Rough Sundays

Final show from The States and exactly 30 minutes, we kick it off with French cowboy tunes, a famed group from the 1920s Jazz Age, discuss a recent documentary on NAS and then have a listen to his father play, another possible argument re: the forming of Buena Vista Social Club, old Patterson Singers bringing the rafters down with revival gospel and a whole lot more. Plus, a weekly track from New England, courtesy of our sponsor Race Point Seltzer. All of that and more! Yes seriously! Hit play! 

Second to last show from the States and probably going to win the award for "Best Sunday Morning Music" in the EVER category, we kick it off with some proper gospel from the 1940s, move onto the ever-chipper Hoagie Carmichael, along with some Ann Peebles breaking up homes, the greatest New Orleans musician you've never heard of, a live James Cleveland (aka "The King of Gospel") and rounding it off with a dive into Native American sounds... plus a lot more. You do the coffee and the sitting, and we'll handle the rest. It's Rough Sundays! 

Live-ish from the Lone Star State and our biggest show to date, it’s the Texas (sized) edition of Rough Sundays, taking you back to turn of the century blues, live performances from Woodstock, a car conversation with Professor Robert Darden — founder of the Black Gospel Music Restoration Project and previous guest on the show — about his favorite gospel track of all time, and a story that had both he and host Aric S. Queen in tears. Speaking of Aric, we’ll also revisit his cringe-worthy teens as a radio deejay, plus a tale of seeing Willie & Merle eating peaches. All of that, plus a whole lot more. Hit play. Say “howdy!” Be happy!

We* didn't know what to get you so went a bit overboard in this year's extra-special Christmas Edition. From kicking things off with Mahalia Jackson doing a classic to a live favorite from a 1948 bebop holiday show, three New Orleans tracks, a bit of British Jazz from war times, plus Johnny, Etta and Otis... plus the two holiday films you've never seen + a completely illegal recording of a recent show that host Aric S. Queen attended with his parents and much more. It's nearly an hour of TOTAL MIRTH, so pour you something cheerful, sit back, and let us* handle the festivities for an hour. Merry Christmas!!! (*It's just one person, sorry. Old habits.)

Is there a more passed-over state than the flyover one of Missouri? So easy to think of New Orleans, Chicago and New York when it comes to music, but this tiny midwestern spot boasts two cities that greatly contributed to the evolution of music—St. Louis and Kansas City. And it's the latter where we join you from today, with performances from a famous preacher lady from the 1930s, jazz's most-famed performer (who you might have forgotten was from MO), the most powerful American woman ever born (and who you might have forgotten released only one album) and then onto the first African American female to ever appear in the movies, PLUS a live segment taped underneath the statue of a man they call "Bird" and finishing it off with host Aric S Queen's Uncle Don reciting his most famous piece of Cowboy Poetry... plus a whole lot more. It's our 50th show and boy-oh-boy are you in for a treat. Nearly an hour this week and perfect for the week before Christmas, it's Rough Sundays, hooray!

Back with another easy-peasy lazy-dazy wake-me-up episode—just over 30 minutes and probably our best musical lineup to date. Old school Aretha doing gospel, Milt Jackon's finest, a newer track from Kevin Morby and a most-wonderful pairing of Haitian funk with New Orleans jazz. Not to mention a live performance from Mr. Pitiful himself, Otis Redding—as well as another reminder that host Aric S Queen stalked his family... twice. So do the coffee thing, sit back and let us wake you up nicely, would'ya? It's Rough Sundays!

Back after a 3-week break and the first show from the United States in over a decade, it's your weekly breakfast cocktail of gospel, blues, funk, soul and tolerable jazz. We kick it off with the track that sparked the idea for this show, and then head into French Pop, New Orleans royalty, Bob Dylan's hero, Los Angeles religion and even some Lee Dorsey... plus a lot more. So make your coffee. Get your coffee. Sip your coffee. And let us handle the waking-you-up part—in less than 25 minutes. It's Rough Sundays!

The final show from Istanbul - for a while, at least - and it is a DOOZY. New Orleans gospel and South African acapella and a bit of New Orleans funk and then the Godmother of Rock n' Roll and then the Queen of Rock n' Roll and sooooo much more. Hit play to ensure a most-wonderful Sunday!

Another slow, sunny Sunday here in Istanbul and an absolutely phenomenal (we ran tests) show to get you up and into it. From Patsy Cline to 70s Turkish funk, mamas + papas + triplets, New Orleans "fluttering" and a gorgeous track from the Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré—it's Rough Sundays, hooray!

Blue skies in Istanbul—peppered with the occasional police helicopter—means a fun and upbeat Rough Sundays this week. From Oscar Peterson to mustachioed French crooners, a song made famous by a famous American television show and an Italian track so insane, it'll make your jogging soundtrack. It's 32 minutes of pure Sunday bliss, so get listening! 

Back from a three-week hiatus, but bearing musical gifts to make up for it. From the raw power of Son House to the Ethiopian Elvis, some proper James Cleveland revival sounds and not one, but two Queens — one Cuban, the other New Orleans. It's half-an-hour of wake-me-up-slowly Sunday goodness. Hit play! 

A bittersweet final show from South Africa — a country that provided more sites, sounds, color, culture and confusion than any other place we've done the show from — and it's a celebration of the best tracks we've uncovered these past three months. From the controversial Brenda Fassie to the sounds of Soweto provided by my tour guide Lerato, a few more upbeat + anti-apartheid tracks and we end it all with an appearance from GoPhari, who explains the importance of the final song - one that was forbidden to be sung in the 1970s. It's Rough Sundays - The Best of South Africa Show! 

Our second-to-last show from South Africa and packed with some gorgeous old tracks — from the inventor of "Zumba" to one of the most moving choir performances you'll ever hear, some more penny whistling and even "The Voice of South Africa" making an appearance. 

While the evils of apartheid justifiably made the top headlines, it was the music coming both from within — and later, from outside — that drew international attention to one of the world's darkest chapters. But they weren't dark songs - quite the opposite, in fact; deceivingly upbeat and catchy. So join us for an (incredibly) brief overview of what exactly apartheid was, but more for the incredible tracks made to speak out against the racist government... including one that will absolutely surprise you. From Cape Town, South Africa, it's Rough Sundays. 

An XL show (our 40th!) and an XL lineup. Half an hour of old South African music — featuring two gems from the township of Soweto, more Mbaqanga, Joseph Shabalala and friends live, a bit of Boyoyo and yet another track from the incredibly addictive Amaswazi Emvelo. Plus much, much more. It's Rough Sundays - live from Cape Town!

Without knowing it, host Aric S. Queen used an incorrect term when talking about a certain group of people and was not only called out, but found himself in some serious trouble, so in order to (begin to) right this wrong, an apology show was put together — a show so good that not only do we go back to Soweto for some township goodness, but we’re also joined by singer / writer Laura Jansen — of whom you can see in the new film “Annette” alongside Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard — to talk about Miriam Makeba’s influence on her. Not to mention a 1970s track so addictive, we’re forced to play it twice. Plus much, much more. From Cape Town, South Africa, it’s Rough Sundays! Coffee. Sit. Play. Listen. Okay. Perfect.   

From the base of Table Mountain here in Cape Town, it's another episode exclusively dedicated to South African jazz + swing—namely from the townships and most pre-1960. From "marabi" to penny-whistling, Skylarks & Kings, it's 26 wonderful minutes of Rough Sundays—South Africa! 

Was there ever a more controversial album than "Graceland"? From assassination attempts to UN boycotts, cultural appropriation to apartheid, plagiarism to grenades being thrown into studios, it's hard to make the case for any other being surrounded by so much drama. In our third and final look at the stories and South African musicians behind the album in question, we hear from Ladysmith Black Mambazo's disappointment, Good Rockin' Dopsie's pretty good case for stealing and why Los Lobos (still) hate Paul Simon... plus much more. Coffee + "play" + enjoy. 

Assassination plots and grenades thrown at the person in question might sound like something out of a movie, but this - along with a whoooooooole lot more controversy - actually happened to Paul Simon after he released Graceland. In Part Two of a three-part series, we dive into not only the South African musicians who made this into one of the Top 100 Albums of All Time, but the true story about the uproar, outrage and hit put out on Simon. Coffee + sit back + hit play… you know the drill. It’s Rough Sundays - live from Durban, SA!

It's Oprah's favorite album of all time. It might be your favorite album of all time. It's definitely host Aric S. Queen's favorite album of all time. And in 1986, it gave the sounds of South Africa a worldwide stage — and one that launched bands like Ladysmith Black Mambazo into the well-deserved spotlight. But it also would become one of the most controversial albums of all time, too; the backlash including UN sanctions, hits put out on Paul Simon and even three grenades tossed into his storage unit. So, since we're down in South Africa, we're going to not only lay out exactly what happened — the recording, the subsequent turmoil and the apology-ish tour — but more importantly, we're going to get to know the artists behind each individual track. So make a cup of coffee, sit way back and let's start the first of three episodes dedicated to a little album called "Graceland".