Despite the surge in Covid cases, Bob ventured from the compound to host this tag-team edition of BS&B, paying tribute to the namesake of the great Spencer Davis group. Davis passed away on October 18 at age 81. Bob also devoted sets to the birthdays of Stax guitarist Steve Cropper and guitar slinger Elvin Bishop, and there was new music from the Jayhawks, Lucinda Williams, and Neil Young. Two new members, Mike from Deer Park and Phil from California, called in to donate.YAY! Bill will grab the mic for the next four weeks. Bob will be back on Thanksgiving Eve with an auditory and gustatory extravaganza–assuming we’re not all locked down again or the election goes awry and he’s jailed for sedition.
Bill welcomed the return of Jane Thompson to Cincinnati after 11 years of living in West Virginia and Florida, then paid tribute to the passing of Johnny Nash, Roy Head and Eddie Van Halen.
Bob kicked off a politically scented edition of BS&B with a Woody Guthrie tune reinforced with Neil Young’s new cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A Changin’,” a Boz Skaggs cover of Neil Young’s “On the Beach,” and John Lennon’s “Crippled Inside.” There were also a couple of songs with “liar” in the title just for good measure. And Bob wished a Happy Birthdays to both John Mellencamp and Dale Watson with a three-song tributes.
Arlo McKinley is a local singer-songwriter who has been around for a long time, and is finally getting his due with “Die Midwestern,” his first album for John Prine’s Oh Boy Records. Bill started the show with Arlo, then sprinkled in more new music for a glitch-free farewell to September.
What will go down in the personal recollections of those who listened live this week as perhaps the all-time greatest show in BS&B history, was lost to the ages–or perhaps luckily captured by an avid listener on what is destined to become a near-mythical bootleg–when the station’s new leadership kicked Bob out of Studio B and into Studio A where the recorder was broken. So, just to cover our bases, Happy Birthday to Ray Charles, Roy Buchanan and Bruce Springsteen. RIP Toots Hibbert and Robert Hunter.
Bill returned after a five-week hiatus with a birthday salute to friends John London and Jim Elliott, and a tribute to Toots Hibbert, the reggae pioneer who died at 77 shortly after he finished a new album, “Got to Be Tough.” But ghosts in the studio machine reared their heads, bringing the show to an abrupt end.
Bob started off with a set of Otis Redding in honor of his 79th birthday. Bill was home busily preparing for next week’s secret birthday party show. The show also comprised a set of unusual Neil Young covers, a nod to the California Wildfires, and a recitation of “Hummingbird.”
Bob will be back on September 23 with Bill back on the 30th. We’re not trying to take turns–we’re not that organized–it’s just working out that way. It keeps the virus guessing.
Bob was live in-studio for the first time since March 4, while Bill golfed in Piqua to test out his new foot. Both excursions ended well. Feeling blue without Bill, Bob returned the show to its roots (rhymes with “foots”) with new and old acoustic blues as well as a touch of bluegrass. And, of course, he worked in a little Lightnin’.
In his second straight pre-recorded show from the Compound, Bob paid tribute to Justin Townes Earle who passed away earlier in the week at the age of 38. The show also featured new music from the Jayhawks and Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Bob wished a happy 70th birthday to Bill and Dick Cowsill, giving Bob another chance to talk about his five months without a haircut or beard trim.
Well, the fidelity of this broadcast might be a little better than Bell’s first telephonic exclamation–more like Edison’s waxy “Mary Had A Little Lamb”– but unkempt, unshorn Bob finally was back on the air after a five-month Corona vacation, albeit pre-recorded and from his bunker. Bill, exhausted from carrying the load alone, took the night off even though it meant missing the hilarity of Bob trying to operate the newfangled equipment. Between the muffled patter and ambient sounds and conversations from Bob’s homelife, you can hear new music from Dylan, Earle, Young, Hubbard and more. Thanks for hanging in there with us.
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