''Theme Time Radio Hour'' (''TTRH'') was a weekly one-hour

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than te ...

show hosted by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

that originally aired from May 2006 to April 2009. Each episode had a freeform mix of music, centered on a theme (such as "Weather", "Money" or "Flowers") rather than genre. Much of the material for the show was culled from producer Eddie Gorodetsky's music collection. Dylan would read emails from fans, take listener phone calls, play vintage radio promos and jingles, tell jokes, recite poetry, play taped messages from celebrities, and provide commentary on the music. Throughout the show, Dylan would claim that musical genres were constructed "ticky-tacky boxes" not to be taken seriously. The show was not live, taped at various locations and while touring; the "Abernathy Building" studio location mentioned was fictitious. Most of the "listener phone calls" and emails were also fictitious, although at least one email read on the show came from an actual listener.

Original broadcast history

The first episode of ''TTRH'' was broadcast on May 3, 2006 on the Deep Tracks channel of

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XM) was one of the three satellite radio ( SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable ...

(now

Sirius XM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting corporation headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. The company was formed by the 2008 merger ...

). The show was originally broadcast every Wednesday at 10:00 am ET on Deep Tracks, with several "encore" repeats throughout the week on various channels, including an all-day airing on what was XMX Channel 2. On November 12, 2008, Sirius XM revised its channel lineup, providing Sirius and XM listeners with access to programming on both networks, with ''TTRH'' airing every Wednesday at 11 am ET on Deep Tracks. Several channels on both stations were discontinued in November 2008, including XMX Channel 2, which had aired ''TTRH'' all day on Wednesdays. The show was simulcast on

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

until February 9, 2010. From 2006 through 2008,

AOL Radio AOL Radio was an online radio streaming service available exclusively in the United States. Originally powered by XM Satellite Radio and later CBS Radio and Slacker, the platform offered users access to more than 200 free digital stations. H ...

offered the show on "AOL Radio featuring XM" until XM Radio and America Online announced that their relationship was terminated. From 2007 to 2009, the program aired in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

and BBC 6 Music, and in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

-based alternative rock station Phantom FM. Season 3 of ''TTRH'' concluded with the show's 100th original episode on April 15, 2009. The theme of that show was "Goodbye". During an April 2009 interview with ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, Dylan implied that his contract with Sirius XM had ended, and that he had no plans to do additional episodes of the show. In September 2020, SiriusXM announced that a 101st episode of the ''Theme Time Radio Hour'' would be produced and aired as part of a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

rerun A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. The two types of reruns are those that occur during a hiatus and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Variations In the United Kingdom, the word "repe ...

ning of the whole series. The new episode, with a "

Whiskey Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

" theme, was being produced as a tie-in to Dylan's line of whiskeys, "Heaven's Door".

Reruns

Sirius XM continued to air rebroadcasts of ''Theme Time Radio Hour'' on the Deep Tracks channel to the end of April 2011. At the beginning of May 2011, ''TTRH'' was replaced with the "Earle Bailey" show. On July 25, 2011, Sirius XM issued a press release announcing the launch of a 24/7 "Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour" internet-only channel. The press release noted that channel would launch on Monday, August 15 on channel 801 on Sirius XM Internet Radio and would feature "every one of Dylan's classic 'Theme Time Radio Hour' shows." The release also noted "Sirius XM listeners will hear a show from the Theme Time Radio Hour vault on Deep Tracks, channel 27, on Mondays at 8:00 pm; Wednesdays at 11:00 am; Thursdays at 12:00 am and Sundays at 8:00 am (all times Eastern)," marking the show's return to satellite radio. The internet channel and radio rebroadcasts were discontinued in August 2013.

Seasons and episode lists

Season 1 of ''TTRH'' consists of fifty episodes, airing from May 3, 2006 to April 18, 2007. Season 2 of ''TTRH'' consists of twenty-five new episodes, airing from September 19, 2007 to April 2, 2008. Three episodes ("Halloween," "Leftovers" (Thanksgiving) and the "Christmas/New Year's Special") were repeats from Season 1. Season 3 of ''TTRH'' consists of twenty-five new episodes, airing from October 8, 2008 to April 15, 2009. Three episodes ("President's Day," "Christmas/New Year's Special," and "Number One") were repeats from earlier seasons.

The "Kiss" episode, 2015

In early February 2015, Berlin radio station Radio Eins announced that it would broadcast a new episode of ''Theme Time Radio Hour'', titled "Kiss," as a special episode of the station's ''Friendly Takeover'' series. The Radio Eins "Kiss" episode was broadcast on February 11, 2015 and later by SiriusXM and the BBC. Due to time constraints, both the Radio Eins and BBC versions of the "Kiss" episode were edited by the respective stations, and neither broadcast the complete hour-long show. Show track listings: # " The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" – Betty Everett (1964) # " Always Late with Your Kisses" –

Lefty Frizzell William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country and honky-tonk singer-songwriter. Frizell is known as one of the most influential country music vocal stylists of all time. He has been cited as in ...

(1951) # " Passionate Kisses" –

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayl Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums, ''Ramblin' on My Mind (Lucinda Williams album), Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and ''Happy Woman Blues'' (198 ...

(1988) # "Kissing At Midnight" – Billy Boy Arnold (1957) # "

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

" –

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

(1986) # "Kissing in the Dark" –

Memphis Minnie Lizzie Douglas (June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973), better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades. She recorded around 200 songs, some of the best known being " ...

(1953) # "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" – Danny White (1963) # "Pucker Paint" – Huelyn Duvall (1960) # " Lipstick on Your Collar" –

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

(1959) # " (Till) I Kissed You" –

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

(1959) # "Let's Kiss and Make Up" – The Falcons (1963) # "Baby, Let Me Kiss You One More Time" – Roy Head and The Traits (1958) # " Last Kiss" – J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers (1964) # " A Kiss to Build a Dream On" –

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

(1951)

The "Whiskey" episode, September 21, 2020

Dylan resurrected his ''Theme Time Radio Hour'' format when he broadcast a two-hour special on the theme of "Whiskey" on Sirius Radio on September 21, 2020. Show track listings: # "Quiet Whiskey" —

Wynonie Harris Wynonie Harris (August 24, 1915 – June 14, 1969) was an American blues shouter best remembered as a singer of upbeat songs, featuring humorous, often ribald lyrics. He had fifteen Top 10 hits between 1946 and 1952. Harris is attributed by ...

(1953) # "If the River Was Whiskey" —

Charlie Poole Charles Cleveland Poole (March 22, 1892 – May 21, 1931) was an American old-time music, old-time musician and leader of the North Carolina Ramblers, a string band that recorded many popular hillbilly music, hillbilly songs between 1925 and 193 ...

(1930) # " Whiskey River" —

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

(1973) # "Bottleneck Blues" (excerpt) — Sylvester Weaver and Walter Beasley (1927) # "Whiskey Sununu Odia" (aka "Whiskey Sonn Onuo Da") — Edmund Tagoe and Frank Essien (1929) # "He's Got All the Whiskey" — Bobby Charles (1972) # "Good Whiskey (And a Bad Woman)" — Timmie Rogers (1946) # "The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter" — Laura Cantrell (2000) # " Drinking Again" —

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

(1967) # "I've Been Drinking" (excerpt) —

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

(1968) # "Corn Whiskey" —

Jimmy Witherspoon James Witherspoon (August 8, 1920 – September 18, 1997) was an American jump blues and jazz singer. Early life, family and education Witherspoon was born in Gurdon, Arkansas. His father was a railroad worker who sang in local choirs, an ...

(1952) # "Ain't That Whiskey Hot" — Billie Harbert (1954) # " One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer" — Alfred Brown (1968) # "Rye Whiskey" — Harry Choates (1948) # " Coming through the Rye" — John C. Reilly (2020) # "Coming Through the Rye" —

Julie London Julie London (born Julie Peck; September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress whose career spanned more than 40 years. A torch song, torch singer noted for her contralto voice, London recorded over thirty album ...

(1959) # "Mountain Dew" — The Stanley Brothers (1960) # " Moonshine Whiskey" —

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

(1971) # "Bourbon from Heaven" (excerpt) —

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

(1964?) # "

Mack the Knife "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" () is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their 1928 music drama ''The Threepenny Opera'' (). The song tells of a knife-wielding criminal of the London underworld n ...

" (excerpt )—

(1955) # " Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)" — Lotte Lenya (1930) # " Jockey Full of Bourbon"—

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

(1985) # " Tennessee Whiskey" —

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

(1983) # " Whiskey in the Jar" —

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

(1972) # " The Parting Glass" — The Clancy Brothers (1959) # "Hangover Blues" — Byllye Williams (1954) # "Tuff" (excerpt) — Ace Cannon (1962) # "Let's Go to the Liquor Store" — Tuff Green (1949) # "Top Cat" (underscore) —

Hoyt Curtin Hoyt Stoddard Curtin (September 9, 1922 – December 3, 2000) was an American composer, music producer and the primary musical director for Hanna-Barbera from its beginnings with '' The Ruff & Reddy Show'' from 1957 to 1965, and again from 1972 to ...

(1961)

Credits

Although uncredited in the closing credits, actress Ellen Barkin read the opening "Night/Night time in the Big City" introduction for each episode during the first two seasons of the show, with the exception of the Season 1 Halloween episode (read by comedian Steven Wright). Barkin read the "Big City" intro intermittently during Season 3. The production credits were usually read at the close of each show. The usual theme music played under the closing credits was "Top Cat (Underscore)" which can be found on the CD compilation ''Tunes from the Toons: The Best of Hanna-Barbera'', issued in 1996 and reissued in 2002. The music is an acoustic version of the theme song from the 1960s cartoon ''

Top Cat ''Top Cat'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and originally broadcast in prime time on the ABC network. It aired in a weekly evening time slot from September 27, 1961, to April 18, 1962, for a single season ...

''. The show's usual credits were as follows: * Host:

* Producer: Eddie Gorodetsky * Associate Producer: Season 1 – Sonny Webster. Season 2 – Ben Rollins. Season 3 – Nina Fitzgerald-Washington * Continuity: "Eats" (spelling unknown) Martin * Editor: Damian Rodriguez * Supervising Editor: Rob Macomber * Research Team: Diane Lapson, Bernie Bernstein * Additional Research: Season 1 – Lynne Sheridan, Kimberly Williams, Robert Bower. Seasons 2 and 3 – April Hayes, Callie Gladman, Terrence Michaels, Sean Patrick, and Lynne Sheridan * Librarian: Seasons 2 and 3 – Robert Bower * Production Coordinator: Seasons 2 and 3 – Debbie Sweeney * Production Assistance: Jim McBean * Special Thanks to: Randy Ezratty, Coco Shinomiya, Samson's Diner and Lee Abrams (Season 3) * Studio Engineer: Tex Carbone (changed to Director of Studio Operations midway through Season 2 and continuing through Season 3) * For XM Radio: Lee Abrams (Seasons 1 and 2) * Location: Announced as "Recorded in Studio B, the Abernathy Building" – a fictitious location. (Season 2 modified this to "Recorded in Studio B, in the ''historic'' Abernathy Building". Season 3 had several variations on the line including "take the tour", "crown jewel of the city skyline", and "on the 8th floor".) * A Greywater Park Production in Association with Big Red Tree *Announcer: "Pierre Mancini" (suspected to be the voice of Producer Eddie Gorodetsky)

Reception

The show received positive reviews.

Terry Teachout Terrance Alan Teachout (February 6, 1956 – January 13, 2022) was an American author, critic, biographer, playwright, stage director, and librettist. He was the drama critic of ''The Wall Street Journal'', the critic-at-large of '' Commentary' ...

wrote in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' that " olisten to ''Theme Time Radio Hour'' is to rediscover the sense of musical adventure that old-fashioned disc jockeys with strongly individual personalities offered in the days before big-money stations pinned their fiscal hopes to the rigid Top 40-style playlists that took the fun out of radio". Linton Weeks, writing for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', praised Dylan's hosting qualities, calling him "voluble, generous, articulate. He's liable to quote a poem, give tips on hanging drywall, pass along a recipe"."On XM Radio's 'Theme Time,' Freewheelin' Dylan Calls the Tune" by Linton Weeks, Sunday, October 7, 2007; Page M03 ''The Washington Post''.

References

External links

Deep Tracks
Sirius XM site featuring ''Theme Time Radio Hour''

Blog by Lee Abrams (XM Radio VP) who had the original idea for a Bob Dylan radio show.
BBC6 Music: ''Theme Time'' siteThe Dreamtime Podcast
Commentary on Bob Dylan's ''Theme Time Radio Hour''

The playlists (including release dates) of the tracks Bob Dylan chose to present, as well as the lyrics to some of the songs

Annotated ''Theme Time Radio Hour'' page from the Bob Dylan Fan Club website
DylanRadio.com
Internet webcast that airs episodes of ''Theme Time Radio Hour'' twice daily among other content related to Bob Dylan.
''Theme Time Radio Hour'' Archive
Contains podcasts and 'Singers and Songs' lists for all episodes {{Bob Dylan American music radio programs Bob Dylan Radio programs on XM Satellite Radio 2006 establishments in the United States 2009 disestablishments in the United States