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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
Woody Guthrie (Woody Guthrie Plays Folk Songs) - Oregon Trail
Richard Marx (Hazard Single) - Hazard ("...and leave this old Nebraska town"; there is a very small town called Hazard in Sherman County, Nebraska)
Michael Murphey (Blue Sky Night Thunder) - Wildfire ("On a cold Nebraska night...")
Paul And Margie (Twenty Best Folk Songs Of America) - Sweet Betsy From Pike (probably about the Oregon Trail)
Bruce Springsteen (Nebraska) - Nebraska
Daryl Hall And John Oates (Abandoned Luncheonette) - Las Vegas Turnaround
Billy Joel (Piano Man) - Stop In Nevada
Mark Knopfler (Sailing To Philadelphia) - Sands Of Nevada
REM (Reveal) - All The Way To Reno (suggested by Bernard Davis)
Prefab Sprout (From Langley Park To Memphis) - The King Of Rock 'N' Roll (mention of Albuquerque)
Eric McEuen, a native New Mexican, kindly sent me these additional suggestions which I'm delighted to include here:
Deuter (Land of Enchantment) - Santa Fe (New Age instrumental)
Bill and Bonnie Hearne (Diamonds in the Rough) - New Mexico Rain
Tish Hinojosa (Culture Swing) - By the Rio Grande ("Reynosa to Santa Fe, and back the other way/I've had my life planned by the Rio Grande")
Tish Hinojosa (Taos to Tennessee) - Taos to Tennessee
Rent (original cast recording) - Santa Fe
Townes Van Zandt (At My Window) - Snowin' On Raton (except for the title phrase, which recurs every chorus, this song is more a philosophical meditation than a regional piece)
David Wilcox (The Nightshift Watchman) - Gone to Santa Fe
The old classic "Route 66" mentions "Gallup, New Mexico" (appears on, among others, Michael Martin Murphey's "Land of Enchantment" and Asleep At The Wheel's "Route 66")
Bee Gees (Main Course) - Nights On Broadway
Bob And Earl (25 Years Of Rock And Roll 1969) - Harlem Shuffle
Kate Bush (Red Shoes) - Moments Of Pleasure (suggested by Bernard Davis, who says it describes a meeting in New York City: "The buildings of New York, look just like mountains through the snow")
Marc Cohn (Burning The Daze) - Ellis Island
Judy Collins (Who Knows Where The Time Goes) - Poor Immigrant
Neil Diamond (Greatest Hits) - Brooklyn Roads
Eric Gemsa (Acoustic Moods) - Long Island
Albert Hammond (Very Best Of) - New York City Here I Come
Billy Joel (Turnstiles) - New York State Of Mind
Ben E King - Spanish Harlem (also recorded by many other artists)
Jackie Leven (The Mystery Of Love Is Greater Than The Mystery Of Death) - Snow In Central Park
Kirsty MacColl And The Pogues (Galore) - Fairytale Of New York
Kirsty MacColl (Electric Landlady) - Walking Down Madison (Madison Avenue)
Aimee Mann (Whatever) - Fifty Years After The Fair (about the New York World's Fair)
Matthews' Southern Comfort (Best Of) - Woodstock
David McWilliams (The Days Of Pearly Spencer) - Harlem Lady
Van Morrison (Tupelo Honey) - Old Old Woodstock
Bob Seger And The Silver Bullet Band (It's A Mystery) - Manhattan
Prefab Sprout (From Langley Park To Memphis) - Hey Manhattan!
Simon And Garfunkel (Collection) - Fifty-Ninth Street Bridge Song
Simon And Garfunkel (Bridge Over Troubled Water) - The Only Living Boy In New York
Frank Sinatra - Theme From New York, New York
Bruce Springsteen - The Rising (album) (many of the songs on this album relate directly or indirectly to the terrorist attacks of 11-Sep-01)
Steely Dan (Katy Lied) - Daddy Don't Live In That New York City No More
Al Stewart (To Whom It May Concern/Love Chronicles) - In Brooklyn
Al Stewart (24 Carrots) - Murmansk Run/Ellis Island
Sting (Best Of) - Englishman In New York
Ten C.C./Godley And Creme (Changing Faces) - An Englishman In New York
Ten C.C./Godley And Creme (Changing Faces) - Wall Street Shuffle
Tuck And Patti (Learning How To Fly) - Woodstock
U2 (Rattle And Hum) - Angel Of Harlem
Jennifer Warnes (Famous Blue Raincoat) - First We Take Manhattan (written by and has also been recorded by Leonard Cohen)
See also Appalachia and The Carolinas
If you have any better suggestions please email me using the link at the bottom of this page
Bruce Springsteen (The Ghost Of Tom Joad) - Youngstown
Unknown Artist - (Television's Greatest Hits 70's/80's) - WKRP In Cincinnati
Paul And Margie (Twenty Best Folk Songs Of America) - Oklahoma Hills (I think Arlo Guthrie has also recorded this song)
Gene Pitney - Twenty-Four Hours From Tulsa
Poco (Rose Of Cimarron) - Rose Of Cimarron
Stephen O'Connell of Stillwater, Oklahoma, kindly sent me this suggestion:
I have a recommendation for your songs section. The song "Never Been To Spain" (Harmony) by Three Dog Night (more well known for "Joy To The World" - "...Jeremiah was a bullfrog...") is very popular in Oklahoma. The chorus is as follows: "...Well, I've never been to heaven; But I've been to Oklahoma...". I had never heard this song until I came here last year, but it seems to me it's a sin not to know it if you are a native Okie. Not being a native of Oklahoma, I can't say for sure that this song would fit in your play list, but I feel that if everyone in this state knows the song by heart, it's got to be culturally significant in some way.
Stills-Young Band (Long May You Run) - Long May You Run (includes the words "Well, it was back in Blind River in 1962, when I last saw you alive" (referring to a car that Neil Young used to own, apparently.)
If you have any better suggestions please email me using the link at the bottom of this page
Wayne Gratz (Panorama) - Allegheny
Daryl Hall (Soul Alone) - I'm In A Philly Mood
Daryl Hall And John Oates (The Provider) - Fall In Philadelphia
Elton John (Very Best Of) - Philadelphia Freedom
Mark Knopfler (Sailing To Philadelphia) - Sailing To Philadelphia (about Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, who surveyed the Mason-Dixon Line)
Bruce Springsteen (Greatest Hits) - Streets Of Philadelphia
Say ZuZu (Bull) - Pennsylvania
Eric Tingstad (Narada Collection 5) - Monongahela (a river in Pennsylvania)
Brooks Williams (Back To Mercy) - Mason-Dixon Line
La Bottine Souriante (Rock And Reel) - Arin Québec
Outlaws (Lady In Waiting) - South Carolina
Bruce Springsteen (Born In The USA) - Darlington County
See also The Carolinas
William Ellwood (Narada Collection 5) - Dakota
Nik Kershaw - Wounded Knee
Robbie Robertson And The Red Road Ensemble (Music For The Native Americans) - Ghost Dance
Buffy Sainte-Marie - Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
Patti Smith Group (Easter) - Ghost Dance
Bruce Springsteen (Darkness On The Edge Of Town) - Badlands
Jesse Colin Young (Best Of) - Before You Came ("I dreamed that I was riding in a South Dakota field...")
Jimmy Buffett (Living And Dying In 3/4 Time) - West Nashville Grand Ballroom Gown
Marc Cohn (Marc Cohn) - Walking In Memphis
Fools Gold (Fools Gold) - Old Tennessee (this song was also recorded by its author, Dan Fogelberg, but I marginally prefer the Fools Gold version)
WC Handy - Memphis Blues
Lovin' Spoonful (The Collection) - Nashville Cats
Lovin' Spoonful (The Collection) - Never Goin' Back ("to Nashville any more")
Glenn Miller Orchestra - Chattanooga Choo-Choo
J.J. Milteau (Acoustic Moods) - Tennessee Moonlight
Joni Mitchell (Hejira) - Furry Sings The Blues
Monkees (Then And Now) - Last Train To Clarksville
Mott The Hoople (25 Years Of Rock And Roll 1973) - All The Way From Memphis
Maria Muldaur (Maria Muldaur) - My Tennessee Mountain Home
Michael Martin Murphey (The Horse Legends) - Tennessee Stud
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (Hold On) - Tennessee
Pere Ubu (Cooking Vinyl Sampler Volume 4) - Memphis
Jimmy Buffet (Living And Dying In 3/4 Time) - Livingston's Gone To Texas
Glen Campbell (Twenty Golden Greats) - Wichita Lineman (Leon Unruh sent me an email saying: "Glen Campbell was quoted as saying that 'Wichita Lineman' was set around Wichita Falls, Texas, which in Texas is often simply called 'Wichita'.")
Glen Campbell (Twenty Golden Greats) - Galveston
Tony Christie - Is This The Way To Amarillo (this is the title listed in "British Hit Singles" but various web sites list it as "Show Me The Way To Amarillo", "The Way To Amarillo", "Way To Amarillo" or just "Amarillo")
Doobie Brothers (Best Of) - China Grove (there are three small towns of this name in Texas and a few in other states; the song would appear to about the one near San Antonio, Texas)
Doobie Brothers (Stampede) - Texas Lullaby
Doors (L.A. Woman) - The Wasp/Texas Radio And The Big Beat
Robert Earl Keen - Front Porch Song
Robert Earl Keen, Pat Green, Lyle Lovett And Roger Creager - Amarillo Highway
Waylon Jennings And Willie Nelson - Luckenbach, Texas
Pat Metheny And Lyle Mays (As Falls Wichita So Falls Wichita Falls) - As Falls Wichita So Falls Wichita Falls
Monkees (Then And Now) - What Am I Doing Hangin' Round (mention of San Antonio)
Chris Rea (Water Sign) - Texas
Chris Rea (The Road To Hell) - Texas (the two songs by Chris Rea both called "Texas" are completely different to each other)
Marty Robbins (25 Years Of Rock And Roll 1960) - El Paso
Michelle Shocked (Short Sharp Shocked) - Memories Of East Texas
Bruce Springsteen (The Ghost Of Tom Joad) - Galveston Bay
George Strait - Amarillo By Morning (recommended by Leon Unruh)
Unknown Artist - (Television's Greatest Hits 70's/80's) - Dallas
Deep In The Heart Of Texas (recorded by numerous artists, for example Bob Wills)
The Yellow Rose Of Texas (recorded by numerous artists, for example Mitch Miller)
Joan Baez (Volume One) - East Virginia
Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel (In The Garden) - Monticello
Eric Tingstad And Nancy Rumbel (Narada Collection 2) - Shenandoah
For comments about John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads", see West Virginia.
See also Appalachia
Traditional - Home On The Range
Kathy Mattea - Leaving West Virginia
McCoy, Charlie (Route 66) - My West Virginia Home
Percy Faith (Television's Greatest Hits Volume 2) - The Virginian Theme
Bruce Hornsby And The Range (The Way It Is) - On The Western Skyline
Bob Marley And The Wailers (Legend) - Buffalo Soldier
If you have any better suggestions please email me using the link at the bottom of this page
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Most recently modified 6-Aug-06