‘Ode To Morning,’ an Allman Brothers Spotlight, and a Band Too Big To Fail Are All On Tap, Sunday, April 21, 2024

Good morning musicologists and welcome to The Mermaid Lounge where music is Queen. We have a great lineup on tap, so read on for details.

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

9:00 a.m. Ode To Morning: Various Artists

Fittingly, we begin the morning with songs about the morning. You’ll hear Yusuf/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, Harry Chapin, Three Dog Night, Ry Cooder, Tim Buckley, Muddy Waters, Jonathan Edwards, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of The Allman Brothers Band

This afternoon we put the spotlight on the band that introduced and anchored the Southern Rock sound, started in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane and Greg Allman. Another founding member was Dicky Betts, one of the finest guitarists on the planet, who left this planet just a few days ago. This one’s for him.

8:00 p.m. Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Shawn Colvin, Bruce Hornsby, David Lindley & Wally Ingram Live at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, CO, September 12, 1999

This is the band that was too big to fail. I was lucky enough to see this tour at what was then called The Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA, under the stars. It was fantastic.

We’re in a hurry here. We begin at nine, so no time to banter. Yes, I overslept. Enjoy the musical journey!

Monday Brings Our ‘By The Numbers’ Playlist, Shawn Colvin’s Spotlight and Lennon-McCartney, March 4, 2024

Good morning, music lovers! We’re back to the work week, but all is well here in The Lounge. Today we close out our singer-songwriter series with the best.

Here’s your Monday music:

10:00 a.m. By The Numbers: Various Artists

We start with songs with numbers in the title, lyrics or both from Three Dog Night, Chicago, J. J. Cale, Steely Dan, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jefferson Airplane, Alice Cooper, The Beatles, Emmylou Harris, The Grass Roots, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Paul Simon, Rosanne Cash, Johnny Rivers, The Searchers and more!

3:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Shawn Colvin

It’s Women’s History Month, so we feel the need to pick up our game here a bit in the month of March. We start today by putting singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin in the spotlight.

We close out this version of our Singer-Songwriter Series with the best songwriting duo in the history of popular music from the band that changed everything. Nothing else needs to be said. All you need to do is listen.

It’s ‘Ladies Day Out’, The Rolling Stones, and ‘Great Beginnings’ Closing It Out, Saturday, February 24, 2024

Good morning, music lovers and welcome to the weekend! We start off with the women of music in charge, move on to the final airing of our AOW, and give you a brand new multi-artist playlist this evening.

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Ladies Day Out: Various Artists

The ladies are back in the Lounge today and they own the first five hours of our programming. Spend some time with Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, Emmylou Harris, Petula Clark, Laura Nyro, Irma Thomas, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Carole King, Maria Muldaur, Lucinda Williams, Rosanne Cash, Eva Cassidy, Wendy Waldman, The Supremes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Susan Tedeschi, Valerie Carter, Dusty Springfield, Dolly Parton and more!

4:00 p.m. Album of The Week: It’s Only Rock N’ Roll by The Rolling Stones FINAL AIRING!

The Stones are back with the final airing of our Album of The Week. Tomorrow, we’ll have a new 50th anniversary album for you.

A friend suggested this one, and I thought it was a great idea. Songs with great ‘openings’, some of them definitely guitar riffs, but some not. You’ll hear The Beatles, Electric Light Orchestra, Johnny Rivers, Elton John, Yes, Linda Ronstadt, Chicago, Roy Orbison, Aerosmith, Jimi Hendrix Experience, CSNY, The Temptations, The Hollies, The Edgar Winter Group, Cream, Neil Young and more!

The Ladies Open and Close the Programming Today; Kristofferson is the Mid. Saturday, January 20, 2024

Good morning, music lovers! We essentially turn the lounge over to the ladies today, as ‘Ladies Day Out’ opens the day and the Queen of Soul closes it out later.

Here’s Saturday’s lineup:

9:00 a.m.  Ladies Day Out: Various Artists

We know that no other station plays women’s music like we do. That’s why we do it. You’ll hear five hours uninterrupted with Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Carly Simon, Emmylou Harris, Petula Clark, Laura Nyro, Cilla Black, Irma Thomas, Aretha Franklin, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Carole King, Maria Muldaur, Lucinda Williams, Rosanne Cash, Eva Cassidy, Wendy Waldman, Shawn Colvin, The Ronettes, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Norah Jones, Phoebe Snow, Nicollette Larson, Valerie Carter, Sheryl Crow, Susan Tedeschi, Dusty Springfield and more!

4:00 p.m.  Album of The Week: Jesus Was A Capricorn by Kris Kristofferson FINAL AIRING!

We say goodbye to this album today, but we’ll have another tomorrow. Programming Note: Tomorrow we begin a spell of great albums that will turn fifty years old in 2024. Only a few on this list have been aired as an AOW before, but it was quite a long time ago (we’ve been running this feature for five years now), so they will repeat. But I promise they’ll be like new.

8:00 p.m.  In The Spotlight: The Music of Aretha Franklin

The undisputed Queen of Soul was first noticed singing gospel in her father’s church. Over six decades, she would dominate the world of soul and R&B, with Rolling Stone twice calling her the greatest singer ever. She was the very first female inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tonight we put Aretha In The Spotlight.

Well, weekenders, we’ve made it to Saturday. I have this one final day to go. My weekend is Sunday/Monday. However, fear not. The Music Mermaid is large and in charge here when I’m not around. You’re in safe fins.

Another Simply Sunday Brings Our AOW by Loggins & Messina and the ‘What’s In a Name’ Multi-Artist EP, January 7, 2024

Yes, I will admit that there are times when I’m still writing ‘2023’ on stuff but, in spite of my encroaching old age, I’m doing better than I was last year at this time! (And that’s a good sign.)

Here’s your Sunday funday lineup:

I have a lot of fond musical memories of these guys; put simply, they just made some great music. This was originally intended as a Loggins solo album, but Jim Messina was brought in as the producer and started writing some songs, playing instruments and singing background. The original (correct) title is Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin’ In, by the way. However, after that? They became Loggins & Messina and put out a string of great albums. We’ve got one today.

3:00 p.m.  What’s In a Name: Various Artists

An EP with names in songs. You know, like Ode to Billie Joe. Or Alison. Or Gloria. There are many, and we’ve got a bunch from The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Them, Janis Joplin, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Donovan, Steve Winwood, Bonnie Raitt, Shawn Colvin, Carly Simon, Warren Zevon, Laura Nyro, Bobbie Gentry, The Kinks, Three Dog Night and many more!

Our ‘What’s In a Name’ EP, Bob Marley and ‘Live’ Creedence are on the Bill for Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Good morning, music lovers and welcome to midweek. Everything from here is heading toward the weekend, and we’ve got some great music to help get you there!

Here’s today’s musical programming:

9:00 a.m. What’s In a Name: Various Artists

This is a fun one: Songs with names in the title, lyrics or both. You’ll hear Stevie Wonder, Them, The Beatles, Janis Joplin, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Donovan, Steve Winwood, Bonnie Raitt, Shawn Colvin, Carly Simon, Warren Zevon, Laura Nyro, Bobbie Gentry, The Kinks, Three Dog Night, The Association, Joni Mitchell, Badfinger, Linda Ronstadt, Steely Dan, Chi Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, James Taylor, Tony Joe White and more.

4:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Bob Marley

Bob Marley comes through The Mermaid Lounge for a second spin as this week’s featured singer-songwriter.

This one has never been aired on our channel before, and it’s from one of our favorite bands of the sixties and seventies for sure. Drop by and sit a spell for this one.

Monday Rolls Around & It’s Time for Mudcrutch and Some Tunes About the Color Blue, April 3, 2023

Good morning and welcome back to the work week. If you’ve got those work-a-day blues, we can help you out today. Nothing like a little Mudcrutch music to solve that problem.

Mudcrutch at Humprey’s By The Bay (photo courtesy of Alex Matthews)

Here’s your Monday, Monday lineup:

11:00 a.m. All About Blue: Various Artists

The color blue just happens to be my favorite color, so I’m indulging myself on Monday. In the first set, you’ll hear from Linda Ronstadt, Foreigner, The Allman Brothers Band, Taj Mahal, Electric Light Orchestra, The Beach Boys, Paul McCartney & Wings, The Beatles, The Band, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Badfinger, Joni Mitchell, Jonathan Edwards, Mudcrutch, Fats Domino and more!

3:00 p.m. All About Blue Too: Various Artists

In our second set this afternoon, you’ll hear Phoebe Snow, The Rolling Stones, Robert Johnson, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, Shawn Colvin, Marvin Gaye, Boz Scaggs, Van Morrison, The Doors, Buddy Guy, The Association, The Beatles, The Kinks, Canned Heat, The Smithereens, Janis Joplin, George Harrison and more!

7:00 p.m. Mudcrutch Live at The Fonda Theatre, W. Hollywood, CA June 26, 2016

The band that left Gainesville, Florida, and that would morph into Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers came back with a bang in 2008 with the original cast. This is from their 2016 tour across America (which I still kick myself for missing when it passed through the House of Blues in Boston).

What could be better to help you through a Monday than great music? Not much, I’d venture. We’re on 24/7 (not just when we have programming) and we’re totally free of charge and we’re also totally free of commercial advertising. Give us a spin.

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.

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.

We’re at Midweek With Our ‘Original Sixties Rotation’ and the Second Airing of Shawn Colvin as the Featured Singer-Songwriter on Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Good morning, musicologists! We hit our midweek stride with and EP of the music that inspired us to start this radio station, ‘The Original Sixties Rotation’ and the second airing of Shawn Colvin as our featured singer-songwriter.

Here’s today’s lineup:

10:00 a.m. The Original Sixties Rotation: Various Artists

We actually have two EP’s dedicated to sixties music. This one primarily focuses on the early-to-mid sixties and features Del Shannon, Little Eva, The Drifters, The Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Hollies, The Walker Brothers, Mary Wells, Dusty Springfield, The Searchers, The Monkees, Sonny & Cher, Petula Clark, Glen Campbell, The Dave Clark Five, Johnny Rivers, The Supremes, Harry Nilsson, The Band, The Yardbirds, The Kinks, Simon & Garfunkel, Blind Faith, Janis Joplin, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Marvin Gaye, The Who, Tony Joe White, Barry McGuire, Procol Harum, The Temptations, Fats Domino and more.

7:00 p.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Shawn Colvin

Tonight we’ve got the second airing of Shawn Colvin’s stint as our featured singer-songwriter. A veteran of the second great folk revival, I really began paying attention when I first heard her album A Few Small Repairs with her breakthrough hit, Sunny Came Home.

Before, in between and after we give you that great wide Open Stream courtesy of The Music Mermaid. She’s totally unpredictable, and there are times when she’ll pick up a playlist. We give her free reign here in The Lounge.