Some Fine Music from October 1998

featuring James Galway, Gillian Welch & Dave Rawlings and Trio Voronezh

50th Anniversary Show in Galveston, Texas

February 23, 2024

A Prairie Home Companion’s 50th Anniversary Tour makes a stop at The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston, TX, with our favorite regulars, Rich Dworsky, Sue Scott, Tim Russell, and Fred Newman. Additional guests to be announced.

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This show is part of our upcoming series of EVENTS — Garrison performing solo or in concert with others. Just a note: a series of solo performances later this month featuring a trek through California has just been added to the event page with stops in Sacramento, Cerritos, San Juan Capistrano, and Escondido.

VIEW ALL EVENTS

Listen to the October 17, 1998, show

This week, the show returns to the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota, with duo Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, James and Jeanne Galway, and Russian group Trio Voronezh.

Highlights include “Winter’s Come and Gone’ and “Miners Refrain” from Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, James Galway joining Jeanne Galway on a Sonata for Two Flutes, Vivaldi and Gershwin from Trio Voronezh and if that is not eclectic enough Guy Noir, Silver Linings, talk about Sweden, plus a humorous song or two, including “Mr. Soundman” and the latest News from Lake Wobegon. Click here to listen or join us via social media where the link debuts at 5 p.m. CT on Saturday.

Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings

In the early 1990s, Gillian Welch met Dave Rawlings at the Berklee College of Music in Boston while the two were students waiting to audition for the country-band class. Since then, they have carved out a highly successful career, with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association and recordings that include Welch’s Grammy-nominated The Harrow & The Harvest and the Dave Rawlings Machine release Nashville Obsolete.

James Galway

Globally renowned as the supreme interpreter of the classical flute repertoire, Sir James Galway is a consummate performer whose appeal transcends all musical boundaries. Through his extensive touring and recording, over 30 million albums sold from 98 releases, his frequent international television appearances and collaborations with many popular artists, Sir James has endeared himself to millions worldwide who have bestowed the nickname as “The Man with the Golden Flute.” Awarded the OBE in 1979, and subsequently a Knighthood for Services to Music in 2001, Sir James Galway has been the recipient of many honors and awards for his musical accomplishments, including the Kennedy Center Gold Medal in the Arts.

Trio Voronezh

Trio Voronezh is an unusual chamber group playing Russian folk instruments in concerts ranging from Russian folk and popular song to their own arrangements of classical chamber works. The trio's members are all from the Russian city of Voronezh and are graduates of the Academy of Music in Voronezh. Together, they are Vladimir Volochin, Valerie Petruchin, and Sergei Teleshev. The trio formed in 1993 and played in a Frankfurt, Germany, subway. They made their United States debut at the Bach Festival in 1996, earning critical praise. Trio Voronezh has recorded numerous albums, received many awards, and entertained crowds worldwide.

Here is a humorous song from the show about smoking called “Nobody Knows When You Take a Smoke.”

Once I lived a life of some renown,
People looked up to me in this town.
They listened to me when I had something to say,
They named a sandwich for me at the café.
And then I began my slow descent,
I discovered what misery meant,
I found rejection and regret,
All because I smoked a cigarette.
Nobody knows you
When you take a smoke.
You pull out a Marlboro or even a More,
They look at you and point to the door.
You stand on the sidewalk and take your drag,
You and the lady with the big plastic bag.
I tell you, young people, and it is no joke,
Nobody knows you when you take a smoke.
When you take a smoke.
I went to a party at some old pals' of mine,
They cooked a great dinner, poured a vintage wine.
After dinner, I was feeling swell,
I reached in my pocket, pulled out a Pall Mall.
The room got silent, and everyone froze,
Like I’d just thrown up or took off my clothes.
I was sent out back to have my cigarette
By the garbage cans and the swing set.
Nobody knows you when you smoke cigarettes.
Ginger Rogers smoked, and Fred Astaire.
It was elegant then but now it’s all clean air.
Outside the buildings, the smokers stand,
Aliens in a foreign land.
You can be god-fearing and pay your debts,
Nobody knows you when you smoke cigarettes.
I mean, when you smoke cigarettes.

(SPOKEN) One of these days, I’m going to kick the habit and when I do, I’m going to kick every bad habit I have and become a paragon of virtue such as you won’t believe, and when I do, people — none of you are going to set foot in my house, only my disciples — you the unwashed will have to stand out on the sidewalk and occasionally I’ll come stand on the balcony and wave and throw rose petals down to you, and I’ll be dressed all in white and wear a white mask so that air that you’ve exhaled will not contaminate the sacred temple of my being.

Nobody knows you
When you smoke that weed.
Fred Astaire smoked and Cary Grant
And nowadays a person simply can’t
Unless you want to stand outdoors and freeze
With the other lepers of society.
You may be a blue blood, of a noble breed,
Nobody knows you when you smoke that weed.
When you smoke that weed.

The longest baseball limerick ever written

Garrison wrote an ode to baseball while watching a Twins game a few years back — a timely rhyme, with the playoff season coming up. He notes: "I ate a bratwurst at the Twins game Sunday and used the cardboard plate to write (I believe) the longest baseball limerick ever written."

Baseball’s a slow game, no doubt.
And a fan can go strolling about
For a bratwurst with mustard
And a soft frozen custard,
And why not a bottle of stout?
Come back to your place,
Still no one on base,
Same score and nobody out.
You sit with your thoughts
Then notice your brat’s
Incomplete and you go back for kraut.
And thoughtfully
You go off to pee
And wash and dry off your hands
Then up goes a shout
At a powerful clout,
A long foul ball in the stands.
— Garrison Keillor
While on the subject of baseball, let’s revisit two other favorites: Garrison’s epic version of “Casey at the Bat” plus a compilation from A Prairie Home Companion of baseball-themed sketches and songs!

–Read “Casey at the Bat”
–Listen to a “best of” baseball compilation

Garrison’s 2023 book has kept fans in a pretty cheerful mood. And now we are presenting a short preview for your enjoyment. Funny, poignant, thought-provoking, and whimsical, this is a book that will inspire you to choose cheerfulness in your daily life.

Read the first chapter of the book

The 40th Anniversary Collection

A collection of highlights from America’s favorite live radio show, with over 85 tracks (five hours) of the finest performances from the vast archives of A Prairie Home Companion, including material from the 40th Anniversary celebration itself.

Since A Prairie Home Companion first went on the air, July 6, 1974, a steady stream of great musicians has crossed its stage — Chet Atkins, Greg Brown, Emmylou Harris, The Every Brothers, Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, Peter Ostroushko, The Wailin’ Jennys, Robin and Linda Williams, Iris DeMent, Willie Nelson, Odetta, Doc Watson, Jean Redpath — plus the radio detective Guy Noir, sound-effects artists Tom Keith and Fred Newman, and the good people of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota. An all-star roster of favorite performers joined thousands of fans to celebrate the anniversary on the lawn of Macalester College in St. Paul, a stone’s throw from the hall where the first broadcast was made. “Make Me a Pallet” sung by Gillian Welch is included on this collection. Get the CDs or download

A Prairie Home Companion Socks

Peter Rosen once produced a documentary about Garrison Keillor titled “The Man on the Radio in the Red Shoes.” What the title failed to realize is that Garrison not only wore red shoes on stage for the APHC shows, he also wore a red tie and red socks to match. Now, you can wear a pair of Prairie Home socks and keep your feet warm on those cool winter nights. Knit jacquard socks are made with a woven imprint combining both the original logo and the microphone from the more recent logo. One size fits all.

Grab a pair

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