We Head Toward The Weekend With Our House EP, Lucinda Williams & Linda Ronstadt, Thursday, March 28, 2024

Good morning, musicologists! Remember that great Heartbreakers song, It’s Raining Again? Well, it is here in Boston. But we’ve got our great House EP and a couple of amazing ladies to get us through today.

Here’s Thursday’s lineup:

9:00 a.m. The #BecomeUngovernable House Playlist: Various Artists

All the music that inspired the station. You’ll hear Barry McGuire, The Temptations, Edwin Starr, Peter Tosh, The Beatles, T. Rex, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Country Joe & The Fish, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Joan Baez, CSNY, Pink Floyd, The Animals, Ten Years After, Plastic Ono Band, Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Three Dog Night, Jimmy Cliff, Richie Havens, Marvin Gaye, The Association, Phil Ochs, Tom Rush, Pete Seeger, The Band, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin, Linda Ronstadt and more!

4:00 p.m. Lucinda Williams Live at The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA, November 20-22, 2003

We’ve got a live one from the woman whom Tom Petty called one of the greatest songwriters ever, and he should know because he’s one as well. This one is live from the fabled Fillmore.

7:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Heart Like A Wheel by Linda Ronstadt

We’re winding down on this magical album and on the AOW feature itself. The final performance will be sometime on Saturday.

We’re here rain or shine, folks, playing the greatest music on planet earth at no charge and with no commercial advertising to break up the flow. We’re streaming and dreaming.

It’s a Wilbury Wednesday Today, But We Kick It Off With Our ‘Here Comes The Night’ Multi-Artist EP, March 20, 2024

We finally have a Wilbury Wednesday on tap with a great playlist, but we are kicking things off with our ‘Here Comes The Night’ multi-artist EP first!

Here’s your midweek musical lineup:

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

We closed the show with songs about the morning the other day, so it’s only fitting we open today with songs about the night time. You’ll hear Warren Zevon, The J. Geils Band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Them, The Beatles, Van Morrison, Patti Smith, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Electric Prunes, Phoebe Snow, Joe Walsh, The Eagles, The Beatles, John Cougar Mellencamp, The Doors, Poco, Emmylou Harris, Neil Diamond, The Animals, The Rolling Stones, Don McLean, Steve Winwood, The Traveling Wilburys, Sam Cooke, Jimmy Cliff and Bonnie Raitt.

7:00 p.m. The Traveling Wilburys: The Bootleg Collection

The best supergroup on the planet, bar none, is back with outtakes, alternative takes, works-in-progress and the final product in nearly three hours of great music. Not to be missed.

Before, in between and after we’ve got our big, wide Open Stream of more than 27,000 songs continually circulating for your listening pleasure…always at no charge to you and with absolutely no commercial interruption.

We’ve Got a Great Sunday On Tap With Queen, Our House EP and Birthday Boy George Harrison, February 25, 2024

It’s another Sunday here in The Mermaid Lounge and it’s also George Harrison’s birthday. We will celebrate that with our closing program. Before that it’s Queen’s new AOW and our multi-artist House EP.

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

The band’s third studio album was released in November 1974, and was a departure from the progressive sound of their first two album. It focused instead on more pop-centric songs and traditional rock, eventually leading to the Queen ‘sound.’ The album propelled the band to mainstream popularity in the UK and the rest of the world. Happy 50th!

1:00 p.m. The #BecomeUngovernable House EP: Various Artists

The music of the sixties (primarily) and seventies was the inspiration for starting this experiment. You’ll hear Barry McGuire, The Temptations, Edwin Starr, Peter Tosh, The Beatles, T. Rex, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Country Joe & The Fish, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Joan Baez, CSNY, Pink Floyd, The Animals, The Plastic Ono Band, Paul McCartney & Wings, Joni Mitchell, Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Three Dog Night, Jimmy Cliff, Marvin Gaye, Phil Ochs, Tom Rush, Pete Seeger, The Band, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin, Linda Ronstadt and more!

8:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of George Harrison

Today we celebrate what would be George Harrison’s 81st birthday by putting him In the Spotlight featuring his muisc with The Beatles, The Traveling Wilbury’s and as a solo artist.

Today We’ve Got ‘A Little Bit O’ Soul’, Al Green’s Final Spin, and an Emmylou Harris Spotlight, Friday, January 19, 2024

Good morning, musicologists! Hope all is well where you are and that you’re ready for another day in The Mermaid Lounge where the attitude is easy and the music is fine.

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m.  A Little Bit O’ Soul: Various Artists

Soul from all over the spectrum with Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Four Tops, 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, The Box Tops, Jr. Walker & The All Stars, Eddie Floyd, Percy Sledge, Wanda Jackson, Ann Peebles, Al Green and more.

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

Speaking of the great Al Green, he takes his final spin today as our featured singer-songwriter. On Monday, we will have a brand new artist.

8:00 p.m.  In the Spotlight: The Music of Emmylou Harris

I was not a real country fan until I heard Linda Ronstadt. And it was Linda Ronstadt’s music that helped introduced me to Emmylou Harris. I heard Elite Hotel and I was hooked, and have been ever since. Emmylou Harris has deservedly won nearly every music accolade humanly possible. She helped continue to shape country music, while refusing to allow it to define her singing. Tonight she’s our Spotlight artist.

Yes, it’s Friday once again. We’ve nearly made it to the weekend. And what better way to get over the final line than right here with great music at absolutely no charge to anyone and with absolutely no commercial interruption?

Saturday Brings Sam Cooke, Our ‘Water, Water Everywhere’ EP and Randy Newman Later On, December 2, 2023

We’ve successfully gotten to Saturday and we’ve got the final airing of our AOW, songs about water (which comprises 71% of planet earth), and Randy Newman is our new featured singer-songwriter.

Here’s today’s musical extravaganza:

9:00 a.m. Album of The Week: Ain’t That Good News by Sam Cooke FINAL AIRING!

It’s the final airing of Sam Cooke’s featured album. Tomorrow we’ll have a brand new selection here.

11:00 a.m. Water, Water Everywhere: Various Artists

Once again, we’ve got songs about water…one of the most important components of human existence in all its forms. You’ll hear Paul McCartney, Deep Purple, Joe Cocker, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Otis Redding, The Doobie Brothers, Valerie Carter, Bob Dylan, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Al Green, Loggins & Messina, Linda Ronstadt, Spirit, The Grass Roots, The Beach Boys, Lindisfarne, Van Morrison, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Steely Dan, Tom Rush, Donovan, America, Johnny Rivers and more!

Truly one of the most prolific writers of his generation, he is like Laura Nyro in the sense that he has provided material for many, many singers. Linda Ronstadt recorded Feels Like Home and Sail Away, Three Dog Night recorded Mama Told me Not To Come, Irma Thomas recorded Baby Don’t Look Down, and there were many others. He has also scored nine Disney-Pixar movies. On top of all that, Randy Newman has had his own successful solo career writing songs about the human condition and with some wry sarcasm at times. He’s a favorite here.

‘The Female Species’ EP, Our AOW and ‘Live’ Kinks On Tap Thursday, November 30, 2023

Good morning, musicologists! We head toward the weekend in fine form with an EP we haven’t heard in a bit, some Sam Cooke and The Kinks ‘live’ in the UK.

Here’s your Thursday lineup:

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

It’s been since late summer, and the time is now. Not songs by females, but songs about ladies, women, females, girls from Talking Heads, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Boogaloo Swamis, Jackson Browne, John Mayall, Hot Tuna, The Eagles, Elvis Presley, Electric Light Orchestra, The Beatles, Percy Sledge, 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 and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: “Ain’t That Good News” by Sam Cooke

We’re winding down on this one. Get it while you can!

7:00 p.m. The Kinks Live at The Hippodrome Theatre, London, UK, July 14, 1974

A great performance by one of the best bands on the planet tonight at 7:00 p.m.

I have one more opening shift this week and I’m running late, so I won’t belabor the point but you really have to be here.

It’s Tuesday Bluesday With Our Big, Bad Blues EP and The Blues Project; Sam Cooke in Between, November 28, 2023

Good morning, bluesologists and welcome to another Tuesday Bluesday. We’ve got our biggest blues EP up this morning and ‘live’ music from The Blues Project later.

Here’s your Tuesday Bluesday lineup:

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

Our biggest, baddest, broadest blues EP with Delbert McClinton, Koko Taylor, 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, Elmore James, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Robert Cray Band, J.J. Cale, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, James Cotton, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Marcia Ball, Susan Tedeschi, Roomful of Blues, Howlin’ Wolf, Tracy Nelson and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: Ain’t That Good News by Sam Cooke

We’ve got the second airing Sam Cooke’s Album of The Week this afternoon at 4:00 p.m.

8:00 p.m. The Blues Project Live at The Matrix Club, San Francisco, CA, September 7-15, 1966

Some great live music from The Blues Project recorded during their weeklong residency at The Matrix Club, vintage 1966.

We’ve always got a full house here on Tuesday Bluesday, so join us! We’re on 24/7 and we’re totally free to the public. Your money’s no good here.

It’s Simply Sunday With Sam Cooke’s AOW and the ‘#BecomeUngovernable House Music’ EP, November 26, 2023

Good morning, weekenders! We are on another simple Sunday rotation today with plenty of Open Stream and minimal, but excellent, programming.

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

This was Sam Cooke’s eleventh and final studio album, released in 1964. It contained his final hit, A Change Is Gonna’ Come, which became an anthem for the civil rights movement of the sixties. The song has increased in popularity over the decades since its release and, although a modest hit compared to his earlier songs, has become one of his best-known songs. Sam Cooke was a musical genius, and his considerable influence on the development of the soul and R&B genre cannot be denied.

3:00 p.m. The #BecomeUngovernable House EP: Various Artists

Primarily songs from the sixties and seventies, this is essentially the music that inspired the radio station. You’ll hear Barry McGuire, The Temptations, Edwin Starr, Peter Tosh, The Beatles, Genesis, T-Rex, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Country Joe & The Fish, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Joan Baez, CSNY, Pink Floyd, The Animals, Ten Years After, The Plastic Ono Band, Billy Joel, George Harrison, Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Three Dog Night, Jimmy Cliff, Richie Havens, Marvin Gaye, The Association, Phil Ochs, Tom Rush, Pete Seger, The Band, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin and more!

It’s Simply Sunday With Our AOW and the ‘Here Comes The Night’ EP, November 12, 2023

Good morning, children, and welcome to Sunday in The Mermaid Lounge where the programming is light and the open stream is the norm.

Here’s your Sunday lineup:

Yes, we are Elvis lovers here in The Mermaid Lounge. He is one of our forefathers; one of the artists that people like The Beatles, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, and so many others that we play invoke as their inspiration. There were others to be sure, like Fats Domino, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Big Mama Thornton (the original Hound Dog hit was hers), but today we focus on Elvis because he did the one thing the others needed to complete the cycle: He made that music accessible to everyone and helped usher in rock n’ roll. This is Elvis’ debut album, released March 23, 1956. This is our favorite time frame for Elvis music, and today he owns our Album of The Week.

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

Today it’s our ode to the night time. The dark hours. You’ll hear 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!

Our #BecomeUngovernable House EP, Steve Winwood’s AOW and Roy Orbison is Our New Singer-Songwriter, Saturday, October 28, 2023

Good morning, weekenders! Here I am writing to you from my favorite spot on the planet, Provincetown, Massachusetts. And the show goes on with a great musical lineup!

Here’s today’s musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. The #BecomeUngovernable House Playlist: Various Artists

The music that started this whole idea of mine with Barry McGuire, The Temptations, Edwin Starr, Peter Tosh, The Beatles, Genesis, T-Rex, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Country Joe & The Fish, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Joan Baez, CSNY, Pink Floyd, The Animals, Ten Years After, The Plastic Ono Band, Billy Joel, George Harrison, Sam Cooke, The Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Three Dog Night, Jimmy Cliff, Richie Havens, Marvin Gaye, The Association, Phil Ochs, Tom Rush, Pete Seeger, The Band and more!

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

Steve Winwood’s great AOW is in its final airing phase today. Tomorrow, we’ll have a brand new selection here.

A lot of people younger than me remember Roy Orbison as a Wilbury. But before he was a Wilbury (no small feat, I might add), he had a brilliant solo career. Known as ‘The Caruso of Rock,’ Roy Orbison’s voice is so distinctive you’d never mistake him for anyone else. A key influencer for generations of musicians who followed, including Tom Petty, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, and Jeff Lynne, his Wilbury bandmates.

I’m on vacation, so I’m not waxing poetic this morning about why you should make us part of your daily routine. You’ll figure it out eventually.