Tapestry of the Times is a partnership between
WYPR 88.1 FM in Baltimore and
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Past Shows
Episode 29
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: North Carolina’s Elizabeth Cotton shows off how to play a guitar upside down and backwards, Blues piano legend Victoria Spivey puts her man in his place, , Lucinda Williams mourns a one-night stand, and Kazakh bardic diva Ulzhan Baibussynova sings an epic poem. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds .
Episode 28
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times, Big Bill Broonzy, Brownie McGhee, and Sonny Terry sing the praises of larger-than-life mythic characters like John Henry and Joe Turner. And we enjoy some distant sounds from Paraguay, Indonesia, and Gambia. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 27
This special episode of Tapestry of the Times presents a series of one-of-a-kind original recordings made recently on a chilly Saturday afternoon on-site in Elkton, Maryland with the family and friends of the late great American legend, Ola Belle Reed. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 26 (this page is currently unavailable)
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: Cowboy songs from the revivalist group The Tex-I-An Boys, the sounds of Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, cowpuncher brag talk, work-songs from a Texas prison camp, and contemporary conjunto music from Los Texmaniacs. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 25
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: We hear the soul-soaked boogie woogie piano of Champion Jack Dupree, we check out some 80-year-old original recordings of Blind Willie Johnson, and we explore music forged deep in the coal mines of Appalachia. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds .
Episode 24
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: Sea-faring songs from North Carolina’s Outer Banks; an Irish pirate ballad; cowboy songs from Woody Guthrie, Harry Jackson, and Cisco Houston and a spiritual from Moving Star Hall on Johns Island, South Carolina. Real music, real, people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 23
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: The late great Piedmont blues singer and guitar master John Cephas, New Orleans’ ebullient chanteuse Lizzie Miles, slave shouts from Georgia’s McIntosh County Shouters, rock music from Indonesia and Vodou music from Port au Prince. Real music, real, people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 22
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: We celebrate the Big Easy with the late great New Orleans street singer Snooks Eaglin, we hear New Orleans jazz from The Crescent City Serenaders, and we listen back to some vintage Cajun social music. Real music, real, people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 21
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: The mimetic sounds of mountain herders in the Siberian hinterland of Tuva, tropical music from Jamaica, the Bahamas, Trinidad, and The Dominican Republic, and a slide guitar opus from the West Coast’s “Joe Louis Walker and The Boss Talkers.” Real music, real, people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 20
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: The sounds of banjo innovator and connoisseur Tony Trischka, blues from Mississippi’s Big Joe Williams, a horse ballad from the Arizona Sonora Borderlands, marimba music from Guatemala, and barrel-house piano blues from Speckled Red. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 19
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: Mandolin picking at its finest from “The Father of Bluegrass,” Bill Monroe; mountain music from the hills of Puerto Rico to the hills of Kentucky; and Javanese Gamelan collides with the New York avant-garde. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 18
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: Bedouin singing from the deserts of Saudi; Bottle-neck slide-guitar from Memphis blues man Furry Lewis; 1940’s vintage jazz from Mary Lou Williams and a song made from a single drop of water. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 17
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: We celebrate melodies from Barack Obama’s ancestral homeland of Kenya, we remember President Abraham Lincoln in words and song, we hear the voice that inspired a nation in 1963. Real music, real, people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 16
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: The lightning-fast fingers of banjo picker Eddie Adcock and The Country Gentlemen, Saint Louis blues from the legendary JD Short, a chant learned in a trance by an Eskimo medicine man and a melody from the mountains of North Sumatra. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 15
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: We tip our cups to the barrelhouse blues of Little Brother Montgomery, Roscoe Holcomb unleashes his ‘untamed sense of control,’ Malian rappers launch a lyrical assault on music piracy, we remember Odetta, the “Voice of the Civil Rights Movement,” . Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 14
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: Piedmont blues from John Cephas and Phil Wiggins and Civil Rights singers Bernice Johnson Reagon and Reverend Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick. Plus, a Baltimore sea chantey and a song learned in a dream in the rainforest of Malaysia. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds .
Episode 13
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: Sweet love ballads and bitter blues from Lonnie Johnson, hard-scrabble songs for lean times from Pete Seeger and Joe Glazer, toe-tapping classics from Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, melancholy fado music from Portugal’s Maria Marques, and songs of strength and hope from the Abayudaya people of Uganda.
Episode 12
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: We hear banjo ballads from Virginia coal miner Dock Boggs, blues from the blind preacher Reverend Gary Davis, the tropical sounds of Hawaiian folk legend Ledward Kaapana and songs of love and loss from Chile to Canada . Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 11
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: Comanche flute music, a Native American cowboy ballad, Carolina medicine show hokum & blues, the voice of Langston Hughes, mountain music from Eastern Kentucky, slave shouts from the Georgia coast, protest music from Pete Seeger, a feminist anthem from Peggy Seeger and a recording of the sacred rhythms of Cuban Santeria.
Episode 10
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: Aaron talks with Richard Carlin, author of “Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways. He joins the program to share some great recordings of legendary performers like folk hero Woody Guthrie, jazz trail-blazer Mary Lou Williams. All the music heard in this episode of Tapestry of the Times has been compiled together by Richard onto a sampler CD that’s available as a companion to his book.
Episode 9
In this episode of Tapestry of the Times: We check out some historical duet performances from old-time music virtuosos Doc Watson & Bill Monroe, Piedmont Blues legends John Cephas & Phil Wiggins, and women bluegrass pioneers Hazel Dickens & Alice Gerrard. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 8
This week on Tapestry of the Times, Gourd banjo music from Mike Seeger, a rare recording of a young Bob Dylan, vocal harmonies from the Bahamas, the gentle touch of Brazilian guitar master Luiz Bonfa. Plus: a cowboy ballad from Lead Belly, and “Mean Talking Blues” from Woody Guthrie. Real music, real people and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 7
This week on Tapestry of the Times, Outlaw country music from north of the border, family fiddle tunes from Cape Breton, classic piano blues from juke joints and barrelhouse bars, cowboy ballads and poems, and melodies in memory of labor songwriter Joe Hill. Real music, real people and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 6
This week on Tapestry of the Times, French Carpenter plays the fiddle tune that won his Grandfather's release from a Civil War prison camp, Hatian Vodou practioners sing a funerary song to release the spirits of the dead plus folk legend Josh White lets us all know what he thinks of his landlord. Real music, real people and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 5
This week on Tapestry of the Times, songs from New Orleans street singer Snooks Eaglin, Calypso from Trinidad’s Mighty Sparrow, the sounds of Brazilian capoeiristas, and lush layers of melody from Zimbabwe. Plus: a showcase of female vocal talents Berzilla Wallin, Peggy Seeger, gospel traditionalist Mary Pinckney. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 4
This week on Tapestry of the Times, bluegrass from the Lilly Brothers & Don Stover, railroad tunes, sea chanteys, mountain music, and old-time songs of “Rags and Riches.” Plus, world music from Afghanistan and the Abayudaya people of Uganda. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 3
This week on Tapestry of the Times, blues piano from Memphis Slim, marimba music from Guatemala, labor union songs, World War II anthems, Tuvan throat singing, and classic old-time tunes from Doc Boggs and Roscoe Holcomb. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 2
This week on Tapestry of the Times, we'll get an introduction to the legendary blind bluesman Reverend Gary Davis, we'll hear the harmonies of lady bluegrass pioneers Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerard, and we'll listen to the resonant, baritone voice of singer and activist Paul Robeson... plus Woodie Guthrie, Lead Belly, and world music from Mali to Cuba. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds.
Episode 1
It's the inaugural episode of Tapestry of the Times, and we kick things off this week with a sampling of some of the label's original legends: Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie. We'll also hear blues from Warner Williams and Robert Jr. Lockwood, gospel music old and new, and international folk songs from Colombia, Cuba, and Iran. Real music, real people, and the stories behind the sounds... on Tapestry of the Times.
Recently on Tapestry of the Times
Smithsonian Folkways
Aaron Henkin is the creator and host of 'Tapestry of the Times.' He's also a co-creator and producer of WYPR's weekly cultural program, The Signal. Aaron's reports and features have aired nationally on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Day to Day, and PRI's Studio 360 and The World. He's a regular guest-host on the American Public Media program The Story. He's also the curator and host of a weekly podcast called The NPR Station Showcase with PRX