Category: Singer-Songwriter Series

Friday in The Lounge Brings The ‘Foodies Only’ Playlist, Van Morrison as the Featured Singer-Songwriter, and Linda & Emmylou ‘Live’ Together in Boston, February 17, 2023

Good morning, weekenders. It’s almost here! We have a great lineup for you as we ease you into the weekend. We start out with a fun playlist this morning called ‘Foodies Only’ and it just may make you hungry because it’s songs about food and drink in the title, lyrics or both!

Here’s your Friday lineup:

11:00 a.m. For Foodies Only: Various Artists UPDATED!

Songs about food (and drink) in the title, lyrics or both open up our programming today. You’ll hear The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Little Feat, Van Morrison, The Four Tops. Tony Joe White, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Strangeloves, Steely Dan, Harry Nilsson, Cream, Booker T. & The MG’s, Fats Domino, The Guess Who, Neil Young, Supertramp, Bob Dylan, The Flying Burrito Brothers and more! And yes, we’ve added a few new songs.

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

Today is the final airing of Van Morrison as our featured singer-songwriter for the week. His talent cannot be denied. His career has spanned seven amazing decades. Tune it in today.

7:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris Live at The Orpheum, Boston, MA, October 1, 1999

Linda and Emmylou have been friends for a very long time. If you’ve seen the Linda Ronstadt documentary, The Sound of My Voice, you know the depth of their friendship. This tour was in support of their Western Wall album, which is an amazing piece of work. I remember the years leading up to the album and wishing that they’d do something together. It was worth the wait. Tonight we feature them live from my hometown in a historic music venue.

Hey, I sound like a broken record, so I’m not repeating my canned closing here. Suffice it to say if you’re not listening, you’re missing out on a great thing. (And it’s 100% FREE.)

Linda & Emmylou!

We are ‘Under The Influence’ at Midweek; We’ve Also Got Van Morrison and Eva Cassidy Along For the Ride, on Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Good morning, music lovers! Today we kick off early with our ‘Under The Influence’ EP of mind-bending songs, then we move on with Van Morrison as our featured singer-songwriter and Eva Cassidy’s live performance at Pearl’s.

Here’s your midweek lineup:

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

We start off the morning under the influence with songs about mind-bending substances, both legal and not. Hey, we’ve all been there at least once in our lives. Some of us more. You’ll hear Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Arlo Guthrie, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Donovan, Glen Frey, John Lee Hooker, Jonathan Edwards, Linda Ronstadt, Little Feat, The Traveling Wilburys, The Temptations, Small Faces, Steely Dan, Talking Heads, The Beatles, Neil Young, New Riders of The Purple Sage, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The 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. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Van Morrison

Van takes his second turn as this week’s featured singer-songwriter. This guy has been at it for seven decades and is still going.

7:00 p.m. Eva Cassidy Live at Pearl’s, Annapolis, MD, September 14, 1994

Eva Cassidy was robbed of her future just two years after this performance when she passed away from cancer, but she left an awful lot of great music behind for us to enjoy. Luckily we’ve managed to find a some live performances to bring you over the past several years. Like many others, I never heard her before her death. If you’ve never heard Eva sing before, this would be a great night to introduce yourself to her talent.

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Midweek Magic!

On Saturday, We Introduce Van Morrison as Our Featured Singer-Songwriter, and Give You ‘A Little Bit O’ Soul’ (EP) Plus the Final Airing of Our AOW, February 11, 2023

Good Morning, Musicologists! We’ve got a fine Saturday on tap for you today as some of us begin our weekend (mine doesn’t start until 5:00 p.m. this evening). But fear not. The Music Mermaid will be at the helm today.

Here’s today’s musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Van Morrison NEW!

Today we premier our new singer-songwriter, Northern Irish musician and multi-instrumentalist Van “the man” Morrison (to his many fans). Morrison’s music career spans seven decades, starting with his lead singer role with Irish R&B and rock band, Them, when he recorded the great garage hit Gloria.

12:00 p.m. A Little Bit O’ Soul: Various Artists

As you know, every month is black music history month here in The Mermaid Lounge, and today we give you five hours of uninterrupted R&B and soul music featuring Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Ronettes, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Jimmy Ruffin, The Drifters, Chuck Berry, Stevie Wonder, Carla Thomas, James Brown, The Shirelles, Etta James, Curtis Mayfield, Sam & Dave, The Staple Singers, Nina Simone, LaVern Baker, The Supremes, Sam Cooke, Edwin Starr, Fontella Bass, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Irma Thomas, The Box Tops, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, Eddie Floyd, The Ad Libs, Arthur Conley, Joe Tex, Wanda Jackson, Percy Sledge, Ann Peebles, Al Green and more!

8:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Poet, A Tribute To Townes Van Zandt, Various Artists FINAL AIRING!

Tonight we bid a fond farewell to this great album featuring artists like Emmylou Harris, Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, John Prine, the Cowboy Junkies and others paying homage to a great American singer-songwriter. Tomorrow we’ll have a brand new album for you.

Yes, it’s the beginning of the weekend and this is a great place to begin life in the no-work zone. We are stress-free: No subscription, credit card or personal information are ever required. We run 24/7 circulating more than 27,000 songs from my personal collection. Why not join our worldwide listeners today?

A Little Bit O’ Soul

We Are at The Week’s End and We’re All About The Women Today With Bonnie Raitt, Bobbie Gentry and Carole King. It’s Friday, February 10, 2023.

Good morning, music lovers across the globe! We’ve made it to Friday and it’s a Ladies Day Only with the programming today (but not all the stream) and with good reason. Read on for details!

Here’s Friday’s musical lineup:

11:00 a.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Bonnie Raitt UPDATED!

Today we celebrate Bonnie Raitt’s eleventh Grammy, won just earlier this week in what even she considered a stunning upset. It was for Song of the Year, winning for the first time as a composer for the song Just Like That from her latest album. She’s not only a great singer and songwriter, she’s a badass slide guitarist. Winning at the age of 73 proves that the generation of artists we built this station around has staying power. We’ve updated the playlist as well to include our favorite newer songs by Bonnie.

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

This is the final airing of Bobbie Gentry as our featured singer-songwriter this week. She was an amazing songwriter who just wanted to write songs for others to sing, but it didn’t quite work out that way. She charted 11 singles before she moved into what we consider early retirement in the late seventies. She never wanted the limelight, but her unique talents changed her path for a time.

7:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Carole King

This evening we celebrate Carole King, who is not only in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but also in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Her list of compositions has got to be more than a mile long. On February 9, Carole King turned 81 years young, and today is the 52nd anniversary of the release of her seminal album Tapestry.

Every month is Woman’s month here in The Mermaid Lounge, but you can expect a little more focus as we move into March and International Women’s Month. We’re giving you a preview here. We’re totally free 24/7 with no commercial advertising. As we continue to say, it’s all about the music.

Ladies Invited Day!

We’re at Midweek With ‘The Female Species’ EP, Bobbie Gentry as Our Featured Singer-Songwriter and Ann Peebles In the Spotlight Later, Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Good morning, Musicologists! We are at midweek and we’ve got a bunch of good programming for you today. Hey, it’s always Black History Month here in The Mermaid Lounge, but we’re amping it up a bit for February as you will soon see!

Here’s your midweek lineup:

9:00 a.m. The Female Species: Various Artists

This isn’t all songs by women. That comes up soon, but not today. These are songs about women, ladies, girls, chicks, and other entreaties of the fairer (and superior) sex. You’ll hear Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Talking Heads, Jackson Browne, The Boogaloo Swamis, John Mayall, Hot Tuna, The Eagles, Elvis Presley, Electric Light Orchestra, Fleetwood Mac, Percy Sledge, The Beatles, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, America, Roy Orbison, Billy Joel, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, The Beach Boys, The Temptations, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Rolling Stones, The Rascals, Peter & Gordon, and many more!

4:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Bobbie Gentry

This is the second airing of Bobbie Gentry as our featured singer-songwriter. She never wanted the limelight. She truly just wanted to write songs for others to sing. But it didn’t work out that way as she charted 11 singles. In the late seventies, she decided she didn’t want to be found and retired from the business. But she left an incredible musical legacy behind.

8:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Ann Peebles NEW!

To be perfectly honest, I never heard about Ann Peebles until I started listening to Tom Petty’s Buried Treasure show on Sirius. You can learn a lot about music history when Petty is the DJ. In fact, some people say his station could be a course in popular music history. Ann Peebles is a R & B and soul singer who became famous in the late seventies for her Memphis soul albums. She is also the composer of the R & B great I Can’t Stand The Rain (which she wrote with her husband Don Bryant and radio broadcaster Bernie Miller). Give her a listen. She’s fantastic.

While I’m toiling on Truck Day, at least some of us should be enjoying this great music. How about you? We’re totally free of charge. Trust me. Your money is no good here. See for yourself. all you need is a free tab and a cursor to click the button below.

We’re at Midweek, Folks!

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 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?

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!

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.