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Deeper Roots Radio

216 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratings

A walk through the last century of America's roots music, the podcasts for Deeper Roots come to you from productions at Sonoma County's own community radio station, KOWS 92.5 FM, streaming at www.kowsfm.com.

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Episodes

Episode 12: Celebrating Smokey

April 27, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 275 MB

The songs of Smokey Robinson have stood the test of time, remaining popular and relevant across generations. His compositions have been covered by artists from various genres, further cementing a legend as one of the greatest songwriters of his era. This week, we take a walk through a handful of the many classics he gave us, spanning three decades, focusing primarily on the Motown song machine classics from The Marvelettes, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Mary Wells, and, of course, h...

Episode 11: 420 Fun

April 21, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 273 MB

It’s a topical theme…it’s a medicinal thing…it’s a blend of sounds celebrating vipers and jives from the past century.  We will join in the celebration (in spirit anyway) of the date and time that three Marin County teenagers are said to have inaugurated over a half century ago. There is no shortage of material to pull from the well of Americana…whether that be from the 1920s or from the 2010s. We’ll brighten up the playlist with music that will help us kick back. We’ll pour over a ...

Episode 10: Cuppa Joe

April 13, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 274 MB

The history of coffee consumption in 20th century America takes hold in the small cafes, truck stops and coffeehouses which became venues and social spaces for the community. Like music, they helped with the congregation of like minds and served as hubs for intellectual exchange, artistic expression and social activism. And it was all because of the caffeine. Instant and decaf coffees were just an aberration; much like disco. This week’s Deeper Roots drives the theme of coffee home ...

Episode 9: Rhythm Roller Coaster

April 06, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 273 MB

Swing and jazz music of the late 1930s had just enough time to raise a small ruckus before the second World War broke out. After a celebratory wave swept the nation, there was a need for more of the same but with an upbeat but harder drive to it. It didn’t take long for pre-rock R&B to become popular across demographics as it would gain significant traction among urban youth, particularly in the central hubs of New York, Chicago, Detroit, LA, and New Orleans. This week’s show featur...

Episode 8: Don't Wanna

March 30, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 270 MB

Theme time and I’m going to break it to you slow…it’s all about the negative and those that refuse. If there’s something that’s more prevalent in our lives than saying that we ‘want to’…it’s when we don’t want to. The ‘desire not to’ seems to be winning over the ‘desire to’ in our show today. We’ve got a collection of songs that all begin with the phrase “I Don’t Want” in some form or another. We’ll bring you the early sounds of The Blue Sky Boys and some country sounds of Jimmy Wak...

Episode 7: Space Race Rock

March 23, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 274 MB

What a time it was. The surprise of Sputnik in the early fifties led to a space race, a technological competition that had a profound impact on popular music (not to mention popular culture), providing musicians (and would-be musicians) a rich source of inspiration and contributed to some of the most iconic, as well as comic and out of this world, songs of the era. Themes of space travel, the moon and Mars, and even flying saucers were rampant on the airwaves. And one can only ascri...

Episode 6: Scenes of Devastation

March 16, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 271 MB

There’s going to be a free form mix of sounds this week with some ‘scenes of devastation’ as well as some blues and tradition. We’ll set the tone with a song that inspired the title lines from The Pine Hill Project and then head into some tradition and some covers that speak in the language of the sacred and secular…from Saturday night at the juke to Sunday morning in the pew. A great mix of sounds from some classic female blues gems from the 1940s like Wea Bea Booze and Ethel Water...

Episode 5: Your Lucky Day

March 09, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 108 MB

Mining the archives we find that bad luck and trouble are not a concern as Spring peeks around the corner. Luck is our watchword on this March morning and we’ll try to keep our superstitions in check. We’ll be taking our chances with a themed show today that blends some vocals from past and present and with this being an election year…we need all the luck we can get. Tune in for some Raul Malo, Charley Crockett, Howlin’ Wolf, Judy Garland and a couple dozen others following the them...

Episode 4: In Honor Of Mississippi John Hurt

March 02, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 160 MB

There was some devastating new this past week…nothing new; and certainly, it seems, not in Mississippi. The Mississippi John Hurt Museum, a small sanctuary of tribute located on the Mississippi Blues Trail, burned down last week. While authorities in Carroll County try to determine the cause, we mourn the loss of John Hurt’s home, a small house that had just been given landmark status on the national historical registry just hours before. Join Dave Stroud this week on Deeper Roots a...

Episode 3: Family Affair

February 23, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 161 MB

 We’ve got the family trees for you on Deeper Roots this week; proof positive that music can very well run in the family. Our show will share music from just a few of the families that have made their own way in a host of different genres. We’ll hear from the Nelsons (both of them), the family Marsalis, the Hiatts, the Wainwrights, the brothers Neville and a few others this week, spanning both the 20th and 21st centuries. Tune in to this week’s two hour mixed bag with some of the ve...

Episode 2: Hive Harmony

February 17, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 105 MB

The bouffant and the beehive…hairstyles with a tease and some backcombing, were all the rage in the sixties. Like pop music, it had a short life before the British wave. Unlike pop music, whose sound endured, the fashion was washed away at the salon in favor of the next big thing. Girl groups set the tone for the harmonious sounds of the time, and our nostalgia cruise will be tooling the AM radio sounds of the very best of the beehive and flip hairstyles of groups like The Shangri-L...

Episode 1: Heart of Saturday Night

February 02, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 162 MB

Where else but the heart of Saturday night? We’ve got an eclectic collection of performances that take you ‘there and back’ this Friday morning on Deeper Roots. No theme. No tribute. No genre sweep. Just a collection of some great sounds from the past (and present). Little themes that reach deep and a few awesome covers that you may not be familiar with. We’re making our way to the outskirts of the bayou with Cookie & The Cupcakes and Jo-el Sonnier, then into some gritty blues from ...

Episode 51: Back To Schooldays

January 26, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 107 MB

Good times, bad times…let’s take a theme trip to schooldays past in music this week. Whether you were a product of the fifties, sixties or beyond, you remember your favorite music. We’ll be zooming in on sounds from that era in the show today as we explore the high school theme with topics like ‘lettered sweaters’…what ever happened to those? Or maybe the reminder of the bell or buzzer in the hallways. Or maybe that favorite after school rendezvous spot. We’ll be sharing music that ...

Episode 50: Let's Duet

January 19, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 159 MB

Country duets have been a hallmark of the genre and this week we’ll spend a couple of hours sampling some old, some new, some sappy and some without peer. From Rose and Buck to George and Tammy, we’ll be spending time with some real down home pairings singing songs of loose talk, booze, suspicion, holding on to what you’ve got and a whole lot more. There’s a range of topics beyond that and most involve cheatin’, lovin’ and fightin’…just what you’d expect from the base. The pairings ...

Episode 49: Signs & Signifiers

January 06, 2024 00:00 - 1 hour - 107 MB

It’s a brand new year! Turn off the TV and tune into community radio for your best time. This year’s news will be one of politics, war, and overall bad behavior from the middling underbelly and radio will at least bring you a brief respite from what ails us. This week’s Deeper Roots will be another free form romp of genre-bending fun with a mix of soul, blues, country, rock and gospel. Tune in for some Norah Jones, Chris Isaak, Tom Petty, and Donna The Buffalo as we take our first s...

Episode 48: Who We Lost 2023

December 29, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 275 MB

We’ll look back to 2023 with the indelible sounds of those we lost this past year. There were some losses that cut deep and we intend to pay tribute to each and every one who contributed their artistry to the past century of America’s music. There is hardly room in the two hours we have to touch on all of those, no matter their contribution but we have a couple from across the pond that deserve mentioning among the musicians, songwriters and producers who made their mark. The past c...

Episode 47: Country Christmas Redux

December 22, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 108 MB

We revisit the country genre for some down home Christmas cooking…of sleigh bells, holly, ham, and mistletoe. Songs from mid-century to just a year ago or so featuring some of your favorite country and Americana artists in our final show before Christmas Day 2023.  Tune in for some classics and also-rans from Gene Autry, Eddy Arnold, Red Foley, The Louvin Brothers and John Prine as we share some roasted, toasted chestnuts from the yule log. We’ve also got some George Jones, Ernest T...

Episode 46: Fats Waller Revisited

December 15, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 269 MB

Fats Waller was a master of stride piano, a style that emerged in the early 20th century and became a cornerstone of jazz. His virtuosity in this style influenced countless pianists who came after him. But he is remembered most for his songwriting and the lively and  humorous quality to his performances, incorporating all of these elements into his music. His ability to infuse joy and playfulness into his compositions and improvisations set him apart and made his music accessible to...

Episode 45: More Eccentric Soul

December 08, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 164 MB

We revisit the Numero Groups incredible catalog of rare and obscure soul recordings from the 1960s and 1970s called “Eccentric Soul”. This series is a meticulous curation and exercise in unearthing hidden gems in the soul music landscape from old record collections, master tapes, and archives to discover unreleased or overlooked tracks by artists who may not have gained widespread recognition during their time. What sets the “Eccentric Soul” series apart is its emphasis on bringing ...

Episode 44: The Year in Music 1959

December 02, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 107 MB

Popular culture in 1959 was marked by a dynamic mix of artistic and societal shifts. The music scene was dominated by the rise of rock and roll shaping the sound of the era. It found itself rising above the simple adult contemporary and country sounds of the day. Iconic films such as “Some Like It Hot” and “Ben-Hur” showcased a diverse range of storytelling and cinematic styles and cultural narratives found a place in television, with shows like “The Twilight Zone” captivating audie...

Episode 43: The Real Thing

November 24, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 107 MB

A two hour collection of some of the very best from the past century is what the doctor ordered. Seems like it often is. Today’s Deeper Roots journey features an eclectic blend of genres, topics, and performances, all tuned to the discerning ear. We’ll be bringing you some subtle jazz vibes from Mose Allison, story songs about Caldonia, sweet soul duets from Marvin Gaye and Chuck Jackson, gospel from the Pilgrim Travelers, and plenty of boot heel country from BR5-49 and Little Jimmy...

Episode 42: Jump Blues Party

November 18, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 107 MB

Jump blues was the precursor to rock, emerging in post-war America. You can count Chuck Berry and Little Richard among those who were heavily influenced by jump blues. This lively and rhythmically driven music genre is characterized by the fusion of elements from jazz, blues, and rhythm and blues with a nod to big band. Urban migration led to this blending of musical styles and seemed to foster a faster and more electrified sound. Our show today zeroes in on some of the most influen...

Episode 41: Goin' Home

November 10, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 108 MB

Our theme of ‘returning home’ explores not just the physical place but also a reflection of our identities, memories, and the tension between the past and the present. Returning to one's roots is often fraught with challenges and our understanding of home is deeply intertwined with our personal growth and the changing world around us. This week we’ll be pouring through memories and nostalgia to try to find the meaning of home. Thomas Wolfe’s “You Can’t Go Home Again” introduces char...

Episode 40: Jubilee Theme

November 04, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 106 MB

It’s theme time on a Friday morning in Sonoma County on Deeper Roots and we’ll take you pretty deep today, exploring songs of jubilation and celebration. Our theme revolves around the term ‘jubilee’ and it’s meaning, at least over the past century. While its etymology is centuries deep, with roots in the Old Testament and the Hebrew word ‘yobhel’ which refers to the ram’s horn which was sounded on the Day of Atonement, there are also the jubilee references to the freeing of slaves w...

Episode 39: Goin' Down To Sing In Texas

October 27, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 105 MB

From the cold grey light of dawn to some gospel coverage from Luther Dickinson, George Jones and The Golden Gate Quartet, Deeper Roots this week takes another pull at the thread of tapestry of the past century, once again celebrating America’s music. We’re in fine form, no doubt, because the players this week move from the ‘king of boogie’, John Lee Hooker, to one of the great contemporary songwriters, Iris DeMent. We’ll share a track from her latest album, one that ventures into th...

Episode 37: Ladies of Rockabilly

September 29, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 270 MB

Sweatin’ with the oldies…that’s all we can say. This week’s Deeper Roots focuses on both the vintage and the contemporary performances by women who took on the rockabilly mantle. While a male-dominated genre, particularly when the boys (and record companies) were chasing the next Elvis, gave us hundreds (thousands?) of gyrating hips and raw rock in the form of pounding piano, thrashing guitar and duck tails, there was barely enough room for the ladies. But we’ve made some room on th...

Episode 33: Labor Day 2023

September 01, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 272 MB

We’ve got a Labor Day collection of songs…songs celebrating working men and women and these are songs of both honor and protest, taking us back to the Great Depression when work was hard to find. We’ll also be celebrating the core fight for organizing…whether you’re fighting for the day-to-day pressure of producing faster and better in front of a computer or you’re steaming lattes for the hurried throngs, you have a right to organize and much of the music we’ll share today reinforce...

Episode 32: Two Glasses Joe

August 25, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 269 MB

We’re heading on over to the Alibi Room, or Red’s Recovery Room, or whatever your local watering hole might be named and we’ll be doing so with the idea that the hair of the dog is what’s in order this Friday morning, recalling if we can the previous night’s bar hop celebrating country music’s favorite songs of cigareets, whiskey and wild wild women. Songs about whiskey and the glasses on the bar where stories and faces go from long to bright as the jukebox fires up. We’ll hear some...

Episode 31: Hair's On Fire

August 19, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 207 MB

It’s summer and what better time to roll out the scorchers; vocals with an emphasis on big beats, screamin’ guitars and performances that sweat quite profusely in the noonday sun. This week on Deeper Roots we’ll be digging through the archives of early rock, rhythm & blues and rockabilly for some tumultuous and head-splitting numbers from the past. Songs that woke up the neighbors if only played at a moderate level and woe be the terrified fifties’ parents when they heard the hi...

Episode 30: Saved!

August 12, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 194 MB

We go back to the church for a rousing celebration for the converted and soon-to-be-faithful. That’s right, we’re in the pews and joining in the hymnal, at least for this two hours, as Sunday morning forgiveness will always follow Saturday night’s sinner’s baptismal. We’re going to hear the echoes of the past century’s gospel songs with a general theme of being saved and born again…and there is certainly plenty to go around whether that’s southern Baptist, Appalachian harmonies or c...

Episode 29: Flying Home

August 04, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 159 MB

A fine blend of vintage sounds on the show today, all driving down a free form track. The blend mixes gospel from Mavis Staples, some classic mid-century rock from Little Feat and Rick Nelson, all dressed up alongside to lounge and cool jazz sounds of Frank Sinatra, Lionel Hampton, Pearl Bailey, and a some classic and contemporary tunes featuring the late, great Tony Bennett. We’ve got Zydeco, classic and contemporary country, some alternative sounds from E and the Eels to share as ...

Episode 28: Celebrating Tom Waits

July 22, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 159 MB

This week we’ll spend our two hours in a shroud of barroom musk, out-of-tune brass, and painted ladies all spent before the tunes of an American treasure. We speak of Tom Waits. The New York Times, in a review of Barney Hoskyns’ 2009 biography of Tom Waits, Lowside of The Road describes our subject today thusly: “He is as potent and unpredictable a musical force as most of us have witnessed in our lifetimes, and that’s not faint praise. The graveyard croak of his gravelly, bellowing...

Episode 27: O Brother Revisited

July 15, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 160 MB

Roots music found commercial success in 2000 with the release of the movie O Brother Where Art Thou, a finely crafted but outrageous tale of Depression-era America with fantastical imagery of hair wax, baptisms, and chain gangs woven into a tapestry built from Homer’s Odyssey. The music, assembled by T-Bone Burnett, was a major component of the film and recorded before the film even began with Burnett working with the Coen brothers while the script was in its working phases. It woul...

Episode 26: Soothe Me

July 07, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 272 MB

We’re digging into the archives. Deep down into the wells…for a collection of rhythm & blues, country, gospel, and tradition with performances from Patsy Cline, Sonny Boy Williamson, Marty Stuart, Dinah Washington and nearly three dozen others. Friday morning inspiration from the courtroom bench, the gospel pew, and from the piano bench…as we bring you another episode of the very best of the past 100 years to the stream. There’s trouble and some double entendre from Julia Lee, some ...

Episode 25: Summer Sun

June 30, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 271 MB

Summer’s here and you know what that means…we’ll be running through a bit of theme, this time with the focus on all that we celebrate in summer. With the Fourth of July coming up we’ll turn our attention to barbecues, baseball, ice cream treats, the warmth of the sun, swimming holes, and everything summer. Tune in for some terrific tracks from Dean Martin, Johnny Rivers, The Four Preps, Walter Wanderly and a whole lot more. It took us six months for the days to get longer and now it...

Episode 24: Soul Divas

June 24, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 273 MB

The sound of both longing and empowerment surfaces in this morning’s Deeper Roots show as we take the wayback machine to the 1960s for some of the very best in female soul. With every female vocalist, group-based or solo, that surfaced from the Motown stable there were dozens upon dozens of hopefuls lined up by other labels and producers. We’ve visited many of them in past shows but there are always more to share and some memorable performances that can get easily overlooked in the ...

Episode 23: Cynthia Weil Tribute

June 16, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 160 MB

In a June Substack tribute to Cynthia Weil’s legacy, Dan Epstein of “Jagged Time Lapse” observed that the “modern pop songbook would be significantly slimmer and less life-affirming without their work”.  The ‘their’ referring, of course, to her husband and songwriting partner Barry Mann. From their early Brill Building output which included “Uptown” (The Crystals), “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” (The Righteous Brothers), and “Walking In The Rain” (The Ronettes), to the chart-topp...

Episode 22: Songs About The Telephone

June 10, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 274 MB

A theme show once again, this week with the telephone as our muse. Songs about the most important of communication devices which has fused with social media to the benefit, and equal detriment, of all mankind. From the early call from Bell to Watson to the proverbial football that our fearless leader carries around to make the one call to eradicate or, better yet, save mankind. This week we’ll visit the long lost guide known as the “operator” and the equally antiquated term “dial” w...

Episode 21: Sass & Gas

June 02, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 272 MB

An eclectic episode full of sass, gas and plenty of brass. We’re going the free form route today and there’ll be plenty of embellishments to the morning as we take a blindfolded trip through a hall of mirrors with some classy vocals from Frankie, Peggy Lee and Helen Forrest; some honky tonk whiskey-in-the-bottle twangin’ from George Jones, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee; rocking rhythm passion from Tina Turner, The Marquees, and Elmore James; and much more including some little known nu...

Episode 20: Liberty Rocks

May 26, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 159 MB

Liberty Records was founded in 1955 by Simon Waronker after his cousin, Herb Newman, suggested they go into the record business. The early years found the label in the deep end of easy listening pop with the likes of Julie London, novelty music featuring The Chipmunks, Patience and Prudence, Martin Denny, and Henry Mancini. But rock n’ roll was hitting its stride, and in the late fifties they released a blend of pure rock and rockabilly with Eddie Cochran. But the 60s found a more t...

Episode 19: Imperial Rhythm & Rockabilly

May 19, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 150 MB

The Imperial label will be the subject of this week’s Deeper Roots show. Founded in 1947 by Lew Chudd, it’s early years featured some of the very best rhythm and blues and early rock you could find. Their lineup included some of the big names of early rock, not least of which was Roy Brown, Fats Domino, Frankie Ford and Ricky Nelson. They would dabble in country and jazz but also looked to strike while the iron was hot when Elvis hit with a blend of country and rhythm and blues in t...

Episode 18: Rhythm & Blues Jezebels

May 12, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 124 MB

Wild and sassy sounds from the archives of 40s and 50s rhythm & blues featuring some of the female dynamos of the genre coming your way on a Friday morning here on Deeper Roots. We’ll be featuring some great performances from the catalog of Jubilee Records (those Jubilee Jezebels) and a host of peers including some early scorchers from Little Sylvia (Robinson), Big Maybelle, Viola Watkins, Fay Simmons, and Ruth Brown. For the first three or four decades of the recorded blues and jaz...

Episode 17: Covers Time

May 06, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 158 MB

Another morning of covers, from country to soul and a little bit of rhythm and roll in store. This week’s show celebrates the songwriters and performers who found themselves honored with tributes and covers that honor the sense of a piece. We’ll hear covers of Tom T. Hall, Arthur Alexander, Robert Hunter, Derek Martin, Hank Snow and JJ Cale in the show today. The idea is to find a cover worth noting and put it up alongside the original. Just over a dozen songs to pick from in our tw...

Episode 16: Payday Saturday Night

April 28, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 160 MB

 The pickins are thin until payday rolls around. Money is short and there’s none to spare. Although we’ve been wanting to save for a rainy day, the cupboards still need fillin’ and we also need enough to have some fun. If that eagle flies on Friday then Saturday night is when the time is right. This week we’ll be banking on that combined theme of payday, money and taxes. Belly up to the barroom country sounds of Faron Young, Lefty Frizzell and The Sons of the Pioneers and then find ...

Episode 15: Lonesome Train

April 21, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 160 MB

Free form! That's right. No theme, no genre exploration, no tribute or topical show today. Only topical playlists embellishing the show today including New Orleans memories from Bobby Mitchell, Fats Domino and Dr. John, country nuggets from Merle, Buck and Elvis as well as some fancy shmancy crooning from a Perry, Blue Eyes and Dino. We'll also be digging into some classic rockabilly tunes and some canciones de Flaco and Los Lobos. Here in Sonoma County we're going from three years ...

Episode 14: Country Rhythm & Blues

April 15, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 188 MB

We’ll be covering the covers once more this week but this time we’ll be burrowing into a cross section of genres to get to the heart of the matter. It’s country songs with rhythm & blues interpretations, all from the decades of the fifties and sixties. We’ll hear from a few familiars rhythm rockers including The Coasters, Fats Domino, King Curtis and Ruth Brown as they take on the very best of country and tradition with a style all their own. But there’s also the surprises and u...

Episode 13: Cool Daddy

April 07, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 193 MB

Welcome to the club. We’ve got some cool sounds from the jazz lounges and clubs blended with some beat generation salutations for you this morning. Beatniks, boppers, lounge chanteuse performances, saxophones, and some cool fifties sounds. Tune in for Patsy Raye and The Beatniks, Earl Bostic, Mose Allison, Charlie Parker’s Quintet, and a BeBop blend of out-of-this-world swing and percussion. From the Gaslight Café to Slim Gallaird’s Yep Roc sounds…we’ll have your foot tappin’ and yo...

Episode 12: Georgia Peaches

March 31, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 271 MB

This week's show takes us across the landscape of the state of Georgia and then reminisces about ladies that share her name. No genre is off limits and no era too far in the past is excluded in this latest Deeper Roots show that takes on a theme. We're also hoping that the will of the people is not interfered with in a state that's struggling to awaken; a lumbering giant of democracy still haunted (and celebrated at the highest levels) by plantation politics. Our music this week wil...

Episode 11: Drive In Music

March 17, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 191 MB

Memories of summer nights where the aroma of popcorn, car exhaust and nature fused as the car windows steamed up and the tin can speaker sounds synchronized with the silver screen…at the drive in movie. For the decades of the fifties, sixties, and seventies you could bring a car load of friends and find your spot across the little hills that pointed you skyward towards the glow of a billboard of dreams. This week on Deeper Roots we’ll visit some performances that include on-screen l...

Episode 9: Streets of Bakersfield

March 04, 2023 00:00 - 1 hour - 124 MB

It was Nashville West but with a decidedly more amount of midwestern flavoring. Bakersfield was the terminus of most of the migrant traffic from the dust bowl where the hope for a better life was not always fulfilled. So many landed square on the Central Valley and for those who grew up it became a whirlwind post-war prosperity that was familiar: oil drilling, agriculture, almond orchards, cattle raising, and a transportation industry to support it. Those who were raised on country ...