Spindale Cycle™

Though a native of Georgia (Jonesboro, March 12, 1896), Jesse Fuller gained fame as the face and voice of West Coast Blues in the '50's and '60's, especially with his "San Francisco Bay Blues".  By the time this album came out in 1963, the title track was already a hit, and he was performing for a wide variety of gigs and record labels.  This album captures his one-man-band prowess on guitar, harmonica, kazoo, ... and his own home-made "footdella". 

Heartbreak, hopelessness, mortality....heavy, heady topics for any of us to brood over.  But no one made sense of these unavoidable themes -- or put them into well-crafted poetry -- better than the late great Townes Van Zandt.  In the early 2000's, many of his 70's albums were reissued to a wider audience, and this 1978 gem Flyin' Shoes is one of those classics.  See why Townes is one of our favorite songwriters here at WNCW -- see why Steve Earle made a whole album of his work and even asked him to be his son Justin Townes Earle's godfather -- when we celebrate his March 7

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Beatles recording songs from their debut album Please Please Me. Monday the 25th marks the 70th anniversary of the birth of George Harrison.  Join us for an hour of the Fab Four with Sander Morrison this Monday night! 

We have D.C.'s finest bluegrass band for your Monday night feature this week, as we tip our hat to mandolinist/tenor singer John Duffey on his birthday with one of his first recordings with The Scene.  And we pay our respects to the late Mike Auldridge, a pioneer of the dobro who passed on 12/29/12.  You'll hear some familiar non-bluegrass songwriters covered here (Hank Williams, John Prine, Gene Clark), but be sure to also listen for Duffey's take on "Small Exception of Me", and of course the fine lead vocals of the late John Starling. 

An iconic figure of New Orleans music history, an inspiration to Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint and Dr. John among others, it's The Fess!  He spent time as a cook, a boxer, a soldier, and a professional cardplayer among other things, but we know him as the pianist who gave us THE anthem for Mardi Gras.  Join us on Fat Tuesday eve for some Rock 'n' Roll Gumbo that'll get you in the mood.  Yea you right! 

This year marks the 40th anniversary of "Catch a Fire", the major label debut and first international success for Bob Marley & The Wailers.  Featuring standards such as "Concrete Jungle", "Stir It Up" and "Kinky Reggae", as well as two sung by the up-and-coming Peter Tosh, this is a must-have reggae release.  Celebrate Marley's February 6th with us on Monday night.  Baby We've Got a Date!

We celebrate Marty Balin's birthday Monday with this gem from the Summer of Love.  Released in February 1967, the album went gold after spending over a year on the Billboard 200 chart, thanks to "Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit."  Also on here are Jorma Kaukonen's Fahey-esque "Embryonic Journey", and Balin's driving "Plastic Fantastic Lover."  The name, by the way, comes from the album's "Spiritual Advisor" (a.k.a. uncredited Producer) Jerry Garcia, who said the album sounded "as Surrealistic as a pillow is soft." Feed your head with this one Monday night...

After Pops Staples and his daughters met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they began writing a string of civil rights songs to accompany Dr. King's speeches and movement, including King's favorite, "Why Am I Treated So Bad?".  We honor Dr. King's birthday Monday evening with The Staples Singers' 1972 Stax album, which featured 3 R&B Top 10 hits: "Respect Yourself," "I'll Take You There," and "This World."

Released as a one-off project for MCA's briefly revived country subsidiary Dot Records, T-Bone Burnett's 1986 self-titled release is a wonderful stripped down snapshot of the singer/songwriter that is also a bit of a departure from the pop/rock side of his other work during this era.  With contributions from folks like Jerry Douglas, David Hidalgo, and Byron Berline here, you can hear how Burnett, who would become one of the most in-demand producers for successes by The Counting Crows, The Wallflowers, and others, was a great fit for roots-music classics like the O Brother Where Art Tho

Possessing one of the most emotive and unmistakable sopranos in folk and pop music, Joan Baez has been performing (and championing various political causes) for over 50 years now.  Though she is associated most with her 1960's successes, her 1975 gold-selling album "Diamonds & Rust" is our spotlight on Monday night as we celebrate her January 9th birthday.  Defining covers here of John Prine, Jackson Browne, The Allman Brothers Band, and of course Bob Dylan,  but the crown jewel is the title track, the revealing Top 40 single about her relationship with Dylan...not bad for her first for