Kingston Coffee House 3/24/26 Replay-Playlist
Tonight, we pay tribute to one of the greatest songwriters to emerge from Chicago’s folk music scene in the 1960s, Shel Silverstein.
An author, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician, he penned the 1969 Johnny Cash hit “A Boy Named Sue”, which peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, as well as the million-seller “The Unicorn,” recorded by the Irish Rovers.
Silverstein’s songs have been used in films and television, including Almost Famous (“The Cover of Rolling Stone”), Thelma & Louise (“The Ballad of Lucy Jordan”), Postcards from the Edge (“I’m Checkin’ Out”), and Coal Miner’s Daughter (“One’s on the Way”).
Tonight, I’ll play vinyl tracks from Shel’s second album Inside Folk Songs (Atlantic Records) (1962) and a bunch more from Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein which was released on Sugar Hill Records in 2010
Audio available for 2 weeks following air date
OPEN
– Steve Goodman “What Have You Done for Me Lately?” (Goodman-Silverstein) Live at the Earl of Old Town 2006
– Paul Geremia “Money Is King” (The Tiger) My Kinda Place, 1986
– Sir Douglas Quintet “At the Crossroads” (alt version) Mendocino, 1969
First Girl / My Love / Strange Trouble
– Incredible String Band “First Girl I Loved” The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion, 1967
– Paul Geremia “Hard Life Rocking Chair” 1973
– David Amram “The Water Is Wide” (traditional) Tribute to Steve Goodman 1985
– Cat Clyde “My Love” Mud Blood Bone 2026
– Bonnie Prince Billy “Strange Trouble” We Are Together Again, 2026
Hard Times
– Ballake Sissoko, Piers Faccini “Special Rider Blues” (Skip James) When the World was a Song 2025
– I’m With Her & Ye Vagabonds “Rhododendron” Sing Me Alive, 2026
– Eliza Gilkeson “Hard Times in Babylon”, 2000
“How many slams in an old screen door? Depends how loud you shut it. How many slices in a bread? Depends how thin you cut it. How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live ’em. How much love inside a friend? Depends how much you give ’em.” – SS
THE SHEL SILVERSTEIN HOUR
– Todd Snider “A Boy Named Sue” Twistable, Turnable Man: A Musical Tribute to the Songs of Shel Silverstein, 2010
– Lucinda Williams “Ballad of Lucy Jordan” Twistable, Turnable Man, 2010
– Shel Silverstein “The Unicorn” Inside Folk Songs 1962
– John Prine “This Guitar Is For Sale” Twistable, Turnable Man, 2010
– Sissy Spacek “One’s on the Way” from the film Coalminer’s Daughter 1980
– James Earl Keane “Jennifer Johnson and Me” West Textures 1989
– Sarah Saroz “Queen of the Silver Dollar” Twistable, Turnable Man, 2010
– Andrew Bird Twistable, Turnable Man 2010
– Nanci Griffith “The Giving Tree” Twistable, Turnable Man, 2010
– My Morning Jacket “26 Second Song” Twistable, Turnable Man, 2010
– Dr. Hook’s Medicine Show “On the Cover of the Rolling Stone” Sloppy Seconds, 1972
– Meryl Streep & Blue Rodeo “I’m Checkin Out” from the film Postcards On the Edge
– Dr. Hook’s Medicine Show “Sylvia’s Mother” 1972
– “Meet the Boys” dialogue from Little Caesar
THE HOBBLEDEHOY SET
– Teada with John C. Reilly & Seamus Begley “Eileen Og”
– Incredible String Band “Empty Pocket Blues” 1966
– Bert Jansch “Come Sing Me a Happy Song…” Birthday Blues 1969
– Mary Black w RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra “Dimming of the Day” (R Thompson) 2026
– Bonnie Prince Billy “The Children Are Sick” (W Oldham) 2026
– June Tabor “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”
GOODNIGHT
– David Amram “Tompkins Square Park Consciousness Expander” No More Walls 1979
NOTES
- Bobby Bare and his son Bobby Junior, produced the compilation album in 2010 “Twistable, Turnable Man,” in tribute to Silverstein and his legacy.
- “Meet the Boys” dialogue is from 1931 pre-Code classic Little Caesar (d. Mervyn LeRoy)
- Find information on Saturday March 28’s NO KINGS protests
- Comments on the show? Contact Mike Stevenson at [email protected]
CONCERT DATES
- Ontario’s Cat Clyde appears at Club Passim Cambridge, MA on Tuesday May 19
- John C. Reilly is bringing his “Mister Romantic” show to Boston, with a scheduled performance at the Emerson Colonial Theatre on Thursday, July 23, 2026. This show is described as an intimate vaudeville experience featuring romantic songs from the Great American Songbook and beyond
Augie Meyer. Not a camel, btw
PASSINGS
– Augie Meyer (May 31, 1940 – March 7, 2026)
Sheri Wills (1963-2025) was a beloved professor and administrator at both University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island School of Design. Professor Wills inspired students to explore fearlessly and colleagues to share generously. In this spirit, please join us in celebrating her life with a gift in her honor.