Blues Radio Specials May 22-23

WORT Music Playlists

What was that song I heard? Who was the artist, what is the album title, where can I get it? Where can I find the entire playlist for a show?

Click on the Playlists button to bring up a calendar where you can choose any date to find the playlists for that day. If you can’t find the right playlist or the song you’re looking for, your best bet is to call the station the next time that program’s on and ask the host yourself. If that’s not possible we may be able to help you, but please have as much information as possible at hand when you contact us, such as: approximate day and time the music was played, what type or genre of music it was, who hosted the show and any other information you remember about the selection and we’ll do our best to track it down.

Contact Information

Music Director: Sybil Augustine – musicdirector@wortfm.org (for music submissions, charts and tracking, promotional exchanges for music events and following up on volunteer applications or other requests. Please include specifics in your subject line, such as “Hiphop Music Submission” etc, )

Digital Production Director: Aaron Scholz – aaron@wortfm.org (for record donations and sales, promos recording volunteers, etc.)

Music Calendars: Submit your events online here or send by email to calendar@wortfm.org

How do I get my music played on WORT?

We accept submissions in most genres and styles of music, focusing on noncommercial, out-of-the-mainstream, independent releases (check out our playlists and music charts for more information.) It may take up to a few weeks for us to review and process your submission so we appreciate your patience, and feel free to contact us to follow up. Please send your music, indicating any tracks with language that needs to be aired after 10 pm and including a one-sheet description and any biographical and tour information, to WORT Music Director, 118 S. Bedford St, Madison, WI 53703 and/or to musicdirector@wortfm.org.

We do accept digital files on .wav or mp3, but currently we still prefer CDs to digital submissions because it’s the quickest way to get it into the hands of our programmers and onto the airwaves, though we have a growing digital library. Digital submissions should be .wav or other lossless files, or high quality mp3s [128-320 kbps.]

You can follow up or “track” your submissions by email, or call 608-256-2001 on Wednesdays between 1-4 pm CST to ask if we received it, has it been reviewed, has it been added to our library, and what kind of airplay it’s getting—e.g. light, medium, heavy or charting. Thanks and we look forward to hearing your music!

Both shows are now available on the Audio Archives for 2 weeks following broadcast. Friday night’s Blues Cruise featured Bobby Rush. Bobby got his start as a bluesman playing Chicago clubs in the 1950s. His big break came with the release of Chicken Heads on the Galaxy label which reached #34 on the Billboard R&B charts in 1971. This show was originally broadcast 16 years ago when Bobby was 70. He has toured constantly over the years and his live shows have always been memorable. In February of this year he had a coronavirus infection and survived it. He has been an advocate to promote measures that would keep others from the infection following his recovery. His latest CD, Sitting On Top of the Blues, was awarded Soul Blues album of the year at the Blues Music Awards last month. Blues Cruise may be heard from 6-8 PM Central time on Friday nights.

Bobby Rush (photo by John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com at https://flickr.com/photos/36277035@N06/46147316555 (archive) )

Saturday’s Two for the Blues featured St. Louis bluesman Henry Townsend. This show originally was broadcast in 2004. Henry sang and played both piano and guitar. He is the only bluesman who recorded in each of nine decades, getting his start with Columbia label in 1929. I had the good fortune of seeing him perform a number of times over the years as he was regularly invited to play the Chicago Blues Festival for many years. Henry was the only artist I ever interviewed who recorded in the pre-war era. He was 94 years old when I talked to him and had excellent recall of events from his past. He passed away 2 years after I talked with him, just hours after being the first to receive recognition at the Paramount Plaza Walk of Fame in Grafton, WI. At the time, Henry Townsend was the only living Paramount Records recording artist.f Two for the Blues is heard from 8-10 PM Central time. Both shows will be available on the Audio Archives for 2 weeks following broadcast.

— Art Schuna, WORT host/interviewer