Subway Series: Fatboy Wilson and the Ripleys

Summary

---

Podcast Summary: All Of It with Alison Stewart

Episode: Subway Series: Fatboy Wilson and the Ripleys

Date: July 22, 2026
Host: Alison Stewart, WNYC
Guests: Simone Wilson (aka Samoa Wilson), Ernie “Lover Cat” Vega
Theme: Exploring the subway musician experience and celebrating the richness of the Great American Songbook—especially the blues, folk, and jazz traditions—through conversation and live performance.

---

Episode Overview

This episode of All Of It features an intimate, music-rich conversation with Simone Wilson (who performs as Samoa Wilson) and Ernie "Lover Cat" Vega. The two, as part of Fat Boy Wilson and the Ripleys, celebrate their upcoming subway performance by discussing the value of folk and blues in the American songbook, the power and endurance of traditional music, and the singular experience of playing in New York City's subway stations. Through live performances and lively banter, Wilson and Vega shine a light on the stories, histories, and personal journeys that fuel their passion for music.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Place of Folk and Blues in the American Songbook

• Simone Wilson expresses strong belief that blues, folk, and jug band music are foundational parts of American musical heritage—not just Tin Pan Alley and Broadway.
• She notes the historical context: “There was a lot of itinerant musicians that traveled around playing these songs … just a minefield of beautiful music.” (07:23)

2. The Resilience and Relevance of Old Songs

• Wilson highlights why nearly century-old songs still resonate: “We are talking about the same subjects … nothing like proof that the past repeats itself.” (13:36)
• She specifically connects the themes of heartbreak and coping—present in songs like “Blues in the Bottle”—to contemporary experiences.

3. Women in Blues—Strength, Defiance, and Humor

• Discussing Sippy Wallace’s work, Wilson says these classic blues songs reveal “strength, defiance, humor. A lot of humor. Resilience.” (09:11)
• The episode underlines the enduring message of self-respect and agency in the lyrics delivered by women blues singers.

4. Musical Interpretation: Fidelity vs. Personalization

• Ernie Vega shares his philosophy of performing trad songs: immerse yourself in the original, but inevitably, “no matter how hard you try, you can't really copy somebody, you're gonna sound like yourself.” (14:38)
• The process is described as “swimming around in it, play those licks, those chords... something will start to come out of your version which is right for you and your time in place.” (14:23–15:31)

5. Personal Musical Journeys

• Simone Wilson began performing at age 12, mentored by Jim Kweskin, her “musical uncle.” First song on stage: “You Are My Sunshine.” (15:40-16:25)
• Ernie Vega recalls making music “out of anything” in childhood. Early experiences included saxophone in school and a focus on American trad music in late teens and early twenties. (16:28–17:16)

6. Subway Busking: The Unique Experience

• Wilson started as a busker at 12 (in LA), later auditioned for Music Under New York (MUNY) in 2023, playing stations like Union Square, Fulton Street, Delancey. (19:03–19:56)
  • Favorite NYC spot: “underneath the green tile mural of a tree at Delancey.” (19:56)
• Vega explains the distinctive immediacy of subway performances: “Much more intimate interaction… people might start dancing, which you don’t get at formal shows… you get a quick changeover of audience, so you can kind of play the same songs multiple times.” (20:16)
• Wilson values the unpredictability: “You are there presenting art music on their commute… it’s a surprise… there’s no stage, there’s no space between you and people.” (21:02–21:38)

7. The Band Names: Layers of Identity

• The group’s various identities are explained with a sense of humor and affection.
  • Fat Boy Wilson: Wilson describes the name as “an honorific”—“I like it because it is a little bit confusing to people because I'm a woman and I'm calling myself a fat boy, but I just feel like I prefer that cloak of mystery.” (18:25–18:59)

---

Memorable Quotes and Moments (With Timestamps)

• On American tradition:
  “There’s just so many branches to American traditional music... it’s an extremely rich minefield of beautiful music.”
  – Simone Wilson (07:23)

• On women in blues:
  “Strength, defiance, humor. A lot of humor. Resilience.”
  – Simone Wilson (09:11)

• On musical reinterpretation:
  “No matter how hard you try, you can't really copy somebody… you're gonna sound like yourself.”
  – Ernie Vega (14:38)

• On busking:
  “You are there presenting art music on their commute… it’s a surprise that you get to bring it to people who aren’t paying a ticket or going to a museum… there’s no space between you and people.”
  – Simone Wilson (21:06–21:38)

---

Live Performance Highlights (With Timestamps)

• Blues in the Bottle (02:01–06:44)
  • An energetic, classic jug band song—performed with rawness and a wry sense of humor.
• Separation Blues (09:38–13:12)
  • Originally by Sippy Wallace—a song about agency and walking away from heartache with dignity and strength.
• Irene Goodnight (21:41–25:10)
  • The iconic Lead Belly song, delivered in timeless harmony—Wilson notes her mother was singing this as she was born.

---

Notable Band Details

• Different Group Names:
  • The “Four o'Clock Flowers” (Wilson and Ernie Papavega).
  • “Fat Boy Wilson and Old Viejo Bones” (Wilson and Ernesto Lover Cat Gomez).
  • The playful swapping of stage names and personas speaks to the camaraderie and creative spirit of the artists. (17:38–18:59)

---

The Heart of the Episode

This episode beautifully draws the line from America’s musical past into its present. Simone Wilson and Ernie Vega embody living tradition: keeping old songs alive through reverent interpretation and a sense of play. Their subway sets are as much an act of public service as performance—an offering to everyday New Yorkers, connecting history, humor, and heart with everyone passing through.

---

Selected Segment Timestamps

• Blues in the Bottle: 02:01–06:44
• History of Folk in Songbook: 07:23
• Women in Blues/Sippy Wallace: 09:01–09:13
• Separation Blues (performance): 09:38–13:12
• Why Old Songs Endure: 13:36
• Interpretation vs. Fidelity: 14:22–15:31
• Personal Histories: 15:40–17:16
• Band Name Origins: 17:38–18:59
• Subway Busking: 19:02–21:38
• Irene Goodnight (performance): 21:41–25:10

---

For more live music and cultural exploration, catch Fat Boy Wilson and the Ripleys at Atlantic Avenue Barclays Center station on July 29, and stay tuned to All Of It for ongoing subway music celebrations.

Transcript

[Simone Wilson]

WNYC Studios is supported by Progressive Insurance. Did you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. We continue our ongoing series spotlighting artists appearing in subway stations. Folk and jazz musician Simone Wilson often draws from the music of the 1920s and 30s. She and her band Fat Boy Wilson and the Ripleys will perform in celebration of the Great American songbook next Wednesday, July 29th inside the Atlantic Avenue Barclays center station's upper mezzanine level between the DN&R and the 23 trains from noon to but first, they perform live in WNYC Studio 5. Samoa. Fatboy Wilson is here on acoustic baritone ukulele. Nice to meet you.

[Samoa Wilson]

Hi.

[Simone Wilson]

Great to meet you.

[Alison Stewart]

Alongside Ernie Lover Cat Vega playing acoustic guitar. Hey, Ernie.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Hey, how you doing?

[Alison Stewart]

I'm doing well. Samoa Blues in a Bottle is the first song you are going to play for us today. Will you tell us the history of this song?

[Simone Wilson]

Yes, I will. Blues in the Bottle was originally recorded by Prince Albert Hunt in Texas in 1919 28. I originally came across this song actually from a recording from the 1960s by Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band. But between those two versions of the song, I have sort of crafted my own little way to do it.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's hear it.

[Samoa Wilson]

Blues in the bottle Blues in the bottle Stoppers in my hand Pretty papa Blues in the bottom Stoppers in my hand. I'm going out to fort me another man. Rooster chews tobacco Rooster chews tobacco and a hen uses snuff Pretty papa Rooster chews tobacco the hand uses snuff. The chickens don't use nothing but they strut their style. Gold digitators Gold digitators each Tater digging time Pretty papa go oh dig it tater tater digging time. Old man Jack frost he went and killed your vine. I asked my baby oh I asked my baby could he stand see me cry My pretty papa eyes My baby

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

couldn't stand to see me cry.

[Samoa Wilson]

And he said whoa little mama I could stand to see you die. Sam. Gonna Chattanooga gonna chattanoo day to see them ponies run Pretty papa gonna chat a new day see them ponies run. And if I win me some money

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

gonna give my

[Samoa Wilson]

some. Blues in the bottle Blues in the bottle where do you think you're at Pretty Papa Blues in the Bottle. Where do you think you're at? You went and pick

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

and then you sat on my head.

[Alison Stewart]

That was Samoa Wilson and Ernie Vega playing Blues in the Bottle. We are celebrating musicians who play in the subway. By the way, Samo Wilson's band, Fat Boy Wilson and the Ripleys, will be performing on July 29th at Atlantic Center Barclays as part of MTA's music series, Station Music Sess. But right now they're performing live in Studio 5. You're going to concentrate on the American songbook, and most people think Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, but you really believe that folk and blues should be included in that conversation as well. Tell us more.

[Simone Wilson]

Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, there's just so many branches to American traditional music. And I've sort of gravitated towards blues and jazz and then this other music called jug band music. And all of these, including gospel music, are like ragtime music. These are all just early forms of popular music. There was a lot of itinerant musicians that traveled around playing these songs. And, you know, they would play a song, any old song that people wanted to hear, they would play it. So I just think it's extremely rich. Minefield of beautiful music. This next one that we're gonna do is by Sippy Wallace.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, tell us about Sippy Wallace.

[Simone Wilson]

Sippy Wallace, she recorded this song in 1927, and later on she recorded it in 1967.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Wow.

[Alison Stewart]

That's amazing.

[Simone Wilson]

Yes. What an amazing career. Right? So I think of her as a contemporary of Victoria Spivey, somebody who was incredible blues singer and lived in New York City. Sippy Wallace won a Grammy with Bonnie Raitt. She just had such a long career and taught us so much about music.

[Alison Stewart]

What does the song reveal to us about women in blues?

[Simone Wilson]

What song you're gonna sing?

[Samoa Wilson]

Strength,

[Simone Wilson]

defiance, humor. A lot of humor. Resilience.

[Renewal by Andersen Advertiser]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, let's hear it. This is Separation Blues.

[Samoa Wilson]

I been waiting mighty long. Sing to you this little song it's the separation Blues. And I ain't offering no excuse. You've been mighty me to this sweet and precious queen. But someday you realize what you were losing in this price fairly well

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Mama's gone, goodbye.

[Samoa Wilson]

It ain't no use to sigh. It ain't no use to cry. For years you dogged me round. Now's the time for me to get you told what's on my mind. I'm gonna wait don't ask me to stay.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Betty.

[Samoa Wilson]

Where

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

I've been to school I learned

[Samoa Wilson]

a brand new rule Now I ain't

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

no fool

[Samoa Wilson]

I'm gonna get me a man treat me right One who will stay home Every day and night Fairly well Mama's kind goodbye Sam.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Mama's gone, goodbye

[Samoa Wilson]

it ain't no use

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

to sigh

[Samoa Wilson]

it ain't no use to

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

cry

[Samoa Wilson]

for years you've dogged me round Now's the time for you to get me told what's on my mind I'm gonna wait

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

don't ask me to stay Fairly well I been to school

[Samoa Wilson]

I learned a brand new rule I ain't no fool I'm gonna get me a man Treat me right One who will stay home Every day and night Very well

[Alison Stewart]

Mama's gone goodbye that was Separation Blues by Samoa Wilson and Ernie Vega. Samoa. Those songs are nearly a century old. Why do you think those songs have. Why do they resonate with people today?

[Simone Wilson]

Well, I still think that we are talking about the same subjects. Nothing like proof that the past repeats itself. But, you know, there's plenty of musical traditions where 100 years is just a drop in the bucket. But, yeah, with a song like Blues in the Bottle, true words were never spoken. How many people are finding trouble at the end, at the bottom of a bottle? And how many of us are dissatisfied with our lover and, you know, have to craft a way to take ourselves away with some dignity?

[Alison Stewart]

Ernie, I'm asking you a question.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Sure.

[Alison Stewart]

How do you stay faithful to an original song, a beautiful song, and where do you let yourself reinterpret a little bit?

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

That's an interesting question.

[Alison Stewart]

Or sometimes you don't, I guess.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

I guess you have to. I mean, at least what I try to do is to. To really get into the. The song as it was originally constructed, and, you know, immerse yourself in it, swim around in it, play those licks, you know, those. Those chords that they used, and over time, you start to change it. I think without even being so aware of it. Sometimes you are aware that you're gonna change this little part, but, you know, no matter how hard you try, you can't really copy somebody, you know, you're gonna sound like yourself. And I think that the more you, you know, cleave to what was there, something will start to come out of your version of it which is right for you and your time in place.

[Alison Stewart]

I love that idea of swimming around in it, like you kind of feel your way.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah. Samoa, how long have you been performing? When did you start performing?

[Simone Wilson]

I have been performing since I was 12 years old. It was probably the first time I stepped on a stage. Been singing since I was much younger than that, and I had the privilege of growing up with a great musician, Jim Questin. And he's my musical mentor. I call him my uncle. We still play music together today. I was just in the studio with him in May. He's recording a new record. And, yeah, when I was 12 years old, I got up on stage and sang you Are My Sunshine with him.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh, that's a beautiful song to sing for your first time out.

[Simone Wilson]

It's a great song. It's a really great song.

[Alison Stewart]

Ernie, how did you get involved with music?

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Well, I was playing music, you know, trying to get music out of anything I could from when I was a little child. You know, there's photographs of me grabbing onto my father's guitar when I was just an infant, you know, and I learned how to whistle at a really young age so I could make some music before I could actually play anything. I played the saxophone in the school band growing up, and I got into the guitar and learning this kind of music really in my late teens and into the early 20s. My early 20s is when I really sort of started focusing on American traditional music.

[Alison Stewart]

We're talking to Simone Wilson and her band. Fat Boy Wilson and the Ripleys will perform music celebrating the Great American songbook next Wednesday, July 29th, at Atlantic center in Barclays as part of the MTA Music Session. Right now, they're performing live in WNYC Studio 5. Okay. Small. You gotta get the. Figure out the names for me. Figure help us understand. You have two duos, the Four o' Clock Flowers.

[Simone Wilson]

Yes.

[Alison Stewart]

Fat Boy Wilson and Old Viejo Bones.

[Simone Wilson]

Yes.

[Alison Stewart]

Which I understand is Ernie.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

No, another Ernie.

[Alison Stewart]

Another Ernie.

[Simone Wilson]

Okay, here are the Four o' Clock Flowers.

[Alison Stewart]

This.

[Simone Wilson]

This is Ernie Papavega.

[Alison Stewart]

Gotcha.

[Simone Wilson]

And then Fat Boy Wilson and Old Viejo Bones is me and Ernesto. Lover cat Gomez. So early on, when the three of

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

us started my spot, I thought I was gonna get to be the lover cat today.

[Alison Stewart]

I'm sorry.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

No, that's okay. That's right.

[Simone Wilson]

When the three of us started playing music together, they would call each other Vega and Gomez. And I was like, I want to be Wilson. So then I became Fat Boy Wilson.

[Alison Stewart]

All right, now, Fat Boy has a. Has a great connotation to it.

[Simone Wilson]

Could you explain honorific? Indeed.

[Samoa Wilson]

Indeed.

[Simone Wilson]

It's an honorific. I was.

[Samoa Wilson]

I was given.

[Simone Wilson]

I was given that name one night by a good friend of mine, Farrell Foster. He came in, he was like, you're a fat boy. And I said, I accept. And I like it because it is a Little bit confusing to people because I'm a woman and I'm calling myself a fat boy, but I just feel like I prefer that cloak of mystery.

[Alison Stewart]

When did you start playing in the subway?

[Samoa Wilson]

I.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Maybe.

[Simone Wilson]

I mean, I started busking. I was busking with Jim Questin when I was 12.

[Alison Stewart]

Oh yeah.

[Simone Wilson]

Not in New York City. I was in Los Angeles at the time. But I have busked all over this country at taco stands, in Riverside's gas stations. And maybe in 2023, I auditioned for Muni music under New York and I was just so blown away that they accepted me. I want to be a part of any like institutions in New York. Just like being on the radio here. So right around 2023 was when I started busking. I was at Union Square, I was at Fulton Street. One of my favorite spots is

[Samoa Wilson]

right

[Simone Wilson]

over there at Delancey. Underneath there's a green tile mural of a tree. And I really like that spot.

[Alison Stewart]

Ernie, what do you get about playing in a subway that you can't get it in a traditional setting?

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Oh, let me think. Let's see. Well, you get a much more intimate interaction with the people who are paying attention to your music there. Not everybody is because it's subway and people have places to go. So that's kind of nice. Everybody, you know, is right around you. They might start dancing, you know, and you don't get that so much at, at formal shows. You also get a really quick changeover of audience. So you can kind of play the same songs multiple times if you want.

[Alison Stewart]

Sure.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

So that's something you don't get in a typical, A typical setting. I don't know. What do you think?

[Simone Wilson]

Yes. I love the fact carbon monoxide probably free.

[Alison Stewart]

Free.

[Simone Wilson]

I love the fact that it's unexpected. Like you are there presenting art music on their commute. They weren't looking for art, they weren't looking for music necessarily, but there you are. And so it's a surprise that you get to bring it to people who aren't like paying a ticket or going to a museum. And you're down on the ground, there's no stage, there's no space between you and people.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's hear your last song. What are you gonna hear?

[Simone Wilson]

We're gonna do Irene Goodnight, one of my all time favorite songs by the great lead Belly, who used to.

[Alison Stewart]

This used to have a show on WNYC and this was his theme song.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

That's right.

Yes.

[Alison Stewart]

Yeah, it's pretty great.

[Simone Wilson]

It's my theme song and I always love to say my mom was singing this song as she gave birth to me.

[Samoa Wilson]

Sometimes I live in the country Sometimes

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

I live in town Sometimes I take

[Samoa Wilson]

a great notion to jump in the

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

river and down Irene, good night Irene, good night Good night, Irene, Good night Irene I'll see you in my dreams

[Samoa Wilson]

Stop your rambling, Stop your gambling Quit staying out late at night

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Go home

[Samoa Wilson]

to your wife and your family Lay down beside the fireside bright

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Irene, good

[Samoa Wilson]

night

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Irene, good night Good night, Irene, Good night, Irene I'll see you in my dreams Come on, Ernie.

[Samoa Wilson]

I love Irene God knows I do

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

love her Till the sea runs dry but if Irene turns her back on

[Samoa Wilson]

me I'll take morphine and I

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Irene, good night Irene, good night Good night, Irene, good night Irene I'll see you

[Samoa Wilson]

in my dreams let's sing it one more time.

[Ernie Lover Cat Vega]

Irene, good night Good night Irene, good night Good night, Irene, Good night Irene I'll see you in my dreams I've

[Alison Stewart]

been speaking with folk and jazz musician Simone Wilson. She and her band Fat Boy Wilson and the Ripleys will perform in celebration of the Great American songbook next Wednesday, July 29, inside the Atlantic Avenue Barclays center stations, upper mezzanine level between the DNR and the 2 and 3 trains from noon to 3. Thank you so much, Ernie and Samoa, for being with us.

[Samoa Wilson]

Thank you, Alison.

[Alison Stewart]

Coming up, there's more music on the way. We'll hear from Grammy award winning musicians Alison Brown and Steve Martin, who brought their banjos into the studio and joined me to talk about their bluegrass album safe, Sensible and Sane. That's on all of it, right after the news.

[Renewal by Andersen Advertiser]

What if upgrading your windows and doors didn't mean tightening your budget? Scratch that. What if it meant spending nothing? Today for a limited time, renewal by Andersen is offering no money down, no monthly payments and no interest for 18 months on a minimum of six. That means beautiful, energy efficient windows and doors. While the payments wait, visit renewalbyandersonhome. Com today and see how easy it is to buy now and pay later.