Honoring Martin Luther King Day may be more important than ever in a political culture anxious to erase his legacy. So half the show (starting with part two, above) saluted him, with works from Marvin Gaye to Public Enemy.
We paid tribute to guitarist Ralph Towner who died Sunday at 85, and to original Siouxsie and the Banshees drummer Kenny Morris, who died last week.
Amid the many birthdays were such giants as Janis Joplin, Phil Everly and Dolly Parton. But also: Robert Palmer, Willie “Big Eyes” Smith and Edgar Allan Poe.
Forgot about chopping the recording into hour-long chunks for the Cygnus website (which didn’t accommodate them all anyway), so I adjusted accordingly, with the first long first segment bearing the deaths and birthdays, and parts two and a shorter three both MLK related.
Here’s the setlist:
Capital Radio January 19, 2026 1 – 4:40 p.m. www.cygnusradio.com
Part I
“Washington, D.C.,” The Magnetic Fields
“The Moors,” Weather Report
“Icarus,” Paul Winter Consort
“Hong Kong Garden,” Siouxsie and the Banshees
“Mirage,” Siouxsie and the Banshees
“Down from Dover,” Dolly Parton
“Jolene,” Dolly Parton
“Creepin’ In,” Norah Jones and Dolly Parton
“Crying in the Rain,” The Everly Brothers
“Born Yesterday,” The Everly Brothers
“The Air That I Breathe,” Phil Everly
“Hasten Down the Wind,” Warren Zevon
“The Last Time,” Big Brother & the Holding Company
“Kansas City Blues,” Janis Joplin & Jorma Kaukonen
“Maybe,” Janis Joplin
“Every Kinda People,” Robert Palmer
“Tin Man,” America
“Johnny Angel,” Shelley Fabares
“The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down [alternate version]” The Band
“Diddy Wah Diddy,” Bo Diddley
“Trouble No More [Live],” Muddy Waters
“Hush,” Deep Purple
“Only the Lonely,” The Motels
“Wild One,” Johnny O’Keefe
“Edgar Allan Poe,” Lou Reed
Part II
“What’s Going On (Rhythm n’ strings mix),” Marvin Gaye
“Wake Up Everybody,” Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes
“American Dream,” Bobby Womack
“Pride (In the Name of Love),” The Persuasions
“A Still, Small Voice,” Bob Franke
“Up to the Mountain (MLK Song),” Patty Griffin
“Ballad of Martin Luther King,” Mike Millius
“Abraham, Martin & John,” Marvin Gaye
“We March,” Prince
“I Don’t Know What This World Is Coming To [live],” The Soul Children
“Now’s the Time [live],” Charlie Parker
“This is My Country,” Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions
Part III
“Let ‘Em In,” Billy Paul
“Martin Luther King,” Mighty Sparrow
“The Spice Must Flow,” From Monument to Masses
“By the Time I Get to Arizona,” Public Enemy
“Martin Luther King,” Max Romeo
“Change Gonna Come” Otis Redding
“Redemption Song,” Bob Marley and the Wailers
“Someday We’ll All Be Free,” Donny Hathaway
“None of Us Are Free,” Solomon Burke
Capital Radio returns Jan. 26 at 1 p.m. ET until after 4 on www.cygnusradio.com. The show can also be heard via the cygnusradio.com app, available free at iTunes or GooglePlay. Recent shows are (usually) available on demand at cygnusradio.com. Older shows are posted at Substack.com/@rogercatlin.