Song of the Day: "California Stars"

Woody approve? Most likely, as Wilco, Jason Isbell, Bob Seger and others make it shine, plus Joni Mitchell's own view of California.

Greg Mitchell is the author of a dozen books and now writer/director of award-winning films. He was also a longtime editor of the legendary Crawdaddy.

Woody Guthrie wrote so many great and influential songs in his day it was hardly necessary to add to his legacy long after he passed (especially if you count Dylan as part of it). Yet a few years back this happened, when Wilco and Billy Bragg set some of Woody poems, lyrics and scribbles to music for what became a hot-selling and award-winning 1998 album called Mermaid Avenue (and two sequels).

The favorite of many of us from that effort was “California Stars,” co-written by Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett (and Woody) so here it is in three star-studded Wilco versions plus one by Bob Seger. Then our daily political cartooning. Enjoy, then subscribe, it’s still free and I do this every day, seven times a week—and you don’t have to even pledge any dough-re-mi for the future. If interest doesn’t pick up it might be so long, it’s been good to know ya.

Wilco at Farm Aid shortly after album came out.

A few years later with my man Jason Isbell and dueling gee-tars.

When’s the last time you saw Bob Seger?

Wilco back for all-star ACL lineup including Rosanne Cash, Alejandro Escovedo and Isbell again.

Well, why not, Joni Mitchell’s “California,” her view from Paris.

Cartoon of the Day

Greg Mitchell is the author of a dozen books, including the bestseller The Tunnels (on escapes under the Berlin Wall), the current The Beginning or the End (on MGM’s wild atomic bomb movie), and The Campaign of the Century (on Upton Sinclair’s left-wing race for governor of California), which was recently picked by the Wall St. Journal as one of five greatest books ever about an election. His new film, Atomic Cover-up, just had its world premiere and is drawing extraordinary acclaim. For nearly all of the 1970s he was the #2 editor at the legendary Crawdaddy. Later he served as longtime editor of Editor & Publisher magazine. He recently co-produced a film about Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.