In this second installment of Hard Times with Bluebelly Susan, we roam around the good ol’ U. S. of A. from delta blues, early folk, folk revival (shout out to Dave Van Ronk, the Mayor of MacDougal Street), and even more (yeehaw).
The second half of the show is a tribute to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and includes some really powerful gospel tracks from the Sing For Freedom compilation from Smithsonian Folkways, some protest songs, and other deep and groovy gospel tracks.
The show unwinds and concludes with some sweet and melancholy tracks from Mississippi John Hurt, Skip James, and Townes Van Zandt.
Leadbelly – Bourgeois Blues
Mississippi John Hurt – It Ain’t Nobody’s Business
Bascom Lamar Lunsford – I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground
Doc Watson Family – That Train That Carried My Girl from Town
Dave Van Ronk – Come Back Baby
Sleepy John Estes – Liquor Store Blues
Sonny Terry – Lost John
Son House – Death Letter Blues
Bo Carter – Pig Meat is What I Crave
John Lee Ziegler – Who’s Gonna Be Your Man
Big Joe Williams – Prison Bound
Johnny Lee Moore – Levee Camp Holler (Downtown Money Waster)
Sid Hemphill – Jesse James
Vera Ward Hall – Black Woman (Wild Ox Moan)
Jesse Fuller – Stranger Blues
R. L. Burnside – Goin’ Down South
[Sound Clip] Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Has Been Assassinated
Rev. Gary Davis – If I Had My Way
The Freedom Singers – Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn You Round
Two Gospel Keys – You’ve Got to Move
Guy and Candie Carawan – We Shall Overcome
[Sound Clip] Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s American Dream Speech clip
Gospel Comforters – Jesus Will Help Me
Robert Parris Moses – Keep Your Eyes on the Prize
Hollis Watkins – I’m Gonna Sit at the Welcome Table
Joe Townsend – Going Over the Hill
Brother Willie Eason – Grumbles
Mosby Family Singers – Eternal Life
Gladys Burnette Carter – The Little Light
The Freedom Singers – Which Side are You On?
The Montgomery Improvement Association – We Are Soldiers in the Army
Mississippi John Hurt – Trouble I Had All My Days
Mississippi John Hurt – Make Me a Pallet on the Floor
Skip James – Devil Got My Woman
Townes Van Zandt – None But the Rain
Townes Van Zandt – Don’t Take it Too Bad
Hard Times Playlist: Jan. 22, 2015
January 27, 2015