Song of the Day

Song of the Day (271): Kaatskill Serenade – Bob Dylan

It’s April first, birth date of my favorite April Fool, Sean Dolan. Some fifteen years ago, Sean shared an essay he wrote about an unreleased Bob Dylan track, “Kaatskill Serenade.” Based on the story of Rip Van Winkle, even his dog Wolf makes an appearance, it is a David Bromberg song that Dylan recorded with […]

Song of the Day (269): Last Day of the Furlough – Bill Morrissey

There are moments of despair, of an emptiness and loss of all faith that are nearly impossible to endure. Many an artist has tried to capture those moments, though they usually only get close enough to talk about it as if watching goldfish in the fishbowl, but never knowing what the goldfish is feeling. Bill […]

Song of the Day (268): Gloria – Patti Smith

It is November 1975. I am a high school senior at a Catholic high school. All male. In the suburbs. I think myself worldly, but I know nothing. Unaware how ripe I was to have most everything I knew about how to live blown away. Enter Patti Smith. I’d been reading about her, though never […]

Song of the Day (267): O-o-h Child – The Five Stairsteps

My bride had a hankering for this soul classic. Released in 1970 as the B-side to a single (The A side was their version of “Dear Prudence”), fans didn’t care what their record company said, they fell for this song. Written and produced by Stan Vincent, “O-o-h Child” has a great uplifting spirit. Who doesn’t feel […]

Song of the Day (266): Mama Tried – Merle Haggard

In 1959, Merle Haggard sat in San Quentin prison doing three years for armed robbery. He had turned 21 and didn’t see any clear path for his future. Then a singer showed up to sing for the prisoners. Johnny Cash took the stage with Merle Haggard sitting in the audience. Cash’s empathy for the prisoners […]

Song of the Day (265): Spell of Wheels – Peter Case

Two beats on a bodhran sets the pulse, then the pedal steel unwinds and a Mellotron completes the swirling enchantment as Peter Case’s “Spell of Wheels” envelopes in a dream-like state, flowing, kinetic, drawing us forward. Images appear – “Kansas City as the first snow of the year begins to fall,” and you can almost […]

Song of the Day (264): James Connolly – Black 47

It’s early 1993, Carol is pregnant with our second child and we’re in our Greenpoint apartment trying to figure out a name. Family names. Friend’s names. Names that sound good. Names with resonance from poets and singers and stories we’ve heard. She suggests a name that I don’t want. I throw out Seamus, she frowns, […]

Song of the Day (263): Favorite Things – John Coltrane

Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote this song for the musical, “The Sound of Music,” and a song sheet found its way to John Coltrane. He took the sweeping tune designed for the stage and added his saxophone with jazz beats to remake the song. And that’s what great artists do: they take the world or some […]

Song of the Day (262): London Calling – The Clash

I first heard the Clash at Clark University in Worcester, Mass back in September 1979. The “London Calling” album had just come out and they were the biggest, baddest band on the planet. The student promoters had booked them into a small hall and then oversold the tickets. The Clash refused to come on until […]