While they don’t all have blue eyes, the white soul and swamp pop guys and gals from Philadelphia and South Louisiana have created distinctive regional sounds of national significance. In Philadelphia, we sample soul roots of the famed band Hall & Oates; and learn from John Oates that — despite years of pop music, big hair and synthesizers — at heart he is also a folkie into country blues and flat-picked guitar a la Doc Watson and Mississippi John Hurt… which he plays live for us! The angelic-voiced Daryl Hall, on the other hand, is more a disciple of the Temptations, who we’ll hear along with the Orlons, The O’Jays, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. In South Louisiana, the simmering pot of music that draws on Cajun, R&B, soul, and country ends up as a tasty dish called Swamp Pop. Johnnie Allan (Guillot) is a Cajun Swamp Pop chef extraordinaire with hits like “South to Louisiana” and a version of the “Promised Land” played on the French accordion. He’s surrounded by music from Earl King, Cookie & the Cupcakes, and Slim Harpo. Tasty indeed!

Wilco front-man, Jeff Tweedy tells of the impact of his songs on growing up in the blue-collar town, of Belleville, Illinois. Music became his creative outlet in high school and led to founding the seminal Americana band, Uncle Tupelo. We hear from Jeff in his Chicago studio “The Loft” about the emergence of Wilco and the place that making music has in his life, including work with Woody Guthrie’s lyrics and producing records with Mavis Staples. In Bentonia, Mississippi, playing blues and running the Blue Front Cafe, has been a lifetime role for guitarist Jimmy “Duck” Holmes. Duck talks about juke joints and moonshine in the Jim Crow South til now- and how he got the name Duck. We’ll also hear music from jukes, honky-tonks, and nightclubs from Hank Williams and George Jones to Bessie Smith and Mary Lou Williams.