West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Telling West Virginia's Story
Enjoy this version of Angels We Have Heard On High, performed by Bob Thompson and the Bob Thompson Unit. It was recorded live during our annual Joy to the World holiday concert.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-LMVTUvw1k
Be sure to join us on Christmas Day for a Joy to the World Marathon on West Virginia Public Radio. The music begins at 5 a.m. You can also listen online.
Probably–well, not probably, most definitely–the most fun part of producing a documentary on 30 years of Mountain Stage is getting to cull through the archives of 2,000 hours of live performance radio. It’s daunting, humbling, and exciting all in one. There’s music recorded on virtually every format: reel to reel, DAT, miniDisc–you name it–they’ve got it on that medium.
Some of the archive more accessible than other parts, and sometimes it is necessary digitize the tapes in real time (meaning a 2-hour show takes 2 hours to “dub”). But, never fear, the Mountain Stage crew is planning to digitize their entire archive and will soon make every bit of it available to the public. If you’re interested and have the means, you can help them out with this endeavor.
Until then, I (and the folks that work on the show) wanted to offer you a taste with a series of posts that contains the music from ‘Mountain Stage at 30: A Radio Retrospective’.
So, without any further adieu, here’s part one in a series to be rolled out over the holidays–enjoy!
Larry Groce – “Junk Food Junkie”
Long before Mountain Stage began, Texas native Larry Groce landed in central West Virginia as a musician-in-residence with the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1976, “Junk Food Junkie” shot up on the charts, reaching #9 on the Billboard Top 100. Groce toured the country in support of the single and landed on national radio and television programs, including The Dick Clark Show, The Rich Little Show, and The Merv Griffin Show.
Bob Thompson – “Take the ‘A’ Train”
Also before Mountain Stage came into being, Andy Ridenour of West Virginia Public Radio produced live music events around Charleston. One of the first acts was local jazz pianist Bob Thompson. While this version of “Take the ‘A’ Train” was recorded live on Mountain Stage in 2004, I felt it was a safe enough bet that Thompson has been performing it for years. And plus, everyone loves some Bob Thompson.
Larry Groce – “West Virginia Hills”
With hopes of putting on a regularly scheduled program, Mountain Stage creators Larry Groce, Andy Ridenour, and Francis Fisher put together a one-off pilot show in March 1981. Athough they lacked a proper theme song on the pilot episode, Ridenour and Groce introduced the show with the chorus of state’s official song, “West Virginia Hills”.
Larry Groce & Company – “Mountain Stage Theme”
Although today’s audiences of Mountain Stage recognize the show’s current theme as “Simple Song”, the earliest days of the show featured a theme song that was much different. Here’s the first version of the Mountain Stage Theme from the December 1983 broadcast, the first one the show produced that kicked off the show’s official beginning.
Editor’s Note: Mountain Stage at 30: Songs From the Doc is a multi-part series that serves as a companion to a recent documentary that details the history of the show. Stay tuned to wvpublic.org as the series is rolled out over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Bob Thompson and his band present their annual concert Joy to the World in three West Virginia cities this week. Joy to the World, Thompson and his band's…
Bob Thompson and his band present their annual concert Joy to the World in three West Virginia cities this week.
“You have to be very careful when you’re dealing with Christmas music because this is music that belongs to everybody and people know this music. It’s special to them. So you can’t take it too far away from what it is. You still want to evoke those memories of the holidays with people so you can’t get too far outside. But at the same time we try to put our own stamp on it.”
Joy to the World, Thompson and his band’s annual Christmas gift to jazz lovers will be presented in three cities beginning tonight at the Culture Center in Charleston, Friday night at Davis and Elkins College in Elkins and Saturday night at the WVU Creative Arts Center in Morgantown.
Listen to Joy to the World 2011 on Dec. 12 at 9 p.m. on West Virginia Public RadioRecorded in 2010, this evening's Joy to the World radio program features…
Listen to Joy to the World 2011 on Dec. 12 at 9 p.m. on West Virginia Public Radio
Recorded in 2010, this evening’s Joy to the World radio program features special guest vocalist Kim Nalley; Named one of the “Ten Most Influential African Americans in the Bay Area,” Nalley has an international reputation as one of the world’s best jazz & blues vocalists.
Now in its 21st year, Joy to the World is West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s annual live performance holiday jazz program hosted by pianist Bob Thompson. Each year’s concert is edited into next year’s broadcast.
About Kim Nalley — Kim Nalley is an award-winning vocalist, bandleader and producer from San Francisco. With a formal background in classical music and theater, Nalley’s star ascended upon switching to Jazz. Her resume includes several CDs, numerous rave reviews, yearly concerts at some of the most prestigious jazz festivals and jazz-clubs throughout Europe, Canada, Japan and the United States. She is the producer of several successful musical-historio-graphical shows in various venues including “Ladies Sing the Blues,” “She Put a Spell on Me: Tribute to Nina Simone” and the multimedia presentation of jazz “Black History Month Concert Series.” She also is the resuscitator and owner of the famous jazz club “Jazz at Pearl’s.”
About Bob Thompson — World-renowned jazz pianist Bob Thompson always plays as though it’s his last moment on the keyboard. That advice came from Chicago saxophonist Bunky Green in the 1960s, and Thompson has observed it ever since. Bob is also a part of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage® band. Thompson has recorded numerous albums over the years including two compilations of past Joy to the World shows.
Listeners who enjoy Joy to the World will also be treated to 16 hours of jazz holiday music from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Christmas day from West Virginia Public Radio.
