Blog: Cahl's Juke Joint: A rock, blues and jazz blog

Tonight's mix: 1) Buddy Holly and The Crickets: "Not Fade Away" 2) Tony Joe White: "Even Trolls Love Rock And Roll" 3) Carl Mann: "Walking the Dog" 4) Charline Arthur: "Burn That Candle" 5) The Krayolas: "I Just Wanna Be With You All The Time" 6) Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: "Good, Good Lovin'" 7) [...]

I debated whether to buy "Rave on Buddy Holly," but I couldn't resist the allure of hearing Nick Lowe, Patti Smith, The Detroit Cobras, John Doe, and Lou Reed cover songs by the rock 'n' roll pioneer who would have turned 75 this year. It's good, though nothing on "Rave on Buddy Holly" is as [...]

Tonight's mix: 1) Diamond Dogs: "Black River Road" 2) Bow Thayer: "Snake Bite" 3) The Handsome Family: "Junebugs" 4) Magnolia Electric Company: "Memphis Moon" 5) Clem Snide: "Born a Man" 6) Lucero: "Hold Me Close" 7) Micky and the Motorcars: "Carolina Morning" 8) Alejandro Escovedo: "Five Hearts Breaking" 9) Los Lobos: "Angel Dance" 10) Dave [...]

I know Stevie Klasson has stories to tell — the Swedish guitar slinger's played with Johnny Thunders, Diamond Dogs and Hanoi Rock. And if you've heard ever heard him play, you know he's got great sounds to share. That's why I'm so stoked about next month's release of his book/CD combo called "Stevie Klasson's Black [...]

Friday night blues: 1) Johnny Sansone: "You Know Who" 2) Big Leon Brooks: "The Blues Today" 3) Eddie Taylor: "One Day I Get Lucky" 4) The Larry Burton Band: "What I'm Going Through" 5) Zac Harmon: "Want Ads" 6) Tab Benoit: "Long Lonely Bayou" 7) Big Walter Horton: "Need My Baby" 8) Son Seals: "She's [...]

Bluesman Johnny Sansone didn't make a deal with the devil when he recorded "The Lord is Waiting the Devil is Too." He personified him. On the title track, Sansone warns listeners to find the Lord before he finds them. He sounds as if he means it too. Sansone, guitarist Anders Osborne (who also produced the [...]

Today's mix: 1) Brother Machine: "First Star" 2) The Broken West: "Abigail" 3) Dawes: "The Way You Laugh" 4) Keene Brothers: "Island of Lost Lucys" 5) Guy Chadwick: "Mirrored in My Mind" 6) Swag: "When She Awoke" 7) Rufus Wainwright: "Beauty Mark" 8) Goodbye Sons: Halos and Horns" 9) Matthews Southern Comfort: "Please Be My [...]

I wish Sister Rosetta Tharpe and O.V. Wright were still around to hear Ruthie Foster's new album/DVD combo, "Ruthie Foster: Live at Antone's." Maybe they can, though. Foster certainly sounds as if she's singing for angels on covers of Tharpe's "Up Above My Head (I Hear Music in the Air)" and Wright's "A Nickel and [...]

Today's mix: 1) Gillian Welch: "The Way the Whole Thing Ends" 2) Charlie Louvin: "The Little Grave in Georgia" 3) Fred Tackett: "Gold Tooth Woman" 4) John Hartford: "Blame it on Joann" 5) Amelia White: "Sooner Than Later" 6) Kimmie Rhodes: "Yellow Sand" 7) Chris Smither: "Honeysuckle Dog" 8) Terry Allen: "Dogwood" 9) Fred Eaglesmith: [...]

I listened to "The Harrow and the Harvest" last week for the first time moments after learning that my great, great grandfather, a north Georgia farmer, had been killed by Rebel soldiers because he didn't believe the South should secede from the Union. I know Gillian Welch didn't write the lyrics for her new album [...]

Wednesday morning jazz: 1) Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet: "George's Dilemma" 2) Duke Ellington: "Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues)" 3) The Harper Brothers: "Artistry" 4) Bill Holman: "Kissin' Bug" 5) Darcy James Argue's Secret Society: "Flux in a Box" 6) Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra: "Salz" 7) Charles Mingus: "A Colloquial Dream " [...]

I was enjoying a first listen to Telarc's 2003 tribute to The Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street" tonight as I played fetch with the pup. Most of the songs were pleasant, a handful — "Ventilator Blues" by Lucky Peterson, "Black Angel by Otis & Cassie Taylor, "Sweet Virginia" by Jeff Lang, and "Shake Your [...]

Tuesday night soul: 1) Solomon Burke: "It Must Be Love" 2) Otis Clay: "Brand New Day" 3) Charles Walker: "The Danger Zone" 4) Latimore: "Qualified Man" 5) Mable John: "Shouldn't I Love Him" 6) The Originals: "Baby I'm For Real" 7) The Emotions: "My Honey and Me" 8) Bob and Earl: "Don't Ever Leave Me" [...]

I never knew a kazoo could sound sexy until I heard French pop singer Zaz play one on her debut album, "Zaz," which shot to the top of the French charts last year. But she matches its tone to that of her voice, which sounds like an invitation for a night on the town in [...]

I'm celebrating my grandmother's 115th birthday today with a playlist dedicated to her memory. She loved Tennessee Ernie Ford, so I always play his music on her birthday. 1) Tennessee Ernie Ford: "I Ain't Gonna Let It Happen No More" 2) Speedy West: "Old Joe Clark" 3) Jimmy Martin: "Truck Drivin' Man" 4) Buck Owens: [...]

It's telling that the Wikipedia page for "See See Rider" and "C.C. Rider" doesn't even mention Bobby Powell's version of the old Ma Rainey tune. Powell hit No. 1 on the Cashbox R&B charts with his rendition back in 1965. Today, though, the only folks who've ever heard of him are hardcore deep soul and [...]

I'm picky when it comes to singer-songwriters, but I love Paul Dempsey's song "Ramona Was a Waitress." Moreover, AOL Spinner is streaming the Australian musician's album "Everything is True," which will be released in America Tuesday. Here's a clip of "Ramona Was a Waitress" and a cover of David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes," which isn't [...]

Sunday afternoon jazz: 1) Aaron Choulai: "The Return of Dixon" 2) Harold Land: "Okay Blues" 3) Elmo Hope Trio: "A Kiss for My Love" 4) Miroslav Vitous: "Faith Run" 5) Ted Nash: "Ida's Spoons" 6) Miles Davis: "Human Nature" 7) Jackie McLean: "McLean's Scene" 8) Hal Galper Quintet: "Shadow Waltz" 9) Kenny Dorham: No Two [...]

Tenor saxophonist Ben Britton says at the top of the webpage for Unconventional Riot that his new group provides listeners with "nonviolent modern jazz." Britton and his bandmates — guitarist Matt Davis, drummer Gabe Globus-Hoenich and bassist Jordan Berger — let that sentiment shape all three songs on their new EP, "Children at Play." The [...]

Saturday night blues: 1) Dr. Ross: "Down South Blues" 2) Big Joe Turner: "Bluer Than Blue" 3) Chris Thomas King: "Soon This Morning Blues" 4) Joe "Guitar" Hughes: "You Didn't Want Me" 5) Smiley Lewis: "Dirty People" 6) Slim Harpo: "I Just Can't Leave You" 7) Earl Hooker: "Love Ain't a Plaything" 8) Kenny Neal: [...]