This is kind of a guilty pleasure post. I'm not a big fan of commercial country radio -- because the formula is, well, so much of a formula. Although I don't listen to modern country radio much, when I do,…
Read moreSong 34 - - Donovan: "Catch the Wind"
Donovan had a whole bunch of hits, mostly in the heart of the Dylan-folk wave in the mid-1960s. He was often compared to Dylan - - and sometimes more or less referred to as Dylan's clone. Donovan, of course, said…
Read moreSong 33 - - Dead Man Winter: "Destroyer"
Dead Man Winter has been around for a few years, but they're new to me. The main guy in the group, Dave Simonett, is also the leader of a group called Trampled By Turtles, which is one of my favorite…
Read moreSong 32 - - Cheryl Wheeler: "Mrs. Pinocci's Guitar"
I first starting listening to Cheryl Wheeler close to 30 years ago. She was a young(ish) singer-songwriter who, I'm guessing, I first heard on WXPN (which played a whole lot more folk / alt-country music back then). And I saw…
Read moreSong 31 - - Gregory Alan Isakov: "Saint Valentine"
It's Valentine's Day tomorrow. So it seems like a good time to feature a song called Saint Valentine, right?
Let's start here: My nephew Ben lives in Colorado. He runs marathons. He's an Iron Man. He has a serious…
Read moreSong 30 - - Chuck Berry: "Roll Over, Beethoven"
Back in the day, when I was in high school in the late 60s and early 70s, I always liked the "oldies." And back then the "oldies" were the songs of the late 50s and early 60s. You know, tunes…
Read moreSong 29 - - Good Old War: " Better Weather"
I was driving to play a baseball game on a July afternoon in 2012. It was the Saturday of the WXPN Music Festival in Camden (awkwardly named the XPoNential Music Festival). I was listening to XPN, which was broadcasting the…
Read moreSong 28 - - Mary Chapin Carpenter: "He Thinks He'll Keep Her"
Mary Chapin Carpenter strikes me as a perpetual "B lister." And by that I mean, although she's had a fair amount of success, she's never seemed to quite reach the top in terms of popularity and radio play. And without…
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Song 27 - - Arlo Guthrie: "Alice's Restaurant"
This post probably should have been written somewhere around Thanksgiving, because Alice's Restaurant Massacree is a song based on a Thanksgiving story. Yep, it's an 18+ minute song written by Arlo Guthrie back in 1967. It was my introduction to…
Read moreSong 26 - - Nick Lowe: "Half a Boy and Half a Man"
So, to start out 2017, I thought I'd go back to 1988. It was the year that Molly turned four, Emily turned two, and Casey was born. And I have vivid memories of Molly and Emily running in circles around…
Read moreSong 25 - - Hayes Carll: "Grateful for Christmas"
It's the Christmas season. Which means lots of different things to different people. For those of us who grew up Jewish, Christmas was, well, just a time for no school. But for others, rich traditions have been built. And…
Read moreSong 24 - - The Band: "The Shape I'm In"
The Beatles were the best rock and roll group ever. I mean, there's really no serious question about that. But second best? Maybe the Rolling Stones? Or the Grateful Dead? Perhaps. But, in my mind, the second best rock and…
Read moreSong 23 - - LisaBeth Weber & Maggie Marshall: "Morning Light"
So, earlier this year, Adam Carroll (who had done a house concert here at my house in 2014) performed at a house concert in New Jersey. The host was Maggie Marshall, who I did not know and had never heard…
Read moreSong 22 - - Brewer and Shipley: "One Toke Over The Line"
Well, the election is over. The guy who most of the country did not want to be the next president is now the president-elect. That's the bad news. But the good news is that three states, California, Massachusetts and Nevada,…
Read moreSong 21 - - Dolly Parton and Pentatonix: "Jolene"
Dolly Parton is so cool. I mean, she's 70 years old, has written thousands of songs, has the voice of an angel, and very well may keep a plastic surgeon on her payroll.
Dolly's big break came in 1967 when…
Read moreSong 20 - - Frances Luke Accord: "Nowhere to Be Found"
Darlingside (Song Four) was in town on Friday. They played a 40 minute set for WXPN's Free-at-Noon show at noon on Friday, and then at night they played to a sold out house at the Ardmore Music Hall. Opening for…
Read moreSong 19 - - Foy Vance: "Coco"
Foy Vance is kind of a family favorite. He's managed by a close family friend. And he is appointment viewing for my nieces and one of my nephews when he's anywhere near town.
Foy is from Northern Ireland. He has…
Read moreSong 18 - - Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: "I Saw Her Standing There"
So, this blog is called "One Song at a Time," which means that it's okay to double up on an artist. I mean, there are no rules, but, if there were rules, it would be legal to include, say, Bruce…
Read moreSong 17 - - Jan and Dean: "Surf City"
I never saw Jan and Dean perform live. Their prime was a little before my time. They had a number of big pop "surfer" hits back in the early 60s. They were kind of the Beach Boys just a few…
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