The words of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, in introducing the 1972 WattStax Festival in Los Angeles, in which he proclaimed “I am somebody!” continue to reverberate today. We play them in tribute to his death last week at 84 — and we hear a couple of performances from the fest as well.
We also noted the deaths of salsa king Willie Colón through his work with Ruben Blades and David Byrne; the songwriter Billy Steinberg, who wrote hits for Madonna and Cyndi Lauper; and the Nashville session guitarist and producer Jerry Kennedy, heard on everything from Roy Orbison to Bob Dylan.
Birthdays were celebrated for bluesman Johnny Winter, Rusty Young of Poco, Steve Priest of Sweet, UK producer Johnny Franz, among others.
We closed by recalling Alysa Liu’s gold medal win by playing her choice of music, Donna Summer’s version of “MacArthur Park.” Here’s the show in three parts; the setlist follows:
Capital Radio February 23. 2026 1 – 4:30 p.m. www.cygnusradio.com
- “Capital Radio Two,” The Clash
- “Wattstax introduction / I Am Somebody,” Rev. Jesse Jackson
- “I’ll Take You There [live],” The Staple Singers
- “What this World is Coming To [live],” The Soul Children
- “Come Together,” Primal Scream
- “Pedro Navaja,” WIllie Colón & Ruben Blades
- “Make Believe Mambo,” David Byrne
- “Like a Virgin,” Teenage Fanclub
- “I’ll Stand by You,” The Pretenders
- “How Do I Make You,” Linda Ronstadt
- “Eternal Flame,” The Bangles
- “True Colors,” Aztec Camera
- “High Maintenance,” Miranda Cosgrove and Rivers Cuomo
- “I Drove All Night,” Roy Orbison
- “Oh, Pretty Woman,” Roy Orbison
- “Harper Valley P.T.A.,” Jeannie C. Riley
- “500 Miles from Home,” Bobby Bare
- “Stand By Your Man,” Tammy Wynette
- “Good Luck Charm,” Elvis Presley
PART II
- “Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again),” Kris Kristofferson
- “Middle Age Crazy,” Jerry Lee Lewis
- “Engine Engine # 9,” Roger Miller
- “Fourth Time Around,” Bob Dylan
- “Chinatown, My Chinatown,” Louis Armstrong
- “The Dangling Conversation,” Simon & Garfunkel
- “Dallas,” Johnny Winter
- “Highway 61 Revisited,” Johnny Winter
- “Kind Woman,” Buffalo Springfield
- “Crazy Love,” Poco
- “The Ballroom Blitz,” Sweet
- “Love is Like Oxygen,” Sweet
- “Ballad of Easy Rider [live],” The Byrds
- “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” Dusty Springfield
- “Goin’ Back,” Dusty Springfield
- “Make It Easy on Yourself,” The Walker Brothers
- “Jackie,” Scott Walker
- “Main Theme,” The Wizard of Oz Soundtrack
- “Ghosts,” Japan
PART III
- “Forbidden Colors,” Ryuichi Sakamoto & David Sylvian
- “Aguirre, the Wrath of God,” Popol Vuh
- “Things Can Only Get Better,” Howard Jones
- “New Song,” Howard Jones
- “MacArthur Park Suite,” Donna Summer
Capital Radio returns March 2 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 available on demand at cygnusradio.com. Older shows are posted at Substack.com/@rogercatlin.