Your (Almost) Daily Playlist: 8-14-23

The Toot Uncommons, Steve Martin’s backing band on “this song”King Tut,” usually performed under the name The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. That group’s John McEuen taught Martin how to play the banjo. “King Tut” is included on Martin’s album A Wild and Crazy Guy, which won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album of 1979. In 2010 Martin won another Grammy Award, this one in the category Best Bluegrass Album for his album The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, which showcased his banjo-playing skills. The album was produced by John McEuen.

Steve Martin was born on this date in 1945. He inspired today’s playlist.

https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/2jtBtUzBuyiiLmEZpEwm9v?utm_source=generator

Follow Tunes du Jour on Facebook

Follow Tunes du Jour on Twitter

Follow me on Instagram

Throwback Thursday: 1974

In 1974 Grandpa Abe gave ten-year-old me a radio. Very quickly that radio became shy me’s best friend. I hadn’t paid much attention to music previously, only hearing what played in the family care when we went out to eat or to Sunday school or the orthodontist. With my best friend Radio by my side I was exposed to so much more. Mostly I listened to the top 40 station WABC. By the autumn of 1974 I was making weekly treks on my bicycle to Melody Manor to buy whatever single entered the top 40 that week, unless it was something truly heinous like “Cat’s in the Cradle.” It’s a habit I kept up until the mid to late eighties, when “Lady in Red,” “The Final Countdown,” “Hip To Be Square” and Milli Vanilli convinced me to eschew that habit and only buy records that were tolerable. Today’s playlist celebrates the music of the year I started collecting records.

Follow Tunes du Jour on Facebook

Follow Tunes du Jour on Twitter

Follow me on Instagram