At Midweek, We’re ‘Under The Influence’ With a Spotlight on The Band, and Some Live Little Feat, Wednesday, May 8, 2024

Good morning, musicologists! We take a favorite EP out of mothballs today and give you a Spotlight feature on The Band and ‘Live’ Little Feat from London.

Here’s your midweek musical lineup:

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

We have all been here. There’s no denying it. Some of our ‘influences’ have been legal; some decidedly not. You’ll hear Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, The Byrds, Bob Dylan, Arlo Guthrie, Linda Ronstadt, Little Feat, The Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Jimi Hendrix, Steely Dan, New Riders of The Purple Sage, Talking Heads, Neil Young, The Beatles, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Foreigner, Jonathan Edwards, John Lee Hooker, Donovan and more!

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

They were once Bob Dylan’s backup band. That’s how they got their name. They were referred to as ‘the band’. And then, they morphed into one of the most prolific and influential musical groups of their generation. They are In The Spotlight today.

8:00 p.m. Little Feat Live at The Rainbow Theatre, London, UK, August 4, 1977

Speaking of great bands, we close the programming with a great live performance from Little Feat from The Rainbow in London.

I hear the weather is going to be nasty today here in the Boston area, rainy with possibly our first round of thunderstorms this season. We’ll see. But if I could hunker down here today with this great music, I’d be doing it. The button’s below.

We’re Hitting Our Midweek Stride With The #BU House EP, a Dolly Parton ‘Spotlight’ and The Heartbreakers at The Fillmore, Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Good morning, global music lovers! We blast into another month with our House long player, Dolly In The Spotlight and The Heartbreakers continue Fillmore Week!

Here’s your midweek music:

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

We start it off with an uninterrupted love fest of the music and artists that inspired this station, including 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 Experience, Three Dog Night, Jimmy Cliff, Richie Havens, Marvin Gaye, The Association, Phil Ochs, Tom Rush, Pete Seeger, The Band, Linda Ronstadt, Nina Simone, Janis Joplin and more!

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of Dolly Parton

The country music legend gets her own Spotlight. You’d better believe it. In a career that has spanned half a century, she remains the brightest of lights.

8:00 p.m. FILLMORE WEEK! Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at The Fillmore West, San Francisco, March 15, 1999

This is not the incredible 1997 twenty-night residency, but it is nevertheless another great Fillmore experience from one of our House Bands and one of the finest live bands ever to grace a stage. By the way, the incredible 1997 Fillmore event will come at the end of this Fillmore Fest.

Great day to be here in The Lounge while I toil in hardware hell’s Truck Day. The Music Mermaid has it all under her fin. You’re good to go. So, join us.

Friday It’s ‘The Original Sixties Rotation,’ The Band, and The Beatles As We Keep It Rooted in The Sixties, April 19, 2024

Good morning, music lovers, especially those who like to get in the Wayback Machine and head to the sixties. That’s our theme for today!

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. The Original Sixties Rotation: Various Artists

We start it off with the (mostly) early portion of the generation, although I am imperfect and often let some others slip in there. Because I can. You’ll hear The Beatles, The Monkees, Sonny & Cher, Joe Cocker, Simon & Garfunkel, Little Eva, The Everly Brothers, The Searchers, Dusty Springfield, The Drifters, The Dave Clark Five, Johnny Rivers, Bob Dylan, The Animals, Petula Clark, The Rolling Stones, Procol Harum, The Turtles, Del Shannon, The Temptations, James Brown, Fontella Bass, The Box Tops, Blues Image, The Four Tops, The Lovin’ Spoonful and more!

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

From Dylan’s back-up band to one of the most prolific, influential bands of its generation. The Band is in a class all by itself.

8:00 p.m. The Beatles Live at The BBC, June 1963

We close out the programming with The Fab Four. Recorded for broadcast as Pop Go The Beatles in June 1963 at BBC Studios in London.

I’m on the run for an unexpected morning shift. But hey, The Music Mermaid is on the ready and is here to serve. Catch you in the morning.

Sunday Brings Steely Dan’s “Pretzel Logic”, Our ‘Travelin’ Fever’ EP and More of Those Badass Guitarists, March 3, 2024

It’s Sunday Funday here in The Mermaid Lounge and we intro our new 50th birthday LP from Steely Dan, give you ‘Travelin’ Fever’ and volume two of Badass Guitarists.

Here’s your Sunday funday lineup:

Steely Dan’s third studio album was released on February 20, 1974 and became both a critical and commercial success. The single Rikki Don’t Lose That Number was the biggest single hit of the band’s career, but in my mind it wasn’t the only ‘hit’ on the album. Night By Night and With A Gun are pretty damned spectacular. Happy 50th!

1:00 p.m. Travelin’ Fever: Various Artists

More songs from the road from Canned Heat, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, 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, Janis Joplin, Guy Clark, The Byrds, Joan Baez, Asleep At The Wheel, The Traveling Wilburys, Mudcrutch, Buffalo Springfield, Loggins & Messina, Tom Rush, The Guess Who, Ray Charles, the Marshall Tucker Band, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and more!

8:00 p.m. Badass Guitarists, Volume Two: Various Artists

Yes. Various artists who may not be the singers of the songs. You’ll hear the handiwork of Duane Allman, Albert Lee, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, Neil Young, Bonnie Raitt, Andrew Gold, John Fogerty, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry and more!

We Focus on Folk On The Downslide To the Weekend With Our EP and A New Roches Spotlight, Thursday, February 22, 2024

Good morning, folkologists! We are focusing on the genre today to open and close our programming. In between, we’ve got The Stones and their Album of The Week.

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Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Folk Music From A-To-Z: Various Artists

This, my friends, is the musical genre that birthed the protest song movement.Today we give you the anchors and those who simply love the genre and pay homage to it. You’ll hear John Prine, Dave Van Ronk, Woody Guthrie, 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, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Lead Belly, Tim Hardin, The Kingston Trio, Simon & Garfunkel, Richie Havens, Jackson Browne, Phil Ochs, Guy Clark, Harry Chapin, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, The Carter Family, Neil Young and more!

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

The Stones return to The Mermaid Lounge for another round of our AOW.

Here’s a band of sisters who never, in my opinion, reached the level of respect that they deserved despite making some fine music. Today, we put them In the Spotlight. They have not yet been added to our big folk EP, but they’ll be there for the next airing.

On Friday It’s The Band ‘Live’ in Asbury Park, Elvis Costello, John Prine and Joni ‘Live’ in Cali, February 16, 2024

Good morning, music lovers! We have a busy Friday on tap for you all today with a great collection of artists sprinkeled into our big, wide Open Stream.

Here’s your musical lineup:

9:00 a.m. Singer-Songwriter Series: The Music of Elvis Costello FINAL AIRING!

Elvis Costello takes his final turn as this week’s featured singer-songwriter. We’ll have a new artist for you on Monday.

12:00 p.m. The Band Live at The Casino Arena, Asbury Park, NJ, July 20, 1976

The Band is very simply one of the best ever bands on the popular music scene. They started as Bob Dylan’s back-up band and became one of the most influential musical entities of their time. If we added a new House Band, it would be these guys.

4:00 p.m. In The Spotlight: The Music of John Prine

We’re dusting this baby off as we have been remiss. Mr. Prine is one fine singer-songwriter and a man who is most respected by his peers. He always had a unique outlook on life and his wry and sometimes sarcastic viewpoints were part of his charm.

8:00 p.m. Joni Mitchell Live at the Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA, September 9, 1979

We close things out by taking a trip back with Joni Mitchell to her 1979 Shadows and Light Tour. I was lucky enough to see that tour as it passed through Boston.

We have a great lineup today as we toy with expanding programming and, perhaps, even into the wee hours of the morning. It’s a work in progress. One thing that will not change, however, is the fact that we are totally free 24/7 with no commercial interruptions.

Thursday It’s Our ‘Here Comes The Night’ EP, Then Our AOW and ‘Live’ Dylan & The Heartbreakers, December 14, 2023

Today brings the downslide to the weekend and we start the morning with songs about the night time, then it’s on to The Boogaloo Swamis and Dylan’s True Confessions tour with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers!

Here’s your Thursday lineup:

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

We start the morning with songs about the night from Warren Zevon, J. Geils Band, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Them, The Beatles, Van Morrison, Patti Smith, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bruce Springsteen, The Kinks, Electric Prunes, The Ronettes, John Cougar Mellencamp, The Doors, Emmylou Harris, Poco, Neil Diamond, The Animals, The Band, The Rolling Stones, Steve Winwood, Don McLean, Cat Stevens, The Traveling Wilburys, Sam Cooke, Jimmy Cliff, Bonnie Raitt and more!

4:00 p.m.  Album of The Week: Down At The Roadhouse by The Boogaloo Swamis

The Swamis are back with their great brand of Cajun-Zydeco music. This band is a serendipitous find from the days of my youth.

7:00 p.m.  Bob Dylan with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live at The Cal Expo Amphitheater, Sacramento, CA, June 12, 1986

Perhaps this was a little bit of a foreshadowing of things to come with The Traveling Wilburys here. Two brilliant musical entities on the road together on Dylan’s True Confessions Tour. Tonight we’re airing the Sacramento show.

Here we are again in The Mermaid Lounge as I prepare to turn the reigns over to The Music Mermaid. She will keep the boat afloat!

It’s a Simple Sunday With Dolly and Our AOW and the ‘Are You Ready for The Country’ EP Later, November 19, 2023

Good morning, musicologists! We’ve got a real treat for you today with our Album of The Week as Dolly Parton’s Rockstar makes its debut on our station. Read on for details!

Here’s your Sunday Funday lineup:

When Dolly Parton learned she was being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she turned it down because she felt she was not a rock star. She’d never made an album of rock music. The people at the Hall disagreed with her and wanted to induct her anyway. She returned the favor by releasing Rockstar, a 30-song album of classic rock and rock n’ roll songs given the Dolly treatment. And it’s a treat. Dolly had a lot of supporters on this one, including Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr on her version of The Beatles’ Let It Be, Ann Wilson on her version of Magic Man, and Emmylou Harris and Sheryl Crow on You’re No Good.

3:00 p.m. Are You Ready for The Country: Various Artists

While Dolly goes rock, you’ll also find her in our big, bad country EP. Along with Dolly, you’ll hear Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, 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!

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 With Tom Rush’s “Merrimack County” and Volume Two of Our Sixties Rotation, October 29, 2023

Good morning, music lovers and welcome to another simple Sunday here in The Mermaid Lounge. We’re light on programming today but have plenty of wide Open Stream.

Here’s Sunday’s musical lineup:

One of my favorite albums of all time (his ninth) with my favorite Tom Rush song ever in Kids These Days. Rush is rightfully called a pioneer of the singer-songwriter genre. His interpretations put plenty of them on the map, including Joni Mitchell. In addition to that, he has managed a solo singing career that has spanned sixty years. A New England born and bred favorite.

3:00 p.m. The Sixties Rotation, Volume Two: Various Artists

We take you back to the sixties again for some mid-to-late decade sounds with The Mamas & The Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Buffalo Springfield, Sly & The Family Stone, The Temptations, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Roy Orbison, The Yardbirds, The Animals, Linda Ronstadt, The Byrds, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Blind Faith, Spencer Davis Group, Elvis Presley, The Box Tops, The Doors, Marvin Gaye, B. B. King, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Wilson Pickett, The Band, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, The Ronettes, The Kinks, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimmy Cliff, Velvet Underground and more!