Jimbo Mathus talks about his "Songs for Rosetta" album being reissued

Back in 1997, Jimbo Mathus recorded at tribute to his childhood nanny, Rosetta Patton, which is finally being reissued on vinyl! 

Here's the scoop... 

Way back in 1997, Squirrel Nut Zippers' singer/songwriter Jimbo Mathus and his Knock-Down Society recorded a heartfelt tribute to his beloved childhood babysitter Rosetta Patton, the daughter of hugely influential blues legend Charlie Patton. The resulting album "Plays Songs For Rosetta" – recorded with Luther & Cody Dickinson pre-North Mississippi All Stars, Andrew Bird, Pat Sansone (Wilco) and Glenn Graham (Blind Melon) – was a victim of the CD-era and never issued on vinyl. 

To mark the 30th anniversary of its release, Near Miss Records is rectifying the situation by reissuing "Plays Songs For Rosetta" as a double-LP in a limited pressing of 500 copies. The deluxe 30th anniversary edition features the entire original album with a second LP of bonus material including an "on the record" portion in which Jimbo tells his own story of how the recording project came together.  You can pre-order a 2LP copy of "Plays Songs For Rosetta" 30th Anniversary Edition directly from Near Miss Records right here. Those interested in getting a digital copy of the original album should check the Bandcamp link below.

Listen to Jimbo's WWOZ-FM interview with David Kunian from September 1 right here: http://www.wwoz.org/listen/archive/show.php?date=2026-09-01&time=10PM

Jimbo Mathus & His Knock-Down Society – Plays Songs For Rosetta

Mathus, one of the masterminds behind the Squirrel Nut Zippers, here cuts it Clarksdale style for the sake of bluesman Charlie Patton's daughter, Rosetta. Not surprisingly, Rosetta doesn't see a dime from the sale of Patton's music, and Mathus saw an opportunity to give back. Give back to the music? Well, yes, but also to Rosetta herself, who helped raise Mathus from knee-pants. And the result is a righteous paella of roots music: rattling Delta style, jug band and parlor jazz with Dixieland and country-blues to boot. It's all so fresh and lively you may wonder how you lived your life without it. Dig the winking ragtime cover of Leadbelly's "Keep Your Hand's Off Her" or the country scrawl of Mathus' "Turkey Buzzard in a Pork Pie Hat." -Tim Sheridan

You can listen to Jimbo's "Plays Songs For Rosetta" and get a digital copy via Bandcamp right here. Check out the lead track "I Got Mine" below. 

New Orleans radio station WWOZ FM celebrates Allen Toussaint's birthday

The work of legendary New Orleans pianist/composer/producer Allen Toussaint is celebrated today on WWOZ-FM. 

Here's the scoop...

WWOZ 90.7 FM New Orleans is celebrating Allen Toussaint on what would've been his 88th birthday by digging deep into the archives on Wednesday, January 14! Tune in all afternoon to hear rare and never-before-rebroadcast recordings honoring one of New Orleans’ greatest musical minds.

At 1pm CT, Missy Bowen will kick things off with a rarely-heard performance by Allen and his band at WWOZ's Piano Night concert in 2005.

At 2pm CT, hear an amazing interview from the vaults: in 1986, Allen Toussaint stopped by the radio show of the late Billy Delle, when WWOZ was located in Armstrong Park, for a wide-ranging conversation covering Allen's career up to that point.  This recording was made available to the Archive of the Jazz & Heritage Foundation by AJ Rodrigue and Marlene Delle, and was then digitized courtesy of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.  It has never been aired on WWOZ since that evening in 1986.

At 3pm CT, we'll switch gears with another super-rare recording: Allen Toussaint's Jazzity Project, recorded in the Jazz Tent at Jazz Fest in 2010, which takes us until 4pm and the start of "Jazz from Jax Brewery."

At 5pm CT, hear WWOZ's two-part tribute to Allen Toussaint, which originally aired in 2016 on WWOZ's syndicated program "New Orleans Calling," hosted and produced by George Ingmire. Part One, "Say Yes To Music," begins at 5 pm, and Part Two, "Last Train," begins at 6 pm. 

This tribute features the voices of Irma Thomas, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter Jr, Sarah Dash of LaBelle, Dr. Ike of the Ponderosa Stomp, and Allen himself from archival interviews, plus lots of Allen's music!

These recordings all appear on WWOZ courtesy the Archive of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation.

Tune in and spend the afternoon celebrating the legacy of Allen Toussaint with us! Listen locally at 90.7 FM or from anywhere at wwoz.org. The entire afternoon will also be available after-the-fact on our 2-week archive.

Watch a couple of Allen Toussaint's performances and recordings below including the overlooked gem "Mind Over Matter" from Hamilton's own Richard Newell aka "King Biscuit Boy" written, arranged and produced by Allen Toussaint in 1974. 

Dan Penn talks Muscle Shoals & Memphis with WWOZ's Neil Pellegrin

Listen to Dan Penn's chat with Neil Pellegrin right here, note that it begins about 85 minutes into the program.