The death last week of one of my favorite, but still largely unknown, performers led me to a lengthy tribute of Charlie Burton, whose music has fueled me as his lyrics have tickled me since my college days nearly half a century back. His work with Rock Therapy, the Hiccups, the Cutouts,, the Dorothy Lynch Mob and the Texas Twelve-Steppers — as well as a dozen of the rockabilly obscurities that inspired him — filled up the first two hours of the show. (Here’s a link to my recent Substack post on Charlie).
But after a two weeks’ absence, it was time to take note of other recent deaths from Sergio Mendes and Tito Jackson to Nick Gravenites and J.D. Souther. All this on a day when we could have just as easily celebrated birthdays alone of Ray Charles, Bruce Springsteen, John Coltrane and more.
Here’s the link to the whole show; the setlist follows.
Capital Radio Sepember 23, 2024. 1 – 4:30 p.m. www.cygnusradio.com
- “Capital Radio Two,” The Clash
- “Rock & Roll Behavior,” Charlie Burton
- “Guitar Case,” Charlie Burton
- “Even as We Speak,” Charlie Burton
- “Rabies Shot,” Charlie Burton
- “1, 4, 1, Don’t Care,” Charlie Burton
- “Breathe for Me, Presley!” Charlie Burton
- “Garage Sale,” Charlie Burton
- “Bum Ticker,” Charlie Burton and the Hiccups
- “Succubus” Charlie Burton
- “Roadkill,” Charlie Burton and the Hiccups
- “Without My Woman,” Charlie Burton and the Hiccups
- “All Time Low,” Charlie Burton and the Hiccups
- “(You’re Not Playing Fair), Elise” Charlie Burton
- “One Man’s Trash is Another Man’s Treasure,” Charlie Burton
- “Western Plain (When I Was a Cowboy),” Lead Belly
- “Morse Code,” Don Woody
- “Do Me No Wrong,” Pat Cupp and the Flying Saucers
- “Whistle Bait,” Larry Collins
- “A Big Hunk O’ Love,” Elvis Presley
- “All By Myself,” Johny Burnette and Rock and Roll Trio
- “Sweet Love On My Mind,” Johnny Burnette and the Rock N’ Roll Trio
- ”Tear It Up,” Johnny Burnette and the Rock N’ Roll Trio
- “Pretty Bad Blues,” Ronnie Self
- “Love Me,” The Phantom
- “Cast Iron Arm,” Peanuts Wilson
- “God Said ‘No!’” Charlie Burton & Rock Therapy
- “Spare Me the Details,” Charlie Burton and the Texas 12-Steppers
- “Rogue Cop,” Charlie Burton and the Texas Twelve-Steppers
- “Lunch Time,” Charlie Burton
- “Trickle Down,” Charlie Burton
- “That Can’t Be Good,” Charlie Burton
- “Embarrassment of Riches,” Charlie Burton and the Texas Twelve-Steppers
- “On Call,” Charlie Burton and the Texas Twelve-Steppers
- “Walk on the Wild Side,” Lou Reed
- “Mais Que Nada,” Sergio Mendes & Brazil
- “High Flying Bird,” Jefferson Airplane
- “Jackson,” Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra
- “You’re Only Lonely,” J. D. Souther
- “Because of My Heart,” Frankie Beverly and the Butlers
- “ABC,” The Jackson 5
- “Born in Chicago,”The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
- “Zoot’s Suite,” Zoot Money
- “Friday On My Mind,” The Easybeats
- “Goodbye Cruel World,” James Darren
- “I Promised You a Miracle,” Simple Minds
- “Hey Joe,” Tim Rose
- “Sweet Dreams,” Roy Buchanan
- “Compared to What,” Les McCann with Eddie Harris
- “George Jackson,” Bob Dylan
- “Mess Around,” Ray Charles
- “I Got a Woman,” Ray Charles
- “Prove It All Night,” Bruce Springsteen
- “Where the Bands Are,” Bruce Springsteen
- “Giant Steps,” John Coltrane
Capital Radio returns Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. EDT on www.cygnusradio.com, where this and other recent shows are posted. The show can also be heard via the cygnusradio.com app, available free at iTunes or GooglePlay. Older shows are available at Substack.com/@rogercatlin.
Hey Roger
This is. a great tribute. Thank you for doing this. God Said No is the response I got when I tried to find a copy of Cast Iron Arm. Sadly I had a copy on a cassette but unfortunately did not keep it. (Charlie let me record a show at the Lifticket) There has to be a copy somewhere!
I saw Charlie many times. Mostly at the Lifticket Lounge in Benson. But also at Howard St Tavern, The Drumstick, The Zoo Bar, Saddle Creek Bar, The Music Hall (my first time seeing him, I believe he opened for Elvis Costello there?). I think I saw him Dallas, but it’s a blur. The Lifticket was the best though. Joe was a great owner, who treated everyone fairly. He was very laid back and let Charlie and the group do pretty much whatever they wanted.
One of my favorite shows, was a Saturday Night at the Lifticket. Joe made the mistake of telling Charlie he was going to paint the ceiling the next day. About 11:30 Charlie decided to let the crowd in on this, and since well, it was going to get painted the next day, we may as well spay the entire ceiling with beer. So he had the whole bar shaking beers up spraying the ceiling. It was hysterical. He had us do it a couple more times that evening . It was a hoot. As always, Joe was a good sport.
Again thank you for this and you wrote an excellent tribute to Charlie last week. Charlie Burton and his bands were something special.