Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – January 6, 2026: Remembering Tim Williams, Raul Malo, Steve Cropper and Joe Ely

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU, 93.1 FM, in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can be streamed on-demand, now or anytime, by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/73574.html

Theme: Remembering Tim Williams, Raul Malo, Steve Cropper and Joe Ely.

Remembering Tim Williams (1948-2025)

Tim Williams – who died on November 28, at age 77, following a short battle with cancer – was born in California and had already recorded his first LP before he moved to Canada in 1970. He was based in Vancouver for several years before moving on to Alberta, where he worked for a time as a cowboy and then began a long career as an acoustic blues and folk artist based in Calgary.

Tim Williams- Pallet on the Floor

Evenings Among Friends (Cayuse)

Tim Williams- Alberta In My Dreams

When I was a Cowboy (Cayuse)

Cindy Church- Trying to Rope the Wind

Just a Little Rain (Stony Plain)

Tim Williams- The Ones Who Made the Blues

Indigo Incidents (Cayuse)

Tim Williams- It’s Enough to Be Remembered

Songster, Musicianer, Music Physicianer (Cayuse)

Remembering Raul Malo (1965-2025)

Raul Malo – who died on December 8, at age 60, from cancer – was both a solo artist and the lead singer with The Mavericks.

Raul Malo- Early Morning Rain

The Nashville Acoustic Sessions (CMH)

Raul Malo- You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

The Nashville Acoustic Sessions (CMH)

Raul Malo- I Guess Things Happen That Way

Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash (Dualtone)

Remembering Steve Cropper (1941-2025)

Steve Cropper – who died on December 3, at age 84 – was a guitarist, songwriter and record producer and as the guitarist in Booker T. & The MGs, was probably the definitive guitarist of Memphis soul music.

Booker T. & The MGs- Green Onions

Green Onions (Stax)

Wilson Pickett- In the Midnight Hour

In the Midnight Hour (Atlantic)

The Staple Singers- The Weight

Soul Folk In Action (Stax)

Otis Redding- (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay 

The Dock of the Bay (Atco)

Steve Cropper- Crop Dustin’

With a Little Help From My Friends (Volt)

Jesse Winchester- Club Manhattan

Gentleman of Leisure (Sugar Hill)

Remembering Joe Ely (1947-2025)

Joe Ely – who died on December 15, at age 78, from pneumonia after a battling Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia – was one of the great Texas singer-songwriters and song interpreters who recorded under his own name and as a member of The Flatlanders.

Joe Ely & Joel Guzman- Because of the Wind

Live Cactus (Rack ‘Em)

Ramblin' Jack Elliott- Me and Billy the Kid

Friends of Mine (HighTone)

The Chieftains & Joe Ely- The Moonshiner/I’m a Rambler, I’m a Gambler

Further Down the Old Plank Road (RCA)

Tom Russell- Indian Cowboy

Tonight We Ride: The Tom Russell Cowboy Anthology (Frontera)

Joe Ely- Gallo del Cielo

Letter to Laredo (MCA)

The Flatlanders- Right Where I Belong

Now Again (New West)

James Talley & Joe Ely- W. Lee O’Daniel and the Light Crust Doughboys

Touchstones (Cimarron)

Tom Russell & Joe Ely- Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues 

Folk Hotel (Frontera)

Joe Ely & Joel Guzman- Ranches and Rivers

Live Cactus (Rack ‘Em)

Next week: Lightfoot! Revisited and Kate &Anna McGarrigle Revisited.

--Mike Regenstreif

Big Mama! The Willie Mae Thornton Story

Big Mama! The Willie Mae Thornton Story
Conceived and written by Audrei-Kairen
Director: John Cooper
Music Director: Tim Williams
Produced by Bellfry Theatre (Victoria, B.C.)

Starring Jackie Richardson as Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton
Featuring Kevin Belzner (drums), Ron Casat (keyboards), Tim Williams (guitar)

Big Mama: The Willie Mae Thornton Story continues at the National Arts Centre Theatre in Ottawa through May 11. This review is based on the performance of April 26.

Big Mama Thornton, was a larger than life blues singer from Alabama. Born in 1926, she was active from the 1940s until her early death, at age 57, in 1984. She was one of the essential links on the chain between the classic blues singers like Bessie Smith who preceded her and the rock ‘n’ roll and blues-rock performers like Janis Joplin, whom she directly inspired. Jackie Richardson, a profoundly talented singer and actor is magnificent as she brings Thornton to back to life, telling her story and singing some of the songs she performed during her career in Big Mama! The Willie Mae Thornton Story, Audrei-Kairen’s masterful summation of Thornton’s life story.

Set on Christmas Eve in a nameless blues bar, somewhere in Canada in the early-1970s, the play begins like a typical blues club set. The band enters – keyboardist Ron Casat in a red Santa hat – and launches into the opening number, a terrific version of Charles Brown’s “Merry Christmas Baby,” perhaps the greatest of all Christmas blues tunes, sung by guitarist and musical director Tim Williams.

Then, Casat introduces the star of the show, Big Mama Thornton, and as soon as Richardson as Thornton enters, it’s obvious she owns the stage. Dressed androgynously, as Thornton often did, in loose fitting men’s clothes, Richardson is riveting whether singing – in a voice that’s somewhat fuller and much less abrasive than Thornton’s was – or offering a series of monologues in which Thornton tells the story of her life – and, also a compelling history of the blues, from how it developed from the songs slaves sang in the fields, to the work of such important figures as Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, Muddy Waters, Johnny Otis and many others.

As Thornton’s life story unfolds, we hear of her early life and her discovery of music – like so many early blues artists, she began to sing in the church – as well such definitive events as witnessing Johnny Ace’s 1954 accidental death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound while playing with his gun, and a love life that encompassed both men and women.

And, of course, we hear Thornton’s describe recording her biggest hit, “Hound Dog,” in 1952. Her version was a number 1 hit on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks years before a tamer version became an early rock ‘n’ roll hit for Elvis Presley. Richardson brilliantly conveys Thornton’s bitterness at not receiving a share of the songwriting credits and royalties she felt she justly deserved. True or not, it’s a great case study of the kind of rip-offs of early artists that were all too common in the music business of the 1950s.

She also fondly recalls the emergence of Janis Joplin and how Joplin asked Thornton’s permission to record her song, “Ball and Chain.”

As an actor, Richardson’s timing is impeccable. She variously moves the audience to tears and to laughter at just the right moments. As the great interpretive singer that she is, Richardson captures the spirit of Thornton without being at all imitative. That her voice is quite different is irrelevant. This is a role Jackie Richardson owns. After seeing this production, I cannot imagine someone else playing the part.

Her interpretations of such numbers as “Hound Dog,” “Ball and Chain,” “Sassy Mama,” “Summertime,” “They Call Me Big Mama,” and so many others are superb. And part of the reason for that, of course, is the great band. Kevin Belzner, Ron Casat and Tim Williams are a terrific, versatile blues combo whether playing on the quietest numbers or the most raucous.

Lending to the authenticity of the performance is Richardson’s knack to get the theatre audience to respond as the audience might have at a great Thornton performance back in the day. During “Sassy Mama,” she randomly pulled three women out of the audience and each responded perfectly as they danced and sang along on stage.

I went to see Big Mama Thornton in Montreal at the Rising Sun club sometime in the late-‘70s. Although she was backed by the Stephen Barry Band – then, as now, Montreal’s best blues ensemble – she was clearly in decline and obviously not in the best of spirits. I recall feeling sad leaving the club after the show. In contrast, this performance by Jackie Richardson was invigorating, moving and inspired. Oh, how I wish I’d seen Thornton herself when she could perform like that.

This production of Big Mama! The Willie Mae Thornton Story is a great night of theatre and a great night of blues. I offer my highest recommendation.

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--Mike Regenstreif