This episode of “Theme Time Radio Hour” with host Bob Dylan on XM Satellite Radio was, surprise, another winner. I had occasion recently to listen to one of the first few shows Dylan did, in his first season on the air, and — although it was good — I was struck by how relatively unfluid and choppy it seemed, compared to the smooth and seamless sound of Dylan the master disc jockey these days. Long may he spin his sides.

Playlist and selected quotes:

Joe Houston and His Rockets — All Night Long
Dr. John — Such A Night

Whenever I listen to Dr. John, I can almost smell the Night Blooming Jasmine. You know there’s lots of flowers that only bloom at night … here are some of the others: the Angel’s Trumpet — that opens in the late afternoon, actually. Angel’s Trumpet! That’s a good name for a tavern. Opens up late in the afternoon, open all night. Perfect! There’s the Moonflower … [etc]

The Drifters — Another Night with the Boys

One thing we talk about is how technology changes art. If you know one thing, you know we’re all about the delivery system. We’ve talked about how microphones allowed Bing Crosby to change popular singing. Well it wasn’t just in the pop field. Blues singers used to have to shout the blues. Maybe they were singing in the field, or in front of a large band. They had to be big-lunged to be heard. But when the microphone came about, a new voice was able to be heard. It was a cooler voice, an urban voice. Kind of like the blues equivalent of crooning. And this is the guy who exemplified it. LeRoy Carr was a big influence on Nat Cole and Ray Charles, and his songs are still alive today. I think Eric Clapton recorded one recently. LeRoy Carr had a short life, died as a result of alcoholism at the age of thirty, but he left a large shadow.

LeRoy Carr — When The Sun Goes Down
Fred Astaire — The Way You Look Tonight

I was talkin’ to Willie Nelson the other day. He told me he wrote this next song in an Indian nightclub. I asked him how he knew it was an Indian nightclub. He told me they charged him $24 for a Manhattan. That Willie’s got a million of ‘em. And here’s one of his better ones. It’s a song called Night Life. A lot of people have recorded this. I think at this point, more people know B.B. King’s version than anyone else’s. But I’ve gotta give all props to the red-headed stranger.

Willie Nelson — Night Life
Chick Carbo — In The Night

One guy that was at home in the night was Batman. He was introduced in May of 1939 in Detective Comics # 27 by Bob Kane. I always loved Batman. The way I looked at it, you had to come from another planet to be Superman, but I could be Batman. And you know I tried.

Buddy Holly — Midnight Shift
Zuzu Bollin — Why Don’t You Eat Where You Slept Last Night?

Zuzu Bollin. And I know what you’re thinkin’: This guy only made a couple of records — is this another one of those guys who met a tragic end? No. He lived all the way to 1990. What happened to him? He left the music business and went into a more stable profession: dry cleaning. He had a big dry cleaning business down in Texas. Here’s a jingle from his company.

The Strangeloves — Night Time

We told you about him before and you know how to look him up in Wikipedia. That’s where he lives: Wikipedia, Louisiana. So here he is, Professor Longhair …

Professor Longhair — In The Night
The Latin Playboys — Forever Night Shade Mary

[Bob talks about the painting Starry Night, and Van Gogh, and then reads "A Clear Midnight" by Walt Whitman:]

This is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou
lovest best.
Night, sleep, death and the stars.

Walt Whitman … pondering the themes he loveth best: night, sleep, death and the stars. The only one we haven’t done: the stars.

Charles Brown — Black Night

We’ve got time for one more before I go, and here’s an old friend. He’s the son of an Air Force pilot, got his masters’ degree in English Lit in 1960, served as a helicopter pilot in West Germany and for a while he rode the broom at the Columbia studios in Nashville. I’m talking about Kris Kristofferson: singer, songwriter, and an actor. The only man I know who could write a song for Janis Joplin and act with Barbra Streisand.

Kris Kristofferson — Help Me Make It Through The Night

Next show: A replay of PRESIDENTS’ DAY

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