Minnesota Music Notes

Series produced by Ampers

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Moments in the musical history of Minnesota

Moments in the musical history of Minnesota


82 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Like most performing musicians, Peter and Paul Wendinger had their humble beginnings. Producer Daniel Zamzow describes how these polka-loving broth...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 3
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The concert band is a staple in the tradition of American music. Though, as producer Daniel Zamzow learned, Minnesota is the only state in the nati...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 3
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VocalEssence is one of many in a long tradition of fine choral music in Minnesota. Producer Daniel Zamzow explains how this group’s first concert i...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 3
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Libby Larsen is an accomplished composer who was raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Producer Daniel Zamzow explains how her artistry reflects the mo...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 3
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Producer Daniel Zamzow describes how a couple who met on the Lawrence Welk Show in the late 1930s began their Minnesota dance music career at St. P...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 3
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Irish immigrants in Minnesota accounted for a significant portion of the work force employed by the booming logging industry of the late 19th centu...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, KFAI Minneapolis, and Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 4
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North Dakotans Ernest and Clarence Iverson were raised by first generation Norwegian immigrants in the early 1900s. As producer Daniel Zamzow descr...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, KFAI Minneapolis, and Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 4
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Both Polka music and the Christian faith have a widespread presence in Minnesota. In 1973, the two became one in the town of Eveleth. Producer Dani...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, KFAI Minneapolis, and Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 4
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Psychedelic rock band Jokers Wild had a good run playing shows and releasing records in the late 1960s. Though, as producer Daniel Zamzow explains,...

Bought by WTIP, Radio K, KQAL, KFAI Minneapolis, and Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 5
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Gear Daddies are a band formed in Austin, Minnesota that rose to popularity in the late 80s. Producer Daniel Zamzow explains how a moment of inspir...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, KFAI Minneapolis, and Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 4
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Polynesian family band The Jets landed in Minnesota in the early 1980s, and they started releasing hit songs soon after. As producer Daniel Zamzow ...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, Radio K, KFAI Minneapolis, and Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 5
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The Steele Singers have been a powerful musical force since they moved to Minnesota in the early 1980s. Producer Daniel Zamzow points us to some of...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, KFAI Minneapolis, and Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 4
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The work of Frances Densmore represents a significant portion of what we today can hear of Native American song from long ago. As producer Daniel Z...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, Radio K, KFAI Minneapolis, and Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 5
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In the mid-1960s, Minnesota was wrapped up in “Beatle Mania” just like the rest of the nation. As Daniel Zamzow explains, their 1965 show in Bloomi...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, Radio K, KFAI Minneapolis, and Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 5
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“Daddy Squeeze” Dan Newton and his band Cafe Accordion Orchestra were pleasantly surprised after playing their music for a seemingly absent audienc...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, KFAI Minneapolis, and Northern Community Radio - KAXE & KBXE, Minnesota


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 4
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Flamingo was the predecessor to The Flamin’ Oh’s, a band whose highest notes came in the early and mid-1980s. But, as Daniel Zamzow describes, Flam...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 3
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In the 1930s, Jeanie Arland met her future husband and fellow musician Willie Peterson at WCCO. Producer Daniel Zamzow describes how, over time, th...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 3
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Minnesota’s Dixieland Jazz scene was entering its heyday in the mid-1950s when the Rampart Street Club was opened. Producer Daniel Zamzow explains ...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 3
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Low is a trio from Duluth, Minnesota that has a history of challenging norms in modern rock music. Producer Daniel Zamzow explains how they got sta...

Bought by WTIP, KQAL, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 3
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Minnesota is home to a special kind of record label that specializes in reissuing music of the past. But, as producer Daniel Zamzow explains, their...

Bought by WTIP, KBBI Alaska, KQAL, Radio K, and KFAI Minneapolis


  • Added: Jul 15, 2017
  • Length: 01:30
  • Purchases: 5