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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SWINGIN' THE ELECTION: MUSIC & POLITICS 2012

October 31st, 2012

Every four years American Routes checks out songs and soundbites about politics and electioneering from both sides of the aisle. Hear the late WV Senator Robert Byrd on his fiddle playing as an instrument of political persuasion, and the same approach of Cajun office seeker Roland Cheramie from Louisiana bayou country—he goes door-to-door fiddling for votes. Hungarian ambassador to the US, Andras Simonyi, talks about the role of rock in lifting the Iron Curtain. The buttoned-down Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia was once a disco DJ, while Indiana’s Andy Ruff uses honky-tonk to support his anti-highway building campaign.

  • Listen to Hour One
  • Listen to Hour Two

HOUR ONE

  • Open Bed: Stars and Stripes Forever Eubie Blake
    The Eighty-Six Years of Eubie Blake, Columbia
  • The Times They Are A-Changin' Bob Dylan
    The Times They Are A-Changin', Columbia
  • Political World Carolina Chocolate Drops
    Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan, Amnesty International
  • Long Walk to DC Staple Singers
    Soul Folk In Action, Stax
  • The Wall Street Part of Town Ry Cooder
    Election Special, Nonesuch
  • (Jesus Hits Like the) Atom Bomb Blind Boys of Alabama
    Atom Bomb, Real World
  • Political Science Randy Newman
    Sail Away, Reprise
  • Instrumental: Stars and Stripes Forever - Sweethearts Kalima Brothers
    Legends of the Ukulele, Rhino
  • Take the Star Out of the Window John Prine
    Diamonds in the Rough, Atlantic
  • Mama Bake a Pie Drive By Truckers
    The Fine Print, New West
  • SEGMENT: Senator Robert Byrd

    Listen
  • Guitar Pickin' President Jimmy Martin
    Jimmy Martin: 1954-1974, Bear Family
  • Franklin Roosevelt's Back Again Cox Brothers
    Old Time Southern Dance Music, Old Timey
  • SEGMENT: Roland Cheramie

    Listen
  • Instrumental: Washington Post March Bill Frisell
    Have a Little Faith, Nonesuch/ Elektra
  • SEGMENT: Andras Simonyi

    Listen
  • Rockin' Behind the Iron Curtain Bobby Marchan
    Clown Jewels – The Ace Masters 1956-75, Westside
  • Back in the USSR The Beatles
    The Beatles, Apple
  • US Blues Grateful Dead
    Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel, GDM
  • End Bed: The Stars and Stripes Forever Tom McDermott
    Louisianthology, STD Digital

HOUR two

  • Open Bed: Happy Days Are Here Again Casa Loma Orchestra
    Songs of the Depression, Bear Family
  • Jump for Joy Duke Ellington
    Centennial Edition, RCA
  • Roosevelt in Trinidad The Atilla
    Roosevelt in Trinidad, Rounder
  • "The only thing we have to fear..." Franklin Delano Roosevelt
    20th Century Time Capsule, Buddha
  • No Depression Carter Family
    In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain, Bear Family
  • Hard Times Come Again No More Johnny Cash
    Unearthed, American
  • SEGMENT: Andy Ruff

    Listen
  • Instrumental: Stars and Stripes Forever Star Spangled Band
    Red, White & Bluegrass, CMH
  • I Pity the Poor Immigrant Marion Williams
    The New Message, Atlantic
  • Across the Borderline Flaco Jimenez featuring John Hiatt
    Partners, Reprise
  • Soy Mexico Americano Los Cenzontles
    Raza de Oro, Cenzontles
  • Only in America Jay and the Americans
    God Bless the USA, MCA
  • One Time One Night Los Lobos
    Just Another Band from East L.A.: A Collection, Warner
  • Instrumental: The Beautiful American Duke Ellington & Louis Armstrong
    The Great Summit/ The Masters Takes, Blue Note
  • SEGMENT: Mayor Michael Nutter

    Listen
  • Yes We Can Lee Dorsey
    The Masters, Eagle
  • My Country Randy Newman
    Bad Love, Dreamworks
  • America the Beautiful Ray Charles
    Ray Charles Sings for America, Rhino
  • End Bed: The House I Live In Sonny Rollins
    Sonny Rollins 1956, Giants of Jazz

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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