It's a blast from my past, and from yours, too, no matter where you live, because music from that great state has touched everyone. Two hours of Rock'n'Soul from Michigan folks, people who moved there (like Marvin Gaye) or just made records there. Texas may have a little deeper historical importance (T-Bone Walker, Milton Brown, Bob Wills, Ornette Coleman) and songwriters coming out of every crevice, but Michigan is awfully close in terms of cultural impact.
It started as a tribute to mark the birth anniversary of Motown's incredible bassist,
James Jamerson, Jr. (1936-1983) during the second full year of my "Retroactive"
program in 1996. Preparing for the show unleashed warm memories of growing up in Michigan, so I decided to keep going and dig up my Michigan records from every genre and add them to the fab Motown set that initiated the whole idea.
Now I know that some Michiganders would prefer to be called "Michiganians" because they don't like the goose connotation. Nothing wrong with geese--I like being labeled a Michigander, or at least a former resident. It sure beats the term Ineffective Politician.