Tour the United States of America, learning about the music and musicians from the country's many regions. With the spirit of Woody Guthrie as our guide, we'll discover the roots of America through folk, gospel, bluegrass, R&B, and blues music. We'll migrate to rock and roll, the music that grew alongside, and even sparked, a tidal shift in American culture, politics, and power. It’s all Americana, and it’s all good. <br/><br/><a href="https://branthuddleston.substack.com/s/how-to-tour-america-through-her-music?utm_medium=podcast">branthuddleston.substack.com</a>
How to Tour America Through Her Music
Claim This Podcastby with host Brant Huddleston
13 episodes
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Podcast Overview
Tour the United States of America, learning about the music and musicians from the country's many regions. With the spirit of Woody Guthrie as our guide, we'll discover the roots of America through folk, gospel, bluegrass, R&B, and blues music. We'll migrate to rock and roll, the music that grew alongside, and even sparked, a tidal shift in American culture, politics, and power. It’s all Americana, and it’s all good. <br/><br/><a href="https://branthuddleston.substack.com/s/how-to-tour-america-through-her-music?utm_medium=podcast">branthuddleston.substack.com</a>
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🇺🇲
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2/22/2025
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Recent Episodes
May 17, 2025
Episode Finale: Music for the End of the Road
<p>Dear Music Lover:</p><p>It’s with pleasure and a touch of sadness that I bring you this last episode of my “How to Tour America Through Her Music” podcast.</p><p>It’s been a fun ride, and I enjoyed hanging out with you on the magic bus. We had some good times, didn’t we? But the road calls me to other places, and I must move on. </p><p>Before I go, I want to convey important information about the podcast, the show notes, and the playlist.</p><p>An Important Notice</p><p>As you may know, I donate 100% of the proceeds from my solo books and other creative works to charity. The exception is “Far and Wild,” which I co-wrote with <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/268872612-fabiana">Fabiana</a>.</p><p>I intend to keep all episodes of this podcast <strong>free</strong> for at least two more weeks so everyone can catch up, listen to them all, and share freely with friends.</p><p>After that, I plan to move the podcast behind a paywall so that I can continue funding the two charities cited in my <a target="_blank" href="https://branthuddleston.substack.com/p/my-2024-annual-report">2024 Annual Report</a> — charitywater.org and Doctors Without Borders — plus <strong>two new ones</strong>:</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://innocenceproject.org">Innocence Project</a>, who “work to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone.” I mentioned this group in <a target="_blank" href="https://branthuddleston.substack.com/p/episode-12-the-music-of-motown">Episode 12: The Music of Motown</a>, in which I featured Stevie Wonder’s song “Living for the City” about an innocent Black man wrongly convicted and sentenced to prison. The song exemplifies one I thought I knew until I listened carefully to the words.</p><p>The second opportunity is a new project led by our dear friends Haji Mohammed Ali and Francesca Micheli, shown below in a photo taken in May, 2025. You will recall that Haji is the African man I lectured (poor guy) about American Blues music in <a target="_blank" href="https://branthuddleston.substack.com/p/episode-six-the-blues?r=1g9mu8">Episode Six: The Blues</a>. Fabi and “Franchy” are old friends, from the days when Fabi lived on Zanzibar, and Haji is like a brother to me. </p><p>Haji and Franchi built and operate the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sister-island.com">Sister Island school</a> on the African island of Zanzibar, where they live. Fabi and I visited Zanzibar in 2021, and we were so impressed with their work with the children that we donated to the school.</p><p>Starting in 2025, Haji and Franchi will start a new service of love on the nearby island of Pemba, where children suffer from a debilitating genetic disease. The team will build a hospital on the island, with doctors and staff specializing in treating the disease. Fabi and I also support that effort financially. </p><p>Please join us by donating to the Pemba Island Hospital directly via the Sister PayPal.</p><p>Show Notes and Playlist</p><p>These ended up being long and wordy, so to not distract you from the audio, I put the show notes in a separate post.</p><p>After you’ve listened to the final episode (tap the play button above), I encourage you to read through the notes and listen in full to the many fine songs I feature, including ones from Duane Allman, Joni Mitchell, the Neville Brothers, and Paul Simon.</p><p>As I say in the audio, we just touched the tip of the iceberg in this musical tour of America, with hundreds, nay thousands, of songs waiting to be heard. There is so much more to learn about my country, and the music, as always, speaks volumes.</p><p>So long, but not goodbye</p><p>In the audio, I asked some rhetorical questions: </p><p>What do you stand for? </p><p>What do you believe in? </p><p>What are you willing to fight and die for? </p><p>What is in your soul?</p><p>As I seek to answer those important questions for myself, I wrote a personal creed I hope to follow as I grow older. I’m sharing it with you here in case you also find it helpful.</p><p><p>Stay curious. Keep an open mind. Don’t pre-hate anyone or anything. Listen. Give everyone and everything many chances to prove themselves. Forgive, as Jesus advised, 70 times seven. Love with wild abandon.</p></p><p>I know it’s a lot to reach for, but I believe we can do it, especially if we have each other.</p><p>I’m not saying goodbye — I’ve got plenty of creative endeavors planned for 2025, so stay tuned, and I’ll see you… on the road.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Dance Past Sunset at <a href="https://branthuddleston.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">branthuddleston.substack.com/subscribe</a>
May 10, 2025
Episode 12: The Music of Motown
<p>Dear Music Lover:</p><p>This is the next to the last episode in my “How to Tour America Through Her Music” podcast, and I’m on a roll! We have a rendezvous with destiny planned for the last show, at the famous Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. </p><p>If you want to start the tour from the beginning, just tap the magic button below:</p><p>For now, Detroit City and Motown’s music are a must-stop on our musical tour of the United States. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Marvelettes, the Spinners, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Michael Jackson, and so many more are all part of Motown’s musical legacy.</p><p>Author Wesley Morris said in the book “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story” that Motown’s many musical artists were disintegrating America’s: </p><p><p>“political investment in a myth of racial separateness, the idea that art forms can be either “white” or “black” in character when aspects of many are at least both.” </p></p><p>Motown, Mr. Morris said, gave us “the sound of America,” and that’s a sound we must explore! So kick back, relax, tap the fat “play” button found above, and listen to just a few Motown songs that changed America… for the better!</p><p>Playlist and Show Notes</p><p>I love Michael Jackson’s music and admire how he represented the spirit of what Mr. Morris said. Great music transcends color! It seemed fitting to start the show with “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/F2AitTPI5U0?si=TgHcSUAnLt8ZcFL5">Black or White</a>” by the King of Pop.</p><p>The instrumental music you hear behind my rambling is the introduction to “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/S5xAtsXb8Vs?si=HZLXWh87bZKorKg5">Papa Was a Rolling Stone</a>,” by The Temptations. The Grammy-winning song, originally performed by Motown recording act the <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/2s6W4FR39qQ?si=B-RJn5D9T3y_ddSn">Undisputed Truth in 1972</a>, tells the story of a father who fails his family. That, sadly, is a problem that harms families of all races. In a 2008 Father’s Day speech, then-Senator Barack Obama emphasized the importance of paternal responsibility, stating that children without fathers are more likely to face poverty, commit crimes, drop out of school, and end up incarcerated.</p><p>I followed with “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/H-kA3UtBj4M?si=smuoSnFIi7nQl0EX">What’s Going On?</a>” written and performed by the great Marvin Gaye. According to <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What's_Going_On_(song)">Wikipedia</a>:</p><p>The song’s inspiration came from Renaldo “Obie” Benson, a member of the Motown vocal group the Four Tops, after he and the group's tour bus arrived at Berkeley on May 15, 1969. While there, Benson witnessed police brutality and violence in the city's People’s Park during a protest held by anti-war activists in what was hailed later as “Bloody Thursday.” </p><p>Upset by the situation, Benson said to author Ben Edmonds that as he saw this, he asked, “‘What is happening here?’ One question led to another. Why are they sending kids so far away from their families overseas? Why are they attacking their own children in the streets?”</p><p>The story Stevie Wonder tells in “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/ghLWjyOOLno?si=DaLQOOnf5DOEb9X4">Living for the City</a>” is heartbreaking. I am so grateful for the <a target="_blank" href="https://innocenceproject.org">Innocence Project</a>, who “work to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone.” Please consider making a donation.</p><p>Finally, I played part of one of my favorite Motown songs — “Love Child,” by Diana Ross and the Supremes. <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/lqakDo11cPQ?si=nRdrBqsyRlPS_K4H">Here are the Supremes</a> performing that hit live on the Ed Sullivan TV show in 1969.</p><p>Love child, never meant to be</p><p>Love child, born in poverty</p><p>Love child, never meant to be</p><p>Love child, take a look at me</p><p>Bonus Track</p><p>Otis Redding, the “King of Soul,” while not a Motown artist, is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. In 1966, he recorded the 1932 song “Try a Little Tenderness,” which offers sound advice for the world in any era.</p><p>Here is the 2007 version of that song by the Richmond, Virginia band Five Spot and the Soul Patrol Horns. I play guitar, and my friend and fellow bandmate Tom Muldoon performs the vocals and drums.</p><p>An Important Clarification About Race</p><p>Lately, I’ve had plenty to say about music being colorblind, an idea also suggested by Wesley Morris in “The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story” — a book I recommend everyone read. While the entire book is well researched and written, Mr. Morris’s chapter on music is especially stupendous. </p><p>I do not, however, believe it is either possible or advisable for humans to be color or gender-blind. Not only is it against our nature, but attempting to be so risks blinding ourselves to an essential part of what makes us human. </p><p>Not being racist or sexist does not mean being blind to race or sex. Quite the opposite, it means being so acutely aware of differences that you love each one for the unique qualities it brings to the human mix, like loving a spice for how it affects the flavor of a dish. The differences are to be celebrated and savored!</p><p>I pontificate further on this matter in my essay “How is it possible to be color and gender-blind?” Want to read it? Yay! You can.</p><p>Coming Up Next!</p><p>I wrap up the podcast with one final episode, where we find ourselves heading back to where our madcap tour started… New York! Along the way, we pick up an interesting hitchhiker. Hmmm! Who could it be?</p><p>You won’t want to miss meeting her, so climb aboard the magic bus and hang on for the ride!</p><p></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Dance Past Sunset at <a href="https://branthuddleston.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">branthuddleston.substack.com/subscribe</a>
May 3, 2025
Episode 11: The Music of America's Pacific Northwest
<p>Dear Music Lover:</p><p>Thanks again for joining me on this tour of America’s music and of the country itself. Before we get underway, allow me to plug my latest book, which I co-wrote with the love of my life, the Italian pirate lady <a target="_blank" href="https://substack.com/profile/268872612-fabiana">Fabiana</a> Capuano. </p><p>Called “Far and Wild,” our book tells the story of Fabi’s twenty years of travel as a single woman through 100+ countries.</p><p>Fabi posts a lot of fun pictures and videos from her travels, along with excerpts from the book, on <a target="_blank" href="https://fabi27.substack.com">her Substack</a>. Check it out! It’s free!</p><p>Better yet, pick up a copy of “Far and Wild” from Amazon. The ebook is only five bucks!</p><p>Thank you!</p><p>“Her” Music?</p><p>Some of you may be wondering why I used the feminine pronoun “her” to describe the USA in the title of this podcast, and I honestly don’t know. It just felt right to me when I started writing the copy back in 2015.</p><p>I put the question to ChatGPT (“Is using the feminine pronoun for the United States of America acceptable?”), and it (He? She? They?) responded as follows:</p><p>Writers, orators, and poets—especially in the 18th and 19th centuries—often personified countries, ships, and abstract ideals using feminine pronouns. Referring to the U.S. as “she” or “her” can sound archaic or overly romantic unless used deliberately for stylistic or emotional effect.</p><p>Well, shiver me timbers! I identify as archaic, overly romantic, and as a 19th-century poet and writer, so I guess it’s okay. </p><p>She it is!</p><p>My risky pronoun choice for the USA is not the only risk I took in this episode, but you’ll just have to listen to find out!</p><p><strong>Tap on the big PLAY button found above.</strong></p><p>Show Notes and Playlist</p><p>I started with part of “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/Oco3AwkLFUc?si=1yuHoXHEa7tQ9oQq">White Privilege</a>” by Macklemore. As I said in my <a target="_blank" href="https://branthuddleston.substack.com/p/episode-nine-southern-california?r=1g9mu8">episode about the music of Southern California</a>, I believe hip-hop is the only genre of modern music that speaks with the same raw authenticity as the music of defiance from the 60s. “White Privilege and its follow-up, “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/hw8WhXfUmos?si=-U-yLR49lCBFmqaN">White Privilege II</a>,” reveal Macklemore struggling through a personal battle as a successful “white” rapper who “culturally appropriates” from “black” people.</p><p>Relax Mackemore. I offer you some advice while playing “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/8B1oIXGX0Io?si=UetIk12If_GXeq3A">Cantaloupe Island</a>” by Herbie Hancock. I sense you need it. While Hancock is not from the Pacific Northwest, the hip-hop superstar Snoop Dogg credited him for “inventing hip-hop.”</p><p>But who invented what? Every musician since the dawn of time has culturally appropriated from those who came before, all the way back to when the first human banged a bone on a rock and said: “Ugh. That sounds cool.”</p><p>I played “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/uizQVriWp8M?si=78iBnDjUPqdnNmaW">Soul Meets Body</a>” by Death Cab for Cutie, “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/qR9DjdMrpHg?si=9sw34S1hdaVHQfVT">Down by the Water</a>” by the Decemberists, and “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/ySzrJ4GRF7s?si=18dlTH48Ik4s5hMM">Fell On Black Days</a>” by Soundgarden.</p><p>Jimi Hendrix and the Museum of Pop Culture</p><p>I played “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/Zts332Y-nyg?si=AAEaKqFhq79YziyR">Third Stone From The Sun</a>” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience while introducing the Museum of Pop Culture, dedicated to “the ideas and risk-taking that fuel contemporary popular culture.” I visited the museum in 2017. Here are some pix.</p><p>I played parts of “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/jyrt5hgrshQ?si=q7eERzmbC3O9_sHc">Spanish Castle Magic</a>” and “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/pt0AqikB98A?si=R89UyPWhzoM47pvJ">If 6 Was 9</a>” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience</p><p><p>I’ve got my own world to live through</p><p>And I ain’t gonna copy you</p><p>Jimi Hendrix</p></p><p>I closed the episode with the astoundingly good “<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/TLV4_xaYynY?si=rKoQsvZOxBcVp73f">All Along the Watchtower</a>” by Jimi Hendrix, which amazes me every time I hear it.</p><p>Bonus Tracks</p><p>For some extra fun, here are two additional versions of “All Along the Watchtower.” The first is by the song’s composer, the great Bob Dylan.</p><p>The second is by some goofball I found laying on the street in dirty clothes sucking on a wine bottle in a paper bag. Is it an AI deep fake? Oh no! That’s me!</p><p>Coming Up Next!</p><p>We nod to Chicago as we pass it by and head farther east to Detroit City, where we stop for the night at a modest white house located at 2648 West Grand Boulevard.</p><p>Don’t recognize the address? You will surely recognize the music made there!</p><p>I’ll see you next week. Until then…</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Dance Past Sunset at <a href="https://branthuddleston.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4">branthuddleston.substack.com/subscribe</a>
13 total episodes available
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