Yearly Archives: 2009

My Place with Joel Najman

The Ladies By Name – Part Four

By VPR | February 7, 2009

When in December, 2008 Joel Najman’s "My Place" program presented it’s first "Ladies By Name" program theme – pop records which contain a female name in the title -, the number of listener requests prompted three subsequent programs with this theme. This week’s "My Place" program is titled "Ladies By Name – Part Four", and features songs by Roy Orbison, The Everly Brothers, The Hollies and others, including more of our requests from "My Place" listeners. And thank you for contacting "My Place", which you can always do by writing  My Place, 365 Troy Avenue, Colchester, VT 05446 or by email myplace@vpr.net . "My Place" with Joel Najman is heard Saturday evenings from 8-9PM following "A Prairie Home Companion" on Vermont Public Radio.

My Place with Joel Najman

The Elvis Demos – Part 2

By VPR | January 31, 2009

Last week’s "My Place" program featured a collection of rarely-heard songwriters’ demonstration recordings of songs recorded and made famous by Elvis Presley. This week in a program titled "The Elvis Demos – Part 2" the two-part series concludes with the original demos of several of Elvis’ all-time biggest hits as well as the stories of the songwriters whose compositions Elvis catapulted to fame. A highlight of the program is the first radio airing of the original demo of Elvis’ first mega-hit in 1956 "Heartbreak Hotel", the demo of which was discovered just recently among Elvis’ personal possessions stored a half-century at his Graceland mansion in Memphis. Joel Najman’s "My Place" program is heard Saturday evenings from 8-9PM following "A Prairie Home Companion" on Vermont Public Radio.

My Place with Joel Najman

The Elvis Presley Demos

By VPR | January 24, 2009

Elvis Presley is the most successful recording artist in the history of the music industry, with over 150 nationally charted hit singles from 1955 to long after his passing in 1976, as well as many top selling LP’s and CD reissues. In the past, "My Place" has presented several programs in which Elvis Presley’s recordings of songs were compared to the "original" recordings of these same songs by other artists, as Elvis never hesitated to record his own interpretations of songs he heard others first sing. But not surprisingly, many of the songs Elvis recorded were written specifically for him, and this week’s "My Place" program compares a number of Elvis’ studio recordings with the rarely heard songwriters’ demonstration recordings that had been submitted to Elvis for his consideration. These "demos", as they’re called, are very rare as they were meant only for Elvis, his producers and musicians to hear, are typically one-of-a-kind, and were never meant to be heard by the general public. In fact, most song demos don’t exist any more, as they were typically discarded after the studio recording was made. So, those demos that have somehow found their way into the hands of musicologists are rare treasures which oftentimes provide unique insights into the composer’s original vision of the song as well as the degree to which Elvis put his own signature on the song in his studio recording for release to the general public. This week Joel Najman’s "My Place" program compares a handful of these rarely-heard demos back-to-back with Elvis’ ultimate recording of the same songs. Joel Najman’s "My Place" is heard Saturday nights from 8-9PM following "A Prairie Home Companion" on Vermont Public Radio.

My Place with Joel Najman

The Ladies By Name – Part 3

By VPR | January 17, 2009

Our two recent "My Place" programs featuring pop songs with titles of women’s names generated not only numerous requests but also a number of inquiries asking whether certain "name" songs actually exist. I’ve searched the archives, and this week’s "My Place" program is titled "The Ladies By Name – Part 3" and is made up exclusively of requests by you, the listener.