AMERICAN ROUTES
Earl Scruggs & Tom Rush Earl Scruggs & Tom Rush June 22nd, 2022 (Hour 1)
Earl Scruggs & Tom Rush

Earl Scruggs‘ legendary banjo playing, aptly named “Scruggs Style,” has left its mark on American pop culture and inspired generations of banjo players. In the late 1960s, Scruggs, along with his sons, bravely crossed musical boundaries, but his musical journey really started back at the beginnings of bluegrass, playing with Bill Monroe and later, Lester Flatt. In this American Routes encore, we talk to Earl and his sons, Randy and Gary, about performing on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium and why he doesn’t need to crack jokes about the banjo. New Hampshire-born folk singer songwriter Tom Rush may have gone to Harvard and studied with a ballad scholar, but he still knows how to sing the blues. We’ll visit with Rush to learn more about Boston’s folk scene in the 1960s, his time as a radio DJ and his inspired approach to songwriting.

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AMERICAN ROUTES ON INSTAGRAM

SONG MEN FOR ALL SEASONS: LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III & DRINK SMALL

February 6th, 2008

Singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III walks us through his long career that began in the ’60s folk scene. Also, a live set from the South Carolina Blues Doctor Drink Small.

  • Listen to Hour One
  • Listen to Hour Two

HOUR ONE

  • Open Bed: Freeborn Man Jimmy Martin
    The King of Bluegrass, Universal
  • Open Bed: Savoy Blues Lonnie Johnson with Elmer Snowden
    Blues & Ballads, Bluesville
  • Milwaukee Here I Come John Prine w/Melba Montgomery
    In Spite of Ourselves, Oh Boy
  • Bad, Bad, Whiskey Amos Milburn
    Blues, Barrelhouse and Boogie Woogie: 1946-1955, Capitol
  • What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made A Loser Out Of Me) Jerry Lee Lewis
    Killer Country, Mercury
  • There Stands the Glass Webb Pierce
    Greatest Hits, Finest Performances, Sun
  • In a Moment of Weakness Johnny Adams
    Absolutely the Best, Fuel 2000
  • Whiskey Heaven Fats Domino
    From Where I Stand: The Black Experience in Country Music, Warner Bros.
  • Don't Touch Me Bettye Swann
    Soulful Divas: Bold Soul Sisters Vol.4, Hip-O
  • Grits Ain't Groceries Little Milton
    Greatest Hits, MCA/Chess
  • Instrumental: Pallet On The Floor Comer 'Moon' Mullins
    The Best Of Comer 'Moon' Mullins,
  • If I Don't Love You (Grits Ain't Groceries) George Jones
    The Definitive Collection: 1955-1962, Mercury
  • Jimmie's Mean Mama Blues Jimmie Rodgers
    The Singing Brakeman, Bear Family
  • Release Me Esther Phillips
    Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues 1945-1970, Vol. 2, Lost Highway
  • I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You) Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez
    Red Dog Tracks, Back Porch
  • Instrumental: Chains of Love Houston Person & Babe Clarke
    Giants of the Blues and Funk Tenor Sax, Prestige
  • I'm Walkin' the Floor Over You Mando and the Chili Peppers
    On the Road with Rock n' Roll, Ace
  • Crazy Mixed Up World Little Walter
    The Essential Little Walter, Chess/MCA
  • Tennessee Flat Top Box Rosanne Cash
    Hits 1979-1989, Columbia
  • Stranger in My Own Home Town Elvis Presley
    From Nashville To Memphis: The Essential 60's Masters 1, RCA
  • Freeborn Man Junior Brown
    12 Shades of Brown, Curb
  • People Are Strange The Doors
    Strange Days, Elektra
  • Instrumental: Misty Morning Tony Rice
    58957: The Bluegrass Guitar Collection, Rounder
  • Rank Stranger The Knitters
    The Modern Sounds of the Knitters, Zoe
  • Instrumental: Tishomingo Blues Elmer Snowden Quartet Featuring Cliff Jackson
    Harlem Banjo!, Riverside
  • INTERVIEW: Loudon Wainwright III

    Listen
  • The Man Who Couldn't Cry Johnny Cash
    American Recordings, American
  • Didn't It Rain Fern Jones
    The Glory Road, Numero Group
  • Over the Rainbow Jerry Lee Lewis
    Rockin' My Life Away: The Jerry Lee Lewis Collection, Warner Bros.

HOUR two

  • Open Bed: Candy Man John Fahey
    Return of the Repressed, Rhino
  • South Carolina Rag Willie Walker
    Willie Walker, Yazoo
  • Old Salty Dog Blues Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs w/ Foggy Mountain Boys
    Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs w/ Foggy Mountain Boys, Bear Family
  • Salty Dog Cat Power
    The Covers Records, Matador
  • Candyman The Grateful Dead
    The Grateful Dead, Warner Bros.
  • Instrumental: Memphis Blues Doc Watson
    Doc Watson in Nashville, Vanguard
  • Leavin' Day Big Bill Broonzy and His Big Little Orchestra
    The Mercury Blues 'N' Rhythm Story: 1945-1955, Mercury
  • Key to the Highway Clifton Chenier
    Bon Ton Roulet, Arhoolie
  • Big Road Bonnie Raitt
    Bonnie Raitt, Warner Bros.
  • INTERVIEW: Drink Small

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  • Instrumental: Charleston Rag Eubie Blake
    Memories of You, Biograph
  • Trouble Blues "Trouble Blues"
    Night Beat, RCA
  • One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) Etta James
    The Essential Etta James, Fantasy
  • I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues Doc Cheatham and Nicholas Payton
    New Orleans, Putumayo
  • The Late Late Blues John Coltrane and Milt Jackson
    The Heavyweight Champ: The Complete Atlantic Recordings, Rhino
  • End Bed: The Genius After Hours Ray Charles & Milt Jackson
    Soul Meeting, Atlantic Jazz

THE LATEST STREAMS

  • June 22nd, 2022

    EARL SCRUGGS & TOM RUSH

    Listen
  • June 15th, 2022

    SOUNDS OF FREEDOM: FONTELLA BASS AND FREDDIE HUBBARD

    Listen
  • June 8th, 2022

    SHADES OF THE BLUES

    Listen
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