Twice in recent weeks Iâve delved into Hazel Dickensâs work to find songs that walk the line between life and death in Americaâs coal fields. âBlack Lungâ is no murder ballad, but we saw how it used Primitive Baptist singing … Continue reading →
WFDU-FMâs TRADITIONS Playlist for February 22, 2015 With the annual WFDU-FM fund drive coming to an end, my co-host Bill Hahn and I shared a number of listener favorites and requests on this weekâs broadcast. We aired these songs partially as … Continue reading →
Smithsonian Folkways is releasing a massive 5CD collection of the music of Leadbelly on February 24th. On this weekâs edition we will listen to some of the songs on that great collection. Weâll also hear some classic renditions of Leadbelly … Continue reading →
WFDU-FMâs TRADITIONS Playlist for February 15, 2015 Huddie Ledbetter, best known to the world as Lead Belly, passed away in December 1949, a few short months before the Weavers recording of his âGoodnight Ireneâ entered the Billboard best seller chart. … Continue reading →
âWell itâs cold blooded murder friends, Iâm talking about âŚâ Such is the accusation that opens the angry chorus of âThe Yablonski Murder.â Hazel Dickens penned the musical indictment in January of 1970 after she read the newspaper story describing what … Continue reading →
WFDU-FMâs TRADITIONS Fund Drive Playlists for February 1 & 8, 2015 The Carter Family recording of âHeavenâs Radioâ and John Hartfordâs version of âTurn Your Radio Onâ are two of my âlucky charmâ songs that I play on my WFDU-FM … Continue reading →
     Bob Dylan Shadows In The Night Columbia 88875057962 www.columbiarecords.com  I once asked the late Mimi Baez FariĹa what Bob Dylan is like as a person. She replied that she didnât know because she hadnât … Continue reading →
     Greensky Bluegrass If Sorrows Swim Big Blue Zoo www.greenskybluegrass.com  I popped this latest release from Michigan-based Greensky Bluegrass into iTunes, sank back into my chair to listen, and was about a third of the … Continue reading →
    Billy Strings & Don Julin Fiddle Tune X Self-Released www.billystrings.com  It seems unlikely that a phenomenally talented acoustic musician would just happen to have been born with what would turn out to be such a … Continue reading →
     Gary B. Reid The Music of the Stanley Brothers University of Illinois Press 978-0-252-08033-3 www.press.uillinois.edu  From the Blue Sky Boys and Monroe Brothers down through the Everlys, brother duets have created some of country … Continue reading →
