AMERICAN ROUTES
May the Fourth Be With Us! American Routes Independence Day Then & Now May the Fourth Be With Us! American Routes Independence Day Then & Now June 29th, 2022 (Hour 1)
May the Fourth Be With Us! American Routes Independence Day Then & Now

This July 4th weekend, we dive into the record crates to bring you music of celebration, hope and critique from Nina Simone, Randy Newman, Sly Stone and Jon Batiste. Then, the July 4th roots of American Routes as we go back to the 1990s, deep in the archive, for highlights from The American Roots Independence Day concerts at the Washington Monument on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Join us for spectacular stage performances by the urbane blues hero Charles Brown, the Texas Playboys with Johnny Gimble playing Western swing, Mexican-American Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, Young Tuxedo Brass with New Orleans jazz, and Hawaiian music and song of slack-key guitar master Ledward Kaapana.

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BIG RIVER OF SOUND: MUSIC ON THE MISSISSIPPI

May 7th, 2008

The musical and cultural meanderings of the Mississippi River, from exploration and trade to romance. Jazz, ragtime, and levee work-songs along with blues, rockabilly, gospel, and country. Guests include the late Memphis soul man Rufus Thomas and ethnomusicologist David Evans, speaking about influential Delta guitarist Charley Patton. Also, we visit a river barge pilot as he rolls on the river.

  • Listen to Hour One
  • Listen to Hour Two

HOUR ONE

  • Open Bed: Ol' Man River Jimmy Smith
    Ultimate, Verve
  • Big River Johnny Cash
    The Essential Johnny Cash, Columbia/Legacy
  • Mississippi River Smokey Babe
    Shake ‘Em on Down: The Real Country Blues, Ace
  • Lazy Lazy River Mississippi Sheiks
    Folks, He Sure Do Pull Some Bow, Old Hat
  • Up a Lazy River Sidney Bechet
    Up a Lazy River, Fantasy
  • The Julia Belle Swain John Hartford
    Mark Twang, Flying Fish
  • New Madrid Uncle Tupelo
    Anodyne, Sire
  • Instrumental: Ouachita Run Alvin Youngblood Hart
    Territory, Hannibal
  • River's Invitation Aretha Franklin
    Soul '69, Atlantic
  • River's Invitation Stanley Turrentine
    Masters of Jazz Vol. 4: Big Bands of the '50s & '60s, Rhino
  • Funky Mississippi Rufus Thomas
    The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles, Vol.2 (1968-1971), Stax
  • INTERVIEW: Rufus Thomas

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  • Instrumental: Boozer John Scofield
    A Go Go, Verve
  • Sun Flower Slow Drag Scott Kirby
    The Complete Rags of Scott Joplin Played by Scott Kirby, Viridiana
  • Deep River Marian Anderson
    Spirituals, Sony
  • Proud Mary Ike & Tina Turner
    Proud Mary: Best of, EMI

HOUR two

  • Postcard: River Barge
  • Singin' the Blues Frankie Trumbauer & his Orchestra
    Masters of Jazz Vol.1: Traditional Jazz Classics, Rhino
  • Miss the Mississippi and You Jimmie Rodgers
    The Singing Brakeman, Bear Family
  • J'Etais a la Riviere (I Went to the River) Camay Doucet
    Camay Doucet - Jimmy Thibodeaux et Musique, Swallow
  • Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man Loretta Lynn with Conway Twitty
    The Best of Loretta Lynn: 20th Century Masters, MCA
  • Instrumental: Nashville Skyline Rag Bob Dylan
    Nashville Skyline, Columbia
  • Get Down River Bottle Rockets
    Leftovers, Mercury
  • High Water (for Charley Patton) Bob Dylan
    Love and Theft, Sony
  • SEGMENT: David Evans

    Listen
  • Lord Have Mercy John Fahey and his Orchestra
    Of Rivers and Religion, Warner
  • Down by the Riverside Snooks Eaglin
    Country Boy In New Orleans, Arhoolie
  • Instrumental: Ol' Man River Gene Ammons
    Jug, Prestige
  • Old Man River The Ravens
    Old Man River, Savoy
  • Old Man River The Techniques
    Run Come Celebrate: Their Greatest Reggae Hits, Rounder
  • To The River Smiley Lewis
    Shame, Shame, Shame, Bear Family
  • St. Louis Blues Erroll Garner
    Closeup in Swing & A New Kind of Love, Telarc
  • Louisiana 1927 Randy Newman
    Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman, Rhino
  • Change is Gonna Come Sam Cooke
    The Man & His Music, RCA
  • End Bed: Down by the Riverside The Louis Cottrell Trio
    New Orleans: The Living Legends, Riverside

THE LATEST STREAMS

  • June 29th, 2022

    MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH US! AMERICAN ROUTES INDEPENDENCE DAY THEN & NOW

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  • June 22nd, 2022

    EARL SCRUGGS & TOM RUSH

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  • June 15th, 2022

    SOUNDS OF FREEDOM: FONTELLA BASS AND FREDDIE HUBBARD

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