07/01/2024 - Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Episode 013

This was a very interesting "challenge" episode- I asked one of my avid listeners, my mother-in-law, to pick at 3 artists for me to connect through the episode! She chose Earth, Wind & Fire, Derek Trucks, and Dolly Parton, with a bonus of hitting Miles Davis as well. It turned into a really FUN journey that took us to stories of the soul legends, Ashford & Simpson, Delta Bluesman Skip James, a trio of songs written by the Bee Gees reinterpreted by other artists, and finally, a journey to the birth of modern jazz in 1920's New Orleans with King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band.

Episode Links

• Youtube (Link Coming Soon)
• Soundcloud
• MP3 Download
• Spotify Playlist

Bonus Track

Nirvana's Unplugged "Where Did you Sleep Last Night" - The first version of the 150+ year old song "In The Pines" many of us heard

This Week's notes and mentions

• Skip James' original Crow Jane
• Gov't Mule's 29 minute closer to their live show - Mongo Santamaria's Afro Blue
• Annie Lennox's cover of Take Me To The River
• Full Version of Bag's Groove - our final track- cut off on this recording due to time.

Full Playlist:

1. Diana Ross - Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Diana Ross-1970)
2. Chaka Khan - I'm Every Woman (Chaka-1978)
   Connection: Also written by Ashford & Simpson
3. Paul Simon - 50 Ways to leave Your Lover (Still Crazy After All these Years-1975)
   Connection: Valerie Simpson sang background on this
4. Marlena Shaw - California Soul (The Spice of Life-1969)
   Connection: Also written by Ashford & Simpson
5. Earth, Wind & Fire - Shining Star (That's The Way of the World-1975)
   Connection: Also produced by Charles Stepney
6. Rotary Connection - Sunshine Of Your Love (Songs-1969)
   Connection: Also produced by Charles Stepney
7. Cream - I'm So Glad (Fresh Cream-1966)
   Connection: Sunshine Of Your Love was originally by Cream
8. Skip James - Hard Time Killing Floor Blues (Grafton Sessoins-1931)
   Connection: I'm So Glad was originally by Skip James
9. The Derek Trucks Band - Crow Jane (Songlines-2006)
   Connection: Cover of a Skip James Song
10. Gov't Mule - Soulshine (Live... With A Little Help From our Friends-1999)
    Connection: Derek Trucks also played guitar on this
11. Talking Heads - Take Me to the River (Stop Making Sense (Live)-1984)
    Connection: Bernie Worrell also played organ on this
12. Al Green - How Can You Mend a Broken heart (Let's Stay Together-1972)
    Connection: Take Me to the River was originally by Al Green
13. PJ Morton (feat. Yebba) - How Deep Is Your Love (Gumbo Unplugged (live)-2018)
    Connection: Also written by the Bee Gees
14. Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers - Islands In The Stream (Eyes That See in the Dark-1983)
    Connection: Also written by the Bee Gees
15. Dolly Parton - In The Pines (Live) (Heartsongs (Live from Home)-1994)
    Connection: Another Dolly Parton song
16. King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band - Where Did You Stay Last Night? (Single-1923)
    Connection: Another version of Where Did You Stay Last Night/In The Pines
17. King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band - Dippermouth Blues (Louis Armstrong & King Oliver-1923)
    Connection: Another King Oliver song
18. Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington - Mood Indigo (The Great Summit-1961)
    Connection: Louis Armstrong composed and played 2nd coronet on Dippermouth Blues
19. Thelonious Monk - Black & Tan Fantasy (Plays Duke Ellington-1955)
    Connection: Originally by Duke Ellington
20. Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Milt Jackson, Kenny Clarke, Percy Heath - Bag's Groove (RVG Remaster) (Bag's Groove (Rudy Van Gelder Remaster)-1957)
    Connection: Thelonious Monk also played piano on this