Jam Logs, the Podcast of The 1937 Flood

"Ready for the Times to Get Better"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 06:38:00 -0400

Last month one of our heroes — guitarist Tommy Emmanuel — released a special rendition of this song in honor of another of our heroes — Doc Watson — and hearing Tommy’s playing of it has impacted our take on the tune. Here’s our latest version of “Ready for the Times to Get Better.”

Lovin' You Would Be So Good for Me"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 3 Apr 2026 06:39:00 -0400

The Flood started playing around with hokum music — those good old jug band tunes from the 1920s — about a half century ago, but it took another 20 years for us to feel confident enough to try to write one of those kind of songs ourselves. Charlie started putting this tune together back in the early 1990s, but then it took another 30 years for us to feel like we could play it. The song didn’t really start coming together until Jack Nuckols joined the band. Who knew that the spark we were waiting for was Jack’s spectacular spoon playing to finally reach that jug band junction? See what you think.

"The Answer is You"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 06:33:00 -0400

Most love songs are about young love, and that’s special, but it’s nothing compared to love that has aged like fine wine. Here’s a song to all those champion life-long lovers out there.

"July, You're a Woman"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 05:12:00 -0400

This old John Stewart composition came to us in the very first hours of The Flood’s origin story. And now, a half century later, darned if it hasn’t rolled back into our lives.

"Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 06:21:00 -0400

We do a version of this song that most people don’t sing. We got our inspiration from an old Folkways album that Rolf Cahn and Eric von Schmidt recorded back in 1961.

"Alberta, Let Your Hair Hang Low"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 6 Mar 2026 06:48:00 -0500

Here’s a song that we likely wouldn’t even know about were it not for the diligence and the curiosity of a researcher who was far from an ordinary young woman of her time. Born in 1892 to a prominent family in Paducah, Ky, Mary Guthrie Wheeler was destined from the start for adventure. Rather than settling into a quiet, conventional life, she embraced the extraordinary. And her most enduring adventure took place right at home, collecting the songs and stories in the hardscrabble life of the men and women who worked along the Ohio River. Here’s one she found for her 1944 book, “Steamboatin’ Days.”

"Can You Run?"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 07:04:00 -0500

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 10 years now since Randy Hamilton brought us this tune. It resonated with us then and even more so today. Written by Eastern Kentucky’s own Chris Stapleton, this is an anthem to the power of resistance and redemption.

"Come On Up to the House"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 06:25:09 -0500

We sure wish we had started doing this song back when our buddy Dave Peyton was still alive. Oh, how Dave would have loved the goofy, gritty gospel vibe of this tune from the incomparable Mister Tom Waits.

"Spooky"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 06:34:00 -0500

Our Randy Hamilton was just born to sing songs like this. He and Danny Cox brought us “Spooky,” this old Classics IV tune, last summer and we’ve been loving it ever since.

"Lady Be Good"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 6 Feb 2026 06:49:20 -0500

The fun of playing some songs is that we just never know what we’re going to hear. This George Gershwin piece is like that, ever since Danny Cox brought better chords for last year. Now the song is like a shiny little red convertible parked in the garage just waiting for the next sunny day. You and your buddies pile in, not knowing where you’re going, just enjoying the company and the sights and the sounds of each other’s laughter along the way. Hop in! We’re going for a joy ride!

"Hard Times (Who Knows Better Than I?)"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 07:05:00 -0500

Some songs just seem to go to the heart of what connects us all.

"Driving Wheel"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 05:25:00 -0500

Sometimes the chemistry’s right — the stars align — however you want to say it… and the best song of the night is one you didn’t even plan to do. Here’s that moment from a recent rehearsal.

"Pecan Pie & Sassafras Tea"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 06:17:02 -0500

Charlie’s Grandma Bowen had a thing about mockingbirds. When he was just a little boy he remembers her winking at him and saying, “Now, Eddie, be careful what you say around mockingbirds. Those darn birds? They’ll tell your secrets every time.” That notion came back to him recently when he started writing this song.

"Black Coffee"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 9 Jan 2026 06:33:00 -0500

Our guitarist Danny Cox paints pictures with his sound. He has a positively uncanny capacity for discovering ways to bring out the colors and textures in all kinds of melodies and to plant stories in the minds of everyone who hears. Just listen to his treatment of this rich old Sonny Burke composition, finding all kinds of new magic and nuance in this poignant melody. Here — have some “Black Coffee”!

"It's a Sin to Tell a Lie"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 2 Jan 2026 07:10:00 -0500

This song has rattled around in the Floodisphere for decade but only recently did we decide to give it a try. Whaddaya think?

Merry Christmas from the Floodisphere

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Thu, 25 Dec 2025 06:15:08 -0500

Wrapping up recent Christmas party, The Flood UN-wrapped its new anthem to winter, this mashup of “Moscow Nights” with “Greensleeves.” It’s our gift to you. Merry Christmas from the Floodisphere!

Our Raucous Christmas Gift

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 06:19:01 -0500

Christmas is usually a pretty raucous time in our band room, with old friends coming back around and new friends ... well, new folks just starting to figure us out. Yes, indeed, we do tend to take those tidings of comfort and joy at their word. And our holiday celebration is especially memorable if we’ve got that jolly ol’ Jim Rumbaugh in the room, as we did at a festive gathering at the Bowen House last weekend. To make the season bright, we have to get Jim doing his bluesy Christmas contribution that he calls, “Got My Yule Log Burnin’.

"For Baby (For Bobbie)"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 06:32:00 -0500

One of the first tunes that my cousin Kathy Castner and I did when we started singing together more than 30 years ago is this lovable love song from early in John Denver’s writing career. So it’s only natural that “For Baby” is in the mix whenever Kathy gets to make one of her rare trips from Cincinnati to Huntington to sit in with the band. Here’s a take on the tune from last weekend.

This Week's Freebie from The 1937 Flood

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 5 Dec 2025 05:29:00 -0500

Whether it comes at the beginning of an evening of music or at the end, this old 1929 hokum classic is always good for a few laughs.

"Yas Yas Duck"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 5 Dec 2025 05:28:00 -0500

Whether it comes at the beginning of an evening of music or at the end, this old 1929 hokum classic is always good for a few laughs.

"Spoon River"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 06:10:00 -0500

While it’s not specifically about the holidays, a song that says “all our lives were entwined to begin with” seems especially relevant right about now. Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends.

"Baby's Coming Home"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 05:28:10 -0500

Here’s another tune that Danny Cox has brought to us from his decades of lovingly listening to the landmark recordings of Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed.

"(When She Wants Good Lovin') My Baby Comes to Me"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 07:03:00 -0500

Here’s another tune we’re working up to include on the new album when we start recording in the next few weeks.

"Did He Ramble?"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 7 Nov 2025 07:32:01 -0500

Some of these old tunes could stand a little revision. Last week as we began this old Charlie Poole number, our Danny Cox proposed a bit of judicious editing to tidy up the grammar. Check it out.

"When You Say Nothing at All"

charlesbowen@bowenbooks.com (The 1937 Flood) — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 06:44:00 -0400

Some songs are like old friends. This old Paul Overstreet-Don Schlitz tune that Keith Whitley made famous is certainly like that. We hadn’t played it in six months or more, and then one sultry night last August, it strolled back into the band room like it had never left. Danny Cox kicked off those first chords, then Randy Hamilton stepped up with the opening lyrics and… well, take a listen…