Write On! A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted through different eras of popular music. Get a Great Gift with Your Donation! Your contribution helps WPKN, a 501(c)(3) organization. Al Bell celebrates the Blues and R&B, playing songs in accordance with his own unique desire to hear one creative piece in juxtaposition with the next. Learn More What inspires me about ‘PKN is that amidst all the differences, there is a ...

Capital Radio with Colette Rossignol is a little Rock-n-Roll radio show on the 2nd Saturday of the month. Colette inherited the Saturday Night slot from Brad Morrison and kept the “Capital Radio” theme to honor Brad’s good work and made it her own. Her love of guitars, bass and drums is the driving force behind the show. You will hear a wide variety of mostly guitar-based music from these genres - punk, pop, alternative, new wave, some soul, ska, R&B, blues and country. New bands from around the world and great American music, too. Sometimes it’s three chords and an attitude (think Ramones or Clash) other times its great pop/powerpop/punk ...

Blues for Bob and You with Colette Rossignol explores classic to contemporary blues from around the world. From the great Chicago blues to the Delta, acoustic, swing, soul, R&B, gospel featuring the greats – Muddy Water, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, and fantastic new blues from Bob Corritore, Doug Deming, Dennis Gruenling, Nick Moss and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. The title says it all – Great blues for everyone…especially for Blues Bob Shapiro – a mentor and a friend. So join me on the 4th and 5th Thursday of the month at 8:00 p.m. for houserockin’ blues! Colette started at WPKN in 1982 presenting “Capital Radio” and continues on ...

Created by African-Americans in the United States in the late 1800s, the blues is a music genre, a style of music, a way of presenting musical ideas, different musical cultures, and an emotion. Its roots are in African American slave songs such as field hollers, work songs, spirituals, and country string ballads. Rural music that captured the suffering, anguish, and hopes of 300 years of slavery and tenant farming, the blues was typically played by roaming solo musicians on acoustic guitar, piano, or harmonica. Early on, the lyrics and instruments of the blues were improvised, giving rise to the one-stringed diddley bow, the percussive washboard, the jug, the spoons, and ...

Muscle Shoals Sound Join WPKN on December 16 and 17 for a special fundraiser celebrating the Muscle Shoals Sound. In 1969, The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, widely referred to as “The Swampers” started a recording studio. The founders, Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, David Hood and Jimmy Johnson, were originally session musicians at Rick Hall’s FAME Studios and, together with Hall, they created the “Muscle Shoals Sound.” The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section provided musical backing and arrangements for major hits by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and the Staple Singers. Success in soul and R&B prompted rock and pop performers to record at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Recordings included Elkie Brooks, ...

IMAGINE by John Lennon Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us, only sky Imagine all the people Livin’ for today Ah Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too Imagine all the people Livin’ life in peace You You may say I’m a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world You ...

BRILL BUILDING A two-day fundraising special – September 9-10! The Brill Building is located at 1619 Broadway and 49th St. in New York City. The 11 story building was built in 1931 and is famous for housing music industry offices and studios where some of the most popular American songs were written. It dominating the pop charts in the early 1960s. The “Brill” name comes from a haberdasher who operated a store at street level and bought the building. Composers and Lyricists at the Brill Building Burt Bacharach, Jeff Barry, Bert Berns, Bobby Darin, Hal David, Neil Diamond, Luther Dixon, Sherman Edwards, Buddy Feyne, Gerry Goffin, Howard Greenfield, Ellie ...

Join WPKN for a two-day special on June 24 with Summer of Love Disco and June 25 with Summer of Love songs! You know that special song that screams IT’S SUMMER!!! to you. The one you played over and over while you got your summer groove on. We're going to share it with the world! As we are seeing an end to the pandemic restrictions, the Summer of Love special will kick-off several unique opportunities for you to help position WPKN for a sustainable future in our new location. Check out our WPKN MOVE giving opportunities. Special thanks to Martha Willette Lewis for supplying the Summer of Love artwork, ...

80 Years - Bob Dylan Birthday Special celebrates Bob Dylan who has been a major figure in popular culture for more than 6 decades. Born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, author, and visual artist. Some of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” (1963) and “The Times They Are a-Changin’” (1964) became anthems for civil rights and anti-war movements. In 1965 and 1966, Dylan drew controversy when he adopted electrically amplified rock instrumentation, and within 15 months recorded three of the most important and influential rock albums of the 1960s: Bringing It All Back Home (1965), Highway 61 Revisited (1965), ...

Join WPKN for a special fundraising event Celebrating Aretha from 7 am to 10 pm on Thursday, March 25, 2021. The Queen of Soul, Aretha Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018), was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin recorded 112 charted singles on Billboard, including 77 Hot 100 entries, 17 top-ten pop singles, 100 R&B entries, and 20 number-one R&B singles. She won 18 Grammy Awards, including the first eight awards given for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Franklin is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. She was awarded the ...