Our ‘Friends Of Mine’ EP, A Trio of Songwriters, and a Blood, Sweat & Tears Spotlight on Monday, November 27, 2023

Welcome to a rainy Monday here in the Boston area as I prepare to work a rare Monday shift. But The Music Mermaid has a great show lined up for you!

Here’s your Monday, Monday lineup:

9:00 a.m. Friends of Mine: Various Artists

This one has been waiting its turn for a bit. Songs to our friendships are in the pipeline today with The Guess Who, Willie Nelson, War, The Beach Boys, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Todd Rundgren, Linda Ronstadt, Queen, REM, Simon & Garfunkel, John Prine, Carole King, Grateful Dead, Lou Reed, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, The Kinks, Joan Baez, The Beatles, Carly Simon, Tracy Nelson, The Byrds, Desmond Dekker, Jackson Browne, Steppenwolf, Elton John, Maria Muldaur, Argent, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Otis Redding and more.

4:00 p.m. Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt & Guy Clark Live at The Bluebird Cafe, Nashville, TN, September 3, 1995

Three brilliant singer-songwriters playing a live show together at a nationally-renowned musical venue for songwriters. This show happened just 15 months before Van Zandt’s death.

We’ve had this one on the burner simmering for months. It finally comes full circle today as we put one of the greatest jazz-rock bands on the planet In the Spotlight. Yet, there is a mystery surrounding what happened to this band that literally burst onto the scene and skyrocketed, and then just seemed to disappear. If you’re interested, here’s the story.

Heading Toward the Weekend With the ‘Travelin’ Fever’ EP, Tom Rush, and Sir Paul McCartney, Thursday, November 2, 2023

Good morning, music lovers! We are in great company here as we roll along toward the weekend.

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Travelin’ Fever: Various Artists

There are topics, and then there are topics. There are loads of songs about life on the road and traveling in general. We’ve got them today with Canned Heat, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jackson Browne, Steve Miller Band, 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, Joan Baez, The Traveling Wilburys, Asleep at The Wheel, Mudcrutch, Loggins & Messina, Buffalo Springfield, Tom Rush, The Guess Who, Ray Charles, Marshall Tucker Band, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Merrimack County by Tom Rush

We’re winding down on this great album, so get in on it while you can. The final airing will be on Saturday, time TBD.

7:00 p.m. Paul McCartney Live at Citi Field, New York, NY, July 17-21, 2009

Tonight we close the programming with Macca recorded live at Citi Field in New York City. I never got the chance to see The Beatles live, leaving a musical hole in my life. However, I did get to see Sir Paul at Fenway Park in Boston and it was everything it was cracked up to be and then some. Tonight we have his New York performance from 2009.

We’re getting closer now. The weekend is on the horizon. And we’ve got some great new music coming up in November, including an expansion of our general rotation and some of our older playlists. Stand by.

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:

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!

Let’s Keep It Simple: We’ve Got ‘Pet Sounds’ as Our AOW and We Hit The Road With Our ‘Travelin’ Fever’ EP, Sunday, August 27, 2023

Good morning, serious weekenders! This is our keep-it-simple day today and the living couldn’t be any easier here in The Mermaid Lounge. Read on for details!

Here is your musical road ahead:

This is The Beach Boys eleventh studio release, although it was pretty much a Brian Wilson tour-de-force solo project of major proportions. He composed the majority of this by himself, spurred on by a mystical revelation (there was a lot of that going around those days) and by the work of The Beatles. It is certainly considered one of the greatest and most influential albums in popular music history.

3:00 p.m. Travelin’ Fever: Various Artists

We’re back on the move again with our road warriors, including Canned Heat, Tom Petty & The Hearbreakers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, 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, Guy Clark, The Byrds, Joan Baez, Asleep at The Wheel, The Traveling Wilburys, Mudcrutch, Loggins & Messina, Buffalo Springfield, Tom Rush, The Guess Who, The Beatles, Ray Charles, The Marshall Tucker Band, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Del Shannon and more!

‘Are You Ready for The Country’ Today? We’ve Also Got The Kinks’ AOW, and ‘Live’ Emmylou Harris with The Nash Ramblers From The Ryman Later. on Thursday, August 17, 2023

Good morning, global musicologists! We’ve got some great programming lined up starting with our ‘Are You Ready for The Country’ multi-artist EP!

Are you ready? We are!

9:00 a.m. Are You Ready for The Country: Various Artists

The best in ‘real’ country music along with the pioneers of country rock. You won’t hear Jason Aldean here, but you will 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!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Give The People What They Want by The Kinks

We’re winding down on this week’s selection. The final airing will be sometime on Saturday, so get in on this while you can!

8:00 p.m. Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers Live at The Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN, Recorded April 30-May 2, 1991

This is the concert that began the Ryman’s renaissance as Emmylou Harris and her band inspired the revitalization of this great, historical country music venue.

Thanks for tuning us in. We appreciate you every day. We’re on 24/7 at no cost without commercial interruption. We also avoid chatty DJ’s who talk through a song. Sounds good to me!

Keeping It Simple Today With Our ‘Are You Ready for the Country’ Multi-Artist EP and The (Young) Rascals’ AOW Later, July 16, 2023

Good morning, music lovers! We are on a ‘keep it simple’ Sunday routine today with some great country and country-rock (no bad pop bands with fiddles, we promise) and our Album of The Week from The Young Rascals.

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

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

From real country music to the creators of the country-rock sound. 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, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams and more!

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Groovin’ by The Young Rascals NEW!

No doubt, The Rascals are one of our favorite bands; a great rock band that could really make real R&B music. They just kept churning out the hits between 1964 and 1969. You couldn’t keep them off the charts, and they fully deserved to be there. Groovin’ was their third studio album, released on July 31, 1967. It went to #5 on the Billboard Top LP chart, #7 on the R&B chart, and #2 in Canada. Eight of the songs were released as singles, with the title track reaching #1 in the U.S. This would be the final album where they would use the ‘Young’ moniker. Moving on, they would explore psychedelia as did so many bands of this generation. They will be back here again with another AOW.

Kick off your shoes. Take your socks off. Pour yourself your favorite beverage. And get into the music. We’re on 24/7 and we’re totally free of charge every day, not just when we have a “subscription” drive. We don’t require a subscription or a credit card. So there.

It’s Finally Friday With Our ‘Paint It Black’ Playlist, a Stephen Stills Send-Off, and The Beatles With Some Friends Later Tonight, July 14, 2023

Good morning, music lovers! You’ve made it to the end of the work week (I’ve got one more day to go) and we’ve got some great stuff from The Mermaid Lounge coming your way!

Here’s today’s musical menagerie:

11:00 a.m. Paint It Black: Various Artists

Today’s opener is songs about the color black in the title, lyrics or both with The Hollies, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, The Rolling Stones, The Move, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, k.d. lang, Tom Rush, Fairport Convention, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Long John Baldry, J.D. Souther, Guy Clark, Nina Simone, The Beatles, Steely Dan, Stephen Stills, Curtis Mayfield, Lucinda Williams, John Lee Hooker and more!

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

Today we bid farewell to Stephen Stills as our featured singer-songwriter. Tomorrow we’ll have a brand new selection here for you.

8:00 p.m. The Beatles: Songs With Character UPDATED!

We’re back with the Man in the Mack, Bungalow Bill, Maxwell and his silver hammer, Eleanor Rigby, a barber who works on Penny Lane, a chick named Polythene Pam, a dog named Martha, Lucy who loves to fly around the sky with diamonds, and more. The Beatles had a lot of characters, and tonight we’re going to meet them.

Great day to tune us in. It’s Friday. What could be better than great music free 24/7 with no commercial interruption. Go ahead. I’m waiting.

It’s Saturday With Our ‘Ode to Morning’ EP, Guy Clark’s AOW (Final Airing), and Rickie Lee Jones as Our New Featured Singer-Songwriter, June 10, 2023

Good morning, musicologists! We have made it to Saturday. The weekenders are in The Lounge and the programming commences at 10:00 a.m. But don’t forget, we’re on 24/7 with our wide Open Stream.

Here’s your Saturday lineup:

10:00 a.m. Ode to Morning: Various Artists

We start the progamming with songs about the morning in the title, lyrics or both. You’ll hear 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, Chris Hillman, Harry Chapin, Three Dog Night, Ry Cooder, Tim Buckley, Muddy Waters, Jonathan Edwards, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, Pure Prairie League, Badfinger and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Texas Cookin’ by Guy Clark FINAL AIRING!

We bid a more than fond farewell to this great album today. We’re sorry to see it go, but there will be more opportunities for Guy Clark as we move through the year. Tomorrow we’ll have a brand new album for you.

8:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Rickie Lee Jones NEW!

In spite of the fact that Rickie Lee Jones has been at it for five decades, she has shunned the limelight. It’s only fitting, then, that we feature her as this week’s singer-songwriter. She has refused to be defined by one style, writing and singing songs from a variety of genres including rock, R & B, pop, soul and jazz.

Join us today. The Lounge is filling up fast, but there’s plenty of room for everyone here. We’re all about sharing great music at absolutely no cost to anyone and with no commercial interruption. See for yourselves!

We’re Heading for The Weekend With Our ‘Here Comes The Night’ EP, Guy Clark and Some ‘Live’ Ronstadt Later, June 8, 2023

Good morning, musicologists! We’ve got a great mix today with our EP the night time, which J. Geils calls ‘the right time,’ Guy Clark’s AOW, and Linda Ronstadt live at Budokan later.

Here’s your musical landscape for today:

9:00 a.m. Here Comes The Night: Various Artists

We start off with songs about the night time from artists Warren Zevon, the J. Geils Band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Them, The Beatles, 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, The Doors, Emmylou Harris, Poco, Neil Diamond, The Animals, The Band, The Rolling Stones, Don McLean, Steve Winwood, Cat Stevens, The Traveling Wilburys, Sam Cooke, Jimmy Cliff, Bonnie Raitt and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Texas Cookin’ by Guy Clark

We’re winding down on this gem. It’s the next-to-last airing, wth the final airing coming sometime on Saturday. Get on it.

8:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt Live at Nippon Budokan Hall, Tokyo, Japan, March 3, 1979

What a great way to close out our programming today! We’ve got the Queen of Rock from Budokan as part of her 1979 world tour during her meteoric rise! I’ve seen her forty times in my lifetime, and she never disappointed once.

Tune us in. You’ll love us. We promise. We play nothing but great music all day long at no cost to you. It’s a labor of musical love. We ask for no information, require no subscriptions, and won’t interrupt the flow with commercial advertising

It’s Tuesday Bluesday and We’ve Got ‘The Best of Chicago Blues’ EP, Our AOW by Guy Clark, and Some ‘Live’ Stevie Ray Vaughan Bringing Up the Rear, on June 6, 2023

We’re back with another Tuesday Bluesday, and a fine one it is with our ‘Best of Chicago Blues’ opening up the programming and Stevie Ray Vaughan closing it!

Here’s your Tuesday Bluesday lineup:

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

There’s nothing like the Windy City blues. Today you’ll hear Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, Albert King, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, Lowell Fulson, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, Magic Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson, Son Seals, James Cotton, Paul Butterfield, Elmore James, Jimmy Reed, Otis Spann and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Texas Cookin’ by Guy Clark

Today is the second airing of this great album by Guy Clarkm, his second studio album with some Clark classics like The Ballad of Laverne & Captain Flint, Virginia’s Real, and the title cut, and some great singers and musicians helping him out, like Emmylou Harris, Tracy Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, Hoyt Axton and Waylon Jennings.

7:00 p.m. Stevie Ray Vaughan Live at Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, PA, June 30, 1987

We close out the blues programming today with some great live Stevie Ray Vaughan.

The blues programming ends after SRV, but we’re never off the air. We’re on 24/7 and we’re totally free to the public. No strings. No subscriptions. No lie. And best of all, no commercial advertising. It’s a labor of musical love.