Bottomless Pit #142 -- DETROIT - "United Sound Systems" (Apr. 12, 2014)

#105- (7/6/13) Aug. 27, 2016- Duke/Peacock Records The slightly oddball thing about this one is that it’s a 2016 rerun version of a show from 2013- I couldn’t find the original show files.. Anyway, this is, musically one of the best BPs EVER, for my money- it’s a salute to the great record man/show-business entrepreneur Don Robey of Houston, Texas ca. 1949- 69 and his incredible family of record labels: Peacock, Duke, Back Beat, and all the others. We honor the legacy, celebrate the history, and revel in the sounds of The Blind Boys of Mississippi, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Johnny Ace, Willie Mae Thornton, The Sensational Nightingales, and all the rest. This one will, or should, definitely make you say God Bless America! https://marshallcrenshaw.com +++++ THE BOTTOMLESS PIT I did a one-hour radio show on New York’s WFUV from 2011-18, every Saturday night (until it got switched to Sunday nights during late 2017). But the show originally started on WKZE in the Hudson Valley during 2005-6; then I brought it back at the station’s request during 2010. (RIP, station owner Will Stanley.) I always loved doing the show and was proud of it. It was “a weekly roundup of items from my personal record collection”- a large percentage of the records that got played over the years were things that I had some kind of longstanding emotional connection with, but I also played lots of things that I happened to be discovering during the moment at hand.  It’s nice to be able to say that nobody at either station ever said a negative word to me about what I was playing, or suggested what I should be playing, etc., so the show was pure self-expression for me.  I eventually had to pull the plug on the whole thing for various reasons at the end of 2017, but thanks to a suggestion from webmaster Franklin Odel, I’ll be posting reruns of the show here on YouTube! Watch this space!.. MC

#123- original air-date: Nov. 23, 2013 Starting with the very first Bottomless Pit show back in 2005, “A Salute To the Fender Stratocaster” was an occasionally-recurring feature segment on the show throughout its entire history. On this episode I decided to go big and do the salute for all three segments- i.e. the entire show…  Over the years of course, a staggeringly diverse range of artistes have embraced the Stratocaster- this show begins at the very beginning with Sammy Pruitt, Thumbs Carlisle, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Otis Rush, et. al., and from there we go to other points on the map, mainly NYC, and hear Nile Rodgers, Robert Quine, Leni Stern, and of course many more. What could go wrong??.. https://marshallcrenshaw.com +++++ THE BOTTOMLESS PIT I did a one-hour radio show on New York’s WFUV from 2011-18, every Saturday night (until it got switched to Sunday nights during late 2017). But the show originally started on WKZE in the Hudson Valley during 2005-6; then I brought it back at the station’s request during 2010. (RIP, station owner Will Stanley.) I always loved doing the show and was proud of it. It was “a weekly roundup of items from my personal record collection”- a large percentage of the records that got played over the years were things that I had some kind of longstanding emotional connection with, but I also played lots of things that I happened to be discovering during the moment at hand.  It’s nice to be able to say that nobody at either station ever said a negative word to me about what I was playing, or suggested what I should be playing, etc., so the show was pure self-expression for me.  I eventually had to pull the plug on the whole thing for various reasons at the end of 2017, but thanks to a suggestion from webmaster Franklin Odel, I’ll be posting reruns of the show here on YouTube! Watch this space!.. MC

#244- September 10, 2016 A Tony Bennett salute! Tony’s gone now, but was alive and well on the original air-date of this Bottomless Pit show. Here’s my original post about it from back then: On this week’s Bottomless Pit, for nearly the full hour, we shine the audio spotlight on the utterly great Tony Bennett, who celebrated his 90th birthday on August 3rd. Phyllis Schlafly is dead and gone but Tony Bennett still lives, breathes, and sings! Sometimes there’s Righteousness in this world… Apologies for taking a cheap shot at Mrs. Schlafly, but I couldn’t resist; I think she’d just passed away when I wrote that post. Her name doesn’t come up at all during the program itself, I promise. Then the show shifts gears for part 3: We'll also hear some selections from a great CD that I just got my hands on (a friend gave me his copy, actually), called "Panorama City". It's a collaboration between Double-Naught Spy Car (genius, eclectic LA Rock band), and brilliant singer-songwriter Stew. This music will have you awe-struck and laughing and the same time. All this and more on this quite-good installment of The Best of The Bottomless Pit.. https://marshallcrenshaw.com +++++ THE BOTTOMLESS PIT I did a one-hour radio show on New York’s WFUV from 2011-18, every Saturday night (until it got switched to Sunday nights during late 2017). But the show originally started on WKZE in the Hudson Valley during 2005-6; then I brought it back at the station’s request during 2010. (RIP, station owner Will Stanley.) I always loved doing the show and was proud of it. It was “a weekly roundup of items from my personal record collection”- a large percentage of the records that got played over the years were things that I had some kind of longstanding emotional connection with, but I also played lots of things that I happened to be discovering during the moment at hand.  It’s nice to be able to say that nobody at either station ever said a negative word to me about what I was playing, or suggested what I should be playing, etc., so the show was pure self-expression for me.  I eventually had to pull the plug on the whole thing for various reasons at the end of 2017, but thanks to a suggestion from webmaster Franklin Odel, I’ll be posting reruns of the show here on YouTube! Watch this space!.. MC

Show #239- the Town of Woodstock, New York Over the years I almost never plugged my own projects on the show (sometimes I’d talk about them after the fact), but I did engage in cronyism many times. During this entire show I’m plugging, and exploring the contents of, a great book by my friend Barney Hoskyns, “Small Town Talk”.   Here’s what I said about it at the time: It's an in-depth survey of the musical legacy of the Town of Woodstock, NY, a place that I know super-well; I lived there from 1987 to 2005. Barney's book struck an emotional chord with me and was a vivid reading experience.  This Saturday on the show we'll hear lots of beautiful and brilliant stuff by Karen Dalton, Tim Hardin, Bob Dylan, Karl Berger, Sonia Malkine, Levon Helm, and various usual and unusual suspects. So, it’s another mini-documentary style installment of “The Best of The Bottlomless Pit w/ Marshall Crenshaw”. https://marshallcrenshaw.com +++++ THE BOTTOMLESS PIT I did a one-hour radio show on New York’s WFUV from 2011-18, every Saturday night (until it got switched to Sunday nights during late 2017). But the show originally started on WKZE in the Hudson Valley during 2005-6; then I brought it back at the station’s request during 2010. (RIP, station owner Will Stanley.) I always loved doing the show and was proud of it. It was “a weekly roundup of items from my personal record collection”- a large percentage of the records that got played over the years were things that I had some kind of longstanding emotional connection with, but I also played lots of things that I happened to be discovering during the moment at hand.  It’s nice to be able to say that nobody at either station ever said a negative word to me about what I was playing, or suggested what I should be playing, etc., so the show was pure self-expression for me.  I eventually had to pull the plug on the whole thing for various reasons at the end of 2017, but thanks to a suggestion from webmaster Franklin Odel, I’ll be posting reruns of the show here on YouTube! Watch this space!.. MC

This show revolves two favorite recording artists of mine, (1) guitar genius Bill Frisell, and (2)  the troubled, infamous, and pioneering UK record producer Joe Meek. During Pt. 1,  I pick up where I left off from the previous week’s show with a salute to Bill’s 2014 album, “Guitar In the Space Age”- I really flipped for that one when it came out.  This is what I had to say about Pts. 2 and 3 in the show’s original blog post: Then we'll hear a bunch of stuff that was filtered through the brilliant and deranged mind of legendary record producer (and murderer), Joe Meek. The building in London where he "Lived, Worked, and Died" is a National Historic Site!... His story is a tragic one, but the music lives on.. https://marshallcrenshaw.com +++++ THE BOTTOMLESS PIT I did a one-hour radio show on New York’s WFUV from 2011-18, every Saturday night (until it got switched to Sunday nights during late 2017). But the show originally started on WKZE in the Hudson Valley during 2005-6; then I brought it back at the station’s request during 2010. (RIP, station owner Will Stanley.) I always loved doing the show and was proud of it. It was “a weekly roundup of items from my personal record collection”- a large percentage of the records that got played over the years were things that I had some kind of longstanding emotional connection with, but I also played lots of things that I happened to be discovering during the moment at hand.  It’s nice to be able to say that nobody at either station ever said a negative word to me about what I was playing, or suggested what I should be playing, etc., so the show was pure self-expression for me.  I eventually had to pull the plug on the whole thing for various reasons at the end of 2017, but thanks to a suggestion from webmaster Franklin Odel, I’ll be posting reruns of the show here on YouTube! Watch this space!.. MC

One of the last Bottomless Pit shows. Once the show switched to Sunday nights, I was then occupying part of what had been, for 30+ years, Rich Conaty’s time slot. His show, “The Big Broadcast” was a NY radio institution; he was a fanatic for, and authority on, early Jazz, and the Popular Music of the 1920s and 30s. His show was amazing, and he was a great guy. After he was gone, every three, four, or five weeks I would pay tribute to him, and to the era of music that he always explored so brilliantly. This show is an “all-Brit Edition”, featuring Ray Noble, George Formby, Vera Lynn, Ambrose and His Orchestra, et.al, plus we sneak back over to the US to hear The Mills Brothers, and The Boswell Sisters, Rich’s two favorite vocal groups, and two of mine. https://marshallcrenshaw.com +++++ THE BOTTOMLESS PIT I did a one-hour radio show on New York’s WFUV from 2011-18, every Saturday night (until it got switched to Sunday nights during late 2017). But the show originally started on WKZE in the Hudson Valley during 2005-6; then I brought it back at the station’s request during 2010. (RIP, station owner Will Stanley.) I always loved doing the show and was proud of it. It was “a weekly roundup of items from my personal record collection”- a large percentage of the records that got played over the years were things that I had some kind of longstanding emotional connection with, but I also played lots of things that I happened to be discovering during the moment at hand.  It’s nice to be able to say that nobody at either station ever said a negative word to me about what I was playing, or suggested what I should be playing, etc., so the show was pure self-expression for me.  I eventually had to pull the plug on the whole thing for various reasons at the end of 2017, but thanks to a suggestion from webmaster Franklin Odel, I’ll be posting reruns of the show here on YouTube! Watch this space!.. MC

#43- circa 2011-12: "A Salute to the Fender Jazzmaster" One from the very early days of the Bottomless Pit on WFUV (I don’t have the exact broadcast dates on the first few dozen shows because of the weird way I used to index them). This one starts off with a two-part salute to the Fender Jazzmaster, which is of course an iconic American object from the mind of American genius Leo Fender. It made its debut in the Fender catalog in 1959, is of course still popular, and has been used over the years in ways that Leo Fender never could’ve imagined. His intent was to create an instrument for the Jazz guitarists of the day- it didn’t quite work out that way, but again, the instrument is still beloved, and still inspiring people. I’ve had a couple of nice ones over the years, but I mostly like to hear other people play them. Tune in and hear the sounds of Lightnin’ Slim, Roy Lanham, Rich Fifield, Tom Verlaine, Nels Cline, and other legends. And then Pt. 3 of the show is another tribute to the late great Cub Koda- just a brief one this time, but worthy. https://marshallcrenshaw.com +++++ THE BOTTOMLESS PIT I did a one-hour radio show on New York’s WFUV from 2011-18, every Saturday night (until it got switched to Sunday nights during late 2017). But the show originally started on WKZE in the Hudson Valley during 2005-6; then I brought it back at the station’s request during 2010. (RIP, station owner Will Stanley.) I always loved doing the show and was proud of it. It was “a weekly roundup of items from my personal record collection”- a large percentage of the records that got played over the years were things that I had some kind of longstanding emotional connection with, but I also played lots of things that I happened to be discovering during the moment at hand.  It’s nice to be able to say that nobody at either station ever said a negative word to me about what I was playing, or suggested what I should be playing, etc., so the show was pure self-expression for me.  I eventually had to pull the plug on the whole thing for various reasons at the end of 2017, but thanks to a suggestion from webmaster Franklin Odel, I’ll be posting reruns of the show here on YouTube! Watch this space!.. MC

Best of Bottomless Pit w/ Marshall Crenshaw #224 “Americana” - from Mar. 12, 2016 Most of what I played over the years could be described as Americana of one kind or another- on this show we get into the “Americana”, genre, with Kurt Vile, Porter Wagoner, Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, et. al. +++++ THE BOTTOMLESS PIT I did a one-hour radio show on New York’s WFUV from 2011-18, every Saturday night (until it got switched to Sunday nights during late 2017). But the show originally started on WKZE in the Hudson Valley during 2005-6; then I brought it back at the station’s request during 2010. (RIP, station owner Will Stanley.) I always loved doing the show and was proud of it. It was “a weekly roundup of items from my personal record collection”- a large percentage of the records that got played over the years were things that I had some kind of longstanding emotional connection with, but I also played lots of things that I happened to be discovering during the moment at hand.  It’s nice to be able to say that nobody at either station ever said a negative word to me about what I was playing, or suggested what I should be playing, etc., so the show was pure self-expression for me.  I eventually had to pull the plug on the whole thing for various reasons at the end of 2017, but thanks to a suggestion from webmaster Franklin Odel, I’ll be posting reruns of the show here on YouTube! Watch this space!.. MC

#190- from May 16, 2015 A salute to one of the greatest American record labels ever, ESP-Disc Records, a label that went where others dared not go. They elevated the culture. We hear The Fugs, Albert Ayler, Pearls Before Swine, Karl Berger, Sun Ra, The Godz, and many more. I only regret that I didn’t know about Patty Waters at the time, otherwise she’d have been included. +++++ THE BOTTOMLESS PIT I did a one-hour radio show on New York’s WFUV from 2011-18, every Saturday night (until it got switched to Sunday nights during late 2017). But the show originally started on WKZE in the Hudson Valley during 2005-6; then I brought it back at the station’s request during 2010. (RIP, station owner Will Stanley.) I always loved doing the show and was proud of it. It was “a weekly roundup of items from my personal record collection”- a large percentage of the records that got played over the years were things that I had some kind of longstanding emotional connection with, but I also played lots of things that I happened to be discovering during the moment at hand.  It’s nice to be able to say that nobody at either station ever said a negative word to me about what I was playing, or suggested what I should be playing, etc., so the show was pure self-expression for me.  I eventually had to pull the plug on the whole thing for various reasons at the end of 2017, but thanks to a suggestion from webmaster Franklin Odel, I’ll be posting reruns of the show here on YouTube! Watch this space!.. MC

United Sound Systems, Detroit #142- original air-date, Apr. 12, 2014   On this show we salute a real fountainhead of American popular music, namely legendary Detroit recording studio, United Sound Systems. No studio ever had a more monumental legacy than this place; on this show we cover a pretty wide gamut but only manage to scratch the surface. We hear from John Lee Hooker, The MC5, Charlie Parker, T-Bone Walker. George Clinton, The Gaylords, Aretha Franklin, (a band called) Death, on and on.. Another mini-documentary. +++++ THE BOTTOMLESS PIT I did a one-hour radio show on New York’s WFUV from 2011-18, every Saturday night (until it got switched to Sunday nights during late 2017). But the show originally started on WKZE in the Hudson Valley during 2005-6; then I brought it back at the station’s request during 2010. (RIP, station owner Will Stanley.) I always loved doing the show and was proud of it. It was “a weekly roundup of items from my personal record collection”- a large percentage of the records that got played over the years were things that I had some kind of longstanding emotional connection with, but I also played lots of things that I happened to be discovering during the moment at hand.  It’s nice to be able to say that nobody at either station ever said a negative word to me about what I was playing, or suggested what I should be playing, etc., so the show was pure self-expression for me.  I eventually had to pull the plug on the whole thing for various reasons at the end of 2017, but thanks to a suggestion from webmaster Franklin Odel, I’ll be posting reruns of the show here on YouTube! Watch this space!.. MC