Top Albums, Songs – October 2018 (FOLKDJ-L)

Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots and Branches by Various Artists was the top album on folk radio during October 2018, while singer-songwriter John Flynn had the month’s #1 song (“She Persisted”). So say charts compiled from radio playlists submitted to FOLKDJ-L, an electronic discussion group for DJs and others interested in all folk-based music on the radio.
The October 2018 FOLKDJ-L charts are based on 14,886 airplays reported on 641 playlists submitted by 136 different DJs. The number of reported spins is shown below in parentheses. The top albums and songs charts are compiled under the auspices of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation, and promotion. The monthly top albums and songs charts are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com, with permission.

A three-CD retrospective collection, Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots & Branches, features socially conscious contemporary, folk and roots music by a wide array of established and lesser-known musicians who have recorded for Appleseed Recordings. Founded by activist attorney Jim Musselman, the Pennsylvania-based independent label is dedicated to “sowing the seeds of social justice through music and exploring the roots and branches of folk and world music” and contributes a percentage of its profits to environmental, human rights, and other progressive organizations.

The collection’s 57 tracks include a few previously unreleased songs by Donovan, John Wesley Harding, Tom Morello, Tim Robbins, Bruce Springsteen, Jesse Winchester, and more. Among the other featured artists are Eric Andersen, Joan Baez, Billy Bragg, David Bromberg, Jackson Browne, Aoife Clancy, Johnny Clegg, Judy Collins, Ani DiFranco, Lila Downs, Jonathan Edwards, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Dick Gaughan, John Gorka, Emmylou Harris, Kim & Reggie Harris, Levon Helm, Anne Hills, Rev. Robert B. Jones, Sharon Katz & the Peace Train, Dolores Keane, The Kennedys, Roger McGuinn, Natalie Merchant, Tom Paxton, Joel Rafael Band, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Rush, Tom Russell, Tommy Sands, Pete Seeger and his siblings Mike and Peggy, Al Stewart, John Stewart, and Sweet Honey in the Rock.

John Flynn, a folk-rock troubadour and social justice activist following in the footsteps of Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs and Pete Seeger, has been performing and recording for more than three decades. He has brought his powerful voice and songs to stages at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, among others. “She Persisted” is from his latest release, Vintage. Here’s a link to the song’s lyrics on his website: https://www.johnflynn.net/jfnet/lyrics/she_persisted.htm.

Top Albums of October 2018

1. Appleseed’s 21st Anniversary: Roots and Branches by Various Artists (111)
2. Horrible World by Kathy Kallick Band (87)
3. Live at the CMA Theater in the Country Music Hall of Fame by Earls of Leicester (83)
4. Vintage by John Flynn (77)
5. Little Beast by Lucy Wainwright Roche (74)
6. Grenades by Kaia Kater (72)
7. Everyday Street by Lucy Kaplansky (67)
7. Music of Our People by Darol Anger and Emy Phelps (67)
7. Pretty Bird by Kathy Mattea (67)
10. Damn Sure Blue by Kate Campbell (66)
11. The Bloom of Youth by Childsplay (64)
12. Family Recipe by Michael Jerling (54)
13. Last Day on This Earth by David Roth (50)
14. Home for the Harvest by Craig Bickhardt (49)
15. Royal Traveller by Missy Raines (47)
16. Songs of the Plains by Colter Wall (45)
17. Make Your Own Luck by Mustard’s Retreat (40)
18. Secularia by Eliza Gilkyson (39)
19. Dead Reckoning by Jellyman’s Daughter (38)
20. One at a Time by George Mann (37)
20. Nowthen by Rich Krueger (37)
20. Wings by Zoe Speaks (37)
23. Acrobats by Moors and McCumber (36)
24. Reckless Abandon by Susan Shann (34)
25. Reflection by Andy and Judy (33)
25. March Though Storms by House of Hammil (33)
27. Roses in November by Tret Fure (32)
27. Shout and Shine by Fink, Marxer & Gleaves (32)
29. Ready to Go by Reggie Harris (31)
29. The Hermit’s Spyglass by Ben Bedford (31)
29. 40th Anniversary Bash by Hot Rize (31)
29. The Tree of Forgiveness by John Prine (31)
33. Sing Me Back Home: The DC Tapes by Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard (29)
34. This Too Shall Light by Amy Helm (28)
35. Invisible Forces by The Whispering Tree (27)
35. Didn’t He Ramble: Songs of Charlie Poole by David Davis and the Warrior River Boys (27)
37. Black Cowboys by Dom Flemons (25)
37. Lucky Star by Brooks Williams (25)
39. No One Travels Alone by Jon Brooks (24)
39. Welcome to the Ether by Wes Collins (24)
41. The Broken Heart of Everything by David Francey (23)
41. Sentimental Season by Randall Kromm (23)
41. Holler by Amy Ray (23)
41. Kanawha County Flatpicking by Tyler Grant and Robin Kessinger (23)
41. Homestead Hands by Lark and the Loon (23)
41. Years in the Making by Loudon Wainwright III (23)
41. Beginning Again by Rod Macdonald (23)
48. Lovers Tree by Claudia Russell and Bruce Kaplan (22)
49. 2018 by Holly Near (21)
49. Armadillo on a Hot Tin Roof by Vi Wickam and Justin Branum (21)
49. Don’t Apologize by Beth Snapp (21)
49. Been on Your Side by Courtney Hartman and Taylor Ashton (21)
53. Rize Up by Roy Zimmerman (20)
53. Hot Jazz, Cool Blues and Hard-Hitting Songs by Barbara Dane (20)
53. Help Me to Believe by Charlie Koch (20)
53. Glory Bound by Wooks (20)
53. Ghost Light by John McCutcheon (20)
58. Triumph by Kate Callahan (19)
58. Some People I Know by The Brother Brothers (19)
58. A Good Dog Is Lost by Ken Tizzard (19)
58. Vote by Mike Laureanno (19)
58. Time to Fly by Mare Wakefield and Nomad (19)
58. The River and the Light by Martha Scanlan (19)
58. True in Time by John Gorka (19)
65. Full Detroit by Paul Sachs (18)
65. Come Hell or High Water by Malcolm Holcombe (18)
65. See You Around by I’m With Her (18)
65. Letters Never Read by Dori Freeman (18)
69. Supposed to Fly by David Graff (17)
69. Dying Star by Ruston Kelly (17)
69. Wilderness Years by Jory Nash (17)
69. Quarter Past Tonight by Chicago Farmer (17)
69. The Lies the Poets Tell by Laurie MacAllister (17)

Top Songs of October 2018

1. “She Persisted” by John Flynn (15)
2. “Soft Line” by Lucy Wainwright Roche (14)
2. “Steady as She Goes” by Craig Bickhardt (14)
2. “New Colossus” by Kaia Kater (14)
2. “Vote ‘Em Out” by Willie Nelson (14)
6. “If I Had a Hammer” by Bruce Springsteen (13)
6. “Up on the Roof” by Darol Anger and Emy Phelps (13)
6. “Sing Me on My Way” by John Flynn (13)
6. “Trouble” by Lucy Wainwright Roche (13)
6. “Saskatchewan in 1881” by Colter Wall (13)
11. “Voting Day” by Mike Laureanno (12)
11. “Let in the Song” by John Flynn (12)
11. “Swept Away” by Missy Raines (12)
11. “Pockets Full of Rain” by Kathy Kallick Band (12)
11. “Old Friends” by Lucy Kaplansky (12)
11. “Where Are You Tonight I Wonder” by Childsplay (12)
11. “When Fall Comes to New England” by Cheryl Wheeler (12)
18. “Damn Sure Blue” by Kate Campbell (11)
18. “That’s Why Republicans Hate Trains” by Michael Jerling (11)
18. “Canyonland” by Kaia Kater (11)
18. “Quit With Me” by Lucy Wainwright Roche (11)
22. “Salty Dog Blues” by Earls of Leicester (10)
22. “Is It Too Much to Ask” by David Roth (10)
22. “Train of Zombies” by Randall Kromm (10)
22. “If I Had a Hammer”(excerpt)” by Pete Seeger (10)
22. “I Hope” by Jellyman’s Daughter (10)
22. “Little Falcon” by Ben Bedford (10)
22. “Sailing Off to Yankeeland” by Childsplay (10)
22. “October Song” by Kathy Mattea (10)