John Prine had both the most-played album (The Tree of Forgiveness) and song (“Knockin’ On Your Screen Door”) on folk radio during 2018, according to 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. John McCutcheon was the year’s most-played artist, as he was in 2017.
Prine, an internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter, has been touring and plying his craft for nearly 50 years. He is in the running for three Grammy Awards in the American Roots Music field this year, having received nominations for Best Americana Album (The Tree of Forgiveness) and Best American Roots Song for both “Knockin’ On Your Screen Door” and “Summer’s End.” Prine’s album topped the Folk DJ chart in April of this year and also sported four of that month’s most-played songs on folk radio. The Tree of Forgiveness is Prine’s first collection of new material since his Grammy-winning 2005 release, Fair and Square.
To view the official video for John Prine’s “Knockin’ On Your Screen Door,” click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAYoWePzQ2c.
McCutcheon, who has been performing and recording since the mid-1970s, is a much-revered folksinger-songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist who plays a dozen different traditional instruments. A longtime labor and social activist, he is a founder and former president of Local 1000, the traveling acoustic musicians local of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). McCutcheon has keynoted conferences for two regional affiliates of Folk Alliance International in recent years. His latest release, Ghost Light, was the #2 album on folk radio in 2018 and also features three of the year’s 25 most-played songs (“This Road,” “She Just Dances,” and “The Machine”). McCutcheon’s classic “Christmas in the Trenches” tied for the most-played song on folk radio last December and has been among the most-played songs during the holiday season for years.
The 2018 year-end FOLKDJ-L charts are based on 176,768 airplays from 6844 playlists from 180 folk DJs. The number of reported spins (airplays) is shown below in parentheses. The top albums, songs and artists charts are compiled under the auspices of Folk Alliance International (www.folk.org), a nonprofit organization that aims to serve, strengthen, and engage the global folk music community through preservation, presentation and promotion.
Like the monthly Top Albums and Songs charts, these are posted on AcousticMusicScene.com with permission. More extensive versions of the year-end charts may be found online at http://www.folkradio.org/Charts/FolkDJChart2018.html.
Top Albums of 2018
1. The Tree of Forgiveness by John Prine (511)
2. Ghost Light by John McCucheon (489)
3. See You Around by I’m With Her (417)
4. True in Time by John Gorka (411)
5. Ready to Go by Reggie Harris (401)
6. Secularia by Eliza Gilkyson (396)
7. The Prodigal Son by Ry Cooder (381)
8. Shout and Shine by Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, and Sam Gleaves (374)
9. Low Tide by Tracy Grammer (366)
10. Black Cowboys by Dom Flemons (348)
11. Sweet Old Religion by Pharis and Jason Romero (347)
12. Time Is Everything by Vivian Leva (333)
13. Whistle Down the Wind by Joan Baez (328)
14. The Forgotten by Joe Jencks (327)
15. Didn’t He Ramble: Songs of Charlie Poole by David Davis and he Warrior River Boys (321)
16. Epilogue: A Tribute to John Duffey by Various Artists (314)
16. Armadillo on a Hot Tin Roof by Vi Wickam and Justin Branum (314)
18. Roses in November by Tret Fure (305)
19. The Broken Heart of Everything by David Francey (299)
20. The Lies the Poets Tell by Laurie MacAllister (298)
21. Hot Jazz, Cool Blues and Hard-Hitting Songs by Barbara Dane (290)
22. Horrible World by Kathy Kallick Band (287)
23. Open Road, Broken Heart by True North (283)
24. American Folk (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Various Artists (282)
25. Wings by Zoe Speaks (280)
Top Songs of 2018
1. “Knockin’ on Your Screen Door,” John Prine (112)
2. “The President Sang Amazing Grace,” Joan Baez (songwriter: Zoe Mulford) (92)
3. “Down by the Riverside,” Eliza Gilkyson (87)
4. “My Fence & My Neighbor,” Cosy Sheridan and Charlie Koch (76)
5. “Them and Us,” Chuck Brodsky (75)
6. “This Road,” John McCutcheon (72)
6. “Everybody Ought to Treat a Stranger Right,” Ry Cooder (72)
8. “Ready to Go,” Reggie Harris (70)
9. “Ain’t That Fie,” I’m With Her (65)
9. “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” Reggie Harris (65)
11. “Good Life,” Tracy Grammer (63)
11. “Why Are he Guns Still Firing,” Joe Jencks (63)
13. “She Just Dances,” John McCucheon (62)
14. “Lessons From Home Plate,” Tret Fure (62)
15. “The Machine,” John McCutcheon (61)
15. “Nazarene Guitar,” John Gorka (61)
17. “Lonesome Friends of Science,” John Prine (60)
18. “This Land Is Your Land,” Woody Guthrie (57)
18. “See You Around,” I’m With Her (57)
20. “When I Get to Heaven,” John Prine (56)
22. “Music for a Found Harmonium,” Patrick Street (55)
22. “Hole,” Tracy Grammer (55)
22. “Change Should’ve Come by Now,” Kate Campbell (55)
25. “Sweet Old Religion,” Pharis and Jason Romero (54)
25. “Cold Mountains,” Vivian Leva (54)
Top Artists of 2018
John McCutcheon was the most-played artist on folk radio during 2018, as he was in 2017. (Photo: Irene Young)
2. John Prine (785)
3. John Gorka (626)
4. Joan Baez (598)
5. Eliza Gilkyson (586)
6. Bob Dylan (572)
7. Joe Jencks (560)
8. Ry Cooder (478)
9. I’m With Her (456)
10. Pharis and Jason Romero (451)
11. Tom Russell (432)
12. Joel Mabus (429)
13. Tracy Grammer (422)
14. Pete Seeger (417)
15. Willie Nelson (412)
16. Reggie Harris (403)
16. Chuck Brodsky (403)
18. David Francey (383)
18. Kate Campbell (383)
20. Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer, and Sam Gleaves (374)
21. Dom Flemons (366)
22. Johnsmih (341)
22. Tret Fure (341)
24. Mary Chapin Carpenter (339)
25. Vivian Leva (334)
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