Joe Hill’s Last Will by John McCutcheon was the most-played album on folk radio during May 2015, closely followed by Sue Massek’s Precious Memories. The title track of McCutcheon’s latest album was the most-played song during the month. So say charts compiled by Richard Gillmann from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio.
McCutcheon, a veteran folksinger, multi-instrumentalist and longtime labor activist and leader of Local 1000, the traveling musicians union, released Joe Hill’s Last Will to mark the centenary of the death of the songwriter for the Industrial Workers of the World (the Wobblies). Joe Hill’s Last Will is also a one-man show written by Si Kahn — a renowned folksinger, songwriter, author and community activist — and starring McCutcheon.
Precious Memories, a recording of Si Kahn’s one-woman musical play, features Massek of Kentucky’s Reel World String Band portraying Sarah Ogan Gunning, a singer and songwriter from eastern Kentucky’s coal-mining region, whose songs were recorded by Alan Lomax in the late 1930s and who was rediscovered in the 1960s.
The May 2015 FOLKDJ-L charts are based on 14,634 airplays from 145 different DJs. The number of reported spins (airplays) is shown below in parentheses, while label and release date appear in brackets. They are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission.
Top Albums of May 2015
1: Joe Hill’s Last Will, John McCutcheon [Appalsongs, 5/15] (137)
2: Precious Memories, Sue Massek [Strictly Country, 4/15] (129)
3: Tangled Country, The Honey Dewdrops [thehoneydewdrops.com, 3/15] (78)
4: Della Mae, Della Mae [Rounder, 5/15] (76)
5: The Newpart, April Verch [Slab Town, 4/15] (65)
6: What I’m Lookin’ For, Dan Weber [Highway 142, 3/15] (64)
7: Owls, Danny Schmidt [Live Once, 5/15] (60)
8: A Wanderer I’ll Stay, Pharis And Jason Romero [Lula, 3/15] (55)
9: Mother Country, Dave Crossland [Folk Era, 4/15] (51)
10: The Social Music Hour Vol. 1, Spuyten Duyvil [spuytenduyvilmusic.com, 3/15] (47)
11: The Rose Of Roscrae: A Ballad Of The West, Tom Russell [Frontera, 4/15] (46)
12: Tell Tale Heart, Chuck Brodsky [chuckbrodsky.com, 3/15] (45)
13: Tetu, Le Vent Du Nord [Borealis, 3/15] (40)
14: Fall Is A Good Time To Die, Jami Lynn [jamilynnmusic.com, 4/15] (39)
14: The Night Tribe, Jimmy Lafave [Music Road, 5/15] (39)
16: Anna And Elizabeth, Anna And Elizabeth [Free Dirt, 3/15] (37)
17: Power In The Blood, Buffy Sainte-Marie [True North, new] (36)
18: Jayme Stone’s Lomax Project, Jayme Stone [Borealis, 2/15] (35)
18: Sundown Over Ghost Town, Eilen Jewell [Signature, 5/15] (35)
20: Still She Will Fly (EP), Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio [Vessel, new] (34)
21: Sun Might Shine On Me, Grant Dermody [grantdermody.com, 5/15] (33)
22: Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry, The Hillbenders [Compass, new] (32)
23: Starlight Highway, Corinne West [Make, new] (31)
23: Tim May And Steve Smith, Tim May And Steve Smith [Desert Night, new] (31)
25: Room To Run (EP), Jack Tempchin [Blue Elan, 5/15] (30)
26: The Hour Before, Elaine Romanelli [elaineromanelli.com, 4/15] (29)
27: Such Jubilee, Mandolin Orange [Yep Roc, 5/15] (28)
28: Can’t Forget, Leonard Cohen [Columbia, new] (27)
28: Dear Jean: Artists Celebrate Jean Ritchie, Various Artists [Compass, 9/14] (27)
28: Spinning Yarns, Norah Rendell [Two Tap, 3/15] (27)
31: Brighter Every Day, Trout Steak Revival [troutsteak.com, 3/15] (26)
31: The Faster It Goes, The Railsplitters [Self, new] (26)
31: Pandemonium, Moors And McCumber [moorsandmccumber.com, 12/14] (26)
34: Violets Are Blue, Rani Arbo And Daisy Mayhem [Signature, 3/15] (25)
34: Wilder Days, Natasha Borzilova [Hadley, 4/15] (25)
36: Celtic Folk, The John Byrne Band [Ri-Ra, 3/15] (24)
36: Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions, Robert Earl Keen [Dualtone, 2/15] (24)
36: The Lied To’s, The Lied To’s [Hollow Body, 2/15] (24)
36: Rise From The Storm, Joanne Lurgio [Self, 3/15] (24)
40: Something In The Water, Pokey LaFarge [Rounder, 4/15] (23)
40: Walk On Solid Ground, Gene And Gayla Mills [Heart Pine, 4/15] (23)
42: Brotherhood, The Gibson Brothers [Rounder, 2/15] (22)
42: Leave Some Things Behind, The Steel Wheels [Big Ring, 4/15] (22)
42: Laurie & Kathy Sing The Songs Of Vern And Ray, Laurie Lewis And Kathy Kallick [Spruce And Maple, 8/14] (22)
42: The Traveling Kind, Emmylou Harris And Rodney Crowell [Nonesuch, new] (22)
42: Woody Pines, Woody Pines [Muddy Roots, new] (22)
47: One, Natalie MacMaster And Donnell Leahy [Linus, 4/15] (21)
48: Further West, Hungrytown [Listen Here!, new] (20)
48: The Longest River, Olivia Chaney [Nonesuch, new] (20)
50: The 45th Parallel, Neptune’s Car [neptunescar.com, 1/15] (19)
50: True And Blue, Hans Theessink And Terry Evans [Blue Groove, 4/15] (19)
52: Best Medicine, The Stray Birds [Yep Roc, 10/14] (18)
52: Looking Back: Our American Irish Souls, The Burns Sisters [Sisters, 1/15] (18)
52: The Many Hats Of Jory Nash, Jory Nash [Thin Man, 2/15] (18)
52: Songs My Mother Taught Me, Fannie Lou Hamer [Smithsonian/Folkways, new] (18)
52: Tomorrow You’re Going, The Pine Hill Project [Signature, 3/15] (18)
57: Citizen, Todd Grebe And Cold Country [Cold Country, 4/15] (17)
58: Little Hinges, Qristina And Quinn Bachand [Beacon Ridge, 1/15] (16)
58: The Red Album, Red Molly [redmolly.com, 4/14] (16)
60: Baladista, Joel Rafael [Inside, 4/15] (15)
60: Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn [Rounder, 10/14] (15)
60: Get Ready, The Revelers [Self, new] (15)
60: The Longing Road, Johnsmith [johnsmithmusic.com, 7/14] (15)
60: Me Oh My, The Honeycutters [Organic, 4/15] (15)
60: Rise And Fall, Dayna Kurtz [M. C., 3/15] (15)
60: Sound And Color, Alabama Shakes [ATO, new] (15)
60: Tether My Heart, Hannah Shira Naiman [Merriweather, 2013] (15)
60: Tree Of Life, Guy Carawan [Flying Fish, 1990] (15)
60: Trust, The Levins [thelevinsmusic.com, 1/15] (15)
60: When I’m Free, Hot Rize [Ten In Hand, 9/14] (15)
Top Songs of May 2015
Sue Massek portrays Sarah Ogan Gunning in Si Kahn’s one-woman musical play, Precious Memories, during the Southeast Regional Folk Alliance (SERFA) Conference in North Carolina in May. A recording of the show was among the month’s most-played albums and featured a few of the top songs on folk radio.
(Photo: Michael Kornfeld)
1. “Joe Hill’s Last Will” (25)
by John McCutcheon
from Joe Hill’s Last Will
2. “Oh Woody” (23)
by Dan Weber
from What I’m Lookin’ For
3. “Same Old” (20)
by The Honey Dewdrops
from Tangled Country
4. “Boston Town” (19)
by Della Mae
from Della Mae
4. “Rebel Girl” (19)
by John McCutcheon
from Joe Hill’s Last Will
6. “Casey Jones” (17)
by John McCutcheon
from Joe Hill’s Last Will
6. “Come All You Coal Miners” (17)
by Sue Massek
from Precious Memories
6. “Down On The Picket Line” (17)
by Sue Massek
from Precious Memories
9. “Still She Will Fly” (15)
by Heather Pierson Acoustic Trio
from Still She Will Fly (EP)
10. “It’s A Long Way To The Soup Line” (14)
by John McCutcheon
from Joe Hill’s Last Will
10. “No Expectations” (14)
by Della Mae
from Della Mae
10. “What We Want” (14)
by John McCutcheon
from Joe Hill’s Last Will
13. “Pinball Wizard” (13)
by Hillbenders
from Tommy: A Bluegrass Opery
14. “I Am A Union Woman” (12)
by Sue Massek
from Precious Memories
14. “I Heard The Bluebirds Sing” (12)
by April Verch
from The Newpart
14. “Preacher And The Slave” (12)
by John McCutcheon
from Joe Hill’s Last Will
14. “Precious Memories” (12)
by Sue Massek
from Precious Memories
14. “There Is Power In A Union” (12)
by John McCutcheon
from Joe Hill’s Last Will
19. “2000 Friends” (11)
by Chuck Brodsky
from Tell Tale Heart
19. “Dancing With My Mother” (11)
by Rachel Bissex
from Don’t Look Down
also In White Light
19. “Dying Soldier” (11)
by Pharis And Jason Romero
from A Wanderer I’ll Stay
19. “Faith Will Always Rise” (11)
by Danny Schmidt
from Owls
19. “I Remember America” (11)
by Dave Crossland
from Mother Country
19. “Room To Run” (11)
by Jack Tempchin
from Room To Run (EP)
25. “Fair Share Blues” (10)
by The Honey Dewdrops
from Tangled Country
25. “I Don’t Want Your Millions Mister” (10)
by Sue Massek
from Precious Memories
25. “Loneliest Songs” (10)
by The Honey Dewdrops
from Tangled Country
25. “Lowlands” (10)
by The Honey Dewdrops
from Tangled Country
25. “Make Me A Pallet” (10)
by Spuyten Duyvil
from The Social Music Hour Vol. 1
25. “Summertime Bum” (10)
by Jack Tempchin
from Room To Run (EP)
25. “Take One Day” (10)
by Della Mae
from Della Mae
25. “To Ohio” (10)
by Della Mae
from Della Mae
25. “We Shall Overcome” (10)
by Guy Carawan
from Classic Protest Songs
){kind=link}
Like/Follow Us!