I've Heard of Christmas in July, But...: The Carnival Steel Drum Band and "Winter Wonderland"

Why are you getting a Christmas song in March? Well, I take whatever the randomizer gives me, and this might give you some ideas for some music to play next holiday. Today's song is by the Carnival Steel Drum Band and is a cover of the old holiday classic Winter Wonderland on, you guessed it, steel drums! The band is based in Florida, but have performed around the world playing their orchestral quality steel drums, with touches of flute, guitar and Latin percussion. You can find Winter Wonderland on the 2004 album Carnival Steel Drum Christmas Classics, Vol. 1. A winter wonderland looks and sounds slightly different in the tropics. If you're interested in non-holiday music, they also play that too!

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://www.amazon.com/Carnival-Steel-Drum-Collection-Vol-1/dp/B0008ENIZ2

It's Only a Flesh Wound: King Fighter and "He No Dead Yet"

Today's song comes from King Fighter, a legendary calypso musician from Guyana. The stage name of Shurland Wilson, he got his performing name because he had been a boxer known for fancy footwork before starting his music career. He began by singing boleros and love songs before switching to calypso, where he made his name. He made a number of records in the 1950s and 60s which were released in the Caribbean and in Great Britain. King Fighter passed away in 1999 in Grenada, but as this song attests, because of his music...he no dead yet. He No Dead Yet can be found on the Smithsonian Folkways 2000 release Calypso Awakening.

Throwback Thursday: Osibisa and "Sunshine Day"

It is rare when my random selection process coincides with Facebook's Throwback Thursday meme, but today it happened, and it's a happy song about sunshine to go with our sunny and warm day here in Albuquerque as well. While I know that occurrences like these happen because of random chance, it still always seems slightly a miracle to me when things coincide so well. There have been days when I feel extremely melancholy, and that perfect melancholy song in my playlist pops up. Or when I am feeling happy, and Happy by Pharrell Williams or September by Earth Wind and Fire comes on the radio station I have been listening to. It almost feels like something was meant for me...like a divine hand or the guiding laws of the universe decided to remind me that even in the midst of randomness, that hiding in the midst of all the colliding variables, I was meant to experience that moment where life, earth, history, time, and the universe all coalesce into that one perfect point of unity around me.

Or perhaps I think too much of myself...

Anyway, Sunshine Day is a song by Osibisa. Osibisa was founded in London in 1969 by expat Ghanaian and Caribbean musicians and is considered a pioneer band in world music. They toured extensively in the 1970s, especially in Japan, Australia, India and Africa. With the advent of punk and disco, declining sales led to the band's decline and eventual disbanding. However, in 1996 they reformed and began reissuing past releases. The band tours only occasionally because of the effects of a stroke on founder Teddy Osei. The band's music has inspired and influenced many of their contemporaries and even the current generation of African musicians. The band has 27 albums (some unauthorized) and 17 compilation albums. Sunshine Day can be found on their 1975 album Welcome Home as well as compilation albums. This is a live version of the song. I have also included, just below, the studio version.