Do you know the story of the Little Brown Church in the Vale – also known as the Church in the Wildwood? Lemme tell you the tale, real quick like. The year is 1857. A fella named Dr. William S. Pitts is traveling through Nashua, Iowa and sees a spot that he thinks would be…
Here’s an ol’ Fats Waller tune I first learned by way of Dave Van Ronk. When I was a senior in high school, I had the honor of touring with Dave here in the Midwest. We rolled around Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, me driving him to the gigs, helping setting up, even picking a few songs…
Well, friends, we did it! We made it to episode #2 of our new weekly podcast! Uff-da, never thought it would happen. The second episode of Jack Norton’s Old-Time Radio Show was released this morning. Here’s some info on the new show… Travel Back in Time to the 1920s and 1930s! Travel back to the 1920s and…
When life gets you down,When troubles are all around you,When AI is coming for your job,When everyone is crazy,When you ain’t got no money,Or when you have too much,When the kids are driving you bonkers,When your prayers ain’t getting answered,When you’re slowly sinking down, Or when you just want a laugh,When you just want to…
Hank Williams once told a promoter, “for drawing power in the South, it’s Roy Acuff, then God.” Hank wasn’t joking. Acuff was known as the King of Country Music, and for many years he was the biggest name (and highest paid) entertainer in Nashville. But for my money he’s always been a little bland, played…
My buddy Mike Meyer is from Mazeppa, Minnesota. Right down the road from Zumbrota, Minnesota. There’s only one town in the world named Zumbrota, plus they still have a working payphone on Main Street. Good town, lived there for a few months. Mike is a sign painter and an old soul. The kinda guy that…
I’ve spend most of my life digging. Searching for lost things. Forgotten songs. Unknown artists. Singers that wandered the backroads of America picking tunes on cheap guitars. Old bluesmen (and women) from deep down in the Delta. Loggers and lumberjacks in the north woods. Hobos and cowboys. Gamblers, whores, and church goers. Anyone with a…
A few years back my wife Kitty and I had the pleasure of making a short experimental film with Instagram star “Yoga Girl”, otherwise known as a Swedish gal named Rachel Brathen. She was a sweetheart to film with and we had a good time wandering the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, despite it being 12 degrees…
Well, friends, we did it! We launched a new weekly podcast! The first episode of Jack Norton’s Old-Time Radio Show was released late last night. Here’s some info on the new show… Travel Back in Time to the 1920s and 1930s! Travel back to the 1920s and 1930s as vaudeville blues and ragtime hokum musician Jack…
You think Bob Marley and Tiny Tim would make for a good collab? I do. The spirit of both seem like good dancing partners. And, if there’s one thing I know, it’s: you gotta dance when the spirit says dance, sing when the spirit says sing, pick when your wife says to pick. Which is…
