Friday, October 1 was World College Radio Day. WKNC had a jam-packed 24 hour schedule that included nonstop DJs on HD-1, various sets on HD-2, and a full livestream of the event on our YouTube channel. We’re still processing all the footage from the event, so stay tuned for a video recap.
The climax of the entire event was a special guest appearance by Chancellor Randy Woodson, who appeared as a guest on 3 Bears in a Coat’s show Ride Along at 3 p.m.
Chancellor Woodson split his set into three parts; the Muscle Shoals sound, Southern Rock, and songs he’s enjoying now. Although we can’t share his recorded set due to music copyright law, we can provide the playlist– which we also uploaded to Spotify for you to enjoy.
Below you can find 3 Bears in a Coat’s reflection on the event, a transcript of Randy’s air breaks, as well as some pictures from the event.
3 Bears in a Coat- Reflection
World College Radio Day was an absolute whirlwind of an event, but getting to have Chancellor Woodson in to do a special guest set on air was one of the highlights for me. I was astonished at the knowledge he had about the songs he played, and it was very clear he had prepared a great deal for the set.
It’s difficult to put into words exactly what his involvement meant. For me, it was a pretty meaningful show of support from the Chancellor and the leadership at NC State in support of WKNC and college radio at the university. That, in addition to the recent funding for repairing and repainting the station’s transmission tower has shown the university’s commitment to keeping college radio alive at NC State.
From a more direct end, Chancellor Woodson’s set was a truly good set. I was most impressed with the transitions and flow between the songs in his set. Every song worked really well together and ran together cohesively. When I first received the set and listened the whole way through, the songs rolled perfectly into one another, and it was impressive that the set had good transitions on both a small and large scale.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about the most surprising part of the Chancellor’s visit to the station: the guitar playing. Early on, during one of the songs, he told me he played the blues guitar, and he got the chance to prove that later on in the set. During one of the longer songs, the Chancellor made his way into WKNC’s lounge where most of the DJs for the day were relaxing, and found a guitar that had been brought by Tommy “T-Time” Ellis and began to play away. Despite claims that he hadn’t played in a while, the Chancellor was happy to show off his skills on the guitar for the DJs in attendance. In addition, he was happy to play along with Grant “Eubanks” Eubanks on keyboard and show his comfort freestyling on the guitar.
Chancellor Woodson’s involvement completed WKNC’s celebration of World College Radio Day, and it wouldn’t have been the same without it.
Transcript
3 Bears in a Coat
You’re listening to WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh. I’m 3 Bears in a Coat, and this is Ride Along, a collection of my very own- Well, actually, this isn’t my own set. This is the set of our very special guest for World College Radio Day, North Carolina State University Chancellor Randy Woodson. Chancellor Woodson, how are you doing today?
Chancellor Randy Woodson
I am doing awesome. This is gonna be a big day, a march down memory lane- at least in my memory lane, and I think it’ll be great for our listeners.
3 Bears in a Coat
Amazing. Can you give us just a brief glimpse as to what we’ve got on tap today?
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Yeah, so we’ve got, we’ve got three sets. Today we’re gonna start off with the Muscle Shoals sound, which came out of largely two studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in the late 60s, early 70s. And frankly, they’re still recording today, but I don’t know what they’re recording now. So this first set is a Muscle Shoals sound, we’re going to talk about how that led into southern rock. And I’m limited to one song per artist so I had to be careful in my selections. And then finally we’re going to have a set on what I’m listening to now, which are just a couple of songs to give folks a sense of what lights my fire. And then speaking of fire we’ll end the set with a little bit of Earth, Wind & Fire.
3 Bears in a Coat
Absolutely. Can I just say that when we get to what you’re listening now; audience you are in for a treat. I am a real fan of this. Up first we’ve got When A Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge. Take it easy and enjoy the ride.
3 Bears in a Coat
You just heard When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge. Chancellor Woodson, you were telling some interesting stories about this song in theairbreak- Do you wanna share that with the audience?
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Yeah- so the studio that this song was recorded in is called Fame Studios, and it was really the song that put the studio on the map and engineers a guy named Rick Hall who really discovered Percy Sledge, actually as a bellhop, and recorded the song. So it’s a great example of the early Muscle Shoals sound, and the next song, which I’m really excited about is Aretha Franklin I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You. And people that know her early career, her first two albums on Columbia, were all gospel and jazz. And frankly, nothing really hit the charts. And she was looking for a remake, looking to really establish herself as a legit soul singer, and elected to go record in Muscle Shoals. And so she really attributes a lot of her success to that early recording where she recorded Respect. And, I mean, it was just a phenomenal album on Atlantic. And so I think this is a great example of when Aretha came into being Aretha. And she was backed by a group of musicians called The Swampers, and if you listen to the start of this song, you’ll hear a great old Hammond organ, that they were just sitting around trying to figure out how to begin the song, and this dude starts to play the intro to the song and the rest is history.
3 Bears in a Coat
Wow. Well with an intro like that, I don’t want to waste any more time. That’s I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You by Aretha Franklin. Coming up, take it easy.
3 Bears in a Coat
You just heard I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You by Aretha Franklin. I want to let you announce this next song, Chancellor Woodson, so please, by all means.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
This next song is an all time favorite of mine. It’s by Wilson Pickett. Wilson Pickett was a world class soul singer in the late 60s. This was recorded in 1969. But he was recording in Alabama at Muscle Shoals’ Fame Studios, and there was this dude that was camping out, outside the studio for weeks on end to try to get a chance to be a studio musician and play with the likes of Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett. His name was Duane Allman. And, of course, he went on to form the Allman Brothers Band, but if you listen carefully, of course, this is the Beatles song Hey Jude, but re-recorded by Wilson Pickett. It’s Duane Allman’s arrangement of the song. And at the end of the song, when Wilson Pickett is just tearing into it, with his traditional screaming vocals, you’ll hear Duane Allman just tearing it up on an old Fender Stratocaster. So, Hey Jude.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Hey Jude by Wilson Pickett coming up.
3 Bears in a Coat
You just heard Hey Jude, covered by Wilson Pickett. Chancellor Woodson, you said you had a great story for this next song, so I’m just gonna let you take it away.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Well, first of all, you just got introduced to one of Duane Allman’s early early recordings-
3 Bears in a Coat
And pay attention to that name because it may come up later-
Chancellor Randy Woodson
It certainly may. And so we’re continuing on the Muscle Shoals theme. But what happened, this was 1969, and what happened next is the studio musicians that were part of the Fame Studio, decided to go out off on their own and create their own sound and their own studio. And they formed another studio in little Muscle Shoals, Alabama, a town of less than 5000 people, near the Tennessee River, and they formed the Muscle Shoals Studio- very creative name, I think we’ll all agree. But that studio, this place Muscle Shoals, was starting to get a lot of attention. A lot of artists wanted to record their because it really changed people’s career. Areatha Franklin’s career was changed. Percy Sledge career was launched. Etta James, a great blues singer, her career was launched through Muscle Shoals. So, in 1969, after The Swampers left Fame Studio and went to their own studio, the Rolling Stones showed up in town. And they recorded what became the Sticky Fingers album, and they recorded three or four tracks at Muscle Shoals. And the one that you’re going to hear today is Brown Sugar.
3 Bears in a Coat
That’s right, Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones coming up.
3 Bears in a Coat
That was Brown Sugar by the Rolling Stones. This is the end of our first set. Is that right?
Chancellor Randy Woodson
That’s right, we’re moving on to the second set. And if you really want to know the history of Muscle Shoals, it really gave rise to the movement that a lot of people call the southern rock era, where bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker, and we’re going to hear a couple of examples of that era. And we’re going to start with Allman Brothers. You’ve heard Duane Allman play with Wilson Pickett on Hey Jude, and after playing a few years in the studio, he said, You know, I’ve had enough of this, and he formed his own band with his brother Gregg, and they moved to Macon, Georgia, and recorded at Capricorn Records. And this song, Midnight Rider, is from one of the early Allman Brothers band’s albums from 1970.
3 Bears in a Coat
That is Midnight Rider coming up by the newly formed, I guess we could consider it-
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Well, it was newly formed in 1970.
3 Bears in a Coat
That would be Midnight Rider by the Allman Brothers Band. Take it easy.
3 Bears in a Coat
That was Midnight Rider by the Allman Brothers Band, the newly formed, at that point, Allman Brothers Band. This came out in 1970, just after they had reformed, as Chancellor Woodson actually said earlier. Up next, sticking with the southern rock trend is Can’t You See by the Marshall Tucker Band. In case you can’t tell, there is a bit of a similarity in their names. They both are the “something something band”, and it’s a wonderful little trend, at least in this Southern rock set that, I don’t know, Chancellor Woodson, if you have that to talk about or something else. I just love to hear more about it from you.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Yeah, well, I think the thing people need to understand about the Marshall Tucker Band is it was started by a guy named Toy Caldwell. Toy had just returned from Vietnam, he was a Marine, and started this band. And he’s from South Carolina, so it’s a band that has roots in South Carolina. And it’s one of the very few bands in early rock that featured the flute. I don’t know that the flute is prominent in Can’t You See, it’s really Toy Caldwell’s phenomenal blues guitar, but if you listen to a lot of Marshall Tucker, you’ll hear a fair amount of flute solos. Along with Jethro Tull, of course, would be the other band in the mid 70s that had a lot of flute. But Marshall Tucker also had a lead flutist.
3 Bears in a Coat
Wow, what an amazing gift to rock.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
It’s a gift to rock.
3 Bears in a Coat
It absolutely is. That’s Can’t You See by the Marshall Tucker Band coming up. Take it easy.
3 Bears in a Coat
You just heard Can’t You See by the Marshall Tucker Band, and that ends our second set about southern rock. What’s up next then?
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Well, 3 Bears in a Coat, I thought, for my third set, I would give the listeners a little glimpse into the wacky mind of the Chancellor and give you a couple of songs that are from my current playlist what I’m listening to, and it’s only two examples, but we’re going to start with a really phenomenal young guitarist named Marcus King. At 17 he formed a band called the Marcus King Band. There’s a theme, we’ve used that word a number of times today and it’s always been good. And so his first album was the Marcus King Band, just phenomenal blues and rock. But then he recorded a solo album recently called Marcus King, El Dorado. I say “ell doe-ray-doe”, some people say “ell doe-rah-doe”, but I’m from Arkansas, and it was “doe-ray-doe” in Arkansas, so that’s what I’m gonna say. So, this is a great song, and it’s a very romantic song about a man sitting in a bar, looking at this beautiful woman and singing the song to her called Beautiful Stranger.
3 Bears in a Coat
Beautiful Stranger. That’s Beautiful Stranger by Marcus King up next. Take it easy.
3 Bears in a Coat
Well, while I can’t betray Randy’s original vision, I do want to let him keep shredding on the guitar if he so chooses. He’s actually gone out into our Lounge where we record a lot of live music, and we’ve actually brought some instruments in to make some music during World College Radio Day. And- Chancellor Woodson, now that you’re just coming back to join me, I did explain to them you were just in our Lounge, playing a guitar that one of our DJs brought in for World College Radio Day. I have to ask- I mean, that was amazing- but please, what just happened?
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Well, there was a guitar out there, and I turned on the amp, and I played it! It’s not rocket science.
3 Bears in a Coat
I mean, no no, sure. I just, I mean, you had told me that you played blues guitar, but that was very impressive just to go out there and immediately jump into it. I have to ask- you got a call! You got a fan call earlier in the set that I do want to come back around to-Matthew Booker, a professor of history that you’ve done some in-class work with here. He asked for your favorite band from Arkansas?
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Yeah, so I’m going to take liberties with Professor Booker, and I’m going to extend this to famous band members from Arkansas. The band may not be from Arkansas, but the member and leader of the band is from Arkansas. I’m gonna say- because it’s consistent with the theme that we talked about today- the name of the band is The Band, and the the leader of the band- other than Robbie Robertson is- was- Levon Helm. Levon Helm is from the delta of Arkansas, and a great musician, and is from a phenomenal band. And, unfortunately, throat cancer took him a few years ago, but, a great musician.
3 Bears in a Coat
And that’s Levon Helm of the band The Band.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
The reason they’re called The Band is because they started as the backup band for Bob Dylan. And so the basement tapes of Bob Dylan are really all The Band as a backup, and then they recorded as The Band without Bob Dylan. And, The Weight- do you know The Weight?
3 Bears in a Coat
No, I don’t know The Weight.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Well, we have to play The Weight.
3 Bears in a Coat
Well, I will put it on after the next song actually.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
So here’s the next song- and you got me distracted. Or, I should say, Professor Booker got me distracted. So we’re in the third set, and we’re listening to what I’m listening to now. And there’s a phenomenal musician out of Nashville called Chris Stapleton, who really started as a phenomenal songwriter. But, he has this amazing, gravelly, you know, drinking whiskey voice, and this song that I’m gonna sing- well, I’m not gonna sing it.
3 Bears in a Coat
Oh, I was so hoping for that.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
No, that would be really awkward. And I’m not very good. But, Chris Stapleton, from his first breakaway album- it won a Grammy!- called Tennessee Whiskey.
3 Bears in a Coat
Yeah, that’s Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton- not actually sung by Chancellor Woodson. I mean, I’d find that delight, I’m sure everyone else would too, but either way that’s Tennessee Whiskey coming up, take it easy.
3 Bears in a Coat
That was The Weight by The Band- a late addition to this set actually.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Well, it was for for Professor Booker, who wanted to challenge me to think about famous bands from Arkansas and I guess I pulled a chance on him and decided famous people from Arkansas that are in The Band, so that’s what we did. And so, thank you Matt for calling in. And you know, this has been a big couple of weeks for me. My ending song is one that I remember being a big hit when I was in college, but the reason it came to my mind is because I had a grandson that was born just a couple of weeks ago on September 21, and that immediately made me think of a song.
3 Bears in a Coat
What song might that be?
Chancellor Randy Woodson
That song would be September by Earth, Wind & Fire. So this is my walkout song. And it’s to my grandson, Wynne Randolph Woodson.
3 Bears in a Coat
W R W, just like you!
Chancellor Randy Woodson
Just like me.
3 Bears in a Coat
Amazing. That’s September, coming up. That will actually end Chancellor Woodson’s involvement on the set. Do you have any last messages before you go to your walkout song?
Chancellor Randy Woodson
You know, I couldn’t wait to be a part of the show today, because there’s two things I love- radio and college, and to combine them on one day, across the world for Worldwide College Radio Day. I had to be a part of it.
3 Bears in a Coat
And we are so grateful to have you. That’s September coming up. And again, Chancellor Woodson, thank you so much.
Chancellor Randy Woodson
My pleasure.
