Is there a more significant date for rock birthdays than Jan. 8? Not only do we celebrate the day Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Miss. in 1935, but also the day 12 years later when David Bowie fell to Earth. So there’s a lot of the King and the Thin White Duke on today’s Capital Radio, while also noting birthdays for Doors guitarist Robbie Krieger (turning 78), UK singer Shirley Bassey (87) and Canadian singer songwriter Ron Sexmith (60).
But had to start the show with others who died in 2023 but couldn’t fit into last week’s show, as well as some who have departed since, from jazz-soul singer Les McCann to TV’s David Soul, who died Thursday at 80.
The 2023 tributes ran from Harry Belafonte to Napoleon XIV (real name: Jerry Samuels) and included Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins of Funkadelic, John Gosling of The Kinks, Scott Kempner of The Dictators, Mars Williams of the Psychedelic Furs, unsung songwriter Essra Mohawk, TV makers Norman Lear and Marty Krofft, and songwriter Cynthia Weil, represented by four of the classics she co-wrote, as well as “On Broadway,” which surfaces n Bowie’s “Aladdin Sane” much later in the show.
Here’s the link to the whole show; the setlist follows:
Capital Radio, Jan. 8, 2024 1 – 4:25 p.m. www.cygnusradio.com
- “Capital Radio Two,” The Clash
- “Compared to What,” Les McCann & Eddie Harris
- “Pony Boy,” The Allman Brothers Band
- “Don’t Give Up on Us,” David Soul
- “Supersonic Rocket Ship,” The Kinks
- “Back in Our Minds,” Funkadelic
- “Weekend,” The Dictators
- “Heartbreak Beat,” Psychedelic Furs
- “The Midnight Special,” Harry Belafonte
- “Interjections!” Essra Mohawk
- “The Jeffersons,” Ja’net DuBois
- “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Ha,” Napoleon XIV
- “The Banana Splits Theme,” The Banana Splits
- “He’s Sure the Boy I Love,” The Crystals
- “We Gotta Get Out of This Place,” The Animals
- “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling,” The Righteous Brothers
- “None of Us are Free,” Solomon Burke
- “Love Her Madly,” Bo Diddley
- “Goldfinger,” Shirley Bassey
- “Hard Bargain,” Ron Sexsmith
- “That’s All Right Mama,” Elvis Presley
- ”Treat Me Nice” Elvis Presley
- “Baby I Don’t Care,” Elvis Presley
- “A Big Hunk O’ Love,” Elvis Presley
- “She’s Not You,” Elvis Presley
- “I Want to Be Free,” Elvis Presley
- “Patch It Up,” Elvis Presley
- “Little Sister / Get Back,” Elvis Presley
- “Suspicious Minds,” Elvis Presley
- “Viva Las Vegas,” Elvis Presley
- “Burning Love,” Elvis Presley
- “I Got a Woman [live],” Elvis Presley
- “In the Ghetto,” Elvis Presley
- “If I Can Dream,” Elvis Presley
- “Life on Mars?” David Bowie
- “Black Country Rock,” David Bowie
- “The Man Who Sold the World,” David Bowie
- “Starman,” David Bowie
- “Ziggy Stardust,” David Bowie
- “The Prettiest Star” David Bowie
- “Aladdin Sane (1913-1938-197?),” David Bowie
- “Rebel Rebel,” David Bowie
- “Be My Wife,” David Bowie
- “Sound and Vision,” David Bowie
- “TVC15,” David Bowie
- “Golden Years,” David Bowie
- “Waterloo Sunset,” David Bowie
- “You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving,” David Bowie
- “Lazarus,” David Bowie
Capital Radio returns Jan. 15, 2024 at 1 p.m. ET at www.cygnusradio.com, where this and past shows are archived. Also available on the cygnusradio.com app, available free at iTunes or ApplePlay.