This playlist speaks for itself. Rufus kicks off and the list only improves: Mayfield’s Pusherman, Funkadelic, War and, of course, Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues. They’re all hits, actually, just some are better known and rose higher on the charts – those we were familiar with, at least. I can’t speak for the R&B ratings in Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, etc. (were “race records” still a thing then? Did something akin to that exist?) I don’t listen to much radio, other than that extraordinary streamer Radioactiva.TX. So if I’m flogging a dead horse and you’ve already heard some of these tunes for the third time today on oldies radio, forgive and forget. There’s a reason this music has survived as some of the “best of”. You haven’t heard them in this sequence and without commercials so relax your mind and go with the flow. And don’t forget your “apple hat”. - J.H. Run List for Soul and funk of the 70s. First broadcast  8-31-23.  Our dedicated listeners will note a SNAF...

  Just what is “Hispano-Moresque” music, you might ask? A combination of Iberian indigenous music with Moorish (Arab) influence offers a general definition. It started when various Arab military leaders vanquished sections of what we now call Spain, starting in the 8 th century, their domination lasting until late in the 15 th century. Of course the conquerors spread their cultural values while they held sway. The region remained largely Christian, but more aesthetic traits like architecture, culinary taste and music were deeply affected. As a result, much of Spain’s traditional music as we can hear it in recordings from the 20 th century up to the present day, still has a decided Arab influence in choice of instrumentation, rhythm, and singing style. Maybe not so much in the Northern Basque country and other redoubts, but particularly in the central and Southern areas (and strongly amongst the Roma of Spain) that historic account results in musical styles like what this week’s ...

Everybody in this mix deserves to be here and merits mention. But off the top of my head I’m going to pick on Thomas Mapfumo, the chronicler of traditional Shona music of Zimbabwe who on multiple albums spins it in a modern way while hewing to the roots. Also, the Minyo Crusaders, another example of Japan’s taste for Western music, playing funk, in this case with a Latin twist, and punctuated with bursts of very non-Western trad vocals. Neither  Marehamu George Mukabi of Kenya or the USA’s Walter Vinson are exactly household names. I’d never heard of them before discovering these tunes, but they complement each other so well there just had to be a segue in there. I don’t pretend to understand the former’s lyrics (In Kikuyu?), but the latter’s message is loud and clear: “stop spreading your cheddar around!” (Note: Kikuyu is the dominant indigenous language in Kenya. Of historic interest is the fact that in the original Star War’s intergalactic cantina scene, the wildly diverse bunch...

Good ol’ scarface Walter. Was there ever a prettier mug to grace the cover of an album? Or a better, slicker and more tasteful harp player? And consider Howlin’ Wolf – gravel for a voice, distinguished song writing and harmonica talent, a sense of humor, and a gentle man in every sense in spite of his intimidating presence. Unmatched. I’m naming blues legends here as this week’s Al Compas del Mundo presents The Rolling Stones playing the blues, a heavy inspiration for the band at their outset in the early 60’s. And then you get to hear the same songs as they were originally performed in Chicago, Louisiana, Mississippi and elsewhere outside of London by a bunch of “heavy heads”. Blue and Lonesome was released in 2016 by The Stones and was their first album ever consisting completely of covers – of blues, by the originators in this case.  My hat is off to them for choosing lesser-known tunes, even from better-known musicians. I couldn’t fit them all in during a one-hour show, bu...