12/20/09 Blog/Playlist: last show-guest Lance Hoppen

For a moment I thought I might not have a last show. I looked at the WRFN online program guide on Saturday and saw that the 8 a.m. time slot was filled with automated programming. I didn't want to not do this show because I had Lance Hoppen of Orleans booked as a guest and we tried three times to make this happen due to previous conflicts. But I checked with the powers that be and learned it was just all set up ahead of time for the next week due to the holidays. Whew.

The show went out on a high note because Lance Hoppen of the group Orleans was my guest this morning. First I started things off with a short set of songs from some of my favorite collections and anthologies I've played on my show over the past year and a half that have served me well. Here's one from a compilation series I've enjoyed playing cuts from on the show, called Hard To Find 45s On CD.

Nathaniel Mayer – Village Of Love
Gene Pitney – Town Without Pity
Los Bravos – Black Is Black
Grass Roots – Where Were You When I Needed You
Tyrone Davis – Can I Change My Mind

Guest - Lance Hoppen
Well, the third time's the charm. I've tried to have Lance Hoppen on earlier this year and something came up on two other occasions (one of those being the technical improvements that came with the station). Lance is the bass player with the group Orleans who had some of the most memorable hits of our generation such as "Still The One" and "Dance With Me". Lance and the band are still active. I saw Lance recently on two occasions, once with Orleans at the recent "Rock The Power" show and at the Tunesmithing writer's night where he performed as a duo with his brother Larry Hoppen, the lead vocalist of Orleans.

Orleans is about to celebrate its 38th anniversary. The band got its start as a trio in Woodstock, NY. with Larry Hoppen, John Hall and Wells Kelly. Lance joined after high school graduation. The rest of the story is well detailed on the band's website bio. The band also just released a very comprehensive DVD of the band's history with some rare archival footage.

Lance described Orleans as a band that's had a tendency to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. From initial success to being dropped by their label and scoring another hit, a difficult decade in the 80s and personnel changes (sudden departure of John Hall and passing of Wells Kelly), the band nonetheless found itself bouncing back from circumstances and continuing to keep on.

Rock and Pop Masters is another band started by Larry Hoppen a decade ago. Lance and most of the present Orleans band is part of this, including about 30 well known singers from other groups and hits (Survivor, Pablo Cruise, Deep Purple, Rascals) rotating gigs at various times. The group just released a fundraiser song "The Real Meaning Of Christmas", a song originally done by the Winans, which benefits Feeding America (www.lesshungermoremusic.com).

At one point, Lance referred to this group as RPM. Hmmm...about 30 singers, RPM. That opened the door wide for me to insert a cheap pun. "Well, Lance, if you have that many singers, if you get up to about 33, then you would have 33 RPM!"

Lance very generously brought along a bit of music to play on the show.

Song list:
Orleans - Dancing In the Moonlight (the band has a strong connection with this song...Larry and Wells were in a band with Wells' brother Sherman, the writer of the song.) We played a very nice Orleans version of this song.

Rock and Pop Masters - The Real Meaning of Christmas

Lance Hoppen - Start From Where You Are. A demo recorded by Lance which appears on the Orleans Obscurities CD (isn't that a great title?), and presently nominated for a Positive Music Association award.

Orleans - New Star Shining. From the Still The One Live CD, A Christmas song written by John and Johanna Hall, which I recognized as done by the Gaither Vocal Band on their "Still The Greatest Story Ever Told" album. It was also covered by Ricky Skaggs and other artists.

Links:
orleansonline.com
lesshungermoremusic.com


Frequency To The Heart

I have one more Frequency To The Heart, (and I will bring this feature with me to TJ and Company by the way). But this is for all of you who are going through tough times right now, financial, personal, or whatever. I think I've said this before here but it's worth repeating. While you're waiting for the job to come or for the crisis to pass, find the time regularly to do something you love. It may not be for money but it's for the spirit and that's very important too. It gives you some hope to face each day. I know of which I speak...that's what I've been doing here and that's what I'm going to continue doing.

So...that's it for Never Too Old. I want to thank everyone for listening to me this past year especially in this early time period, and thanks as well to program director Beau Hunter and our station managers here at RFN, Ginny Welsch and Greg Welsch, for letting me do my thing with this show here and for the blessing to move on and team up with my buddy and radio mate T.J. Kirby. Most of all, a very special thanks to all those guests who got up at what is an ungodly hour for musicians to come be with us and play and sound great. Remember to go out there and support the music of the baby boomers!

The blogs for the Never Too Old show will remain up and posted because there is a lot of good stuff up there about some of the guests I've had on the show, plus past Frequency To The Heart readings and show reflections that I think you'll enjoy. I will also have the My Space page and the Facebook Never Too Old show group up a little while longer as well. But I do encourage you to join the T.J. and Company group on Facebook and watch for a TJ and Company MySpace page and yes, a new blog! Those last two will all be up by January.

Things I will not miss: dealing with the board and the technical flubs. Not that it's all that difficult. It's just not my thing. T.J.'s doing that part on Saturday. I'll be the keeper of the logs and the blog, admin details and guest hospitality along with being the sidekick.

Update: I will be joining T.J. Kirby on "T.J. and Company" starting January 2.

Again, thanks for being part of this journey. I'll see you next year on T.J and Company, Saturday afternoons, 3-5 p.m. Central on Radio Free Nashville. Be there!

12/13/09 Blog/Playlist: Twist On Christmas 2009

Today's show was my second "twist on Christmas". Last year the archive of the show I did got lost so I just figured I'd do it over. I've got some songs that are a little bit different, kind of fun and clever. I did some of these last year so I thought I'd bring them back once again. Some are old and some are new and we'll mix them into this set. Let's start with a song from one of the great Christmas albums in the history of rock and roll, the Christmas Gift For You from Phil Spector.

Darlene Love – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Denver and the Mile High Orchestra – Frosty the Blues Man
Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping
Diona Devincenzi – Merry Christmas To Me
(This song has ministered to me personally, particularly last Christmas Eve when plans fell apart at the last minute!)

Record Box:
If you grew up in the 60s chances are your mom and had mostly likely had the album "Merry Christmas" by Johnny Mathis and if they were like my mom, played it over and over again until you just couldn't get it out of your head. So here's one of those songs.

Johnny Mathis – Sleigh Ride
Brenda Lee – Rockin Around the Christmas Tree
Claudine Clark – Party Lights
Darlene Love – Marshmallow World
Bobby Rydell - Forget Him
Friend and Lover – Reach Out In The Darkness

Also want to remind you that my guest next week for the last live show will be Lance Hoppen of Orleans. So do tune in for that!

Soul Stew
Impressions – Amen
Jerry Butler – Mr. Dream Merchant
Four Tops – Ask the Lonely
Stevie Wonder – Someday At Christmas

Current:
Stephen Hill and Woody Wright - Come and See What's Happening in the Barn
Eve Selis – Do You Know Me

Frequency to the Heart
Real quick one this week--it's a rough time financially for a lot of folks this year. Take a look around you, see who's struggling and see if you can do something special, needed and unexpected...discover and delight somebody in need!

This season does a number on my sinuses and I'm hearing it on the mike the past couple of weeks. I wish they'd clear up.

Announcement

I have an announcement to make about "Never Too Old".

I will be "moving back to the old neighborhood" (no, not the Twin Cities!). I've been spending a lot of time lately in my original time period of 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon being an occasional sidekick with my dear friend T.J. Kirby at "T.J. and Company" and I even filled in for him last weekend. We've had a lot of fun and some nice feedback when we were on the air together. I've also been helping him out over the past few months with administrative details for the show. We've talked about teaming up for quite some time. I've finally decided to do that.

So, at the end of the month, I will bring "Never Too Old" to a close and I will be joining "T.J. and Company" on Saturday afternoons from 3-5 p.m as a regular sidekick and co-producer sometime in January. My last live broadcast in this Sunday 8 a.m. time slot will be next Sunday, December 20, when my guest will be Lance Hoppen of Orleans. There will be a show rebroadcast on the 27th (don't know which one at this point).

T.J. and I are very excited about the plans we have for the show...we think it's going to be very unique and entertaining and we're working on some great guest lineups. You'll hear a lot of the same music that you've heard on Never Too Old each week; we've always had that similarity going on so it's just another reason that it makes sense for us to combine our efforts. And yeah, I did start feeling a little burned out on getting up and rushing out the door early Sunday mornings!

I do hope you will join us on Saturday afternoons. And yes, there will be a new "T.J. and Company" show blog, so watch for that as well! This blog will remain up and archived after "Never Too Old" ends...there's still a lot of good stuff in it, after all!

I know I'll probably repeat this, but I do thank everyone who supported me and this show, and most especially all the guests who got up at an ungodly hour for them to join me.

A new era in radio is about to begin!

12/6/09 Blog/Playlist: Complicated Love-The Sequel

I got a bit of a surprise this morning when I entered the studio. Two guys were in the studio doing a new show. Their names are Hal and Tyler and the show is called Wide Open. It's a mixed bag of music and thoughts. I didn't think anyone besides me would want to get up at those hours on Sunday morning, but these guys have taken on the 6-8 a.m. slot preceding me. Thanks for helping with a gracious transition and welcome to Sunday morning, fellows!

Segment 1: Complicated Love-The Sequel
I've been promising this theme for awhile and so, here it is this week...complicated love, the sequel! Back in March I did a show like this which looked at the complicated aspects of love and tried to tell some stories within the theme. I'll try that again this time out and as with last time, I'll have a question for you which I'll ask in the next set. But this first set is devoted to liars, cheaters, players, what they do to people. We've all known a few of those, right?

Bob Kuban and the InMen – The Cheater
Del Shannon – Little Town Flirt
Johnny Mathis – What Will My Mary Say
Beach Boys - Surfin Safari (It has been this kind of week for me here at RFN. I had the wrong disc in the wrong case. So let's say someone cheated on someone by taking somebody surfing!)
Brenda Lee – Fool #1
Lesley Gore – Maybe I Know
Knickerbockers – Lies

Segment 2: Record Box
OK, to start this set out is my question for this show: can you be in love with someone you don't like? First, the Beatles weigh in on the question.
Thanks to all for the responses on Facebook! Most folks said something to the effect of "yes, but..." in that you can love someone but not like what they do.

Beatles – You Really Got A Hold On Me
Petula Clark – I Couldn't Live Without Your Love
Patsy Cline – Sweet Dreams (Of You)
Gene Pitney – Half Heaven Half Heartache

Segment 3: Soul Stew

Well, Gene Pitney led us off with a look at heartache which will continue for a little bit in the soul stew portion. To continue that, great minds think alike.

Supremes – Nothing But Heartaches
Flirtations – Nothing But A Heartache


Segment 4: Non-oldie/Current/New
We didn't do a current/non-oldie segment last week due to the 70s show so we're going to make up for it a bit this week. Probably one of the things that makes love so complicated is communication, or lack thereof. I discovered this first song a while back which to me completely nails that problem between a man and a woman --so it was a no-brainer for me to use it in this show.

Greg Lamboy – War of Words
Beth Nielsen Chapman – Trying To Love You (Beth wrote the song, also recorded by Trisha Yearwood. I also had her version and wanted to use that but I had a time issue...Beth's was shorter).
Louise Mosrie – Maybe I'm Your Angel
Semisonic – She's Gone To The Movies

Frequency To The Heart
Encouraging Words – December 2009

Well, at least the players worked this time. But in my haste to try to fit that one last song in, I forgot to switch the mike over at the end so people probably heard only half of the encouraging words. I probably should have left that out.

I think I'm glad this weekend in radio is over. I want an engineer for Christmas.

My Experiment With Personality Radio: TJ and Company 12/5/09

My dear friend and "radio mate" T.J. Kirby and his wife Rene had a function to go to this week which was taking place at the same time of his show. I had this bright idea: why don't I sit in for him? After all, I've been a sidekick guest on the show a few times. Surely I've learned something from it all this time, right? Well, T.J. agreed to give me a shot.

It was indeed quite the learning experience. I learned just how much work goes into trying to do a decent two-hour "personality radio" type show. T.J.'s basic format is a throwback to "radio like it used to be" when the DJ was an integral part of the show. The format is two songs and talk segments across the two hours and making it all entertaining. I spent about four days trying to assemble bits to use and finding songs I could "hear" on his show, and making sure I wouldn't run short of material.

My own style is pretty much laid back, like the FM progressive rock DJs of the 70s; basically I just like to share music, play longer sets and then tell you a little bit about what you heard. For me to be witty and charming on the air consistently and not be self-conscious about it is quite a stretch out of my comfort zone. Believe me, I have gained a new respect for folks like T.J. who make it all seem so effortless.

I did, however, come up with a couple of things we thought were cute and clever. I started with a bit where I walk into the studio at the start of the show expecting to find T.J., but he's not there. Instead there's a note from him reminding me that I am hosting, not guesting, "here's your music and material, it'll be easy, just remember everything I taught you". Then I kicked into the theme and my take on the opener. Another segment was one called "Cat Talk" which evolved from some joking between T.J. and me...it started with Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever" and gossip about the hilarous "cat betrayed his girlfriend" video out on You Tube, along with some cat facts.

I also had some great music which I don't get to play on my show, including some #1 songs on that date from the 60s to the 90s.

Alas, though, the technical glitches dogged me as usual. The players skipped on a couple of songs. Then, a strange weird thing during a comedy bit I played by Mark Lowry. In the middle, I started hearing the Emergency Broadcast System type tones. Oh no, I thought, what's going on? I immediately looked out the window--I hadn't heard of any storms on the way. Then a voice came on and said "I'm the rock" and then it stopped. What the hell was that? And why does this stuff always have to happen to me, anyway?? Then at the end, I thought for sure I put the mike switch on but it wasn't registering...so I checked it again and it came back. Unfortunately, I lost most of T.J.s poem I was reading. Grrrrr....

Prime time on-air personality? Probably not my destiny. Occasional sidekick to T.J.? We've done that and we have in fact gotten some feedback from listeners suggesting we ought to team up one day. Content producer? Now there's a good radio gig for me. Just so long as I don't have to engineer.

Anyhow as I said, I have gained a greater respect for what T.J. does and his talent. Someone needs to hire him. I'll be the producer.

11/29/09 Blog/Playlist: Nice Decade - The 70s

I waited a long time to get this "Have A Nice Decade" box set available from the library...it had about 36 or so holds on it. So just as well I was able to push this show up a week as I'll have to return the box set soon!

Segment 1 and 2: Have a Nice Decade - The 70s

Today we're going to dig a bit deep into the 70s. The 70s were fascinating and interesting for pop culture enthusiasts. It was the era of disco, Watergate, many trends, catch phrases and just plain distinctive looks. Do you remember what you wore back then and do you groan when you think about it and see old pictures of yourself? And how about those old prom pictures? Still have any of those?

A lot of what I'm going to play today will come from a series called Have A Nice Decade: the 70s. For the most part, I stayed away from the overplayed, tried and true and dug out some you probably haven't heard in a long while. As I was looking through the collection, I notice there these were a lot of songs in this decade which were off the beaten path, funny, maybe even ridiculous. Probably a good reason why you don't hear many of these anymore! But let's have some decadent fun and recall some of those songs in this first set. As I mentioned, there were a lot of wild trends during the 70s, and this first song celebrates one...I forgot just how funny it was.

Ray Stevens – The Streak
Daddy Dewdrop – Chick- A Boom
Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods – Billy Don't Be A Hero
George Baker Selection – Little Green Bag
Bay City Rollers – Saturday Night
Johnny Wakelin and the Kinshasa Band – Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)

In the notes for the Have a Nice Decade package, the producer, David McLees, notes that the 70s was the one decade which caused people of all generations to laugh at how we looked. I'm not even going to mention some of the outfits I recall I had during my teen years which I thought were way cool at the time. Well, OK, I mentioned one--the white pantsuit with the large green flowery petals. Why didn't anyone tell us how ridiculous we looked back then!

This set started with a couple of songs good for a Sunday morning.

Godspell – Day by Day (that one jumped in the player a few times..but did so on pitch!)
Ocean – Put Your Hand In the Hand
Coven – One Tin Soldier
Five Man Electrical Band – Signs
First Class – Beach Baby

Segment 3: Soul Stew

If you remember the music of the 70s, you know that some of the best soul music ever came out of that decade. I got a few in as I had time for.

McFadden and Whitehead –Ain't No Stoppin Us Now
Blue Magic – Sideshow
Honey Cone – Want Ads
Main Ingredient – Everybody Plays The Fool

Frequency To The Heart:

The 70s were the "have a nice day" decade, symbolized by that famous "happy face". Going into the holiday season, in that spirit, why not find some ways you can help someone have a nice day? Take somebody to lunch, do the unexpected, or just say something to brighten someone's day. Like perhaps say "have a nice day". (Couldn't resist!)

Next week: Complicated Love...the sequel! We'll play songs about liars, cheaters, players, and I'll have a question for you, too.

Also next Saturday December 5, I'll be sitting in for my buddy T.J. Kirby on T.J. and Company from 3-5 p.m. Central time. That puts me back in my old time slot for a week and I get a shot at a two hour show. I do a guest spot with him once a month but this week "steal the show" while he's away.

I didn't do a current music set this time because I just had so much in the 70s collection I wanted to get to. I apologize to those who missed that..I'll make it up next week and get one or two in on Saturday as well.

11/22/09 Blog/Playlist: 1963 Revisited

Segment #1 – 1963 Revisited
Today is the 46th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, on November 22, 1963. If you lived through that time no matter how old or how young you were, you never forget it. (I'm rather surprised that there's been little media notice of the date this year...it being one of the most shocking events in modern history). Last year I had a show on that same date and I played some music from 1963. I'm going to revisit that year again musically this time as well.

On last year's show I mentioned that there was an aircheck on the internet of a Dallas radio station, KLIF to be exact, from the afternoon of November 22, 1963 around the time when the assassination was happening. It starts out as if it were a normal day, and then once the first reports of the shooting came in, the music started to change and become more somber. Eventually it went to all news and stayed that way throughout the weekend. I have a couple of the songs that were played that afternoon on KLIF. I'll start the set with those, the first one being a song conveying the innocence of the times…all of which was about to change later that afternoon...

Chiffons - I Have A Boyfriend
Tommy Roe – Everybody
Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs – Sugar Shack
Dale and Grace – I'm Leaving It Up To You
Little Peggy March – I Will Follow Him
Kyu Sakamoto – Sukiyaki
Beach Boys – Surfin USA

Segment #2/3 – Picking Through the Record Box/Soul Stew
Last year I tried to play this song,If You Want To Be Happy by Jimmy Soul Clark, which I have on cassette, and it didn't work. If I recall, it would have helped to check to see if the power button was actually on, instead of assuming it was turned on, which it wasn't. Now that we have our cassette deck back in the studio, I tried it again. Not only didn't it work again, but the tape got stuck in the machine for a moment or two. Sheesh. Well, if something doesn't work you move on to the next thing. Just like you do in life.

Bobby Vee – The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
Caravelles – You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry
Bobby Vinton – Blue On Blue
Ricky Nelson – Fools Rush In
Four Seasons – Candy Girl
Brenda Lee - Losing You (Followed glitch #2 - meant to play Still by Bill Anderson but the wrong track came up--I think I might have had the wrong disc!)
Impressions – It's All Right
Brenda Lee - My Whole World Is Falling Down (Another unplanned track--so this set became an extended record box set with a little soul thrown in. At that point I wondered if my whole show was falling down! But it turned out to be a pretty good song. Can't do too wrong with Brenda Lee, after all...)
Barbara Lewis – Hello Stranger
Shirelles – Foolish Little Girl


Segment #4 – New/current/non-oldie

There's a new CD out by someone who would have hits a couple of years later. B.J. Thomas has a new Brazilian style CD out called "Once I Loved". I played a track from it. It is as its title says...So Nice.

B.J. Thomas – So Nice
Amy Holland – Miracle River

Frequency to the Heart:

This coming week is Thanksgiving. A lot of us are in hard times these days, but there's always something to be thankful for. How about the people in your life you are thankful for? Has it been a while since you've contacted them? Now would be an excellent time to encourage them and tell them how much they've meant to you. Tell them that you're thankful they are in your life.

Here's a link to a good list of songs that were hits in 1963: www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1963.htm

When I play this show back, I'll see how well I vamped through the glitches...

11/15/09 Blog/Playlist: Double Trouble

I have been on the road and on the go since last Thursday evening, with for the most part only enough time to get home to bed for a few hours each night. Somewhere inbetween it all I had to find time to throw a show together.

Today it's two for the price of one. As we get older, sometimes we have a tendency to repeat ourselves, don't we? I came up with a set of songs in which words in the title are repeated twice. Perfect for us baby boomers!

New Christy Minstrels – Green Green
Drifters – True Love, True Love
Tommy James and the Shondells – Mony Mony
Miriam Makeba – Pata Pata
Brenda Lee – Dum Dum
Kingsmen – Louie Louie
Crazy Elephant - Gimme Gimme Good Lovin

I realized I could have also included the Doo Wop song I played last week, Trickle Trickle by the Videos, in this set. But, I wasn't thinking about doing this theme for this week last week. So there ya go!

Segment 2: Picking Through the Record Box

Association – Time For Livin'
Randy and the Rainbows – Denise
Kingston Trio – Where Have All The Flowers Gone
Johnnie and Joe - Over The Mountain Across The Sea
(Last minute change--that's what happens when you get into your music,don't pay attention and forget to cue the next track!)

Segment 3: Soul Stew

Joe Jeffrey Group – My Pledge Of Love
Aretha Franklin – Since You've Been Gone
Michael McDonald – Love TKO
Brenda Holloway - When I'm Gone

Segment 4: Non-oldie/Current/New

Last weekend I went to a wonderful house concert by an artist introduced to me by Laurie McClain, who was a guest on my show a couple of months ago. When she was here she brought along a CD by Dublin born singer/songwriter Danny Ellis. He has a CD called "800 Voices" which chronicles his childhood life in an Irish orphanage. Music was one of the things that kept him going. I played track off that CD, appropriately called Radio.

Danny Ellis – Radio
Kim McLean – Faith, Hope and Love

Frequency To The Heart

Hug someone today. Hug someone that needs some comfort. Hug somebody that did something sweet and wonderful for you. Hug someone just for being who they are. It's a great way to encourage. Hug somebody now, while they are around to be appreciated.

11/8/09 Blog/Playlist: Library Finds-Anthology Day

It was "anthology day" on Never Too Old this morning. As I was keeping my show log, I realized that most of what I played came from various "anthology" collections.

I also had a case of the "flying mic" this morning. The microphone kept bouncing up to a higher level and I couldn't keep it lowered down close enough for me, so I had to hold it to talk. It helps when I have two hands free to do things instead of one.

Segment 1: Library Finds - Association and Doo Wop

I enjoy going to the local library to try and find music for my show. I often find many gems among the collections. This week I found two great compilations: one put out by Rhino Records called "The Only Doo Wop Collection You'll Ever Need" and an anthology collection on the popular 60s rock band The Association called "Just the Right Sound" that has a bit of interesting stuff on it. I played some songs in this first set from both of those collections. I'm going to throw a song in here that you may recognize as done by another group...but many of you may not be as familiar with this earlier version. But first, something from the Doo Wop box set.

Fiestas – So Fine
Association – Goodbye Columbus (From the movie of the same name - two different group members submitted songs for the movie but one won out. The band also recorded the other song and renamed it "Goodbye Forever")
Videos - Trickle Trickle (Also covered a few years ago by the Manhattan Transfer)
Association – Babe I'm Gonna Leave You (You all may remember it done quite differently by Led Zeppelin)
Gene Chandler – Duke Of Earl

One of the things I love most about these compilations is the package liner notes. Now, unfortunately, when you get items out of the library, there's a chance some things may be missing with all the passing around a CD might get. I would expect there probably was some kind of annotation with the Doo Wop package, being it's a Rhino release and all, but unfortunately I don't have one. I do have one for the Association collection. The introduction was written by Bill Inglot, one of the producers of this project and, as I have discovered, he's had a hand in several other compilations put out by Rhino and other labels. He also was involved in the "Soul Shots" CDs I play here a lot. I just love what he says here...it's a marvelous insight on how growing up with the music in the 60s impacts your life.

"Once Gepetto dies, the toys just aren't the same anymore...
The 60's were a vast sea of energies, synergies, colors, and yes, trouble, which won't repeat and perhaps shouldn't. Even more than that, they can't.
I can't go back there and I know most times I don't want to, except when I long to see those colors again. There is plenty of pop music today that conveys the happiness and joy that life can be. But those colors are missing..."

Man, I wish I wrote that!

Segment 2: Picking Through the Record Box
I started with this other Association tune, a song that I have been teased with for most of my life since the thing came out in 1967. Whenever anyone would see me back when this song was out, I would unfailingly hear a rendition of the chorus of this song. I kept correcting people, no, no, I'm WENDY, not WINDY! Didn't matter. Even at times to this day, people will start singing it.

Association – Windy
Chimes – Once In Awhile
Johnny Horton – North To Alaska
Bobby Darin – Things
Beatles – What You're Doing

Segment 3: Soul Stew
We'll hear a couple from the Tops and the Tempts in this set!

Four Tops – Standing in the Shadows of Love
Temptations – You're My Everything
Four Tops – Something About You
Temptations – It's Growing


Segment 4: Non-oldie/Current/New

I started with this cut from George Adams, who you might remember was my guest last month (boy, the time does fly!). He played another gig at Red Tree Coffee in Kingston Springs this past Thursday. I requested him to play this song, he did and it's a beauty...it's off his "Anthology" CD.

George Adams – Hold On To Love
Semisonic – Closing Time
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end"...what a great, poignant lyric and one that has been very comforting to me. The song was written by the talented Dan Wilson, of the Twin Cities, who at the time was lead singer/principal songwriter of Semisonic. It's off one of my favorite albums, "Feeling Strangely Fine". I got hooked on this album when I went to a couple of Matchbox 20 and other shows at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and it would be played before the show started. It was one of those released around that time that had songs that spoke to my spirit. I'll play another track or two on upcoming shows.

Frequency To The Heart
Wendy V's Encouraging Words – November 2009: Show Your Heart...Show Your Appreciation

Different closing theme today: Booker T and the MGs - Time Is Tight (and indeed it was...). Reason: forgot to put the CD with "Soul Serenade" in my bag when I changed things out this weekend. Gotta watch that.

Still getting used to the new board setup..only my second time out with it. Also we've got a technical gremlin or two to yet work out. It'll get there.

11/1/09 Blog/Playlist: Grab and Go!

So here's the deal. Saturday afternoon our transmitter blew. The station managers didn't think we'd have things up and running in time for my show Sunday morning. So I called Lance Hoppen (of the group Orleans), who was my scheduled guest, and told him we needed to postpone his guest appearance until December. I got up Sunday morning, went on Facebook and learned we had a loaner transmitter in place. I turned on the radio and there we were. But I hadn't heard anything from the station on whether or not I should show up. Would my hour be automated, or were they expecting me? There was only one thing to do: grab a few CDs and my computer and go over to the station and see what was up. I got hold of Ginny and Greg (station managers) also showed up. Both told me to go for it and give doing a live show a shot. So what the heck. I did. (No, I did not call poor Lance and rouse him out of bed and tell him to come on down!) I winged this one solo. I momentarily lost my script but found it so I at least had my first set I originally planned and my "frequency to the heart".

There were a couple of technical flubs in the beginning but those were to be expected. I did a lot of explanations about how the shows work and such. I started with a 70s set, with one flub-prompted change:

Grass Roots - Sooner or Later
Grass Roots - Two Divided By Love
Pickettywitch - Same Old Feeling
Walter Egan - Magnet and Steel
Maria Muldaur - Midnight at the Oasis

Record Box:
Gene McDaniels - 100 Pounds of Clay
Marcie Blaine - Bobby's Girl
Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas - Bad To Me
Shangri-Las - Give Us Your Blessings (a Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich rarity played from a rather interesting collection of "death" songs called "Dead: The Grim Reaper's Greatest Hits")
Los Bravos - Black Is Back

Soul Stew:
Wilson Pickett - Funky Broadway
Supremes - Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart
Temptations - You've Got To Earn It

Current/Non-Oldies:
Grabbed a quick couple of tracks this morning from some past guests:
Boomer Castleman - Never Say Never Again
Les Kerr - Camellia Grill

Frequency To The Heart:
I was just looking at the calendar here at the station one day and happened to see a quote on one page from Eleanor Roosevelt: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Some of us tend to be the type that says "yes" to a lot of things. But we need to say "no" to comparing ourselves to others and buying in to feelings of inferiority. So when it comes to those things...don't give your consent.

Closer - King Curtis - Soul Serenade

This was also my first time trying out the new broadcast board at the station. We had been using a board more typical of a sound mixer, but we now have one with "pots" you turned up and down. This is more like the board I learned radio on when I was in college. There is a big difference in the sound on the microphone...much better clarity and fidelity. Of course, it also picks up all your vocal tics better.

It was cool in a way to be the one to "inaugurate" the new board for the weekend programmers. I didn't think it would happen. We were told today would be sort of a "dress rehearsal" for us since we are at lower broadcast power until we get technical things to full speed. Not bad, considering it was a "grab and go" show.

Next weekend we put up the new antenna. Depending when that happens, I may or may not be on. I'll keep you posted. Thanks to those who tuned in (I know of at least one who did!) and rolled with me this morning.

WRFN Barnraising #2

There was no show this weekend. WRFN was off the air to prepare for our big switch to 107.1 LPFM. In the low power FM world, these station-establishing events are known as "barnraisings". I was not around here when Radio Free Nashville had its inaugural one in 2005, but I understand it was quite the undertaking, with folks from around the country and even around the world coming in to take part. I've shared some video on that here.

Lots of work to do on the first morning. We early crewbies hauled equipment out of the studio and office to get the place ready for painting. We cleaned out an old, musty trailer, unearthing lots of trash and perhaps a few treasures. The tech crew, led by Matt the PM (and host of RFN Weekend, Saturdays at 5 p.m.), got the broadcast and computer prep going, with folks even going under the house. Stepping stones were dug up and moved and then the studio painting began.

There was food galore with tons of goodies from Bread and Company and some most marvelous chili from Kristi Rose (of Pulp Radio, Wednesdays 5-6 p.m.). The great thing, though, about any of these rare occasions for the WRFN programmers to get together is the chance to see each other and learn about each other's shows.

Barnraising day two began at noon Sunday. This was the day when the new antenna was scheduled to be put up and work at the studio and office finished up. Unfortunately they ran into some delays with the new antenna installation, but we will be broadcasting on 107.1 in this coming week...it'll just be with our old antenna until things get worked out. There's a lot of detail that's gone in to this transition and it takes a lot of dedicated folks to make this happen. It was great to meet and work with so many different people with great skills.

T.J. and Rene Kirby and I were there from morning to evening on both days and worked as a team in many spots. We were a tired but happy team when it was all done and we all agreed it was a very interesting experience being involved at this level beyond our shows. Now we just can't wait to get at the new broadcast board!

See you November 1 at 107.1!

10/18/09 Blog/Playlist: Devil or Angel

Opening: Herb Alpert and Tijuana Brass - So What's New
Segment 1: Theme - Devil or Angel
What side do you come down on? Do you come off like an angel or do you have a bit of a devilish side to you? We'll take a look at a few songs that cover either or both sides of that coin starting with a song that covers the theme and this question.

Bobby Vee – Devil or Angel
Elvis Presley – (You're the) Devil In Disguise
Beatles – Devil In Her Heart
Shelby Flint – Angel On My Shoulder
Neil Sedaka – Next Door To An Angel
Aretha Franklin – Angel

I almost forgot about that Aretha Franklin song, even though I'd always loved it.

Many times, as I do these sets, I get some folks guessing about what I'm going to play. But more often than not I either won't have the song since I use my own collection or occasionally the station's. Plus, when given a choice I really try to avoid the obvious song that any other stations that still air this music would pick.

Segment 2: Picking Through the Record Box
Well, with Halloween coming up, I wanted to get at least one weird song in. This one's got sort of an eerie and spooky storyline to it: Dickey Lee, with the story of "Laurie".

Dickey Lee – Laurie
Ral Donner – You Don't Know What You've Got Until You Lose It
Sarah Vaughn – Broken Hearted Melody
Lou Christie – Two Faces Have I
Impalas – Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home)

I got hold of another in the Hard To Find 45 CD series from which I played the Impalas and Sarah Vaughn songs. I was just noting on the Eric Records site which produces the series that the Volume 1 CD is now pretty rare. I got this copy out of the library, so it was pretty cool that I was able to find it under those circumstances!

Just a reminder that next weekend we'll be off the air because we'll be getting ready for the switch over to 107.1 FM. So be sure that you set your dials for 107.1 and be back with me on November 1 when my guest will be Lance Hoppen of Orleans. Also coming up on the show is singer/songwriter Marc-Alan Barnette on November 8 and coming soon "Complicated Love—the sequel"!

Segment 3: Soul Stew
I would have loved to fit the first song in last week's feelgood show but didn't have it handy.
Spinners – I'll Be Around
Edwin Starr – Agent Double O Soul
Stylistics – You Are Everything
Tony Clarke – The Entertainer

Segment 4: Non-oldie/Current/New

There is an organization called Bring Peace Not Pain which has been having a Peace Song Challenge. One of the songs entered in this challenge is this angel song by Randi Perkins.
Randi Perkins – Army Of Angels
Eve Selis- Angels and Eagles
Alan O'Day – I Hear Voices

Alan O'Day will be the featured writer, performing with his producer Denny Martin, at the Commodore Grill Wednesday evening, going on at about 8 p.m.

Frequency To The Heart:
If you've been listening closely to the devil and angels songs in the show this morning, you can probably tell that I tend to favor angels. We can encounter wolves in sheep's clothing. We've all probably come across people like that. But I like to think of this world as basically good. I believe there are angels among us in our everyday lives and I know I can speak to that personally. There are a lot of hurting people out there right now. Think about how you can be an angel to someone in need.

Closing: King Curtis - Soul Serenade

I'd rate this week's show pretty good. My throat had a bit of junk in it at times. It's probably not a good idea to be clearing it on mike so I just had to roll with it...but oh well.

Everybody sleep in next week--back on November 1 on 107.1 FM!

10/11/09 Blog/Playlist: Music That Heals

To be honest with you, it's been a rough week. Disappointments, hurts, unexpected expenses, passings, other annoying problems. A dear friend of mine brought me over for lunch and we watched a video of Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire together in concert. Both of those bands still had it...and the songs we loved and the energy that poured forth did a lot of good for my soul. I think we all know that music has healing properties. There are a lot of soothing instrumentals that are created just for that purpose. It can be, and often is, about song lyrics that manage to express just what it is that you feel at that moment. Other times, like on the video, it's just an energetic and uptempo song that gives you a lift. You just want to feel good, ya know? So I'm starting with a set of songs which for me serve that purpose. Now on this first one you may not understand the language, but I don't think you need to – the spirit's universal.

Miriam Makeba – Pata Pata
Nathaniel Mayer - Village of Love
Brenda Lee – Dum Dum
Major Lance – Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um (This guy had the right idea..come up with a melody to hum when you're feeling down)
Johnny Nash - Hold Me Tight (very last minute change and a good one--with the "ba ba ba ba" etc. fitting in well with the previous two songs)
Reflections - Just Like Romeo and Juliet

There's talk from time to time about getting a camera here in the studio. If there had been, you'd have seen me rocking in my chair. People have noticed that I do that when I'm out listening to music. I've been doing it since I was about 3 years old. I just can't sit still when I'm listening to music. You can't always get up and dance, so I "chair dance" when the spirit moves. There were times when I was younger I'd get so into it that I've even broken a chair or two (but I watch it here in the studio!). But it's also a comfort thing for me, too.

Record Box
One of my all time favorite albums is the Drifters Golden Hits. I played one of my particular favorites, one that doesn't get as much play as some of their better known hits.

Drifters – Dance With Me
Swinging Medallions – Double Shot of My Baby's Love
Beatles – I'll Be Back
Go West - King Of Wishful Thinking

Soul Stew
Nothing like a good dose of Motown to perk you up, right? Starting out with something by the Supremes.

Supremes – Come See About Me
Four Tops – It's The Same Old Song
Temptations – Ain't Too Proud To Beg
Wilson Pickett – 634-5789
Temptaions - Get Ready (hard to decide between two Tempts songs--so decided to do them both!)

Current/Non-oldie/out of the box

Sometimes when things are not going well, you just have to get away to regroup and recover. Here's a lovely song on that subject by Eliza Gilkyson.

Eliza Gilkyson – Coast
Matchbox 20 – Unwell (Live acoustic version. Maybe slightly out of show demographic but there's something about Rob Thomas for me. Whether it's something in his voice or his songs, he just seems to nail whatever I'm going through.)
Mark Lowry – When The Sun Comes Out Again

(OK,that set together just about did me in...glad I had tissues...)

Frequency To The Heart
I might call this a note to self for this week, but this is for all of you too: When you're going through a rough time, it's very important to take care of you. Be sure you are surrounding yourself with supportive and encouraging people who care for you, who give you energy and don't drain your soul and your spirit. Don't settle for less...it may mean stepping back from people and situations that can't serve that purpose, however difficult it may be to do. Do those comfort things that will help your heart until you see that peek of sunshine coming through again.

Opening theme: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass – So What's New
Closing theme: King Curtis - Soul Serenade

Coming up on NTO:
Next week – Devil or Angel theme set
Then we are off for the weekend of October 23/24 for the WRFN barnraising, where we prepare to switch to 107.1 and install a new antenna and make some studio improvements. I will be back on November 1 at 107.1 when my guest will be Lance Hoppen of Orleans. So I do hope you'll follow me for that!

I was VERY happy with how the show went. I think it was one of the best shows I've ever done. I hope it helped some folks who may have been needing a lift.

Next week will be better.

10/4/09 Blog/Playlist: in-studio guest George Adams

I was excited because I had a guest with me this morning that I've wanted to have on the show for a long time...George Adams, a guy in my list of top male vocalists. I asked George what he wanted to hear, so I started with a few of his requests. It was mostly a different set of songs than I normally play on my show except for two, but there was a reason for that...stay tuned.

Lovin Spoonful - Darlin Be Home Soon (until the gremlins invaded. Rats.)
Critters - Mr. Dieingly Sad
Jimmy Webb - Galveston (lovely version of the song by its writer)
Dan Fogelberg - Part Of The Plan
Kenny Chesney - That's Why I'm Here

You may have heard me say from time to time in the little over a year that I've been here on Radio Free Nashville that I've gotten much more out of this gig than I bargained for. I started out on Saturday afternoons in September of last year. I used to follow a show called "Geo On the Radio". Back then I used to show up a half hour or so early to get prepped for my show, go through the station's online catalog and look for songs and check out Geo's show because I really liked it. One day I'm doing all that and I hear this drop dead gorgeous voice. I said to Geo "WHO is THAT??" He says "oh, you've never heard George Adams?" Um, no, I hadn't. He told me where his MySpace page was, I checked out his song samples and was completely blown away. Now it's hard to get that reaction from song samples and I hadn't been that impressed in about seven years. I went to see him at a gig a month after that and gave him the kind of a five star review in my Wendy V's Nashville Blend blog that I rarely give anyone. Suffice it to say I have since become a major fan of this guy – I love his voice and the music.

George considers himself more of a vocalist than a songwriter, but we heard some of his songwriting live and from studio cuts.

Song list:
Why Don't I Know It's Over
It's Just Love (these first two were done live and are unrecorded as yet)
Stronger Than Words (studio track)
Turn The Knife (live)

George is from Boston originally. He was working in the auto parts business but started developing his singing. He joined a group called the Secrets and moved to Nashville in 1988. He also played at the Stockyard Restaurant and Bullpen Lounge in the 90s as a strolling balladeer and later as part of the house band. He just finished a five month run as a performer on the Carnival Legend cruise ship. The ship carried over 2,000 passengers a week...out of 900 crew members he was one of only 10 who were American.

We also divulged one of the worst kept secrets of low-power FM radio. If those who listened to WRFN on weekends since last year thought George sounded just a little bit familiar when he spoke, yes, George Adams and "Geo On The Radio" are one and the same. Obviously, I've known him for quite some time, having followed his show back when I was on Saturdays last year. The opening set was very much like what you'd hear on a typical "Geo On the Radio" show. George picked those songs because they were songs or artists that he loved. The Kenny Chesney song "That's Why I'm Here" has great personal significance to him...like the characters in the song, he made the decision nearly five years ago to stop drinking and he called it the best decision he ever made.

Plugs:
Gig Friday, October 9, 7 p.m. - Red Tree Coffee, 385 Main Street, Kingston Springs, TN

Info/Contact:
www.myspace.com/george.adams
www.reverbnation.com/georgeadams
www.geoontheradio.com
email: geoontheradio@gmail.com, geoontheradio@yahoo.com or george.adams@myspace.com

Go to any of the above websites to hear more of George's music and e-mail him to find out how to get a copy of his "Anthology" CD he mentioned on the show.

Frequency To The Heart:
You're special. Who among us wouldn't want to hear that...or feel that? What are some ways to show people in your life how special they are? Keep your full focus on them, show your undivided attention when you are with them. Do something kind just for them, maybe make them a surprise lunch or do some other unexpected gesture. You may be making a big difference in their world just at a time when they most need to feel special.



You might think because you have a guest on that you know pretty well personally that it would be easier, right? Wrong. You want everything to be right and go well and be in the pocket. My nerves got the best of me in places. I'm used to dealing with the usual tech glitches, but this was NOT the day that I wanted any of them. I wish I'd been better on a show I'd been so psyched for.

Thanks for getting up early and coming on the show, George.

9/27/09 Blog/Playlist: Never Say Never?

I had very little sleep this weekend because of two awesome concerts. I will have a report on those in my Nashville Blend blog soon. But I knew this would be an interesting show in terms of my functionality here, to say the least...I warned the audience accordingly and I was right. Some interesting pronouncements came out of my mouth.

Segment 1: Never
I was originally going to call this theme set "Never Say Never". But I realized that, here I am with a show called "Never Too Old" and how would it look doing a never say never theme when I'm telling people they're never too old? So maybe that doesn't make sense. I planned a song called "Never Say Never Again" in the last part of my show, so I think that's okay. Thus I'll just take the first word of the show title and make it a "never" theme...and start with a classic from the Association.

Association – Never My Love
Lovin Spoonful – Never Going Back (Joe Butler on lead vocal, written by John Stewart. also the first "glitch of the day" I had in quite some time. I had the wrong track and was bound and determined to have the right one play.)
Gene Pitney – True Love Never Runs Smooth (and neither does a radio show when you've had little sleep...)
Seekers – I'll Never Find Another You
Laura Nyro – I Never Meant To Hurt You

Segment 2: Picking Through the Record Box
I have been searching and searching for a long while for a couple of songs I've always loved that I wanted to play on the show...and finally, I've found them! This first one is a song that came out in 1964 and was a hit on the pop charts right in the middle of the Beatles and the British Invasion. One of those stylistic anomalies (believe it or not, didn't stumble over that word in my zombie-like state!) that turned up as pop hits around that time. It's one that would be an unlikely favorite of mine for that time and would really be considered "square" by a rock and roll kid such as myself. But for some odd reason, it's one that always stayed with me...not sure why I liked it then but I do now. Just like those Lawrence Welk shows I did call square as a 60s kid but occasionally watch now for the pop culture factor. Anyhow, the song I'm talking about to start off with is Love Me With All Your Heart, by the Ray Charles Singers.

Ray Charles Singers – Love Me With All Your Heart
Peter Paul and Mary – If I Had A Hammer (in tribute to the late Mary Travers)
Ruby and the Romantics – My Summer Love
Simon and Garfunkel – Homeward Bound (live version)
Rose Garden – Next Plane To London

In case you haven't heard, WRFN is moving to 107.1 in October! With that move, we will be heard clearly all over Nashville. That will be happening around the weekend of October 24-25, so we'll be off the air during that period to install a new antenna and make station improvements. We do need your help in raising money for all of this. Please go to www.radiofreenashville.org to see about the many ways you can donate. And, if you are in the Nashville area you can also find out there about a benefit classic car and motorcycle show/concert event happening on October 2.

Segment 3: Soul Stew

A couple more "never" songs in the soul set. I'll start with this one by Eddie Floyd:
Eddie Floyd – I've Never Found Me A Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)
Temptations – I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)
Dixiebelles – Down At Papa Joe's
Wilson Pickett – Funky Broadway

Segment 4: Non-oldie/Current/New

George Adams - Stronger Than Words
(George is a guest on my show next week. A singer's singer and I've been hoping to get him on the show for a long time. So I'm throwing out the format on this one and having him for the hour.)
Boomer Castleman – Never Say Never Again

Now what did those two songs have in common? A great big triple axel hitting, move in for the kill falsetto note at the end. When Boomer was here on the show a couple of months ago, he hit it live at 8:00 in the morning.

Frequency To The Heart

Well, I've had an hour to think about this whole "never say never" thing. The more that I thought about it, there are some times when you should think "never say never". It could be that goal you think you may never accomplish. Or that job test you thought you'd never pass (true story here!). Even perhaps, that love you thought you'd never have in your life. At those points, you might want to try a "never say never" mindset, open yourself up to encouragement and confidence. It could happen.

And for you all, one more song that I didn't have on CD to play but surely would have if I did: Styx- Never Say Never

9/20/09 Blog/Playlist: in-studio guests Dr. Jay & Miss Diana

Opening theme—So What's New – Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass

Well once again, I have some special guests in the studio: Dr. Jay and Miss Diana, a dynamic singer/songwriter duo and dear friends of mine.

But first, if you haven't already heard, we have some pretty exciting news to share here at Radio Free Nashville. In a couple of weeks, we are going to be moving to a new home on the FM dial! We will be moving to 107.1 FM...this is something we've been hoping to have happen for quite some time and we've now got the green light. The best news about it all is that we will then be heard all over Nashville. Before that happens, it's going take a bit of work. We'll need to invest in a new antenna and some studio improvements. So, this is where we need the support of all of you out there who love what we do here at Radio Free Nashville. Please go to our website at www.radiofreenashville.org and choose one of several ways to make a donation to the station. You can also go to www.goodsearch.com and designate Radio Free Nashville as your charity and every time you search there or shop through GoodShop WRFN will earn money.

I started out with a set of music.

Rascals – A Girl Like You
Swinging Medallions – Double Shot Of My Baby's Love
Supremes – Back In My Arms Again
Shadows of Knight – Gloria
Wildweeds – No Good To Cry
Survivor – The Search Is Over

My guests today: Dr. Jay and Miss Diana. I heard a little bit about them around town before I actually saw and met them at the Commodore Grille. The song that was the most memorable at that time was one that went I'm just trying to get your attention. And well, they certainly did. So much so that ultimately they were part of my birthday bash round at the Commodore.

They met when Dr. Jay (Jay Worth Allen) saw her as a telephone receptionist on an office visit. Once he heard Diana's voice decided he wanted to hear it the rest of his life. They hit it off personally and musically, married three weeks after they met and have stayed married for over ten years. Diana has sung in church choirs and folk settings, but didn't know any club songs. Jay brought her some recordings from some of the great female vocalists (Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, etc.) and they started off playing jazz.

Just hearing Dr. Jay and Miss Diana's music is half the picture. They need to be seen live. Diana is a performer who sings from her center and looks you in the eye as she sings. Believe it or not, when she first started performing, she sang with her back to the audience and kept checking with Jay to see if she was doing well!She emerged from her shell one day in the studio after getting frustrated with Jay telling her "that's not right". She decided she was going to sing her way, and out it came!

Besides the music, Jay is a prolific writer and artist. He's had a art exhibit going on this week...you can see samples of his art and writing on the website.

We played a few songs that will be on their upcoming Anthology CD which covers cuts from a few of their earlier CDs: Six Rhetoricals and Four Metaphors (named because a songwriting instructor told Jay you can't use rhetoricals and metaphors in Nashville!), Eleven Plays For the Radio, and Some Pretty Darn Good Songs.

I Do Believe
Just One More Time
I Love Only You
'Till My Money Runs Out


Plugs for Dr. Jay and Miss Diana:

www.drjaymissdiana.com
www.myspace.com/drjaymissdiana
Maxwell's (Millennium Maxwell Hotel in Nashville) regular Thursday night show starting 7 - 10 p.m.
10/2-3: Song Festival – Loretta Lynn's Ranch
10/23, 11/4: Commodore Grille

Frequency To The Heart

If it is true that our thoughts attract the types of things that come into our lives, then we all need to encourage each other to help keep our thoughts on track. We need to help one another maintain the positive outlook toward what we desire and keep those negative or fearful thoughts away. Find someone who needs a positive influence and show it and be it in their life. You can do more good than you can possibly realize.

Closer – Soul Serenade – King Curtis

Upcoming shows:
9/28 - "Never" opening theme set
10/4 - George Adams

A fun show this morning with great folks. Thanks Jay and Diana. And you all go see them live.

9/13/09 Blog/Playlist: in-studio guest Laurie McClain

Opening theme—So What's New – Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass

Laurie McClain was my guest on the show this morning. She's got a CD out called "Ascend" and she has an upcoming CD release show this Friday night at Fiddle and Pick in Pegram.

But first a couple of personal indulgences, if I may: today marks the first anniversary of the start of "Never Too Old". The show began on Saturday afternoons at 3 p.m. when I first came to Radio Free Nashville. It moved to this time slot at the first of this year. It's been a great journey, I've learned a lot since the beginning of this thing and I really appreciated everyone who has ever listened or read my show blog. Of course I want to thank Beau, Ginny, Greg and Matt here at the station for all their support and as I've always said, the best thing for me about being part of Radio Free Nashville is that I've made some life-impacting friendships here...and you know who you are.

Also, I want to thank everyone out there who came to my birthday bash at the Commodore Grille this past Wednesday. It was a great turnout and there were a couple of other RFN folks who turned out for it, my buddy TJ Kirby and his lovely Rene and Steve Haggard and Kimberly King played that evening and did a great job. So I did a brief set this morning and in honor of my party and Judy and Johnny who took such great pictures for me, I started with Lesley Gore!

Lesley Gore – It's My Party
Beatles – I'll Be Back
Joni Mitchell – Help Me
Sonny and Cher – Baby Don't Go
Janis Ian – Society's Child

Laurie McClain moved here in 1997 with four daughters from Lincoln, Nebraska. She and I had much in common. She grew up loving to watch the old Johnny Cash which always had such great artists as Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young, etc. She knew from age six that she wanted to be a singer. And so she has, going on to do that and writing lovely songs. She did very well in the recent Just Plain Folks awards, with "Ascend" coming in third in the New Folk Album category.

Another thing she and I had in common was she had spent time playing in the Twin Cities, where I moved here from. One person we both know is folksinger Jerry Rau, a dear friend of hers who sang a duet on the tribute album to Kate Wolf that she made a few years back.

Plugs for Laurie:
www.lauriemcclain.com
www.myspace.com/lauriemcclain
9/16 Richards Café and French Quarter Cafe
9/18 CD release party at Fiddle and Pick, Pegram, 8 p.m.

Songs:
He Smiled Like An Angel (live in studio)
Somewhere In Kentucky (from the "Ascend" CD)
Rosy Glasses (live in studio)

I do understand what it's like to be on fire for an artist and want to share that music with everyone you come across. Laurie asked if I would play a song off a CD by an artist she met at the JPF awards. He's an Irish-born artist named Danny Ellis, who grew up in an orphanage. His CD, 800 Voices, is made of his songs about his life in that setting. We played a track called "Artane Boys Band". It was quite striking and he has a wonderful voice.

Frequency To The Heart:

When It's Not A Fit – Encouraging Words July 2007

Closer – Soul Serenade – King Curtis

As always with a guest, the time ends up flying and I wished I had more time in the hour for her music. However, I also like to hear the guests talk about themselves and their music. You can always buy a CD and listen to it however often, but it's not as often you get to hear from the arists themselves about their music and their inspiration...so I like to allow a chunk of time for that.

I hope I didn't come across as too self-indulgent today. There were some things regarding the past week that I needed to express. Plus, at times my interview with Laurie was more like a friendly conversation but I hope I didn't focus more on me and less on her than I should have.

Upcoming guests:
September 20 - Dr. Jay and Miss Diana
October 4 - George Adams (strong tentative)

9/6/09 Blog/Playlist: Weather

First, thanks to my buddy T.J. Kirby for having me on his show yesterday afternoon from 3-5. It was a blast just like last time...always fun getting together with him and there'll be more of that in the future. We also had folks listening in via Facebook and posting comments while we were on air, so that was cool.

It seemed that one of the CD players took ill yesterday while we were on the air. I just had to wait and see if that would be the case this morning. One seemed a little under the weather this morning as well, so I asked the audience for healing thoughts and prayers for it! I guess they worked--after one slight glitch this morning the rest of the tracks played fine.

Opening theme — So What's New – Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass

Segment 1: Theme-Weather
Well, the weather is about to change yet again. It does get kind of interesting year round here in Nashville—we can have good stretches of sunshine but when it does decide to rain, it does so in earnest. So I thought I'd play some weather related songs to start us off this morning. I say let's start with a little sunshine!

Gale Garnett – We’ll Sing In the Sunshine
Lovin Spoonful – Rain On the Roof
Lesley Gore – Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows
Dee Clark – Raindrops
Bobby Hebb – Sunny
Temptations – I Wish It Would Rain
Beach Boys – The Warmth of the Sun (This song's haunting, melancholy melody was inspired by the death of President Kennedy)

I notice a lot of people around here love thunderstorms. They're fine to watch, I suppose, but it is not fun at all when you are out driving in them and it's raining so hard that you can't see.

Segment 2: Picking Through the Record Box

I've been watching repeats of the Beatles Anthology special this past week. There's a Beatles Rock Band and remastered tracks coming out this week...on 9/9/09 in fact, which happens to be my birthday. I don't think I'll be getting it as a birthday present, unfortunately. So in honor of all that, let's start out with a Beatles tune.

Beatles – Things We Said Today
Honeycombs – Have I The Right
Little Peggy March – I Will Follow Him
Knickerbockers – Lies

Dates in music history: noted a few MTV Awards past winners and that tomorrow marked the anniversary of American Bandstand leaving Philadelphia for California in 1963 and cutting its TV schedule from daily to once a week on Saturdays. End of an era at the time.

Segment 3: Soul Stew
Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose in the game of love. I thought I'd put together a few soul songs that look at both sides of the coin.
Temptations – Since I Lost My Baby
Jimmy Ruffin – What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
Supremes – Back In My Arms Again
Drifters – Some Kind of Wonderful

Segment 4: Non-oldie/Current/New
One more artist who will be featured in my birthday round coming up this week at the Commodore Grille.

Beth Browne – Taking Back Your Better Half
Laurie McClain – He Smiled Like an Angel

Laurie McClain will be my in-studio guest next week.

Frequency To The Heart

Wendy V's Encouraging Words for September - The Face of Encouragement

Closer – Soul Serenade – King Curtis

8/30/09 Blog/Playlist: in-studio guests Rick and Janis Carnes

I know it's really difficult for some of my guests to get up at the hour of 8 a.m. on Sunday morning. I mean, I've been getting up at early hours since I was in high school because I always got stuck with 8 a.m. classes. Since I've been working a temp job for the last couple of weeks, I've had to get used to the whole routine again. But I know it's not the norm for a musician. So I do appreciate those guests who make the extra effort and wake up and come on down to my little show on Sunday morning.

My guests today were Rick and Janis Carnes, singer/songwriters with a number of hits to their credit by Reba McEntire, the Whites and many others...and Janis has a new CD out, "Hoagy and Me" which is a tribute to Hoagy Carmichael. It was way unusual for Rick and Janis to be up at this hour and Janis wondered if her voice would be up for some live songs. But they ended up doing two songs live in studio and it was.

Opening theme: So What's New - Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass

Segment 1: Record Box
I was at a concert out at Pegram Park last night where my fellow DJ and good buddy TJ Kirby emceed a fun segment during the band break. Of course he got me in on the act—we played some music, we danced and had some kids doing their thing with hula hoops and just having a blast. Here's one of the songs we played:

Beatles – Twist and Shout
Grass Roots – Things I Should Have Said
Lovin Spoonful – Younger Girl
Verdelle Smith – Tar and Cement
Chiffons – I Have A Boyfriend
Lesley Gore – Look of Love (last two songs were a tribute to Ellie Greenwich, who with her partner Jeff Barry was one of the great writers of the Brill Building. Ellie passed away this week of a heart attack.)

Guests: Rick and Janis Carnes

Some of their writing credits from their bios:
In 1983, Rick wrote Reba McEntire’s first number one hit "I Can’t Even Get the Blues No More" and co-wrote with Janis and Chip Harding three top ten hits for the Whites; "You Put the Blue In Me", "Hangin’ Around" and "Pins And Needles". Rick also had success with album cuts on such artists as Conway Twitty, Karen brooks, Loretta Lynn, Lacy J. Dalton, Johnny Rodriguez, Janie Fricke, Ronnie McDowell, T.G. Sheppard, Pam Tillis and many others including three more Reba McEntire cuts.

Janis, along with Rick and Chip Harding, co-wrote three top ten singles by the Whites; You Put the Blue In Me, Hangin’ Around and Pins And Needles. She also had numerous album cuts by Reba McEntire and Eddy Raven, Lacy J. Dalton, the Kendalls, Karen Brooks, J.C. Jones, Steve Wariner and others.

Rick and Janis talked a lot about their writing process in general. I asked them about what it was like to hear songs they wrote on the radio for the first time. Rick recalls hearing his song which was Reba's #1 on the radio: he was driving down the road and heard the song come on, but his car radio conked out at that moment!

We focused a lot on Janis' project "Hoagy and Me" with covers of Hoagy Carmichael songs woven seamlessly with songs Janis wrote in the same style. It's a two disc CD with the vocals on one disc and all instrumentals of the songs on the other. Most of the tracks were done in one day, and in one take!

Songs played:
After Dark (live in studio)
Up With Love (Track from "Hoagy and Me")
Am I Naive (live in studio)

Plugs:
website: www.janiscarnes.com

Upcoming appearances:
Round at the Bluebird Café September 16, 9 p.m.
Commodore Grille September 6 (evening starts 7 p.m.)

Frequency To The Heart

Another one of those job questions is "what would your co-workers say about you?" Think about it: what do you think people around you would say about you? Sometimes we're pleasantly shocked when we find out, and sometimes we wince and say ouch. Have you treated those around you in a way that would make people speak well of you? The good you give comes back to you. Do unto others as you would have done unto you.

Closing theme: Soul Serenade - King Curtis

I thought it was a good interview with some fun comments and good insights on writing with Rick and Janis. I was a bit sloppy this morning, though...my timing was off in spots and I forgot to get the camera and take a picture of Rick and Janis for the blog, so I do apologize for that. (Update: I snapped a shot of them performing at the Commodore Grille on September 6.)

8/23/09 Blog/Playlist: World

Pretty much threw this show together today due to my temp job schedule...been working a lot this week.

Opening theme - So What's New - Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass

Segment 1: Theme - World

I thought we'd get a little worldly on the show today. I've got a few songs with a unique look at the world, starting with a song which was a hit in 1957 by a British teenager, Laurie London.

Laurie London – He's Got the Whole World In His Hands
Cilla Black – You're My World
Vogues – Five O' Clock World
Sam Cooke – Wonderful World
Deon Jackson – Love Makes the World Go Round
Ricky Nelson – Young World

Segment 2: Record Box
This first song was my theme for a little bit when I first started here on Saturday afternoon.
Beatles – Rock and Roll Music
Roy Head – Treat Her Right
Four Jacks and a Jill – Master Jack
Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs – Sugar Shack

Dates In Music History (courtesy www.musicorb.com)
Some Beatles-related items:
1962 - John Lennon weds Cynthia Powell
1963 - Beatles release "She Loves You" in UK
1963 - Ringo admits he wrote a song "Don't Pass Me By"
1968 - Ringo quits Beatles over a disagreement, temporarily
1974 - John Lennon reports seeing a UFO in NYC
Notable birthdays:
1936 - Rudy Lewis, rocker (Drifters)
1947 - Keith Moon, English rock drummer (Who-I'm A Boy)

Segment 3: Soul Stew
Temptations – Ball of Confusion
Brook Benton – So Many Ways
Brenton Wood – Gimme Little Sign
Aretha Franklin – Call Me
Impressions – I'm So Proud

Segment 3: New/Current
Sort of a hat tip to "world music" with this cut. I played something by one of the good guys in the singer/songwriter community here in Nashville, a great friend to a lot of folks–-Sam Cooper, from his CD Sam Cooper Boulevard. Hanging on to what's left of summer...

Sam Cooper – Reggae Summer
Randi Perkins – Little Girl In A Lady's Shoes
Randi is another of the writers who will be playing at my birthday round on September 9. Find more info about this on my Nashville Blend blog.

Frequency To The Heart

Speaking of "the world", if you think you can't impact anyone's world, think again. The world indeed can be a brighter place, one person at a time...and it starts with each of us. It can only take a kind word, a word of encouragement at just the right moment. There are so many stories out there about how encouragement has impacted people's lives. Be willing to give and accept encouragement, and yours can be one of them.

Closer – Soul Serenade – King Curtis

Another pretty good show today. I know I'm getting good at doing tight segues between songs. I attribute this to the mentorship I've been getting--thanks, TJ.

8/16/09 Blog/Playlist: Weddings

Opening theme: Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass-So What's New

Segment 1: Set Theme-Weddings
Today my opening set theme is about getting married. No, I have nothing to announce for myself there..don't get excited! But my dear friend and fellow RFN DJ, TJ Kirby and his lovely Rene did get married this past week—I was there, I took a lot of pictures for them, it was sweet and I had fun at their reception as well. So this set goes out to them today. I'm going to start with a song on that subject which really touched my heart as no other song has. So, I'll play this and I hope you're as moved by this as much as I am.

Johnny Otis – Wedding Boogie (LOL! I heard this song on the NPR show "American Routes" and laughed my head off..so I tracked it down and got it. Had to play it today! I made a "bit" out of it too, as if I were too choked up to spit the intro out..)
Laura Nyro – Wedding Bell Blues
Ronnie and the Hi-Lites – I Wish That We Were Married
I got a kick out of this song—this fellow was only 12 years old and here he is, crying his heart out in this song about wanting to get married. Don't grow up so fast, go out and play baseball or something!
Chuck Berry – You Never Can Tell
Danny Williams – White On White
Julie Rogers – The Wedding

Segment 2: Record Box
Two significant happenings in music history this time of year: one being the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival and the anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. So in this set I had some Elvis and music from some of the artists who were at Woodstock.
Richie Havens – San Francisco Bay Blues
Arlo Guthrie – City of New Orleans
Jefferson Airplane – Somebody To Love
Elvis Presley – (Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame
John Sebastian – She's A Lady
Elvis Presley – Little Sister

Artists who were NOT at Woodstock (from Wikipedia) because they declined:
The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, the Doors, Led Zepplin, Jethro Tull, Byrds, Tommy James and the Shondells, Moody Blues, Joni Mitchell.

Segment 3: Soul Stew

Joe Jeffrey Group – My Pledge of Love
Sam Cooke – You Send Me
Aretha Franklin- Until You Come Back To Me

Segment 3: New/Current
A little bit more into the wedding theme—this song by one of my favorite artists, Samantha Mooney, has been played frequently at weddings, so I thought we'd do this one.

Samantha Mooney – Love of My Life
Louise Mosrie – Maybe I'm Your Angel
Louise is another of the artists who will be at my birthday bash at the Commodore Grille on September 9.

Frequency To The Heart

I was at a job networking meeting the other day and the subject of interview questions came up. One of the questions we asked each other was "if you were a tree, what would you be?" I said I wanted to be a fruit bearing tree, so I chose a cherry tree. It brought up good memories for me as well because when growing up there was a cherry tree in our back yard.

If you were a fruit-bearing tree, what kind of fruit would you bear? Would it be nourishing by being affirming, uplifting, encouraging to those around you? Think about the kind of fruit you bear—make it as sweet and healthy to others as you can.

Closer – Soul Serenade – King Curtis

The show went pretty smoothly. I'm coming close to my first anniversary of doing this show. Maybe I'm getting the hang of it?

8/9/09 Blog/Playlist: Black and Blue

Segment 1: Theme: Black and Blue

My theme today was black and blue. Why did I pick this theme? Well, I had a bit of a freak mishap at home this past week. I caught my toe on the cord of my cell phone charger which was lying on the floor, and it yanked my foot. I ended up with a sprained foot which was black and blue in spots. It was pretty painful for a couple of days but now it's doing much better.

(Yeah, I should have read the underwriter announcement for Sole Supports, right? But I did it last week and it would have been too cheesy!)

I had a few suggestions for this set from my Facebook friends but alas I had none of them on CD. So here is what I did come up with.

Los Bravos – Black Is Black
Bobby Vinton – Blue On Blue
Beatles – Baby's In Black
Temptations – Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue)
Checkmates – Black Pearl
Patsy Cline – Blue Moon of Kentucky

Segment 2: Record Box

I started this set with a couple of "hurt" songs (yes, I'm sucking as much sympathy as possible!).

Bill Deal and the Rondells – I've Been Hurt
Lou Rawls – Love Is A Hurtin' Thing
Blood Sweat and Tears – Just One Smile
American Breed – Bend Me Shape Me
Essex- A Walkin' Miracle

I threw that last one in for obvious reasons. Some people with foot injuries are laid up for a while but that's just not an option for me and I had no intention of stopping my life for it...just something to work around for a little bit.

Segment 3: Soul Stew
I haven't played Sam Cooke in a while lately so I got a track in by him. I played one that's a favorite of mine.
Sam Cooke – Nothing Can Change This Love
Barbara Lewis – Make Me Your Baby
Jimmy Ruffin – What Becomes of the Brokenhearted

Dates in Music History
I thought I'd try adding a new segment today. When I went to the website I'll be using for this feature, I saw that today's date was actually pretty boring. But there was one event in music history which happened the day before back in 1969: the famous shoot for the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album cover.

Segment 3: New/Current
I'm going to start plugging an event that is coming in a month from now. I am having a birthday celebration on September 9 at the Commodore Grille on the West End of Nashville, I got to pick some writers to play a couple of rounds for an hour (no, I am not one of them!) so I am going to feature music by some of those writers in the next few weeks in this spot. Festivities start at 6:30 pm on the 9th with the Wild Oats Records round featuring my friends Steve Haggard and Kimberly King, my birthday round following at 7 p.m. I'll have more info on that in the Nashville Blend blog at wvnashblend.blogspot.com so if you're in the area, hope you'll stop by that evening.

John Velora – Holdin Out
Steve Haggard – If She Only Had A Heart

Since Steve Haggard and Kimberly King of the Haggard-King Radio Hour which is heard here on Tuesday afternoons from 4-5 were so kind to put their show in my hands for a couple of weeks while they were out touring, I thought I'd play something from Steve Haggard's CD which is called Love Conquers All. That one's a catchy tune I like a lot.

Frequency To The Heart
Since I was ruminating about my injured foot, I thought I'd share a piece I wrote some years ago called "If The Shoe Fits".

Closer – Soul Serenade – King Curtis

One of the cleanest, glitch-free shows I ever had! Did run a little short on stuff and had to fill, so it's sure a good thing to have the computer in the studio with me to grab info to read to fill in.

8/2/09 Blog/Playlist: In-studio guest: Denny Sarokin

First, a few quick words about a couple of other WRFN shows I was on this past week.

I had fun co-hosting "The Haggard-King Radio Hour" with Garry Jackson. Things went a little more smoothly for me this time. We threw the history/births/deaths material together at the last minute. However, we may have had too much of a good time talking--even though we happened to start a couple of minutes early, we cut it close so one song had to be left out.

Saturday was my guest appearance on TJ Kirby's show "TJ and Company". I think it went pretty well...I know I had a great time being there and my face hurt from laughing. TJ is one very talented and dear person. He made me feel very relaxed. I did one of my "Encouraging Words" pieces and I was grateful for his comments and the discussion he set up after it. Since much of that appearance was talk, I may do some editing and post some excerpts from it on my website at a later date.

Tried out something new this morning...took my netbook to the studio with me. I thought it might be handy, especially if there's a guest on and you want to look up some last-minute information or something quick while you're on air. It was cool to have Denny's web page up in front of me to refer to. So I'll probably do it regularly as long as the thing works.

Opening theme: So What's New - Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass

Segment 1: Record Box - A short music segment relating to Denny and who he's worked with.

Buffalo Springfield – Rock and Roll Woman
Rick Nelson – Young World
Every Mother's Son – Come On Down To My Boat

Guest: Denny Sarokin


Denny Sarokin is pretty much a "Renaissance man" here in Nashville. He's been the lead singer of the aforeplayed Every Mother's Son and bandleader for Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band, he's an author, guitar instructor, session musician, songwriter and perhaps a few other things!

Before being part of Every Mother's Son, he was doing a folk duo with his brother. As with many young bands, having a big hit was Every Mother's Son was exciting. He and the bands were on one of the first promotional tours of its kind, played on the bill with artists like the Box Tops, Blues Magoos, Herman's Hermits and even the Who as the opening act! From there, he went on to become bandleader and guitarist for Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band.

Denny has a wonderful story about his song "Sanibel" being written recorded by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (he claims it probably holds the record for the longest "hold" on a song!). Read that story "Sanibel: A Songwriter's Odyssey" on his website.

If you're a budding guitarist who knows a few chords but want to learn much more in the way of tips and tricks, check out Denny's Licktionary package of a DVD and workbook.

I just had to squeeze in a song that Denny did for me when I ran into him at an event a couple of months ago, "Never Too Old To Rock and Roll". You may be hearing it in bits and pieces on the show in weeks to come, as Denny very graciously offered it up for future use. He performed it live this morning and it was great fun.

Other songs played:
Rick Nelson and the Stone Canyon Band - One Night Stand
Denny Sarokin - Sanibel
Denny Sarokin - Never Too Old To Rock and Roll

Closing theme - Soul Serenade - King Curtis

Plugs:
Denny will be at the Commodore Grille for Debi Champion's writers nights on Sunday, August 9 (I mistakenly said the 6th on air, but it is Sunday, August 9) and Sunday, August 23.

Websites:
www.dennysarokin.com (website is being revamped soon)
www.licktionary.com
e-mail: info@licktionary.com

Frequency To The Heart:
Wendy V's Encouraging Words - August 2009: Go The Distance

A great show, a great guest (who by the way was no stranger to Radio Free Nashville--Denny once hosted a political show on the station). Thanks, Denny!

All in all, a good and fun week for radio for me.

7/26/09 Blog/Playlist: All About Bobby

I had a couple of events to go to the night before the show, which kept me out and up a bit later than I should be. Of course, I paid for it this morning..my lack of sleep causing a few verbal fumble bumbles.

Opening theme: So What's New - Herb Alpert and Tijuana Brass

One name kept cropping up as I was going through my CD collection: Bobby. There are a few Bobby hitmakers out there so this first set today salutes some of those. But I couldn't help but start off with this song which is an ode to Bobby:

Marcie Blaine – Bobby's Girl
Bobby Rydell – I'll Never Dance Again
Bobby Darin - Dream Lover
James and Bobby Purify – I'm Your Puppet
Bobby Vee – The Night Has A Thousand Eyes
Bobby Hebb - Sunny (the dance mix strikes again! Back to CDs only...)

Segment 2: Picking Through the Record Box

Well, last week I had TJ Kirby on my show and it was a lot of fun. I was talking to him this week and we were both bemoaning the fact that we let go of a lot of our vinyl albums that we wished we still had because, well, in my case at least, who knew I'd be doing an oldies show out here after I moved? Sometimes you get lucky and you can recapture what you used to have on CD. I came across a Rhino compilation of Dionne Warwick's biggest hits, so I played something here and in the next set from that. This is one of my all time favorites.

Dionne Warwick – Promises Promises
Buffalo Springfield – On The Way Home (always loved the lyrics of this song, especially the first line that says "when the dream came, I held my breath with my eyes closed".)
Beatles – All I've Got To Do
Reflections – (Just Like) Romeo and Juliet

A couple of other things to plug—this is almost déjà vu from a couple of weeks ago with a different twist. First of all, I will once again this week be sitting in for Steve Haggard and Kimberly King on the Haggard and King Radio hour this coming Tuesday at 4 .p.m. while Steve and Kimberly are on a brief tour in Germany. Last time was fun, and this time, I'll have a co-host to talk to—our good friend and Wild Oats recording artist Garry Jackson will be joining me, so I'm looking forward to that.

Also, I noted last week TJ Kirby was on my show—well, this coming Saturday August 1 at 3 p.m. the tables will turn and I'll be on his show,TJ and Company, talking about what exactly it is I'm doing in this town!

And on next week's Never Too Old show, my guest will be singer/songwriter Denny Sarokin, author of the Lick*tionary DVD for guitar and former lead singer of Every Mother's Son. Do tune in for all of those!

Segment 3: Soul Stew
(I started running short on planned songs so I threw in a couple last minute. I've been sort of stiffing the soul set in recent weeks, so a makeup was due anyhow.)
Drifters – I Count The Tears
Dionne Warwick – Reach Out For Me
Temptations – I Could Never Love Another (After Loving You)
Gene McDaniels – A Hundred Pounds of Clay
Bobby Moore and the Rhythm Aces - Searching For My Love
Eddie Holman - Hey There Lonely Girl (originally done in 1963 by Ruby and the Romantics as "Hey There Lonely Boy")

Segment 4: New/Current/Out of the Box
I made this segment a George segment today. I took this George Strait greatest hits CD out of the library the other day and it ended up in my show bag. So I said, hey, well, why not, here's a guy that fits the demographic, still making great music today after about 25years of being at it. I picked one of my favorites of his.

George Strait – Amarillo By Morning
George Adams – Turn The Knife

If you've been thinking about taking a Western Caribbean cruise in the next month or so, you might want to look at the Carnival Legend cruise ship, because you'll get to hear George Adams. He's been performing on there for a few months now and the reports I'm getting is that he's knocking them dead out at sea...so good for him!

Frequency To The Heart:From Soap Bars to Raisin Boxes...

Encouragement can be found in the most unusual and unexpected places.

Raisins have always been one of my favorite foods. I often bought them by the small boxes and back when I had a job, took them with me to work for a snack before lunch. I'd noticed the inside flaps of these raisin boxes contained inspirational thoughts or sayings. I tore off a lot of those flaps and stuck them around my computer monitor where I could see them each day. People asked what the wing-like things were I have all over my monitor, and I invited them to read some of these. They were usually quite surprised to find they came off of a box of raisins. "Healthy foods, healthy thoughts" is how I look at that one.

Not long ago I bought a 4 bar package of soap. To my surprise, I found that the individual wrappers had inspiring sayings on them—written in English and French! Cleansing thoughts on cleansing bars...makes rather clever sense as well.

Encouragement and inspiration can be found in many places...the expected as well as those from out in left field. The challenge is to keep ourselves open to finding them and applying them to our lives.

Closer – Soul Serenade – King Curtis