For Independence Day, Local Radio Stations Will Celebrate America

Whether listeners are seeking an accompaniment to their day off at the beach, a soundtrack for a fireworks display or an aural reminder of what Independence Day is all about, several Southland radio stations have scheduled special programming for July 4.

During “Morning Edition,” National Public Radio will feature stories from listeners about the places where they feel most patriotic, with respondents citing some obvious choices, such as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon, as well as more personal ones, such as a secluded island in Maine or a rolling field in Kansas. “Morning Edition” airs on KPCC-FM (89.3) from 5 to 9 a.m., and from 3 to 9 a.m. on KCRW-FM (89.9).

Classical station KMZT-FM (105.1) will feature only American composers from 6 a.m. to midnight, drawing on the works of Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, Samuel Barber and others.

Among the offerings will be three performances of Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait,” a homage to the 16th president written during World War II. The music accompanies a narrator, as Copland said, “to draw a simple but impressive frame about the words of Lincoln himself.” Among the quotations in the piece: “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.”

The tunes on “K-Mozart’s” sister station, contemporary standards outlet “the Surf,” KSUR-AM (1260), will also be made in America. The playlist from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. includes Tony Bennett singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” Diane Schuur’s version of “New York State of Mind,” Frank Sinatra’s “Chicago” and others, with Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” suite played in its entirety at noon.

KCRW will focus on another definitively American genre, rhythm & blues, for 13 hours on Thursday and next Friday. The station will air the series “Let the Good Times Roll,” a baker’s dozen of hourlong programs highlighting the history and influence of R&B;, from its origins in the 1940s to its crossover success in the 1960s. Starting with “Jumping the Blues,” an examination of Los Angeles as an early mecca for performers such as Nat King Cole, Charles Brown and Joe “The Honeydripper” Liggins, the shows will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday and from noon to 5 p.m. next Friday.

Other segments will focus on the New Orleans and Chicago sounds, bawdy lyrics, the rise of Atlantic and Motown Records, doo-wop, soul and female singers. The series finale, “Our Day Will Come,” starting at 4 p.m. on July 5, will examine that song and others also embraced by white audiences, the influence of music on the Civil Rights movement and the effect R&B; had on American culture and politics.

The blues from Chavez Ravine will also be represented during the holiday. For those fans who think bats and balls are as integral to July 4 as fifes and drums, the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the St. Louis Cardinals at 3 p.m. in a battle of division leaders, airing on KXTA-AM (1150).

Baseball junkies looking ahead to the Dodgers’ postseason prospects can switch between that game and another between a pair of L.A. rivals, the San Francisco Giants and the Arizona Diamondbacks, which begins at 2:30 p.m. on KSPN-AM (1110). KSPN is also carrying the Indians and Yankees at 9:30 a.m., and--for those interested in an altogether different ballgame--Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes visiting the L.A. Galaxy at the Rose Bowl at 7 p.m.

Contemporary Christian music station “the Fish,” KFSH-FM (95.9), is sponsoring a pair of “Freedom Celebration” concerts at Cerritos College Stadium in Norwalk, Wednesday and Thursday nights at 7 p.m., with fireworks to follow each. The station will broadcast live from the stadium from 3 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, when afternoon DJ Big Wave Dave will interview that evening’s performers, Jennifer Knapp, Audio Adrenaline and the Katinas.

Finally, KABC-AM (790) will bring all corners of the country and all types of music together in one program, “In Search of America, a July 4 Celebration,” with Peter Jennings as host, simulcast from ABC-TV from 7 to 10 p.m. The show will feature performances ranging from the Boston Pops at the Boston Esplanade to Cajun band Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys from Erath, La.

The program will also visit Independence Day celebrations around the country, from a Native American powwow in South Dakota to a polka festival in Wisconsin. Billing the show as “pop to pomp, Broadway to barbershop, classics to country and more,” ABC has also scheduled appearances by Los Lobos, Sheryl Crow, Alicia Keys, Hank Williams Jr. and gospel singer Sandi Patty for a grand finale.