This show was available immediately after the news that Alex Chilton had died, so much of it grew out of a need to hear his music. DMCA rules severely limit the number of tracks I can play during a single three-hour period from any particular artist, but fortunately, in addition to his solo work Chilton was also a member of a couple of bands that made some damn fine music. The more important of those was BIg Star, and as I mentioned during this broadcast, my love of rock & roll was rekindled in the '80s when I, like so many others, discovered the three albums that had been recorded a decade or more before. Prior to that I'd been spending a lot of time exploring reggae, which I quite enjoyed and still do, and a major reason I traveled down that path was my lack of interest in much of the rock music being produced in those years. So Big Star lit a fire that spread in all sorts of directions, and we heard a selection from each of their three discs in this opening section. The rest was filled with tunes by influences on Big Star and those they influenced in turn, including an old one from Wilco that I've always thought merges perfectly with my favorite Chilton song.

This next section was bookended by the Box Tops two huge hits from the late '60s. They are classic examples of the blue-eyed soul sound from that time, and their defining feature is Alex Chilton's voice, which he purposely lowered in order to achieve the kind of soulful feel that Dan Penn (a co-writer and producer on both tunes) naturally achieved when he played the song for the group. Chilton was only 16 when "The Letter" was recorded, but everyone assumed he was much older because of the success he had in approximating his producer's voice. The remainder of this set was given over to various soul music sounds from across the decades, ranging from those who preceded the Box Tops, such as Otis Redding, to the title track from the upcoming disc by Sharon Jones & the Dap-KIngs.

The final set devoted to Alex Chilton contained three of my favorites from his solo years mixed in with tracks by others that he either produced or influenced, plus one from the Seeds that Chilton covered in a great version that bears a strong resemblance to the original. I had to include the Replacements (Did you see Paul Westerberg's heartfelt remembrance in The New York Times?) before finishing up with a Chilton tune and a title that seemed to offer some appropriate words with which to bid adieu.

Spring has finally sprung, and to celebrate we heard some appropriate tunes to close the program, highlighted by some remastered Beatles, a favorite by the Cleaners From Venus, and a trio of baseball-related songs (Opening Day is approaching fast) by Dave Frishberg, the Baseball Project and Orchestra Luna madly reworking a tune from the Broadway musical Damn Yankees.

Here's the complete playlist.

NELSON RIDDLE ORCHESTRA . . . . . Route 66 Theme (opening theme) . . . . . Route 66 and Other Great TV Themes/More Hit TV Themes
BIG STAR . . . . . September Gurls . . . . . #1 Record/Radio City
THE BYRDS . . . . . Lady Friend . . . . . The Byrds
CHRIS STAMEY . . . . . Summer Sun . . . . . D.I.Y.: Come Out And Play - American Power Pop (1975-78)
WILLIE NILE . . . . . Asking Annie Out . . . . . Streets of New York
JAMES MADDOCK . . . . . Chance . . . . . Sunrise on Avenue C
BIG STAR . . . . . Thirteen . . . . . #1 Record/Radio City
THE BEACH BOYS . . . . . God Only Knows . . . . . Pet Sounds
ELLIOTT SMITH . . . . . Everything Reminds Me Of Her . . . . . Figure 8
WILCO . . . . . The Lonely 1 . . . . . Being There
BIG STAR . . . . . Nightime . . . . . 3rd

THE BOX TOPS . . . . . The Letter . . . . . The Best of the Box Tops: Soul Deep
CAMERA OBSCURA . . . . . Honey In The Sun . . . . . My Maudlin Career
OTIS REDDING . . . . . I Can’t Turn You Loose . . . . . Live in London and Paris
GRAHAM PARKER & THE RUMOUR . . . . . Hold Back The Night . . . . . Ultimate Collection
BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS . . . . . I Can’t Quit Her . . . . . Blood Sweat & Tears - Greatest Hits
SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KNGS . . . . . I Learned The Hard Way . . . . . I Learned The Hard Way
THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS . . . . . (You’re My) Soul And Inspiration . . . . . Anthology 1962-1974
THE BOX TOPS . . . . . Cry Like A Baby . . . . . The Best of the Box Tops: Soul Deep

ALEX CHILTON . . . . . Bangkok . . . . . 19 Years: A Collection
THE CRAMPS . . . . . Denim . . . . . Off the Bone
DUANE EDDY . . . . . Rebel Rouser . . . . . Forrest Gump
THE SEEDS . . . . . Can’t Seem To Make You Mine . . . . . Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968
ALEX CHILTON . . . . . Hey! Little Child . . . . . Like Flies on Sherbert/Feudalist Tarts
SPOON . . . . . Got Nuffin . . . . . Transference
THE BREEDERS . . . . . It’s The Love . . . . . Mountain Battles
THE REPLACEMENTS . . . . . Alex Chilton . . . . . Pleased to Meet Me
ALEX CHILTON . . . . . Rock Hard . . . . . Like Flies on Sherbert/Feudalist Tarts

THE BEATLES . . . . . Here Comes The Sun . . . . . Abbey Road (Remastered)
THE CLEANERS FROM VENUS . . . . . Mad March Hare . . . . . Golden Cleaners
THE HIGH LLAMAS . . . . . The Old Spring Town . . . . . Can Cladders
CLUB 8 . . . . . Spring Came, Rain Fell . . . . . Spring Came, Rain Fell
THE CLIENTELE . . . . . Here Comes The Phantom . . . . . Bonfires on the Heath
LILY FROST . . . . . Is It Just Spring? . . . . . Cine-Magique
DAVE FRISHBERG . . . . . Van Lingle Mungo . . . . . Dave Frishberg Classics
THE BASEBALL PROJECT . . . . . All Future And No Past . . . . . Free Download
ORCHESTRA LUNA . . . . . Heart . . . . . Orchestra Luna

Here's another one from Big Star

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