88.1 KDHX Saint Louis

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One of my musical mentors, Tom Sorrells, of Titan Records, used to say, "The most passionate singing is when women sing low and when men sing high". Well, if Gail Garnett sang low in those last three songs ... here is one of the most famous men who sang high ... Lou Christie.

Flavio has always been a sucker for super-melodic jangly female country. We have a few examples here. Two from the 2000s, and one from 2023.

Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, were highly influenced by the Velvet Underground in the beginning. As a teenager, Jonathan Richman would travel from Boston down to New York City to hang out with the Velvets. But the Modern Lovers early stuff actually wears on me better than the Velvets themselves. The first batch of Modern Lovers demos from the early 70s was released by Beserkley Records in 1976. Later on, demos would leak out on Warner Brothers and Bomp.
Other Beserkley artists follow....

Herbie had been a guitarist in Van Morrison's band. He was a surprise opening act when I saw Van perform in London (where I spent a year of studies). First, Armstrong did a cover of a song Van wrote in his early band Them, "Friday's Child". Then he popped off a song that sounded so much like a Van Morrison song ... but no one at the concert had ever heard it before. Written in homage? It turned out to be an unreleased Van song called, "Real Real Gone." For people who are not big fans of Van Morrison's voice, covers can be a help. So check this one out. Because if you're not on the Van Morrison train yet, you need to get on. In my opinion, 50 years from now, he will be accounted as the greatest artist of the rock era. Ironic, because he doesn't consider himself a rock artist. Morrison once said, "I'm more Bobby Darin than Bob Dylan". Van is at once all genres and none. For uniting pure melodiousness, with introspective lyrics, with swing & jive... Van is The Man.

Here's a folk duo from the Ozarks with deep roots in the coffee house era of folk in the 1960s. They get an insufficient love despite being from Missouri in my opinion. Well actually Tom Shipley's from Cleveland and Michael Brewer was from Oklahoma City but they fell in love with southern Missouri and so moved there, after a time spent in LA seeking fame and fortune. Sublime harmonies in my opinion. Used to play Focal Point once per year in the Fall. They had one big hit, "One Toke Over the Line". And got a little typecast by that

Pops Farrar was a local artist from Belleville, who had a deep knowledge of American traditional music. I interviewed him once, and my impression was that he was a deeply smart and sensitive person who lived a thrilling life as a sailor, and as an itinerant musician. I was delighted when I found this rare cd from 1999, his only recording that I know of, in the stacks here at KDHX.. Containing a whopping 36 songs, including some stories. We will give you one story: "Sharkskin Suit", and then listen to his exquisite version of the traditional "Billy Boy". I bet you didn't think that the guy who did world disco adventure would be into this right? That's why we call this popup, "Flavio's Faves".
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As I always say, pound for pound, my favorite city for music in America, is Memphis Tennessee. From Elvis to Big Star, and everything in between. By Memphis I include everything that's in the orbit of Memphis including the Missouri bootheel and Northern Mississippi.

Next up are a couple of artists from Memphis, you may not have heard of. Jesse Winchester, born James Ridout Winchester Jr. He graduated from Christian Brothers High School in Memphis in 1962 as a merit finalist, a National Honor Society member and the salutatorian of his class. He graduated from Williams College, in Massachusetts, in 1966. Upon receiving his draft notice the following year, Winchester moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to avoid being drafted into Vietnam. After exile in Canada for 10 years, President Carter declared amnesty and Winchester returned to Memphis. (I saw Jesse perform in the early 2010's at Wildwood Springs Lodge in Steelville, Missouri and had the privilege of helping him find his way in the pitch dark to his car which was parked out on a field adjacent to the Lodge.

Next Memphis artist was born in Tippo, MS. which often got confused with Tupelo, the birthplace of Elvis. He took piano lessons from age five, picked cotton, played piano in grammar school and trumpet in high school, and wrote his first song at age thirteen. He went to college at the University of Mississippi for a while, then enlisted in the U.S. Army for two years. Shortly after mustering out, he enrolled at Louisiana State University, from which he was graduated in 1952 with a BA in English with a minor in Philosophy. This minor would prove to be very helpful as he is among the most philosophical lyric writers, I know of, "sort of a poor man's philosophy".

In 1956 he moved to New York City and launched his jazz career performing with artists such as Stan Getz, Gerry Mulligan, Al Cohn, Zoot Sims, and Phil Woods. His debut album, appropriately titled for a boy from Mississippi recording jazz in the big city, was "Back Country Suite". Here it's opening track, the boldly-named "New Ground".

It was not until 1963 that his record label allowed him to release an album entirely of vocals. It turns out he had a great voice that was perfect for Jazz. He put his stamp on a new style of singing that would be imitated by many. He was even covered by the Who!