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