In late November, weekend listeners to KNOM may hear two artists they’ve been listening to for decades — but in ways they haven’t heard until 2014.
In the next few weekends (Nov. 21-23 and 28-30), we’ve lined up two specialty shows, both featuring music legends who rose to prominence in the 1960s: Yusuf Islam (widely known by his former name, Cat Stevens) and Bob Dylan & The Band.*
Tonight (Friday, Nov. 21) at 7pm, hear Islam’s Tell ‘Em I’m Gone, the latest, 2014 release from the longtime singer-songwriter.
Islam, or Cat Stevens, has spent more than 40 years striving to remain true to himself in his music. It’s no surprise that themes of freedom and peace run through Tell ‘Em; they’re the same ideals that helped make Stevens’ most well-known songs, like his 1971 “Peace Train,” into icons of folk music.
Islam has returned to his early musical inspirations, blues and R&B, to explore these human ideals once again. In Friday night’s one-hour radio special (7pm), Cat Stevens speaks about what freedom means to him, about his musical influences, and about collaborating with other artists to create the album.
Next week, meanwhile, you’ll have two chances to hear newly-released recordings from Bob Dylan & the Band on Bob Dylan and the Band: The Complete Basement Tapes.
In 1967, Bob Dylan and several members of what would become The Band got together in upstate New York. For months they played and played, recording as they went along. It took 8 years for some of the music to come out officially, but in time, the legend of The Basement Tapes grew.
In this one-hour special, you’ll hear about these recordings from The Band member Garth Hudson, songwriter and author Sid Griffin, Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin, author Greil Marcus, writer Anthony De Curtis and producer Steve Berkowitz, plus many highlights from the full release of The Basement Tapes.
Catch this special at 3pm on Thanksgiving Thursday afternoon and again Friday night, November 28, at 7pm — bringing some spice to your Thanksgiving weekend.
*Thanks to Joyride Media for providing both of these feature shows.
