Raitt, Warren Zevon, the J. Geils Band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Beatles, Them, Van Morrison, Patti Smith, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bruce Springsteen, The Kinks, the Electric Prunes, Phoebe Snow, Joe Walsh, The Eagles, The Ronettes, John Cougar Mellencamp, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, The Doors, Poco, Neil Diamond, The Animals, The Band, The Rolling Stones, Don McLean, Steve Winwood, Cat Stevens and more!

All of our music runs 24/7 (not just when we have programming) uninterrupted by commercial advertising and at no cost to the general public. While I’m sure many think there are “strings” attached, I assure you there is not. See for yourself.

Just Push Play. Right Here.

It’s Saturday in The Mermaid Lounge With Our ‘Music From Laurel Canyon’ EP, the Final Airing of Our AOW, and Bobbie Gentry as the New Featured Singer-Songwriter for The Upcoming Week, February 4, 2023

Good morning, Music Lovers! We’re here in The Mermaid Lounge keeping warm while the weather outside is at -10 with a howling wind. We’ve got the stuff to keep you warm if you live in these parts, or out in the western part of Massachusetts where it’s even a bit more extreme!

Here’s your Saturday lineup:

10:00 a.m. Music From Laurel Canyon: Various Artists

We’re back again this month to feature the great artists who took up residence in Laurel Canyon and banded together to make the sounds heard ’round the world. Together they forged what is now known as country-rock. 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, Gram Parsons, Carole King, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds FINAL AIRING!

Today is the final airing for The Byrds’ debut album, an album that challenged the chart dominance of the British Invasion groups. Tomorrow when you roll out of bed, we’ll have a brand new selection.

7:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Bobbie Gentry NEW!

Bobbie Gentry was an enigma. She was a brilliant singer-songwriter who shunned the limelight. From day one, all she ever wanted to do was write songs for others to sing. It didn’t quite work out that way as she charted 11 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and four on the United Kingdom Top 40. Ode To Billie Joe, a Southern Gothic narrative, shot her to stardom in 1967 as it rose to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for four weeks. She was also one of the first female artists to compose and produce her own material. People say she simply disappeared. She didn’t. She simply did not want to be found. She retired to quiet solitude. But her musical legacy lives on.

Come on, people. It’s officially the weekend and we’ve got great music on 24/7 uninterrupted by commercial advertising and all completely free to you. Your money’s no good here. All you need is a free tab and to push the button below. We don’t follow you because we don’t have anything to sell you.

Music From Laurel Canyon

We’re Exiting the Work Week in Style With an Impressive Lineup at Red Rocks, Stevie Wonder’s Final Stand, and The Final Volume of The Heartbreakers at The Fillmore ’97, on Friday, February 3, 2023

Good morning, musicologists! We’ve got Stevie Wonder’s final turn as this week’s singer-songwriter sandwiched between two great live performances to close out the work week. Read on!

Here’s the end-of-the-week lineup:

11:00 a.m. Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Shawn Colvin, Bruce Hornsby, David Lindley and Wally Ingram Live at Red Rocks, Morrison, CO, September 12, 1999

I must say I had the pleasure of seeing this tour at what was then called The Tweeter Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts, back in 1999. I even bought myself a tee that I wore so much that I wore it out. This was an amazing performance by an incredibly gifted group of musicians that I will never forget. We bring it to you today for your listening pleasure!

3:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Stevie Wonder FINAL AIRING!

This is the final airing of Stevie Wonder as this week’s featured singer-songwriter, so get on it while you can. The man had his first No. 1 hit at the age of thirteen, after signing his first contract with Tamla at the age of eleven. Tomorrow, we’ll be selecting a brand new artist, but today we’ve got “Little” Stevie Wonder.

7:00 p.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, Volume Three, 1997

We close out the programming today with the final volume of The Heartbreakers’s unprecedented 20-show residency at The Fillmore in San Francisco. Many in attendance purchased tickets for multiple nights and were treated to a different show each time as the band scrapped their canned show and took their lead from audience suggestions. This is one event I wish I had the opportunity to see, but the release by curated by the Petty family and his bandmates is pretty incredible.

I don’t know what’s going on with the weather where you are, but here in Boston we’ve got high winds with wind chill factors down to -36 degrees forecasted for today through tomorrow. If I didn’t have to go out to work, I’d be here in The Mermaid Lounge listening to all this great music. And hey, we’re not just broadcasting when we have programming. We’re on 24/7 all year long rotating 27,000+ great tunes.

Just Push Play.

We’re Heading Toward The Weekend With Our ‘Color My World’ EP, Our AOW, and Volume Two of The Hearbreakers at The Fillmore, Thursday, February 2, 2023

Good morning, musicologists! We’re back with more great music as we are on the downslide to the weekend! We keep on with our time travel back to the Heartbreakers’ 20-night residency at The Fillmore a bit later on, but we start with our EP about all kinds of colors in the title, lyrics or both!

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Color My World: Various Artists

There’s nothing quite like color, and we’ve got colors of all kinds in these song in the title, lyrics or both. You’ll hear Linda Ronstadt, Valerie Carter, The Kinks, The Beatles, The Traveling Wilburys, Jonathan Edwards, George Harrison, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, John Hiatt, Joni Mitchell, Badfinger, Donovan, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, Elton John, Procol Harum, Electric Light Orchestra, Amy Winehouse, The Who, Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell, Sam & Dave, Jefferson Airplane, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, The Hollies, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Booker T. & The MG’s, Lucinda Williams, John Cougar Mellencamp, Creedence Clearwater Revival and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds

We’re winding down on this one, so get it in while you can! Our final airing will be sometime on Saturday.

7:00 p.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at The Fillmore, Volume Two, 1997

We’ve got volume two of one of the finest series of live performances every put on vinyl (yes, vinyl is still available and is still the best way to listen). Over a 20-night residency as The Fillmore House Band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers established themselves as one of the finest live rock n’ roll bands on the planet. Don’t miss this one.

We’re here in The Mermaid Lounge spinning tunes for your listening pleasure. It won’t cost you anything but time and it’s a certainty that good music makes everything just a little bit better. Don’t you agree?

Just Push Play.

We’re at Midweek With a Trip to Both Motown and The Legendary Fillmore With Some Legendary Musicians On Wednesday, February 1, 2023

We’re kicking off the month of February in style, musicologists! We start ot with our ‘M is For Motown’ EP, followed by Stevie Wonder as our featured singer-songwriter and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ legendary 20-night residency at The Fillmore! Does it actually get any better?

Here’s your midweek lineup:

9:00 a.m. M is For Motown: Various Artists

Today we take a trip to Motor City and remember the music that made us dance! You’ll hear Barrett Strong (who just passed away in the last few days), Eddie Kendricks, Eddie Holland, Edwin Starr, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Jackson Five, Kim Weston, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, Marvin Gaye, Martha & The Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Diana Ross &The Supremes, The Four Tops, The Isley Brothers, The Temptations, The Contours, Rare Earth, Mary Wells, Tammi Terrell, and more!

4:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Stevie Wonder

This is our second airing of Stevie Wonder as this week’s featured singer-songwriter. Wonder signed his first record contract at the age of eleven, and released his first hit called Fingertips at the age of 13. It went to No. 1. Hence, his first stage name of ‘Little Stevie Wonder.’

8:00 p.m. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at The Fillmore, Volume 1, San Francisco, 1997

Today we are revisiting this great new release of The Heartbreakers’ legendary 20-night residency as The Fillmore House Band, where they scrapped the script and did something new every night to everyone’s delight. They even allowed those in attendance to leave them suggestions for subsequent shows, as many in attendance had tickets to multiple nights. To a man, the members of the Heartbreakers believed they were at their best for these legendary shows where they not only sang their original songs, but paid homage to those who inspired them. Special guests during these concerts included John Lee Hooker and Roger McGuinn, among others. We’ve broken this massive offering down into three volumes. We’ll be playing volumes two and three over the next couple of days. Enjoy. This doesn’t happen every day.

We can seriously say this is a great day to tune us in. This musical combination is off the charts, so to speak. We’re on 24/7 (not just when we have programming, by the way) and we are totally 100% free, no strings and no lies. We don’t ask for a credit card, a subscription or your personal information.

Motown & The Fillmore. What could be better?

It’s Tuesday Bluesday and We’ve Got Open Stream This Morning With Blues Trifectas at the Top of Each Hour, Our AOW and Taj Mahal In The Spotlight, January 31, 2023

Good morning, bluesologists! We close the month with an Open Stream Tuesday Bluesday with blues artists featured at the top of each hour starting at 9:00 a.m. Later, we’ve got our Album of The Week and Taj Mahal bringing up the rear this evening.

Here’s your Tuesday Bluesday lineup:

9:00 a.m. Open Stream with Blues Trifectas!

From 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. we give you blues at the top of each hour with the following artists (in order of their appearance): Koko Taylor, B. B. King, Canned Heat, John Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Janis Joplin!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds

This is the second airing of our Album of The Week by The Byrds. It’s their studio debut album released in 1965 and it catapulted them into the spotlight of popular music, challenging the British Invasion band’s chart dominance.

7:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal is one of those great blues artists who expanded the genre. He is never afraid to include elements of world music into his blues work. He’s also a brilliant musician, playing guitar, banjo, piano, harmonica and many other instruments. You can learn about the man and his genius by visiting his website. Taj Mahal is now approaching 80 years old and lives in Berkeley, where he reflects on nearly six decades in music.

Tuesday Bluesday is always a great day to tune us in. We’re on 24/7 and we’re totally free of charge. There are no forms to fill out and no subscription requirements. We don’t ask for a credit card or your personal information. We’ve had some wise ass comment that I’m trying to build my hit rate by putting the button down below. That’s only so you can click and go right to the channel. Give me a break.

It’s Tuesday Bluesday!

We Ease You Into the Work Week With Our ‘On The Map’ Playlist, The I-Threes In the Spotlight, and Some Live Blind Faith Later This Evening, Monday, January 30, 2023

Happy Monday, kids! It’s the beginning of another work week and we’ve got just what you need to get rid of those Monday blues as we give you ‘On the Map’ along with The I-Threes In the Spotlight and live Blind Faith later.

Here’s your Monday, Monday lineup:

11:00 a.m. On The Map: Various Artists

We start our programming with a playlist about places across the globe, from Boston to Timbuktu, with The Beatles, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, America, Little Feat, Joni Mitchell, The Beach Boys, Paul Simon, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Doors, The Association, Scott McKenzie, Fats Domino, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Jesse Winchester, Tom Rush, James Taylor and more!

3:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of the I-Threes

As I’m learning, many people don’t know who the I-Threes are. They are Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt, and Marcia Griffiths and they are the most influential female band in Reggae and Ska who provided the background voices for Bob Marley & The Wailers. They also recorded albums individually, so today, we enlighten those who have never before heard them sing. It’s a treat.

7:00 p.m. Blind Faith Live at The Earl Warren Showgrounds, Santa Barbara, CA, August 16, 1969

Blind Faith were an English supergroup featuring Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They weren’t around for very long, only for one album and one extended summer tour. We’ve got one of those performances from that tour for you today. (I’m sure that the Earl Warren Showgrounds were used for more than music, but the thought of a psychedelic rock band performing at a venue named after a Supreme Court judge makes me chuckle.)

We’re here no matter how damned tired we are because we have The Music Mermaid and she is large and in charge. We’re on 24/7 (not just when we have programming) totally free to the listening public. You don’t need a subscription. You don’t need a credit card, and we don’t even want to know your name. We just want you to listen.

Monday, Monday

We Keep It Simple On Sunday With The Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” as Our AOW and ‘The British Are Coming’ EP in the Afternoon, January 29, 2023

Good morning, Weekenders! You know we keep it pretty simple on Sundays here in The Mermaid Lounge with plenty of wide Open Stream and just a couple of (great) programming items.

Here’s your simple Sunday lineup:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds NEW!

This is the debut album by this great band, released on June 21, 1965, and marked the debut of the signature guitar sound of Jim McGuinn’s 12-string Rickenbacker guitar and the band’s amazing harmonizing, a vocal approach of the late, great David Crosby who would carry that tradition on into Crosby, Stills & Nash later in his career. This album consists mainly of folk covers, many written by Bob Dylan including the title tune and originals co-written by Gene Clark. The album provided the first American challenge to the chart dominance of The Beatles and other British invasion bands. The Byrds would go on to influence others in the sixties as well as future generations of musicians, including Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers who carried on the jangling sound of McGuinn’s 12-string Rickenbacker throughout their 40-year career. You can get all the details about this album here.

2:00 p.m. The British Are Coming: Various Artists

Speaking of The British Invasion, that’s exactly what we’ve got here, but we go beyond that to include many British bands and singers that came later. You will hear The Beatles, The Who, Dave Mason, Electric Light Orchestra, Petula Clark, The Zombies, The Hollies, Dusty Springfield, Small Faces, Led Zeppelin, The Kinks, Queen, the Dave Clark Five, The Bee Gees, The Moody Blues, Rod Stewart, George Harrison, Them, Herman’s Hermits, Paul McCartney & Wings, John Lennon, Gerry & The Pacemakers, Badfinger, The Yardbirds, Traffic, Elton John, Lulu, Pink Floyd, Yes, The Animals, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, The Spencer Davis Group, Cream, Donovan and more.

Sunday is a day of rest, even for The Music Mermaid. We like to give her a bit of a rest once in a while. We are totally free 24/7. Your money is no good here. We also accept no commercial advertising so there’s nothing to break the flow of the music. All you’ll hear is a very brief station I.D. from yours truly so you know where you are. We track nobody and ask for no personal information because we’re not trying to sell you a thing. Just click on the button below to see for yourselves.

The British Are Coming!

The Weekend Has Officially Arrived! Today We Start It Off With Volume Two of Our Sixties Rotation, Move On To Our AOW, and Introduce Stevie Wonder as Our Featured Singer-Songwriter, Saturday, January 28, 2023

Good Morning, Weekenders! We’ve got some great stuff lined up for the weekend, but let’s start with today. We kick off the programming with volume two of our Sixties Rotation, and move on to Motown from there!

Here’s your Saturday lineup:

10:00 a.m. The Sixties Rotation, Volume Two: Various Artists

This is volume two of our sixties songfest, mostly covering the mid-to-late sixties, but we can never promise there won’t be some overlap between time periods. You’ll hear The Mamas & The Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield, Sly & The Family Stone, The Temptations, The Beach Boys, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Roy Orbison, The Yardbirds, The Animals, Linda Ronstadt, The Byrds, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Blind Faith, the Spencer Davis Group, Elvis Presley, The Box Tops, The Doors, Marvin Gaye, Wilson Pickett, The Band, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, TheRonettes, The Kinks, The Beatles, Jimmy Cliff, The Zombies, Donovan, Velvet Underground, B.B. King, Led Zeppelin and more!

5:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Going To A Go-Go by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles FINAL AIRING!

Today is the swan song for this great album. Our final airing has arrived. Tomorrow when you roll (or fall) out of bed, we’ll have a brand new selection!

8:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Stevie Wonder NEW!

Today we intro Stevie Wonder as our featured singer-songwriter for the week. When he first started out, he was called “Little” Stevie Wonder because he was just eleven years old when he signed his first contract with Tamla Records, and just thirteen years old when his first No. 1 hit, Fingertips, was released. Wonder is widely recognized as a pioneer and major influencer in many musical styles, including rhythm & blues, pop, soul, gospel, funk and jazz. He has sold over 100 million records worldwide and has won 25 Grammy awards. You can read more about Stevie Wonder here.

As always, the majority of our 24-hour periods are devoted to our great wide Open Stream of more than 27,000 songs. We’re totally free of charge and do not accept commercial advertising. We’re simply all about the music. Join us.

The Sixties!