On last Friday’s show, host Rebecca Sheir — with me in the passenger seat — took listeners on a tour of D.C.’s astonishingly diverse music communities: the thriving local jazz and hip-hop scenes, rarely seen corners of area music venues, a record label bringing Ethiopian electronic music to the District, metal in a dozen flavors and the small universe of music fans thrusting cassette tapes back into the musical ecosystem.

We also talked with attorney Chris Naoum of Listen Local First to find out what his group is doing to push music-friendly policies in D.C. and strolled down memory lane with Positive Force co-founder Mark Andersen — who shared a moving memory from a Rites of Spring show he’ll probably never forget — as well as WAMU Bluegrass Country’s Katy Daley.

Did you miss the show over Memorial Day weekend? No problem. It’s streamable via Metro Connection‘s website and iTunes. Click “play” and get deep.

Photo: Give at Fort Reno, 2014

Having spent nearly 40 years at Baltimore’s WBMD, Davis came to WAMU in 1985 as the host of Saturday Bluegrass. He co-hosted the program Bluegrass Country until 2001, and became an integral part of WAMU’s Bluegrass Country when it grew into its own station. Davis retired in 2013 after more than 60 years in the business. Last week, he died of leukemia at the age of 81.

Strong spoke to ex-WAMU host Bill Redlin, who vouched for Davis’ authenticity on the air. “When you listened to Ray, you were really listening to Ray,” Redlin says. “There was nothing put on there. It was like having an old friend in the house talking to you and then introducing you to some music maybe you hadn’t heard before.”

Davis’ stories were a big part of his appeal — and they could be hazardous. “There were a couple of times when I almost left the road I was laughing so hard at Ray’s stories,” Redlin says.

WAMU show host Diane Rehm has fond memories of Davis’ kindness. “Whenever he saw me he was so kind and so polite,” Rehm says, “always with a smile on his face and always with the softest, warmest words.”

Strong’s segment on Ray Davis airs today in the 1 p.m. hour and again on Saturday morning, and you can hear it now on metroconnection.org.

Related: Read Bluegrass Country’s remembrance of Davis.

Show host Jay Bruder—a human encyclopedia of D.C. music history—will spin nothing but pre-1970 D.C. music for two hours starting at 7 p.m. The show is also a celebration of sorts: It kicks off Bruder’s third year on Bluegrass Country’s airwaves. “I always dedicate the anniversary show to Washington-area artists,” Bruder writes in an email. Accordingly, he plans to crisscross the region Sunday night, focusing on local music of all genres recorded in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s.

Here’s a sampling of the songs Bruder plans to play this weekend:

Terry and the Pirates, “What Did He Say”

“This is one of the hottest rock and roll records ever cut in Washington,” Bruder says. “It features a kicking back beat, honking sax and a screaming guitar break. The suburban Maryland band from the late 1950s was a prototype for hundreds of local garage bands that followed in their footsteps.”

The Rainbows, “Mary Lee”

Recorded for the Harlem-based label Red Robin in late 1954, “Mary Lee” by The Rainbows was “one of those records that never charted at the time of release, but in the ensuing decades has become a standard among vocal-group fans,” Bruder says. He adds that the song was meant to taunt a member of the ensemble, whose girlfriend was named Marion Lee. Over the decades, The Rainbows drew in a number of talented locals, including Don Covay and John Berry—but rumors that Marvin Gaye sang with them don’t hold water.

Sunday, Bruder also pledges to feature some rarely heard a capella gospel by The Silvertones, a group that recorded for Lloyd’s Novelty and Curio Shop on Massachusetts Avenue NW during the 1940s. (Bruder’s website, dcrecords.org, has more background on the record-cutting variety store.) Don’t look to the Internet to find Silvertones recordings: As Bruder says, “You’ll need to tune in to hear this one, because it is not on YouTube.”

Hometown Special airs Sundays from 7 to 9 p.m. on WAMU’s Bluegrass Country, 105.5 FM. Image by Flickr user Martin Thomas used under a Creative Commons license.