I nominate Page Wilson's "Virginia" - you can hear it as his theme for the
"Out o' the Blue Radio Review" featuring two hours of what he calls
"purebred American mongrel music" -- o the air since March 1996 at
Richmond NPR affiliate 88.9FM WCVE, Saturday evenings 8:00-10:00 pm.

jk

> As we are on the subject of a state song and in light of our recent
> nominating process for great/important Virginians, I propose that
> members of the list offer opinions on what might make the best song for
> our beloved Virginia.
>
> I'll get things started and suggest John Phillips's "Oh Virginia."
> Phillips, best known as leader of the Mamas and the Papas and that
> group's paean to the left coast "California Dreamin'," actually spent
> much of his childhood in Virginia and attended Hampden-Sydney for a year
> in the 1950s. Like his more famous tune, "Oh Virginia" is a nostalgic
> dedication to the state, sung by a homesick narrator. Recorded in the
> 1970s with the help of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and with a
> laid-back, twangy sound somewhat reminiscent of the Rolling Stones'
> early 1970s work, the song was not actually released until about 2000,
> shortly before Phillips died. I'm a little fuzzy on the lyrics, but the
> refrain includes references to the Shenandoah Valley, the Blue Ridge
> Mountains, and something that sadly seems less and less a characteristic
> of Virginia, its "change of seasons."
>
> Bland Whitley
> Library of Virginia
>
> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
> at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html
>
>


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