AMERICAN ROUTES
Blues and Jazz, African Roots and Branches with Shemekia Copeland & Balla Kouyaté Blues and Jazz, African Roots and Branches with Shemekia Copeland & Balla Kouyaté May 18th, 2022 (Hour 1)
Blues and Jazz, African Roots and Branches with Shemekia Copeland & Balla Kouyaté

It’s Blueswomen, Jazzmen, African roots and branches. Chicago blues singer Shemekia Copeland‘s father, the late blues guitarist Johnny Copeland, brought her into his music as a child. As an adult, she found new ways to use blues to express her perspective. We’ll hear from some of Shemekia’s heroes including Etta James, Ruth Brown, Alberta Hunter and Big Mama Thornton. Then a conversation and performance by Boston-based Mandinka balafon player Balla Kouyaté and music inspired by and from the continent of Africa from Randy Weston, Miriam Makeba and the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Shemekia Copeland photo by Mike White

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NAME THAT TUNE

October 17th, 2001

Or, if you like, sing a song about someone you know. There are so many great names in music and song that our first show on the topic couldn’t hold ‘em all, so here’s the sequel. From “Corina” and “Lucille” to “Lost John” and “Little Joe the Wrangler,” hear songs named after characters real and fictitious. Our guest Shemekia Copeland is a 22-year-old singer with a noted father in the blues (Johnny Copeland), who’s now making a name for herself. Plus nick name origins from American Joe to Zydeco Joe.

  • Listen to Hour One
  • Listen to Hour Two

HOUR ONE

  • Sa M'Appelle Fou (They Call Me Crazy) Clifton Chenier
    Bogalusa Boogie, Arhoolie
  • Bo Diddley Bo Diddley
    Chess Rhythm & Roll, MCA
  • INTERVIEW: Johnnie Johnson on Chuck Berry's "Maybellene" ("Ida Red")

    Listen
  • Maybelline Johnny Rivers
    Johnny Rivers Anthology 1964-1977, Rhino
  • Tongue Tied Jill Charlie Feathers
    Uh Huh Honey, Norton
  • Corina Corrina Freddy Fender
    Canciones de Mi Barrio, Arhoolie
  • Luther Played The Boogie Johnny Cash
    The Man in Black 1954-1958, Bear Family
  • I'm Bad Like Jesse James John Lee Hooker
    The Best of: 20th Century Masters The Millenium Collection, MCA
  • Instrumental: San-Ho-Zay Freddy King
    Hide Away: The Best of Freddy King, Rhino
  • INTERVIEW: Shemekia Copeland

    Listen
  • Jemima Surrender Howard Tate
    Howard Tate, Koch
  • Ode To Billie Joe Tammy Wynette
    Take Me To Your World – I Don't Wanna Play House, Koch
  • Instrumental: Music, Music, Music Merrill Moore
    Boogie My Blues Away, Bear Family
  • Mona Lisa Moon Mullican
    All-Time Greatest Hits, King
  • Honeysuckle Rose Fats Waller
    Masters of Jazz Vol. 1: Traditional Jazz Classics, Rhino
  • SEGMENT: American Joe and his folks at Harry's American Bar in Baltimore

    Listen
  • One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) Charles Brown
    One More for the Road, Alligator
  • I Loves You Porgy Billie Holiday
    The Complete Decca, Decca

HOUR two

  • Open Bed: Go Li'l Liza Coleman Hawkins Quartet
    Today and Now, Impulse
  • Winin' Boy Jelly Roll Morton
    Jazzin' The Blues, West Side
  • Li'l Liza Jane The New Birth Brass Band
    D-Boy, NYNO
  • Marie Martin, Bogan & The Armstrongs
    That Old Gang Of Mine, Flying Fish
  • Carrie Brown Steve Earle and the Del McCoury Band
    The Mountain, E2
  • Instrumental: Randy Lynn Rag Flatt & Scruggs
    The Essential: ‘Tis Sweet To Be Remembered, Columbia/Legacy
  • Vigilante Man Woody Guthrie
    Dust Bowl Ballads, Buddha
  • Johnny 99 Bruce Springsteen
    Nebraska, Sony
  • SEGMENT: Staggerlee (or Stack-O-Lee)
  • Stack O'Lee Blues Mississippi John Hurt
    Before the Blues Vol.1, Yazoo
  • Stack-A-Lee Pt.1 Archibald
    Carnival Day: Essential Recordings of New Orleans R & B, Indigo
  • Lawdy Miss Clawdy Lloyd Price
    The Specialty Story, Fantasy
  • Marianao Benny More
    Grandes Exitos, Envidia Records
  • Instrumental: Banderilla Calexico
    Even My Sure Things Fall Through, Quarterstick
  • Waltz for Debby Bill Evans
    The Riverside Records Story, Fantasy
  • Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho Cassandra Wilson
    The Blue Note Years, Blue Note
  • Shadrack Golden Gate Quartet
    The Very Best Of Golden Gate Quartet, World Pacific
  • Hey Jude Wilson Pickett
    Meet The Covers, Hip-O
  • Close Bed: Ode to Billie Joe Jimmy Smith
    Talkin' Verve: Roots of Acid Jazz, Verve

THE LATEST STREAMS

  • May 18th, 2022

    BLUES AND JAZZ, AFRICAN ROOTS AND BRANCHES WITH SHEMEKIA COPELAND & BALLA KOUYATé

    Listen
  • May 11th, 2022

    BREAKING OUT: BRITISH BLUES TO NEW ORLEANS BOUNCE

    Listen
  • May 4th, 2022

    KINGPINS OF THE GULF COAST: RODNEY CROWELL & DR. JOHN

    Listen
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