Mountain Blog

This week’s broadcast of Mountain Stage is a special archive edition, recorded in April of 2003. You’ll hear from legendary folk singer and activist Joan Baez, along with the incomparable Guy Clark, Roseanne Cash, Josh Ritter, and Tracy Grammer. Click here to find a list of times and stationswhere you can listen in your area. And preview the show via our Mountain Stage song of the week – this time, it’s Joan Baez singing the traditional tune “Lily of the West (Flora).”

Joan Baez needs little introduction to anyone who has listened to American Music over the past 50 years. In fact, even that’s an understatement, because Baez’s legion of fans is worldwide, and it started with her appearance as a teenager at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival. Besides having a voice that’s earned millions of fans and spawned thousands of imitators, Baez is known almost as well for her social and political activism. As host Larry Groce said in his original introduction to this set, which was recorded in April of 2003, “I wish I could be the first to introduce you to her, but I’m pretty sure I’m not.”

Roseanne Cash got her start working with her father, Johnny, but it wasn’t long before she was doing her own thing, with an album released in 1978. Since then, she’s had a steady stream of successful records, including 11 more albums, and 11 number one singles. She’s defied categories, and known variously as a rock, pop, country, and roots performer. Her last album, The List, made up from a list of songs that her father said were important, was voted Album of the Year by the American Music Association in 2009.

Guy Clarkwas born in Texas and moved to California for a while as a young man before relocating to Nashville in 1971. He stepped into the spotlight in the early 70’s with songs like “L.A. Freeway” and “Desperados Waiting for a Train,” both recorded by Jerry Jeff Walker. Over the years, drawn from the 20 albums Clark has released on his own. Clark was a good friend and road buddy of Townes Van Zandt – the two toured together, and even visited Mountain Stage together. Clark has appeared on the show ten times, always bringing a handful of new songs that are as well crafted as the guitars he also makes. A Guy Clark tribute album, This One’s For Him, featuring a who’s who of Americana artists was released this year, and recently named Album of the Year by the Americana Music Association  

Josh Ritter had just released, or rather re-released his album The Golden Age of Radio when he appeared on Mountain Stage in April of 2003. He had recorded and released the album himself in 2000, but it was picked up by Signature Sounds and given a more national release in 2002. Ritter left his native Idaho for Oberlin College, where he studied folk music and opened for Joan Baez. He’s a serious prose writer as well as songwriter, and he published his first novel Bright’s Passage in 2011 - a story about a West Virginia man around the time of the first World War. His latest studio album is 2010’s So Runs The World Away. Earlier this year he released an EP called Bringing In the Darlings.

Contemporary folk singer Tracy Grammer began her journey in music with her partner Dave Carter, and the duo made three albums before Carter’s untimely death in 2002, which was less than a year before this episode was originally recorded in April of 2003. She’s continued as a solo performer and released three albums on her own, but she often records and performs Carter’s songs – in fact, all of the songs in this set were written by him.

Find a time and radio station in your area where you can tune in. Connect with Mountain Stage on Facebook and Tumblr to stay in touch with the latest information, and follow us on Twitter for news about upcoming shows.  

Thank you for listening to Mountain Stage!