We know them as flying saucers and UFOs, But they’re calling them by the much clunkier acronym UAP in Congressional hearings this year. They’ve inspired a lot of songs over the decades, from Woody Guthrie and Ella Fitzgerald to Jefferson Airplane, Radiohead and Parliament.
We played 26 of them today on Capital Radio, on an episode that began with atribute to John Bonham, the hard-hitting Led Zeppelin drummer who died on this day in 1980 at the age of only 32. In addition to Zep, we heard his contributions to tracks by Screaming Lord Sutch, and the McCartney-organized Rockestra, as well as one of the many samples of his works used by the Beastie Boys.
It was also the birthday of Iron Butterfly bassist Jerry Penrod (77) and Ambrosia drummer Burleigh Drummond (72), as well as author William Faulkner (born this day in 1897), Stooges sax man Steve Mackay (1949), Love guitarist Bryan MacLean (1946), Canadian songwriter Ian Tyson (1933) and writer Shel Silverstein (1930).
A special focus came for two artists somewhat overshadowed by their more famous siblings, Dee Dee Warwick (born this day in 1942) and Cecil Womack (1947).
Here’s the link to the whole show; the setlist follows:
Capital Radio Sept. 25, 2023, 1-4:45 p.m., www.cygnusradio.com
- “Capital Radio Two,” The Clash
- “Flashing Lights,” Screaming Lord Sutch
- “When the Levee Breaks,” Led Zeppelin
- “Rhymin’ & Stealin,’” Beastie Boys
- “Rockestra Theme,” Paul McCartney & Wings
- “Flying’ Saucers Rock and Roll,” Billy Lee Riley & His Little Green Men
- “Have You Seen the Saucers?” Jefferson Airplane
- “My Flying Saucer,” Billy Bragg & Wilco
- “Flying Saucer Attack,” The Rezillos
- “Waiting for the UFOs,” Graham Parker & the Rumor
- “The Happening,” Pixies
- “Saw a UFO,” Eels
- “Subterranean Homesick Alien,” Radiohead
- “Hypnotized,” Fleetwood Mac
- “Mister Spaceman,” Holy Modal Rounders
- “Mr. Spaceman,” The Byrds
- “Two Little Men in a Flying Saucer,” Ella Fitzgerald
- “Planet Claire,” The B-52’s
- “It Came Out of the Sky,” Creedence Clearwater Revival
- “UFO,” Soul, Inc.
- “UFOs, Big Rigs and BBQ,” Mojo Nixon & World Famous Blue Jays
- “Unfunky UFO,” Parliament
- “Looking for a UFO,” Adrian Belew
- “Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois,” Sufjan Stevens
- “Books about UFOs,” Hüsker Dü
- “We’re Going UFO’ing,” Jimmy Durante
- “Out of Limits,” The Marketts
- “Zero Zero UFO,” Ramones
- “Rapture,” Blondie
- “Born in a UFO,” David Bowie
- “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft,” The Langley Schools Music Project
- “A Rose for Emily,” The Zombies
- “Maybe it was Memphis,” Phil Seymour
- “Kentucky Avenue,” Tom Waits
- “25 Minutes to Go [live],” Johnny Cash
- “One’s on the Way,” Loretta Lynn
- “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan,” Marianne Faithfull
- “I’m Going to Make You Love Me,” Dee Dee Warwick
- “Foolish Fool,” Dee Dee Warwick
- “Suspicious Minds,” Dee Dee Warwick
- “Four Strong Winds,” Ian & Sylvia
- “Someday Soon,” Judy Collins
- “Alone Again Or,” Love
- “Orange Skies,” Love
- “You’re the Only Woman (You And I),” Ambrosia
- “Iron Butterfly Theme,” Iron Butterfly
- “Sweeter Than the Day Before,” The Valentinos
- “Never Give a Man the World,” Mary Wells
- “Love TKO,” Teddy Pendergrass
- “Family Spirit,” Womack & Womack
- “Love Wars,” The Beautiful South
- “Fun House,” The Stooges
- “The Weirdness,” The Stooges
Capital Radio returns Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. EDT on cygnusradio.com, where recent past shows are archived for listening. You can also listen using the free cygnusradio.com app, available from iTunes or GooglePlay.