Sam Bush - "Radio John" (Official Audio)

Listen to the official audio of "Radio John" from Sam Bush's upcoming Smithsonian Folkways album, 'Radio John: Songs of John Hartford'.
'Radio John: Songs of John Hartford' is available November 11, 2022, on CD and digital. The LP version will be available in Spring 2023.
Pre-order/stream:
Smithsonian Folkways: folkways.si.ed...
Bandcamp: sambush.bandca...
All other platforms: orcd.co/sam-bu...
'Radio John: Songs of John Hartford' is Sam Bush’s heartfelt tribute to his hero and mentor, John Hartford. With dedication, admiration, and love, Bush takes on personal favorites from Hartford’s vast catalog, including songs he played with Hartford on stage and in the studio in the 1970s. Bush plays every instrument on nearly every cut, pouring himself into the performances. 'Radio John' is a testament to the impact Hartford had on American traditional music as a songwriter, an instrumentalist, and, most importantly, someone who fostered the careers of musicians like Bush and countless others reinventing roots music in the last half of the 20th century.
Lyrics:
Stated out workin’ in the summertime
On the docks of the Mississippi Valley Barge Line
Stokin’ towboats on those long hot days
Getting’ half days off, sometimes with pay
Became a steamboat captain, wrote the songs to Mark Twang
Rollin’ down the river to New Orleans
Oh I can hear somethin’ comin’ up around the bend
It’s the Julia Belle Swain boys gleamin’ and steamin’on in
And it’s Radio John standing at the helm
With a wave and a smile and some yarns to tell
He loved life on the river and the fiddle tunes
Of blind Ed Haley and Benny Martin too
He always played them songs with a Vamp in the Middle
With a hustle and a shuffle and a skittle wah diddle
He wrote songs every day, lord he’d scratch and scribble
So the tunes that he wrote, he could play on his fiddle
Well I went up the river come away last Sunday night
With my fiddle and my banjer and my baby there to hold me tight
A banjo man, he rolled while he sang
With rhythm like a piston on a railroad train
Gotta see Radio John, with his two-toned shoes
A slippin’ and a sliding while he danced for you
He knew every crooked turn up n-down the Mississippi
He was a Huckleberry Finn, an airwaves hippie
Radio John, a steamboat troubador
A Mississippi Sawyer, like we’d never seen before
He spun those tunes in St. Louie and Illinois they say
He played Bill, Earl and Lester and some boys named Bray
You could hear his voice every night til’ dawn
So cut yer television off and turn yer radio on
It’s Radio John…
He danced and he played in the bars and the halls
While he was tappin’ his shous, we was havin’ a ball!
Yeah Radio John had us all sing along
Justa clappin’ anda stompin’ to every one of his songs
He could make us happy and sometimes make us cry
And lookin’ back now I wish we never had to say goodbye
It was 6-9-0 KSTL
Where he played those songs we all knew so well
RADIO JOHN
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[@SanctumOfDreams]

Heard it on bluegrass junction. Gives me chills how catchy this is

[@mmmfriedtaters]

Same here! Can't get enough of it...great easy tune to pick to as well!

[@extremelydeplorablebodean839]

Awesome music heard it on serious xm blue grass channel first time.

[@johnnyvannoy7180]

Wonderful tune ! I can’t wait to hear more !!

[@Galiuros]

This song was featured on KXCI 91.3 in Tucson

[@garyhamilton182]

John Hartford on the Julia Belle Swain right here in Chattanooga was a pretty good memory! 😊

[@michaelschwarte5319]

Thanks Sam! 690 KStL listened to it growing up along the banks of the mighty Mississippi 😁⛴️

[@johnscott5362]

So good.

[@DW-cy1tp]

What a fantastic tribute!

[@jayswafford]

LOVE IT!!! cant wait for the album!

[@reliablebow]

What a grand tribute beautifully done!🎩🎻🪕

[@richardvg7670]

Really like this song just heard it a few minutes ago on the Grand Ole Opry on WSM😎

[@hayfielddraw4364]

Probably the coolest album cover I've ever seen.

[@RJaeger1993]

That was cool, can't wait to hear the rest!

[@bradleycopeland4393]

Heard Sam play this on WMOT and fell in love immediately.

[@UncleDean]

Awesome!

[@xXNgat980Xx]

Only 19 comments is insane

[@jeffcollins5188]

Faiirly decent

[@keesroovers132]

Pat

[@jeffcollins5188]

puddn heads

[@heatherparks9127]

No terrible