Mother’s Day reflections – WFDU-FM’s TRADITIONS playlist for May 11, 2014
WFDU-FM’s TRADITIONS
Playlist for May 11, 2014
HOST: Ron Olesko
There is a certain code among Folk DJs, perhaps an unwritten law, but whenever a holiday or anniversary of an important event occurs, we have been assigned the duty to commemorate the said day on our radio programs with a few songs that deal with the subject. Luckily you can find songs on just about any topic in the folk music archives, and new songs are written every day.
Since this show was broadcast on Mother’s Day, I fulfilled my obligation gladly. I always try to find at least one or two songs that are not what people are expecting, and hopefully I succeeded this year with several songs I scattered throughout the program. There are so many songs to choose from, most honoring moms and the values they instilled in us, but it has also become a bittersweet holiday. Lets face facts, the average age of folk radio audiences is rising. As we grow older, many of no longer have our parents to turn to for guidance, and we have become the center of attention on such holidays. I’m lucky, my 92 1/2 year old mother is still a part of my life. (It is my mother who insists on mentioning the additional 1/2 year, I suppose I will also be proud of each day if I am lucky enough to walk the planet as long!)
I guess one of the reasons folk radio loves to commemorate days like this in song is because music and songs have always been important parts of community celebrations. While the Mother’s Day that we celebrate is of a more recent vintage than other holidays, we can find similar celebrations honoring mothers in various cultures around the globe. The ancient Greeks celebrated Cybele and the Romans Hilaria, and you can find various cultures and religions with feasts and celebrations honoring motherhood that predate our current holiday. In this country, Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 when a peace activist named Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother in Grafton, West Virginia. She then began a national campaign to set aside a day in honor of all mothers, leading to Woodrow Wilson signing a proclamation in 1914 to declare the second Sunday in May “Mother’s Day.’
Days like Mother’s Day becomes a time to reflect and folk music helps give us perspective. The wise sages and songwriters who share their gifts through their music often have a unique view of the world, and their songs remind of facts and feelings that the rest of us might not immediately recognize. This is why I find such joy in offering their music on the air.
I also shared some wonderful new recordings, including the T Sisters “Kindred Lines”, Lynn Holyfield “In the Balance”, Tumbling Bones “Loving a Fool” and Chasing June “Take Our Time” among the new and noteworthy.
(Tune in to TRADITIONS every Sunday from 3 to 6pm Eastern Time over WFDU-FM 89.1 in the NYC/Northern New Jersey area, or on the web at www.wfdu.fm. On-demand streams of shows, including this one, are archived for two weeks HERE. A Sing Out! Radio Partner)
ARTIST Tune / Song
ALBUM LABEL – Website
3pm
Theme: HARVEY REID ”Dirty Dish Rag”
Solo Guitar Sketchbook Woodpecker Records – www.woodpecker.com
TOM CHAPIN ”My Mother’s Quiet Eyes”
The Turning of the Tide Sundance Music – www.tomchapin.com
KERRY PATRICK CLARK ”In A Perfect World”
In A Perfect World self – www.kerrypatrickclark.com
CONNOR GARVEY ”Bright Morning”
Before the Meteors self – www.connorgarveysongs.com
LYNN HOLYFIELD ”Spring”
In the Balance self – www.lynnholyfield.com
TOM PAXTON ”Morning Again”
Live at Caffe Lena Tompkins Square – www.tompkinssquare.com , www.caffelena.org
T SISTERS ”American Tune”
Kindred Lines Spruce and Maple Music – www.spruceandmaplemusic.com
EMMA’S REVOLUTION ”Swimming to the Other Side”
Roots, Rock & Revolution self – www.musemusic.org, www.emmasrevolution.com
THE SQUIRREL HILLBILLIES ”Old Dry Bones”
Goody Shoes self – www.squirrelhillbillies.com
CATHIE RYAN ”Rock Me to Sleep, Mother”
Through Wind and Rain Mo Leanbh Records – www.moleanbhrecords.com , www.cathieryan.com
RED MOLLY ”Sing to Me”
The Red Album self – www.redmolly.com
THE HENRY GIRLS ”So Long But Not Goodbye”
Louder Than Words self – www.thehenrygirls.com
4pm
ARLO GUTHRIE ”Oh Mom”
Someday Rising Son Records – www.risingsonrecords.com
CHASING JUNE ”Take Our Time”
Take Our Time self – www.chasingjune.com
THE BARN BIRDS – JONATHAN BYRD AND CRIS KOKESH ”Sundays Loving You”
The Barn Birds self – www.thebarnbirds.com
BARNABY BRIGHT ”The Stone”
Wake The Hero self – www.barnabybright.com
CARRIE ELKIN & DANNY SCHMIDT ”Company of Friends”
For Keeps Red House – www.redhouserecords.com
THE COPPER PONIES ”Ring Them Bells”
Ring Them Bells Hudson Harding Music – www.facebook.com/hudsonharding
JOHN MCCUTCHEON ”Closing the Bookstore”
Supper’s on the Table… Rounder Records – www.rounder.com, www.folkmusic.com
RICHARD BERMAN ”That Old Song ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’ ”
Holding Hands Aries Recordings – www.richardberman.com
THE HONEY DEWDROPS ”Stomping Ground”
If the Sun Will Shine self – www.thehoneydewdrops.com
TUMBLING BONES ”Bright Morning Star”
Loving a Fool self – www.tumblingbones.com
ERIC VON SCHMIDT ”Stewball’
Living on the Trail Tomato Records – www.tomatorecords.com
RAMBLIN’ JACK ELLIOT ”Soul of a Man”
A Stranger Here Anti-Records – www.anti.com, www.ramblinjack.com
MOLLY TUTTLE & JOHN MAILANDER ”Morning Morgantown”
Molly Tuttle and John Mailander self – www.mollytuttle.net, www.johnmailander.com
5pm
LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III ”Mother’s Last Farewell Kiss”
High Wide and Handsome 2nd Story Records – www.lwiii.com
JOHN FLYNN ”Big Boat Coming”
Dragon Mettafour Records – www.johnflynn.net
JOE CROOKSTON ”Fall Down As the Rain”
Georgia I’m Here Milagrito Records – www.joecrookston.com
TOM PRASADA-RAO ”The Blessing”
Click: Songs By Neale Eckstein & Friends Fox Run – www.foxrun.org
STAN ROGERS ”The Jeannie C.”
Turnaround Borealis – www.borealisrecords.com
ARCHIE FISHER & GARNET ROGERS ”Rolling Home”
Off the Map Snow Goose – www.garnetrogers.com
SUSAN MCKEOWN, CATHIE RYAN, ROBIN SPIELBERG ”Mother of Mine”
Mother North Star – www.northstarmusic.com
JANIS IAN ”I Hear You Sing Again”
Billie’s Bones OhBoy Records – www.ohboy.com, www.janisian.com
PEGGY SEEGER ”My Mother is Younger Than Me / Everything Changes”
Peggy Seeger Live Appleseed Recordings – www.appleseedmusic.com, www.peggyseeger.com
TIM GRIMM ”Blowin’ In the Wind”
Holding Up the World Vault Records – www.timgrimm.com
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Ron Olesko
WFDU-FM
1000 River Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666
www.wfdu.fm