Martin Luther King Day has only been a national holiday for 38 years, and only five times has it fallen on the Civil Rights leader’s actual birthday. Today’s the first time that has happened in six years, and on the day he would have turned 95 we have a wealth of songs about his legacy on Capital Radio.
Many of them, from Bobby Womack to a rather surprising cut from Billy Paul, also sampled King’s memorable speeches. Others reflected on his assassination, from Bob Dylan to the Persuasions, doing U2’s anthem. And a couple of them, from Nina Simone to Mike Millius, were written in the shock and anger immediately following that violent death.
In the spirit of King, there were songs about freedom and, with a bit more abstraction, about dreams themselves.
There were other birthdays to note, too, from drummer Gene Krupa (born this day in 1909) to Chicago blues guitarist Earl Hooker (1930) to Captain Beefheart (1941).
And had a handful of tunes from 1923 that this month became part of the public domain.
Here’s a link to the whole show; the setlist follows:
Capital Radio 1-15-24, 1 – 4:25 p.m., www.cygnusradio.com
- “Capital Radio Two,” The Clash
- “Sing, Sing, Sing,” Benny Goodman
- “Drum Boogie,” Gene Krupa
- “You Need Love,” Muddy Waters
- “You Shook Me,” Muddy Waters
- “The Smithsonian Institute Blues (Or The Big Dig),” Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band
- “Diddy Wah Diddy,” Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band
- “Click Clack,” Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band
- “Charleston, James P. Johnson
- “Dippermouth Blues (Aka Sugar Foot Stomp),” King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band
- “Yes! We Have No Bananas,” Billy Jones
- “Downhearted Blues,” Bessie Smith
- “Swinging Down the Lane,” Isham Jones and his Orchestra
- “American Dream,” Bobby Womack
- “The King,” Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
- “So Beautiful or So What,” Paul Simon
- “Up to the Mountain [live],” Patty Griffin
- “Pride (In the Name of Love),” The Persuasions
- “The Ballad of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” Mike Millius
- “I’ll Never Turn Back No More,” Irving Barnes & Dr. Martin Luther King
- “Happy Birthday,” Stevie Wonder
- “Let ‘Em In,” Billy Paul
- “They Killed Him,” Bob Dylan
- “Why (The King of Love is Dead) [live],” Nina Simone
- “Abraham, Martin & John,” Marvin Gaye
- “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” Donny Hathaway
- “Freedom Highway [live],” Mavis Staples
- “Freedom Rider,” Traffic
- “Freedom,” Jon Batiste
- “Let Freedom Ring!,” Chuck Prophet
- “Freedom [live],” Richie Havens
- “Chimes of Freedom,” The Byrds
- “Mother Freedom,” Bread
- “Dream About the Future,” The Apples in Stereo
- “Dripping Dream,” Sonic Youth
- “(Nice Dream),” Radiohead
- “Dream Again,” Franz Ferdinand
- “We Live as We Dream, Alone,” Gang of Four
- “One Dream,” The Dream Academy
- “Working on a Dream,” Bruce Springsteen
- “Dream On,” Dusty Springfield
- “Dream On,” Dehd
- “Dream On” [acoustic live],” Aerosmith
- “Follow That Dream,” Elvis Presley
- “Dream All Day,” The Posies
- “Innocent When You Dream,” Tom Waits
- “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” Ilene Woods
- “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream),” Roy Orbison
Capital Radio returns Jan. 22 at 1 p.m. ET on www.cygnusradio.com where this and past shows are archived. Also available on the free cygnusradio.com app, available at iTunes or GooglePlay.