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

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

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AMERICAN ROUTES ON INSTAGRAM

AMERICAN GOTHIC: JOLIE HOLLAND & HOMER BAILES

January 17th, 2007

It’s old-time country and folk, as seen from the two very different viewpoints of our guests. Jolie Holland is a young singer-songwriter whose sound incorporates a distinct vision—sometimes dark and somewhat hallucinatory—of blues and country from another era. Homer Bailes is the last remaining member of 1940s country superstar family band the Bailes Brothers. His stern outlook on life, illustrated by songs like “Whiskey is the Devil in Liquid Form,” remains unchanged over half a century later.

  • Listen to Hour One
  • Listen to Hour Two

HOUR ONE

  • Open Bed: Sing On Dr. Michael White
    Crescent City Serenade, Antilles
  • Jesus on the Mainline Ry Cooder
    Paradise and Lunch, Reprise
  • Denomination Blues - part 1 Washington Phillips
    I Am Born to Preach the Gospel, Yazoo
  • Give Me the Roses While I Live The Carter Family
    Give Me the Roses While I Live, Rounder
  • Dead Flowers Rolling Stones
    Sticky Fingers, Virgin
  • Instrumental: Wildwood Flower David Grisman & Tony Rice
    Tone Poems, Acoustic Disc
  • Since I've Laid My Burden Down Mississippi John Hurt
    The Complete Studio Recordings, Vanguard
  • Wade in the Water The Staple Singers
    Freedom Highway, Columbia/Legacy
  • Family Bible George Jones
    The Definitive Collection 1955 - 1962, Mercury
  • Gotta Serve Somebody Bob Dylan
    Slow Train Coming, Columbia
  • INTERVIEW: Homer Bailes

    Listen
  • Instrumental: Country Gentleman Chet Atkins
    The Early Years, 1945-1954, Bear Family
  • I'm an Old, Old Man (Tryin' to Live While I Can) Lefty Frizzell
    Look What Thoughts Will Do, Columbia/Legacy
  • I'd Rather Be an Old Man's Sweetheart (Than a Young Man's Fool) Candi Staton
    Candi Staton, Honest Jon's
  • Son of Preacher Man Dusty Springfield
    Dusty in Memphis, Rhino
  • Backwoods Preacher Man Tony Joe White
    The Best of Tony Joe White, Warner Archives
  • When the Saints Go Marchin' In Jerry Lee Lewis
    Classic Jerry Lee Lewis, Bear Family
  • End Bed: Tipitina Allen Toussaint
    American Routes original recording,

HOUR two

  • Open Bed: Old Fashioned Morphine Jolie Holland
    Escondida, Anti
  • Sittin' on Top of the World Willie Nelson
    Milk Cow Blues, Island
  • Wasted Days and Wasted Nights Doug Sahm
    The Best of Doug Sahm and the Sir Douglas Quintet 1968-1975, Mercury
  • Estare Contigo Cuando Triste Estas (Before the Next Teardrop Falls) Freddy Fender
    Exitos en Enpanol, Music Club
  • Don't Let the Sunshine Fool Ya' Townes Van Zandt
    The Late Great Townes Van Zandt, Poppy
  • Me and Bobby McGee Waylon Jennings
    Lonesome, On'ry and Mean, RCA
  • Instrumental: For the Good Times Lloyd Green
    And His Steel Guitar, Americana
  • Sweet Susannah Clint West
    J'Étais au Bal, Swallow
  • Leaving Louisiana in the Broad Daylight Marcia Ball
    Circuit Queen, Capitol
  • Jolie Blonde Clifton Chenier
    Zydeco Sont pas Sale, Arhoolie
  • INTERVIEW: Jolie Holland

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  • Instrumental: Bird Song Pickin' on the Grateful Dead…A Tribute Pickin' on the Grateful Dead…A Tribute
    Pickin' on the Grateful Dead…A Tribute, CMH
  • The Coo Coo Bird Clarence Ashley
    The Rose and the Briar, Columbia/Legacy
  • I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry Hank Williams
    The Hits Volume Two, Mercury
  • The Eagle Bird Jessie Mae Hemphill
    Feelin' Good, HMG/High Water
  • Bird Song Jerry Garcia
    Garcia, Jerry Garcia

THE LATEST STREAMS

  • June 22nd, 2022

    EARL SCRUGGS & TOM RUSH

    Listen
  • June 15th, 2022

    SOUNDS OF FREEDOM: FONTELLA BASS AND FREDDIE HUBBARD

    Listen
  • June 8th, 2022

    SHADES OF THE BLUES

    Listen
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