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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MODERN TRADITIONS: BEN HARPER AND CARL LEBLANC

November 5th, 2014

The singer-songwriter Ben Harper has been on the scene since the early ’90s, but now he’s digging deeper into the blues with the legendary harpman Charlie Musselwhite. We’ll talk with Ben about the musical journey from his family’s music store to his recent recording that he calls his “graduation” album. Then an in-studio conversation with a guitarist who has played with Sun Ra and now plays banjo with Preservation Hall, New Orleans’ own Carl LeBlanc.

  • Listen to Hour One
  • Listen to Hour Two

HOUR ONE

  • Open Bed: Homeless Childe Ben Harper
    The Will to Live, Virgin
  • Mean Ol' Lonesome Train Lightnin' Slim
    The Excello Story Volume 2, 1955-1957, Hip-O
  • Fool For a Lonesome Train Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
    Lifeline, Virgin
  • Sitting On Top of the World Mississippi Sheiks
    The Roots of Robert Johnson, Yazoo
  • Sitting On Top of the World The Grateful Dead
    The Grateful Dead, Warner Bros
  • Looking the World Over Whispering Smith
    Swamp Blues, Ace/ Excello
  • Blueberry Hill Fats Domino
    Out of New Orleans, Bear Family
  • Instrumental: We Can't End This Way Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite
    Get Up!, Stax
  • Be My Guest Ben Harper and the Skatalites
    Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino, Vanguard
  • Happy Together Dr. Michael White
    Adventures in New Orleans Jazz Part 2, Basin Street
  • The Blues is All Wrong Chuck Leavell and Candi Staton
    Back to the Woods, Evergreen Arts
  • I Ain't Superstitious Howlin' Wolf
    His Best, MCA
  • Superstition Stevie Wonder
    Talking Book, Motown
  • Instrumental: 39th and Indiana Charlie Musselwhite
    Stand Back!: Here Comes Charlie Musselwhite's South Side Band, Vanguard
  • Fishing Blues Taj Mahal
    They All Played For Us: Arhoolie Records 50th Anniversary Celebration, Arhoolie
  • Strange Land Charlie Musselwhite
    Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite's Southside Band, Vanguard
  • SEGMENT: Ben Harper

    Listen
  • Instrumental: Faded Ben Harper
    Will to Live, Virgin

HOUR two

  • Open Bed: His Last Parade (March) Carl LeBlanc
    Those Who Have Ears, Carl LeBlanc
  • On the Sunny Side of the Street James Booker
    Junko Partner, Hannibal
  • Mess Around Dr. John
    Dr. John's Gumbo, ATCO
  • Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley Lee Dorsey
    Soul Mine, Charly
  • Mississippi Mud Shemekia Copeland with JJ Gray
    33 1/3, Telarc
  • Gonna Stick to You Baby Lonesome Sundown
    The Excello Story Vol. 3, 1957-1961, Hip-O
  • Instrumental: Under My Thumb Pickin' On the Rolling Stones
    Pickin' On the Rolling Stones, CMH
  • Rolling Stone Robert Pete Williams
    Free Again, Bluesville
  • Prodigal Son Rolling Stones
    Beggars' Banquet, London
  • 12 Gates to the City Marie Knight
    Let Us Get Together, MC Records
  • Night Train to Memphis Jerry Lee Lewis
    Sun Gospel, Bear Family
  • Shake It JP Harris and the Tough Choices
    I'll Keep Calling, Cow Island Music
  • Shake Your Hips Slim Harpo
    The Best of Slim Harpo, Excello
  • Down Yonder We Go Ballin' Smiley Lewis
    Shame, Shame, Shame, Bear Family
  • Instrumental: Plarine Carl LeBlanc
    Justin Time: A Tribute to Justin Adams, Carl LeBlanc
  • SEGMENT: Carl LeBlanc

    Listen
  • Didn't He Ramble Kermit Ruffins
    Livin' a Treme Life, Basin Street
  • End Bed: Basin Street Blues Henry Butler
    American Routes original recording,

THE LATEST STREAMS

  • 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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  • June 8th, 2022

    SHADES OF THE BLUES

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