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RED MEAT - Teetotalin' Time [13/Ranchero Records]
        Boy, do I love this album. And this is now my favorite drinking
        song (even though it's about drinking Shirley Temples)
THE LUCKY STARS - Look What the Cat Dragged In [45 single]
        Local traditional honky-tonk country band that I like a lot.
MINGO SALDIVAR Y SUS 4 ESPADA - Rueda de Fuego [RUEDA DE FUEGO y EXITOS/
        Espada Records]
        My favorite Tex-Mex version of "Ring of Fire" (okay, the only
        Tex-Mex version, that I know of).  Red Meat and The Lucky Stars
        played Jack's Sugar Shack last week, and Meat finished with this
        ('cept in English, and with horns!)

THE IGUANAS - El Orangutan [NUEVO BOOGALOO/Margaritaville]
        "The boy orangutan went to the girl orangutan and offered her
        a banana."  Uh huh.  But hey, sometimes a banana is just a banana.
        Smokin' Latin R&B from New Orleans, and they'll be at Jack's soon.
THE NEW ORLEANS KLEZMER ALL-STARS - Im Bod Zaynen Ale Gleykh (In the Bath
        All Are Equal) [THE NEW ORLEANS KLEZMER ALL-STARS/Stretchy Records)
        Klezmer with a touch of traditional jazz, in this track from their
        debut album, written by their guitarist Jonathan Freylekh.  They'll
        be at Jack's soon too.
JAMES BOOKER - All By Myself [RESURRECTION OF THE BAYOU MAHARAJAH/Rounder]
        The Piano Prince of New Orleans, doing a Fats Domino/Dave Bartholomew
        composition.  He's not playing at Jack's anytime soon, 'cause he's
        been dead for years.
WAYNE HANCOCK - Louisiana Blues [THAT'S WHAT DADDY WANTS/Ark-21]
        Good ol' country music that Hank woulda been proud of, from his
        latest.  He's in excellent health, and will in fact be playing at
        Jack's next week.

JODY STECHER AND KATE BRISLIN - Willie Moore [STAY AWHILE/Rounder]
        Superb singing and playing, as always, with an old traditional
        song.
BUELL KAZEE - The Butcher Boy [ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC/Smithsonian-
        Folkways]
        This ballad appears in Child as well as Vance Randolph's "Ozark
        Folk Songs"; note its similarity to Cordelia's Dad's "Jersey
        City"
BLIND WILLIE JOHNSON - John the Revelator [ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC/
        Smithsonian-Folkways]
        I was destined to play this song this weekend.  I heard it no less
        than three times during the holiday weekend, at various friends'
        houses and barbecues and stuff, with versions ranging from Son Jouse
        to the new Blues Brothers soundtrack.  I love old raw gospel music.

DONAL LUNNY - Tommy Peoples'/The Maids of Mullach/Major Harrison's Fedora
        [DONAL LUNNY/Gael Linn]
        From his legendary live album, released in 1987.  One more to get
        ready for COOLFIN, his new band and newest record, his first in 11
        years.  I'll have it next week!!
BATTELFIELD BAND - Bodachan a Gharaidh/General MacDonald/Craig an Fhithich
        [RAIN, HAIL OR SHINE/Temple Records]
        From their newest, a stunner.  I love this band.  They get better
        and better.  Not only do they survive major personnel changes that'd
        sink any other band, but they grow and thrive.  These are 3 pipe
        tunes collected from written sources 100+ years old and which had
        fallen out of current piping tradition. Everything old is new again...
TOUCHSTONE - Casadh Cam na Feadarnaighe [THE NEW LAND/Green Linnet]
        Irish-Canadian band based in North Carolina in the early 80s, with
        the great Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill on vocals.

And now ... THE 1998 LABOR DAY SPECIAL.  I do this every year, and it always
brings out the Wobbly in me.

BILLY BRAGG - There is Power in a Union [TALKING WITH THE TAXMAN ABOUT
        POETRY/Elektra]
        It doesn't get much more rousing than this.  Traditional tune,
        new wordy by Billy.
UNCLE TUPELO - Coalminers [MARCH 16-20, 1992/Rockville]
        "I am a coal miner, and I'm sure I wish you well / let's sink
        this capitalist system to the darkest pits of hell"
RICHARD THOMPSON - Time to Ring Some Changes [HARD CASH/Green Linnet]
        From the soundtrack of a BBC series that looks at the realities
        of life on the minimum wage.  Also with Ron Kavana, Martin
        Carthy, June Tabor, The Watersons, and more.  Great version!
PAUL ROBESON - Joe Hill [DON'T MOURN, ORGANIZE! - THE SONGS OF LABOR
        SONGWRITER JOE HILL/Smithsonian-Folkways]
        Incredibly moving.  This man's voice gets right to the core of you.

LEE DORSEY - Workin' in a Coal Mine [THE SOUND OF NEW ORLEANS/Charly]
        "I am *so* tired!"  Besides being a great R&B musician, Lee
        was also the best body-and-fender man in the city of New Orleans.
BEAUSOLEIL - Travailler C'est Trop Dûr [BAYOU DELUXE: THE BEST OF
        BEAUSOLEIL/Rhino]
        "Working is too hard / But stealing is not good" - A gorgeous
        version, originally appearing on THE SPIRIT OF CAJUN MUSIC.
CLIFTON CHENIER - Je Suis Un Recolteur (I Am A Farmer) [BOGALUSA
        BOOGIE/Arhoolie]
        A sweet waltz about working the land, from The King.

PETE SEEGER - Which Side Are You On? [PETE SEEGER'S GREATEST
        HITS/Columbia LP]
        More rabble-rousing!  Everybody sing!
HAZEL DICKENS AND ALICE GERRARD - Coal Miner's Blues [PIONEERING WOMEN
        OF BLUEGRASS/Smithsonian-Folkways]
        Can't do a show like this without Hazel.
SARAH OGAN GUNNING - Hello Coal Miner [COAL MINING WOMEN/Rounder]
        Sarah, from Kentucky, lived these songs, and sang them
        unaccompanied.
UTAH PHILLIPS with THE ENTERTAINMENT WORKERS INT'L. UNION 630, I.W.W. -
        There is Power in a Union [DON'T MOURN - ORGANIZE! SONGS OF LABOR
        SONGWRITER JOE HILL/Smithsonian-Folkways]
        Different tune and words than Billy's version above.

WOODY GUTHRIE - Jackhammer Blues [WOODY GUTHRIE SINGS FOLK SONGS/Smithsonian-
        Folkways]
        With Cisco Houston and Sonny Terry
DICK GAUGHAN - The Worker's Song [HANDFUL OF EARTH/Green Linnet]
        First issued on Topic in 1981.  One about the poor working man,
        first to be made redundant, first to be pushed into the battlefield.
BATTLEFIELD BAND - I Am the Common Man [ANTHEM FOR THE COMMON MAN/Temple]
        Stole this idea from someone else's playlist last week.  :)
        As much as I love the Batties, this one does sound dated compared
        to their new stuff.
PETER ROWAN - Will Work For Food [BLUEGRASS BOY/Sugar Hill]
RON KAVANA - A Living Wage [HARD CASH/Green Linnet]
        Another one from the BBC soundtrack. "A living wage is all we demand."

LEDWARD KAAPANA with SONNY LANDRETH - Les Flammes d'Enfer [WALTZ OF THE WIND/
        Dancing Cat Records]
        Hawaiian slack-key guitarist collaborates with lots of folks, from
        Sonny to Alison Krauss, Sam Bush, Bob Brozman, Ricky Skaggs and
        Jerry Douglas. We gave away tickets to his upcoming show, and
        segued seamlessly into Sarcastic Deadhead...