HOW MUSIC CHANGED, PART 138-1 - GREAT BRITAIN BEFORE THE BRITISH INVASION, Part 1

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How Music Changed is primarily the story of how American music changed and developed, but this chapter focuses on music that is generally obscure to most Americans, Nevertheless, these songs would eventually coalesce into one of the most influential music trends in pop music history, so starting with today’s show, we look at the music that caused the British Invasion to happen.

Tracks include;

1) She Loves you – The Beatles

2) Dinah – The Quintette of the Hot Club of France

3) Small Town – Al Bowlly

4) Imagine Me on the Maginot Line – George Formby

5) We’ll Meet Again – Vera Lynn

6) Bluebell Polka – Jimmy Shand

7) He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands – Laurie London

8) Bad Penny Blues – Humphrey Littleton

9) The Isle of Capri – Ken Colyer

10) Petite Fleur – Chris Barber

11) Rock Island Line – Lonnie Donegan

12) Midnight Special – Ken Colyer’s Skiffle Group

SONGS FROM THE SPRING OF 1980

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Because our show is called ‘American HIT Radio,” we feel obligated to cover the pop charts for whatever era we are covering. Once we pass a certain time period, though (I’d say the charts start to change significantly in the late ‘70s), the number of classic recordings seem to diminish significantly. 1980 was not a banner year for pop music, but it certainly could have been much worse; it could have been 2010, for example.

Today’s show presents some of the bright spots from that era, along with a pair of representative clunkers. Next week we plan to revisit 1980, but from the perspective of the album charts. Songs included in today’s show are;

1) Rapper’s Delight – The Sugarhill Gang

2) Another Brick in the Wall (pt. 2) – Pink Floyd

3) Refugee – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

4) Him – Rupert Holmes (as a ‘Bad Hit’)

5) Baby Talks Dirty – The Knack (as a ‘Bad Hit’)

6) Train in Vain (Stand By Me) – The Clash

7) Cars – Gary Numan

8) Call Me - Blondie

How Music Changed Part 13-22 – The Genius of Louis Armstrong, Part 22

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Our last show dedicated to Louis Armstrong starts in an improbable place and ends in a sadly inevitable place. As we open, Louis is sitting on top of the hit parade in the midst of Beatlemania. His handlers struggled with a means to maintain his newfound momentum, while Louis' health grew steadily worse, until he ultimately passed away. While sad, there is so much to celebrate about Louis' life- his achievements, and his ebullient nature- that it is almost impossible to not get caught up in the life-affirming spirit of his final days.

Songs from today's show include;

1)Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

2) Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

3) Ten Feet Off the Ground

4) When You Wish Upon a Star

5) Boy From New Orleans

6) My One and Only Love

7) Ramblin' Rose

8) Crazy Arms

9) What a Wonderful World

10) West End Blues

PARADIDDLE RECORDS AND NY ROOTS MUSIC ASSOCIATION PRESENTS 'MUSWELL HILLBILLIES'

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Regular listeners to American Hit Radio already know that, to my own detriment, I rarely do any self-promotion. I often forget to mention upcoming gigs by my band, or play our recordings (except for our theme song, of course!), or even make regular mention of my own books. Today, I’m going to make up for that in a number of ways, and I brought along a few friends to help me.

First up is Russ Seeger, musician extraordinaire and my partner in a new entity called the New York Roots Music Association and Saturday Night Social Club, aka NYRMA. The purpose of NYRMA – our mission statement, if you will - is “for like-minded musicians to find a different way to collaborate and present their music. Our goals is to offer our friends and fans an alternative to the late night bar scene and offer a chance to reconnect to live music. Each month we will present a special event featuring some of the most talented musicians in our area.” Our very first show will be this Saturday night, April 17, 2010, at the Plainview American Legion Hall, 115 Southern Parkway, Plainview 11803. We will be performing the Kinks legendary “Muswell Hillbillies” album in its entirety, with special guest vocalists and performers, including Caroline Doctorow, Claudia Jacobs, Liz Smith, Danil Dreger, a full horn section, and others. The evening will also feature one full set of music by Russ Seeger, the Hornets, and my own band, the Blaggards. Start time is 8 PM, and we guarantee a good time for all.

Sounds like fun, right? If that wasn’t enough, it just happens that our debut NYRMA gig featuring the Kinks’ “Muswell Hillbillies” coincides almost perfectly with the release of a new CD on Paradiddle Records called “Kinks Unkovered.” The CD features recordings by many talented local artists, many of whom will be performing at the NYRMA event, including Russ, Caroline, Claudia, and even the ever-lovin’ Blaggards. To tell us about creating the CD, we have Bill Herman, one of the founders of Paradiddle Records and the mastermind behind the “Kinks Unkovered” disk. Hope you enjoy the show, and we hope to see you on Saturday night in Plainview!

How Music Changed Part 13-21 – The Genius of Louis Armstrong, Part 21

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As the sixties dawned, Louis fought to retain some semblance of relevance, even though his health conspired to make it even more difficult for him than it was for most others. In the midst of what could be described as the most culturally tumultuous decade in American history, it appeared that Louis was destined to become an anachronism. Then a miracle happened.

Here are the songs featured in today’s show;

1) I Love Jazz

2) The Five Pennies Saints

3) Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen

4) Sweet Georgia Brown

5) Drop That Sack

6) Dardenella

7) They Say I Look Like God

8) Duke’s Place

9) The Beautiful American

10) Be My Life’s Companion

11) Hello, Dolly!

Songs from April 1970

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You know what was really cool about music in 1970? The hit singles were really good, and the album tracks were really good, too. It wasn’t exclusive, and you could be a pop fan while listening to entire album sides. This show conveys the spirit of that, with the following songs;

1) Little Green Bag – George Baker Selection

2) Turn Back the Hands of Time – Tyrone Davis

3) Spirit in the Sky – Norman Greenbaum

4) Instant Karma – John Lennon

5) ABC – The Jackson 5

6) Helpless – CSNY

7) 4 & 20 – CSNY

8) Carry On – CSNY

9) Let It Be- The Beatles

10) Early 1970 – Ringo Starr

11) All Things Must Pass – George Harrison

12) God – John Lennon

How Music Changed Part 13-20 – The Genius of Louis Armstrong, Part 20

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For all intents and purposes, today’s show is really a continuation of last week’s show. It’s odd that the general consensus for Louis’ output during this era is that it is uninspired, as the recorded evidence proves that this is certainly one of the most creative eras of his entire life. Even with some serious editing on our part, it has taken two shows just to cover Louis’ output in 1957! There’s gold in here, so enjoy the show. Songs include:

1) A Fine Romance – Louis and Ella

2) I’m Putting All My Eggs in One Basket – Louis and Ella

3) When Did You Leave Heaven

4) That Old Feeling

5) How Long Has This Been Going On?

6) There’s No You

7) Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails

8) Stormy Weather

9) You’re Blasé

10) Summertime