PODCAST

Soul Music

BBC Radio 4

Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact

music music commentary

All Episodes

27:50

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Soul Music ·

2021/08/04

"Country roads, take me home To the place I belong"Written by Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert with and for their friend John Denver, the song went on to be covered by Ray Charles, Toots and the Maytals, Olivia Newton John and many more. A song about the longing for home and the desire to be back with the people you love, 'Country Roads' has become one of the official state songs of West Virginia but it also speaks to people from around the world and across political divides. It's a song about

28:40

The Parting Glass

Soul Music ·

2021/07/28

"So fill to me the parting glass... Goodnight and joy be to you all."A popular toast at the end of an evening or a heartfelt farewell to a departed or deceased person? The Parting Glass has become synonymous with leaving. It was written in Scotland and has criss crossed the Irish Sea becoming a popular song among Celtic peoples around the world. Folk singer Karine Polwart talks of its fragile beauty as a song that can be a rousing drinking song at the end of the night but equally a poignant

28:31

We've Only Just Begun

Soul Music ·

2021/07/21

The Carpenters - brother and sister duo Richard and Karen - were one of the most popular groups of the 1970s. His outstanding compositions and her stunning vocals created several massive hits including We've Only Just Begun. Originally written as a TV advert for a bank portraying happy young couples embarking on married life full of hope, they loved it and released it as their third single in 1970. Karen's wistful voice gave the song a melancholy that has long resonated with fans. After her

27:34

Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat

Soul Music ·

2021/07/14

This disco classic tells a powerful story: that of a young, gay man leaving his homophobic small town for the freedom of the big city. Released in 1984, Smalltown Boy continues to resonate and has become an anthem for the LGBTQ+ community. The track appeared on their album 'The Age of Consent' which drew attention to the inequality between the ages at which heterosexual people and homosexual men were legally able to have sex.Taking part in the programme: Shaun Dellenty, an ex primary school

28:30

Sunshine on Leith

Soul Music ·

2021/02/12

"While I'm worth my room on this earth......"Sunshine on Leith was released in 1988 but didn't become the big hit The Proclaimers had hoped for. However it has endured and become an anthem of love and a celebration of life. It is the song played at Hibs FC matches and has come to symbolise the sense of community felt by supporters. Margaret Alcorn recalls how she and her husband were involved in the Hibs Supporters Club organising and taking part in social events for local people in Leith. When

28:44

David Bowie - Life on Mars?

Soul Music ·

2021/01/09

Life on Mars was released on David Bowie's Hunky Dory album in 1971. Two years later it came out as a single in its own right. Famous for its exploration of disillusionment and alienation, there is no one single definitive story behind it. But that is perhaps the song's beauty and the secret behind its appeal - that its cryptic lyrics are open to interpretation, and can mean different things to different people. Musicians and fans talk about what Life on Mars? means to them, and its lasting

28:17

Once In A Lifetime

Soul Music ·

2020/12/29

Stories from people about how ‘Once In A Lifetime’, Talking Heads' existential hit from 1980, touched their lives.Talking Heads emerged out of the post punk scene of the late 1970s. 'Once In A Lifetime' is the iconic single taken from their album Remain In Light. With its looped synthesizer and Afrobeat inspired by Fela Kuti it seemed to pre-empt the consumerism and ennui of the 1980s. Writer Ian Gittins interviewed David Byrne and later wrote his book Once In A Lifetime. He says David Byrne had

27:49

I Wonder as I Wander

Soul Music ·

2020/12/22

As Christmas approaches, Soul Music leads you through Advent with the Appalachian carol "I Wonder as I Wander".Written by American folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles, its origins come from a song fragment collected in 1933. Mysterious, inspiring, this traditional Christmas carol reflects on the nativity and the nature of wondering. While in the town of Murphy in Appalachian North Carolina, Niles attended a fundraising meeting held by evangelicals who had been ordered out of town by the police

27:16

Lean On Me by Bill Withers

Soul Music ·

2020/12/08

An enduring classic which delivers a message of support and friendship. Never more so than in 2020 when Lean On Me by Bill Withers was the musical backdrop to the Covid crisis in the UK, and at Black Lives Matter protests in the US.Featuring: Andy Greene, a senior writer at Rolling Stone magazine, who tells the remarkable life-story of Bill Withers. Composer, Neil Brand, explains how the simplicity of this track is what enables it to pack such a strong emotional punch.Sara Morrell is a nurse whose

27:54

I Will Survive

Soul Music ·

2020/08/10

"At first I was afraid, I was petrified"... From a breakup to a shipwreck, emotional true stories of what Gloria Gaynor's iconic disco anthem I Will Survive means to different people around the world.A woman sets out to become the first female rower to cross the Atlantic solo.A woman listens to the song 35 times in a row after a breakup.A drag queen steps onto the stage of a Berlin nightclub.A mother watches her daughters sing karaoke at a holiday club on the first foreign holiday since leaving her

27:53

Harvest Moon

Soul Music ·

2020/08/05

It's a love song about growing old. Neil Young's Harvest Moon released in 1992 is a nod to the 1970s country rock.It's loved by music blogger Alyson Young. It's also a grown up song about love says singer-songwriter Ricky Ross. How do you make the magic last and how do you keep love alive? People tell their stories about what the song means to them: jazz singer Maureen Washington danced to the song with her late husband. Amanda Legere played it to her premature baby daughter when she went to see

27:50

Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte by Maurice Ravel

Soul Music ·

2020/07/22

Ravel's beautiful Pavane For A Dead Princess touches many people. While it is not actually about a dead princess it does evoke a sense loss. For Carla van Raay it symbolises the loss of innocence she experienced after sexual abuse as a child which led her to make some difficult life choices. Deal Hudson played it to prisoners in Atlanta and was moved by their reaction. At an academy for troubled teenagers in California the Pavane had a similar effect. Genevieve Monneris comes from the town

27:09

Feeling Good

Soul Music ·

2020/07/15

The surprising history behind a track made famous by Nina Simone. Feeling Good was written for a now obscure musical and originally performed by Cy Grant, the first black man to appear regularly on British TV. Cy Grant's daughter, Samantha Moxon, describes her father's extraordinary life from Prisoner of War camp to a successful career in the arts. The composer, Neil Brand, discusses why the song has gone on to transcend the almost forgotten musical it was created for. Other speakers are Sam

27:51

Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay

Soul Music ·

2020/01/22

Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay was written whilst Otis Redding was reflecting on his life on Sausalito Bay, California, in the summer of 1967. Its upbeat, laidback melody belies the loneliness of the lyrics. In December of the same year, Otis was killed in a plane crash. His song was subsequently released and became the first posthumous Number 1 record in the US.His musician contemporaries including Booker T Jones and guitarist Steve Cropper, who co-wrote Dock of the Bay, tell the story of the

27:45

Days

Soul Music ·

2020/01/15

“It’s a goodbye song, but it’s also an inspirational song, It could also mean a new beginning" - Ray DaviesWritten by Ray Davies and released by the Kinks in 1968 'Days' had a very different sound to the rest of their repertoire. Sorrowful but uplifting it's been embraced by listeners across the world who have found solace and hope in its lyrics.Having been covered by numerous artists (most notably Kirsty MacColl), it speaks to people of all generations and captures moments in their lives. For Sim

27:50

Toto's Africa

Soul Music ·

2020/01/08

Released in 1982, Toto's soft-rock anthem has become an unlikely viral smash-hit.Africa is a song that has changed lives, helped to raise thousands of pounds for charity and provided an unexpected musical cornerstone in a critically acclaimed play. Ralf Schmidt is the Artistic Director of Ndlovu Youth Choir which is made up of young people from the poorest parts of South Africa. Incredibly, the choir made it to the final of America's Got Talent, one of the biggest entertainment shows in the world

27:33

Coventry Carol

Soul Music ·

2019/12/25

Performed as part of the mystery plays, the 'Coventry Carol' is from the Pageant of the Shearman and Taylors and tells the story of the Slaughter of The Innocents. A copy of the manuscript survived a fire in Birmingham Library in 1879 by sheer chance. Musician Ian Pittaway describes seeing the play in the ruins of Coventry cathedral in the 1980s - the drama was so powerful it still moves him to tears. The carol was sung on Christmas Day in 1940 in a live broadcast to the Empire just six weeks after

28:31

We Are Family

Soul Music ·

2019/12/18

We Are Family written by Nile Rodgers and performed by the Sledge Sisters Kathy, Kim, Debbie and Joni was released in 1978 at the height of disco's popularity. Kim Sledge says it has become the anthem for diverse groups of people around the world who come together on the dance floor to form a family. Professor Tim Lawrence says disco at its best was an inclusive music movement that welcomed people of all races and genders, unlike rock music which in the early 1970s appealed to a predominantly white

27:53

The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel

Soul Music ·

2019/12/11

People who connect directly with the lyrics and have a deep personal connection to Simon & Garfunkel's masterpiece 'The Boxer' discuss what it means to them.Seamus McDonagh is a former boxer. He describes the tumultuous time he had during and after his famous fight with Evander Holyfield in 1990. He also explains why he identifies closely with the song's lyrics.Julie Nimoy is the daughter of Leonard Nimoy and co-producer of the film 'Remembering Leonard Nimoy' which tells the life story of this

28:30

Farewell to Stromness

Soul Music ·

2019/07/31

Personal stories about Farewell to Stromness, by Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. Written in 1980 as a protest against uranium mining in Orkney, the music has touched and changed people's lives. The Orkney landscape which inspired Max's music is described by his partner Tim Morrison. We hear from Rosalind Newton, for whom the music provided peace after the death of her grandmother. Conductor Christopher Warren-Green recalls his performance of the music at the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Duchess

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