Today, We Celebrate Ronstadt’s 76th Birthday Mixed in With All That Wide Open Stream, Sunday, July 17, 2022

Today we celebrate the 76th birthday of Linda Ronstadt, a woman whose indelible mark on music is legendary. From the very beginning, Linda Ronstadt made sure she was in charge of her own career, and she did a hell of a job with it. She defied those who wanted to pigeon-hole her sound to sing just about any damned thing she wanted.

She can no longer sing, but her music is timeless.

Here’s your musical landscape for today:

11:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Hasten Down The Wind by Linda Ronstadt

This was a very tough selection. Like asking me to pick one singular favorite Linda Ronstadt song. But in the end, it made its case. Released in 1976, this was Ronstadt’s seventh studio album during a time when she was the undisputed Queen of Rock. (Some of us believe she still is, frankly.) Although the Laurel Canyon influence is all over this album, Linda Ronstadt switched gears on this one a bit and began to sing the songs of some new songwriters, like Karla Bonoff and Warren Zevon, who would soon be on the map. Two songs were also co-authored by Ronstadt, Try Me Again and Lo Siento Mi Vida, the latter being her first move into the Spanish sound.

The album became her third consecutive million-selling album, the first such feat by a female singer. Hasten Down The Wind earned Ronstadt a Grammy for the Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, in 1977, her second of 13 career Grammys. It was also the second of four country #1 albums for her.

2:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt Live at The Orpheum Theatre, Boston, MA, May 14, 1995

I had the absolute pleasure of being at this show in 1995. I remember it well. It was a real treat to have two brilliant women on stage that night as the late, great Valerie Carter was the opening act and joined Ronstadt on stage for a couple of beautiful songs. The best thing about Linda Ronstadt is that she was never threatened by sharing the stage with others, male or female, and that she felt like she was better as part of a bigger whole…in spite of her amazing solo career. And this brings us to our final programming for the day.

7:00 p.m. Linda Ronstadt & Friends: Duets and More

We close out the day with a great playlist of songs where Ronstadt shares the limelight. She’s either a back-up singer or a duet singer on these songs, sharing the duties with the likes of Glenn Frey, Valerie Carter, J.D. Souther, Frank Sinatra, Rosemary Clooney, Bette Midler, Emmylou Harris, The McGarrigle Sisters, Bonnie Raitt, Maria Muldaur, Nicolette Larson, James Taylor, Hoyt Axton and others. A fitting ending to our birthday celebration.

Before, in between and after, there’ll be all that wide Open Stream. Join us for Linda’s 76th birthday bash today. We’re sure you won’t regret it.

Our Roots are Showing With The ‘Folk Music From A-To-Z’ EP, Baez Sings Dylan, Shawn Colvin, and LIVE DEAD! Later, Saturday, July 16, 2022

It’s another full-on Saturday here in The Mermaid Lounge with some great folk music roots showing through today. You won’t want to miss this one!

Here’s your Saturday lineup:

10:00 a.m. Folk Music From A-to-Z: Various Artist

This one’s always a treat, folks. We’ve got the luminaries of the folk music scene along with those who pay very able tribute to the craft. Folk represents the origins of the protest music movement in so many ways. You’ll hear Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, John Prine, Dave Van Ronk, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul & Mary, Odetta, Cat Stevens, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Beatles, Arlo Guthrie, Bonnie Raitt, Joan Baez, The Band, Eric Andersen, Tom Rush, Judy Collins, Nanci Griffith, Jesse Winchester, Joni Mitchell, The Stone Poneys, Harry Chapin, Phil Ochs, The Kingston Trio, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Lead Belly, Tim Hardin, Simon & Garfunkel, Richie Havens, Jackson Browne, The Carter Family and many more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Baez Sings Dylan by Joan Baez FINAL AIRING!

What can we say about this one. The perfect album for a folk music kind of day. This is the swan song for this one. We’ve got a brand new album all ready for tomorrow.

7:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Shawn Colvin

Today we put a great artist In the Spotlight in Shawn Colvin, a woman who has one foot firmly planted in folk and another wherever she pleases at any given moment. One thing is for certain, you always know Shawn Colvin’s true roots.

10:00 p.m. LIVE DEAD! The Grateful Dead Live at The Roscoe Maples Pavillion, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, February 9, 1973 NEW!

We’ve got another new soundboard recording of The Dead, this one from Palo Alto. Almost thought I’d have a rare repeat until this one fell in our lap here. Enjoy.

We’re cooking here in The Lounge today with The Music Mermaid at the helm. You’ll be in great hands while I spend my final day toiling with the entitled consumer masses. She’s ready and raring to go as we get off to an early start. And remember, we’re always 100%, no-strings-attached, no surprises free. All day every day for eternity.

Today We’re ‘Under The Influence’ in the Best Possible Way, and We Have Some Live Warren Zevon Later, Friday, July 15, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We are finally at week’s end here, and we’re falling ‘Under The Influence’ with our spectacular multi-artist EP. Later, Warren Zevon pays us a visit.

Today, we’re ‘Under The Influence’ starting at 11:00 a.m. EST

Here’s your Friday lineup:

11:00 a.m. Under The Influence: Various Artists

Today, we’ve got a great lineup of artists who will put you under the influence. You’ll hear Arlo Guthrie, The Byrds, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Jefferson Airplane, Donovan, Glenn 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 many more!

7:00 p.m. Warren Zevon Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK, January 25, 1988

This appearance was broadcast on BBC Radio. Undoubtedly one of the most personally destructive artists on the planet, but that may have been what made him so damned good. He was also, without a doubt, one hell of a great singer-songwriter. Flawed, but brilliant. He was laboring in obscurity until someone named Linda Ronstadt discovered his genius.

Join us. We’ve got all that great wide Open Stream coursing through the modest programming we have. Even most of our playlists are multi-artist. We think we strike a great balance here. We too labor in obscurity because we have no dollars to spend on promoting. Please share our stuff if you like us. And did I mention we’re totally 100% without strings free?

We’re at Midweek With Our ‘Are You Ready for The Country?’ EP, and Traffic ‘live’ at the Paris Theatre Later, Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! It’s hot enough to boil a monkey’s bum in these parts, but we’re keeping cool with some great music in The Mermaid Lounge.

We’ve got just one question for you today.

Here’s your midweek musical landscape:

10:00 a.m. Are You Ready for The Country? Various Artists

Well, are you? We explore some (real) country music and then we have the birth of country-rock from Laurel Canyon mixed in. You’ll hear Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings, 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, Bonnie Raitt, Glen Campbell, Rosanne Cash, Dan Fogelberg, New Riders of The Purple Sage, and more!

7:00 p.m. Traffic Live From The Paris Theatre, London, UK, April 30, 1970 NEW!

From country to a bit of psychodelia right here in The Mermaid Lounge as we give you Traffic live from the UK. Our many UK listeners are tuned in right now, in fact.

Here we go again, folks. Another day in Hades as we reach the ugly days of summer here in the Boston area. Not my favorite time of year from mid-July to about mid-August. But as we say here, you can’t pick the weather, so you might as well pick good music. And so we are. Then, we’re sharing with you free of charge 24/7 ’round the clock. No commercial interruption, and no need for a credit card.

It’ll Be a Better Monday With Mudcrutch Madness, Fats Domino, and Some ‘Live’ CCR Bringing Up the Rear, July 11, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We haven’t had a Mudcrutch Monday Madness for far too long now, so that’s how we’ll kick off the day, followed by Fats Domino In the Spotlight, and ‘live’ CCR later!

Here’s today’s lineup:

11:00 a.m. MUDCRUTCH MONDAY MADNESS!

Today’s madness is the full catalogue. Just over two hours of every song Mudcrutch ever made before they morphed into our House Band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. This is the band that left Gainesville for L.A. all those years ago. In 2008, Petty would reunite the band with it’s original members, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Randall Marsh, and Tom Leadon, to great success.

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Fats Domino

The question remains: Did Fats Domino invent rock n’ roll? You know, nobody can say for sure. Rock n’ Roll had its own group of ‘founding parents’ as I like to call it, and surely Fats Domino is high up on that list. One thing is for sure, nobody can definitively say he wasn’t the first guy to play that music.

7:00 p.m. Creedence Clearwater Revival Live at The Fillmore West, San Francisco, July 4, 1971

Speaking of bands with a unique sound, this band of brothers definitely qualifies. You instantly know who’s singing that song when you hear it. Four guys from Berkeley who sound like they just came out of the Bayou.

No doubt about it. Monday’s suck. Every week I’m eternally grateful that Sunday and Monday are my weekend days. Somehow, it makes the rest of the week go faster. I know. It’s all psychological, but it works for me. In the meantime, if you work somewhere where you can multitask, grab yourself some ear buds, pull up a tab, and tune us in. It’ll make Monday oh so tolerable.

On Saturday We Bring Our ‘A Little Bit O’ Soul’ EP, the Final Airing of “The Royal Scam” and LIVE DEAD! Later, On July 9, 2022

Good Morning, soul and R & B lovers. This is your day as we bring you some of the greatest feel-good music on the planet with our great multi-artist EP. We also give you a brand new LIVE DEAD! later on.

We start the day off right with ‘A Little Bit O’ Soul’

Here’s today’s lineup:

10:00 a.m. A Little Bit O’ Soul: Various Artists

We start off the programming today with that feel-good music that gets you going. You’ll hear Aretha Franklin, The Four Tops, The Temptations, The Ronettes, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, 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 and more!

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: The Royal Scam by Steely Dan FINAL AIRING!

Today is the final airing of The Royal Scam. Come Sunday, we’ll have a brand new selection as our Album of The Week. When you roll out of bed, it’ll be ready for you.

10:00 p.m. LIVE DEAD! The Grateful Dead Live at The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY, February 19, 1971 NEW!

We’ve got another brand new soundboard recording for all our Deadheads. This one is from Port Chester, vintage 1971. Be there or be square, as they say.

The weekenders are officially on board this morning as we have our first full day out of the work-a-day world. (Well, most of us do. I’m not there yet.) This is a great day to tune us in and get a real feel for what we’re about. Before, in between and all night (we are 24/7), we give you that wide Open Stream. We don’t stop when the programming is over. We keep going.

We Head to the Weekend With Lucinda Williams In the Spotlight, Jethro Tull ‘Live’ On Stage and Our Steely Dan AOW, Thursday, July 7, 2022

Good Morning, Music Lovers! We begin the final slide toward the weekend today with some great programming. This is the place to be.

Later today we bring you some ‘live’ Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull.

Here’s your musical journey:

11:00 a.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Lucinda Williams

Ah, Lucinda Williams, a Louisiana native with that great twang in her voice as she sings the blues, some country, country-rock, folk and whatever she just about wants. She is undoubtedly one of the great treasures in popular music, somewhat underappreciated but certainly not by her peers. We’ve got her In the Spotlight to start off the day.

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: The Royal Scam by Steely Dan

This is the next-to-last airing of this week’s selection by The Dan, a band whose albums never disappoint as they’ve successfully managed to marry their great jazzy arrangements with their insatiable rock energy. On Sunday, this one will be in the record books. Saturday will be the final airing. Plan wisely.

7:00 p.m. Jethro Tull Live at The Capitol Centre, Landover, MD, November 21, 1977

I don’t know how many of you have had the opportunity to see the band live on stage, but I’ve seen them a few times in my day. There is no way to describe Ian Anderson on stage, and you’re certainly not watching video here, but his flute playing is legendary and their songs are timeless.

Get on it, people. It’s all downhill from here and you might as well make it an enjoyable slide into the weekend, where we some more great program awaits your arrival. We’re on 24/7 with no commercial interruption and we won’t cost you anything but time.

We Interrupt Our Programming to Bring You Tuesday Bluesday With Some ‘Live’ Janis Joplin and Johnny Winter, July 5, 2022

Good Morning, Bluesologists! It’s another Tuesday Bluesday as we give you a couple of great ‘live’ performances, one from Janis and the other from Johnny Winter. In between, we sneak in our AOW.

Here’s your Tuesday Bluesday lineup:

11:00 a.m. Janis Joplin Live at Winterland, San Francisco, CA, April 12, 1968

We’ve got early Janis here for you today as she belts out the blues from a legendary stage. She was one of the greatest as she easily walked the line between blues and rock.

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: The Royal Scam by Steely Dan

It’s our second airing of this great album. No matter how many albums they made, the one thing you can be sure of is that you instantly recognize more than just the ‘hits.’ That’s the sign of greatness in our book.

7:00 p.m. Johnny Winter Live at Parker’s Place, Seattle, WA, March 9, 1985 NEW!

I’ve been on the hunt for some new ‘live’ music to add to the playlist collection, and I found this gem from Johnny Winter, one of the greatest blues guitarists of all time. Johnny was no slouch at the mike either. He was an excellent blues belter.

Tune us in as we pay homage to the blues this, and every, Tuesday here in The Mermaid Lounge. You simply cannot go wrong. We are totally free. Your money is no good here. And we are also free of advertising. We don’t accept any. In short, it’s all music all the time.

We’re On The Downslide to The Weekend With ‘Live’ Neil Young, Emmylou Harris In the Spotlight, and Our AOW, Thursday, June 30, 2022

Good Morning, Musicologists! We are on the way to the weekend effectively this morning, and we’ve got three pieces of great programming today to help get you there.

Here’s today’s programming:

11:00 a.m. Neil Young Live at The Cellar Door, Washington, D.C., recorded in 1970 NEW!

This collection of live performances was recorded during Young’s six live performances in Washington in 1970. It is vintage Neil Young from his early albums and from his Buffalo Springfield years. It also features the only known recording of Cinnamon Girl (a Mermaid Lounge favorite) with young playing piano.

3:00 p.m. Album of The Week: American Beauty by The Grateful Dead

We’re at the next-to-last airing of American Beauty. The final will be sometime Saturday and, by Sunday, it will be a thing of the past as we have a new selection waiting in the wings.

7:00 p.m. In the Spotlight: The Music of Emmylou Harris

It’s time to put Emmylou in the spotlight again. Over the cours of her career she has evolved into one of the most influential contributors to the country and country-rock music scene. She has released dozens of singles and albums over her career and has won 14 Grammy Awards. She became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1992, ws inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

Great day to tune us in, as is every day. I know. I sound like, well, a broken record. But I can’t help myself. I can’t understand for the life of me why people would prefer to pay for their music. Or have to put up with commercial advertising and chatty DJs. What are you waiting for?

Welcome to Tuesday Bluesday and Five Hours of Uninterrupted Blues, Paul Butterfield Live at The Fillmore, and Our AOW, June 28, 2022

Good Morning, Bluesologists! Today is Tuesday Bluesday and we have our ‘Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blues’ EP and some live Paul Butterfield later.

Starts at 10:00 a.m today!

Here’s your Tuesday Bluesday lineup:

10:00 a.m. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blues: Various Artists

Our big, bad blues extravaganza is back for five hours of uninterrupted blues with Delbert McClinton, B.B.King, Little Walter, Ry Cooder, Slim Harpo, 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, Elmore James, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Robert Cray Band, J. J. Cale, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Koko Taylor, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, James Cotton, Susan Tedeschi, Duane Allman, Marcia Ball, Roomful of Blues, Howlin’ Wolf, Linda Ronstadt, Tracy Nelson and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: American Beauty by The Grateful Dead

Our only break in the blues programming today comes with our Album of The Week by The Dead.

7:00 p.m. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band Live at The Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA, October 14, 1966 NEW!

We go back in the Wayback Machine for this gem. We have some vintage Paul Butterfield from 1966. A legendary blues band in a legendary venue for sure.

Got the blues? Well, get them here. The blues of the best kind, of course. We’re totally free every single day of the week, not just when we’re doing a “membership” drive. The price of membership here is using your tab and the button below. Your money is no good here.