Play It Back

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About Susan Hwang

Susan Hwang is a blues musician and all around musical performer who tells stories through things that are usually collapsible, like songs, experiences, and times. Her instruments of choice include accordion, the janggu traditional Korean drum, piano, and drums. Susan claims that she plays accordions because they are pretty and lighter than pianos (barely).

She’s has toured internationally with East Village theater company, Yara Arts, and she just got done playing the goddess Ishtar in Phoebe Kreutz’s epic joke-folk musical, “Go! Go! Gilgamesh!” which won awards in this year’s FRIGID NY Festival.

Her TV variety talk show, The La La La Show is broadcast into thin air via the Manhattan Neighborhood Network and online via Vimeo. Susan founded, curates, and hosts The Bushwick Book Club, a monthly performance series with chapters across the country and around the world that presents original works by local musicians, artists and even chefs based upon select works of literature.

As if this isn’t enough of a literary fix, Susan has duo with songwriter/producer Charlie Nieland called Lusterlit, in which the musicians refuse to play anything other than songs about books.  

You can follow Susan on Instagram @soozee3 and on Twitter @soozeehwang.

Five Extra Tidbits Concerning Ray Charles’s “Georgia On My Mind”

1. “Georgia On My Mind” was written in 1930 and recorded by songwriters Hoagie Carmichael and Stuart Gorell, two gents from Indiana. But it was in 1960 that the song really took off, thanks to a recording by Georgia native Ray Charles on his album The Genius Hits the Road. In fact, it became Ray’s first #1 hit in the USA, when he was still in his late 20s.

2. Contrary to what the 2004 biopic “Ray” might have suggested, it is a MYTH that Ray Charles was forever banned from performing in his own home state when he broke a contract to play at a venue once he discovered that it planned on segregating the audience by race. Ray did back out of his performance at the Bell Auditorium (restored in 1989 and now a part of the Jame Brown Arena) on March 15,1961. He did get sued by the venue. And, according to an Associated Press report, the soul pioneer did pay $757 for his breach of contract. But he was certainly not banned from performing again in his own home state, as was proven when he sang it before the Georgia General Assembly on March 7, 1979, prompting the state to adopt it “Georgia On My Mind” as its official song the following April.

3. Randomly enough, the 1980s sitcom Designing Women adopted the song as its theme, but it’s so saxed out that you’d hardly know it if it wasn’t for your friends here at Play It Back!

4. Musicians who have covered, sampled, and performed this iconic song include the likes of Usher, Ludacris feat. Field Mob, Michael Bolton (even though he’s from New Haven, Connecticut!), and Annie Lennox (even though she’s from Aberdeen, Scotland)! And, of course, Jamie Foxx, who won an Oscar for his portrayal of the musician in “Ray.”

5. Enjoy this 1986 performance of Georgia by Ray Charles with Willie Nelson, who was not only Ray’s duet partner but also chess playing buddy. If you crave something edgier, try “Georgia Bush,” Lil Wayne’s satire of Dubya.

Do you have someone, some place, or some time on your mind after hearing Susan’s reminiscences about the song that keeps her father and the American Dream forever on her mind and in her heart? Let us know at [email protected], or venture another story for the show.

At the age of 5, writer and comedic storyteller Jamie Brickhouse became obsessed with Peggy Lee and her song about escapism by means of “breaking out the booze and having a ball.” The song served as Jamie’s guide to several nights of debauchery while living in New York City. But things changed dramatically the night he drunk dialed the dazzling pop icon.

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About Jamie Brickhouse

Jamie Brickhouse is a writer and comedic storyteller. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed memoir Dangerous When Wet: Booze, Sex, and My Mother. Jamie will perform his solo show based on the book and directed by Obie-winning David Drake at the 2017 FRIGID Festival at the Kraine Theater in New York on Feb. 23, 26, 27, 28, and March 4th. Go to www.FRIGIDnewyork.info for tickets.

He is a two-time Moth StorySLAM winner, Literary Death Match champion, has recorded voice-overs for the legendary TV show Beavis and Butthead, and has performed at multiple storytelling shows including Kevin Allison’s Risk! Jamie has been published in the New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Washington Post, Daily Beast, Salon, Out, The Huffington Post, and is a guest blogger for POZ. Friend him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @jamiebrickhouse, visit him at jamiebrickhouse.com.

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Five Fun Facts About Peggy Lee’s “Is That All There Is?”

1. It’s true – Jamie definitely drunk dialed Peggy Lee to gush about his fondness for the song, sometime in the mid-90s, with the help of his friend Mr. Parker who got her number! (You’ll have to listen to the story to hear how that all went.) At that time, she was still performing in her 70s, sometimes in a wheelchair.

2. When you take a look at who was involved in making “Is That All There Is?” you’d also think it was born to be a hit. It was originally written by the legendary songwriting team Leiber and Stoller. They took inspiration from Thomas Mann’s story Disillusionment, who Leiber’s wife introduced him to. Many of the words in the song’s chorus are taken straight from Mann’s story. And Randy Newman composed the backing orchestral arrangement.

3. The song passed hands before it made its way to Peggy. English singer and actress Georgia Brown first performed it during a TV special in 1967. Then the one and only Leslie Uggams made the first official recording in 1968. It became a hit once it reached Peggy. Guy Lombardo and Tony Bennett recorded their own versions the following year.

4. Peggy’s version reaching #11 on the U.S. pop singles chart in 1969, becoming her first top 40 hit since the release of “Fever” 11 years prior. It also won Lee the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and is now enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Champagne & strawberries? Whips & chains? Fire 'n' ice? Leather 'n' lace? How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?

Leo Tolstoy's heroine Anna Karenina mused that "there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts." We (and music) know what she meant. Let's show it with our best songs about love, lack thereof, and everything in between.

Native Kentuckian storyteller, choreographer, and live performer Mark Lamb counts the ways that he’s flown on the tails of Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors.” In his warm ‘n’ buttery voice, Mark waxes reminiscent about his brave journey from being a faux fur-sporting third grader, to a fully actualized performance artist and creative soul out and about in NYC today.

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About Mark Lamb

Storytelling comes as natural to Mark Lamb as country ham on a biscuit. Hailing from Sturgis, Kentucky, Mark hails from a long line of Southern storytellers. He now resides in New York City where his work as a choreographer and performer has been recognized by The New York Times as "quietly celebratory," "gently charming," and as an all-around "expression of communal joy". 

Mark is a 6-time storytelling slam competition winner at the Peabody Award winning Moth storytelling series, and the 2016 Grand Slam champion for the state of Kentucky. Mark's show "A Boy and His Dolly" was sanctioned by Dolly herself as an official event for the Dollywood Foundation. The show has taken many forms, touring throughout the U.S.A and around the world. See www.marklambdance.org and www.magnoliamouth.com for more about Mark, his projects, his performances, and his passions.

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Five Fabulous Extras Regarding Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors”

1. Dolly Parton, who was born on January 19th, 1946, just turned 71 years old. Happy birthday, Dolly! She was just 33 years old when she sang Mark’s favorite version of “Coat of Many Colors” on Country at the BBC in 1979. She released the song in 1971 when she was just 25, and was younger still- - 23 or so -- when she scribbled down the song’s lyrics on the back of a dry cleaning receipt while on the road on a tour bus in 1969. Here she is as a child, pictured around the time that she first got her coat of many colors, quilted from scraps by her loving, hardworking mother of 12 children. The original coat has long since been deconstructed and recycled into unknown afterlives as pieces of other garments, but a replica stands proudly on display at the Dollywood theme park and entertainment center in Pigeon Forge in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

2. Check out Mark’s first winning Moth StorySLAM about Dolly, told in NYC on Thursday, August 22, 2013 at the HousingWorks Bookstore and Café in Soho, Manhattan on a night whose theme was “MAGIC.” He would later title the story “A Boy and His Dolly,” and expand it into a grand, shapeshifting show that he continues to take around the world. Dolly herself has sent her blessings, in the form of a video montage to open the performance!

3. Watch Dolly speak eloquently about her own story behind “Coat of Many Colors,” her personal favorite out of the 3,000+ songs she has written.

4. A made-for-TV movie entitled "Coat of Many Colors" aired on NBC in December 2015, and was viewed by over 13 million people, marking the highest viewership for any network television film since 2012! Here’s Dolly in a duet called “Angel Hill” with Alyvia Alyn Lind, the actress who played her childhood self. The song, which Dolly wrote for the movie, expresses the anticipation she had at age 9 for a new baby sibling, only to suffer the tragedy of losing the child before birth to miscarriage.

5. Dolly has a passion for literacy that runs as strong as her love and talent for music. This is most evident in her Imagination Library - a project and an organization dedicated to providing books, happiness, reading, and educational opportunities to children in under-served communities. After the release of her NBC movie, she also adapted the film into a children’s book by the song’s same name in October 2016. Carrying a strong message of anti-bullying, the book comes with a download of new song pointedly named “Making Fun Ain’t Funny,” and is starting to be used in schools.

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#7 | Play It Back Holiday Spectacular!

In this extra special episode of Play It Back, your Play It Back co-hosts John Asante and Jia H. Jung revel in the holiday spirit by rapping about their favorite songs of the season and invite you to add to the official Play It Back Holiday Playlist spectacular on Spotify just in the nick of time for Christmas, Chanukah, and the shiny New Year!

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About John Asante and Jia H. Jung

John Asante, producer for WNYC and PRI’s The Takeaway and Jia H. Jung, contributor to PRI’s Global Nation Education news series, met early in 2014 while defending “indefensible” musical artists (Abba and Creed, respectively), at a live storytelling event for The Soundtrack Series. Converging instantly upon their love of storytelling (for The Moth, The Shed Story Salon, etc.), humanity, and sweet MUSIC, they began a creative conversation that led to the launch of the Play It Back podcast at the beginning of 2016. They are excited about the stories that they have told thus far and amped to tell even more extraordinary stories about diverse individuals and the music that they love, hate, and appreciate - the music that has shaped their identities and changed or accompanied the course of their lives.

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Five Music Filled Delights for Fine Holiday Fun

1. Play It Back’s Holiday Playlist Spectacular on Spotify - click here, follow, and add your own favorites and/or versions of what’s already there because the holidays can play on all year!

2. The full video of RUN-DMC’s Christmas In Hollis that li’l John Asante discovered while working at American Eagle Outfitters during his high school years.

3. “We Wish You a Turtle Christmas,” special episode of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 1994

4. The “Weekend Update” segment on SNL on December 3, 1994 when Adam Sandler first sang the Chanukah Song

5. DMX singing Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer for NYC’s Power 105 in 2012

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#6 | Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky

When London-based actor Laura Killeen worked at a florist as a teenager, she was introduced to a spacey, operatic pop tune that would serve as comfort and motivation when she needed it most.

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About Laura Killeen

Laura Killeen is a Neo-Futurist; starting Spring 2017, she will perform weekly in London in Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind. She graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in NYC, where she was awarded the Anne Meachum Memorial Scholarship and has just completed her MA in Text & Performance at RADA & Birkbeck, University of London. Her solo performance in Homewrecka won Best Experimental Film at the Syracuse International Film Festival 2010, garnering such reviews as “she traumatized me.” (Ed Harris)

Film credits include Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, The Art of Getting By, Me and Orson Welles and the award winning short film English. In New York, she spent a year interning and working at The Juilliard School Drama Division under Founding Artistic Director of Signature Theatre, Jim Houghton. Favourite theatre credits include Genevieve in The Long Christmas Dinner, Helen in The Cripple of Inishmaan, Annabelle in An Appeal to the Woman of the House, Ephemerama for Shelby Company, Our Beds Are Crowded, and No Fault: A Tale about the Big D in the Big Apple for Carnival Girls Productions, as well as The Bullet and Talking Heads at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Laura's writing has been performed in Tel Aviv, London, and New York City.

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Five Interesting Tidbits About ELO’s “Mr. Blue Sky”

ELO frontman and songwriter Jeff Lynne got the inspiration for “Mr. Blue Sky” while locked away in a Swiss chalet trying to write songs for the band’s 7th record, Out of the Blue. Lynne was having writer’s block being holed away in a dark, rainy region, until one day, the sun peaked out beyond the Alps. He immediately wrote the memorable hit and the rest of the album in 2 weeks.

“Mr. Blue Sky” features a heavily vocoded voice singing the phrase "Mr. Blue Sky". A second vocoded segment at the end of the song was often interpreted as "Mister Blue Sky"; it is actually "Please turn me over" as it is the end of side three, and the listener is being instructed to flip the LP over.

Think you’re hearing a cowbell throughout the song? Turns out ELO’s percussionist Bev Bevan was actually hitting a fire extinguisher.

Ever since the Apollo mission, music has been used to wake up astronauts. On August 10, 2007, Commander Scott Kelly was awoken by none other than “Mr. Blue Sky.”

Although “Mr Blue Sky” was released in 1978, its official music video (posted above) was released in 2012 by a group of very talented and dedicated students at USC. 

#5 | Tori Amos - Yes, Anastasia

In this episode of Play It Back, NBC Documentary producer and The Soundtrack Series podcast creator Dana Rossi reflects upon how a terrible recent tragedy brought her back to a song that she first heard in 1994 and found applicable as a salve to any trouble in high school...and apparently beyond.

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About Dana Rossi

Dana Rossi is the Associate Producer of Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall at NBC News, and creator of the widely revered Soundtrack Series podcast, which has 247 episodes and counting! She is also a storyteller and writer at large in New York City, and openly admits that she would want to come back as David Hyde Pierce of Frasier if reincarnation were a thing.

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Five Secrets About Tori Amos’s “Yes, Anastasia”

1. Despite the fact that Tori Amos is known for out-there lyrics that sometimes escape clear interpretation, this is in fact a nod to Anastasia Romanov, daughter of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, the last ruler to enjoy reign over the Russian Empire. In an interview with UCLA, Tori Amos described how the spirit of Grand Duchess Anastasia overcame her while she was sick and vulnerable from food poisoning after consuming bad crabs in Maryland. Though she had never read up much on the historical figure, she conjured up an epic 9+ minute song from the encounter, during which the apparition challenged the artist to face herself.

2. Years later, when asked in a Huffington Post  interview if she still receives visits from ghostly inspirations, the artist replied, “It happens. I’m just more guarded about it. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t talk about it, but nobody asks me...But if someone asks me, I’ll tell them. But nobody asks me! Of course it still happens. Of course. Something like that happened to me for ‘The Light Princess’ [the musical Amos has been writing for the past several years]. The muses tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Take dictation — it’s coming in.’” She added that the spirits respectfully keep their distance from her daughter Tash, and that the most recent guest from “the other side” was creeptastic photographer Diane Arbus.

3. During her childhood, Anastasia Romanov was known as a wild spirit. Well, little redheaded Tori was a spitfire herself. This youngest daughter of a Methodist preacher had been studying classical piano since age five at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University when she started making her own creations. The school examination board discontinued her scholarship when she remained stubborn about performing her wayward pop works. So by age 13, she was playing in clubs around Washington, DC. By age 22, she had started her band Y Kant Tori read. Though the group (which included drummer Matt Sorum, who would go on to join Guns N’ Roses!) only lasted three years max and is now the subject of Tori’s own retrospective scorn, Atlantic Records’s six-album requirements remained. The breakthrough album Little Earthquakes was born within this contractual obligation in 1991, and the rest is history.

4. In the liner notes for the April 2015 reissue of her Under the Pink album, Tori wrote, “There’s a bravery that has to occur for you to live your life – for you to be present in your life...we can make so much of our lives and our choices if we’re awake for it.” This suggests the evolution of her mindset from first facing herself to being present in every moment of reckoning.

5.The German prog rock band Dark Suns chose to end their newest album Everchild, released in June of this year, with a cover of “Yes, Anastasia.” Critic Jedd Beaudoin of Pop Matters commented, “Certainly one might read the cover...as an unnecessary reach. But that’s unfair because it’s ultimately the perfect choice for inclusion, the kind of song that traverses the same distances that Dark Suns can travel in the 10 other pieces.” The cover contributes a whopping 10 minutes and 8 seconds to the album’s total playing time of 80 minutes.

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#4 | Lil B - Wonton Soup

When independent radio producer Todd Whitney first discovered Lil B, he couldn't quite pin the quirky Bay Area rapper down. Were his songs serious, or was it all an act? On this episode of Play It Back, Todd explains why he gave Lil B another shot, and somehow became a preacher of the gospel of "The Based God."

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About Todd Whitney

Todd is an independent radio producer whose work has been featured on NPR, Transom, KALW, and Audible. You can follow him on Twitter at @ToddLeFou.

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Five Tidbits About Lil B’s “Wonton Soup”

You have to see the music video for “Wonton Soup” to really get what Todd is talking about:

2. The Based God is nothing short of prolific. He’s released over 1,500 songs, with “Wonton Soup” serving as one of the biggest hits off the Blue Flame mixtape.

3. Lil B’s first solo hit was the genesis for a dance craze: cooking. Everyone from kids to pro sports players has been doing it ever since. If you’re curious on how to cook, check out this instructional video from the Based God himself and scrub to 1:45.

4. Speaking of cooking, Lil B is very protective of his brand and has been known to “curse” people. He got in a Twitter war with then-Oklahoma Thunder star Kevin Durant (which is best explained here), and is even funnier now that Durant plays for his hometown team, the Golden State Warriors. And then he came after Houston Rockets star James Harden for a very particular in-game celebration.

5. Lil B’s concerts are really as wild as Todd describes in his story. Check out a live show he did in NYC back in 2011.

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About Jia H. Jung

Jia H. Jung is a writer and storyteller and co-producer and co-host of Play It Back.

Five Facts About "I Would Die 4 U"

1. On this very day in thirty years ago (August 17, 1986), Prince visited Rotterdam, Netherlands and sold out a show at Ahoy Stadium in a matter of minutes...before the Internet. Just like how is writing of "4 U" in place of "for you" predated the era of texting.

2. Prince wrote and produced "I Would Die 4 U" by himself, but not without the instrumentals of Wendy Melvoin (guitar and vocals), Lisa Coleman (keyboard and vocals), Matt Fink (keyboards), Brown Mark (bass), and Bobby Z. (drums and percussion), creating a sound via analog instrumentation that music makers continue to emulate today with digital technologies. Throughout his career, Prince’s all-around musical genius might have actually outshone his guitar prowess. Links like this pay apt tribute to the superstar’s virtuoso instrumentalism...as if we needed another reason to bow down to this deity of creativity.

3. Despite many listeners' feverish attachment to the song, it never climbed higher than #7 in the Netherlands Singles Chart and #8 on the US Billboard Hot 100, firmly proving that the value of art is in the eye of the beholder.

4. Charlie Murphy satirized the eccentric music creator in 2004 in a skit that helped vault Dave Chappelle to fame. Only they, and our dearly departed, may ever know how close to or far from the truth this hysterical parody was.

5. Among those who have dared to cover this song include Scottish synth pop band Chvrches ("I Would Die 4 V") and American musician Nick Jonas.