Category: Music

Kray-Kray

Cambridge Dictionary
CRAY-CRAY meaning: 1. stupid or not reasonable 2. things that someone says or does that seem stupid, without meaning

I first heard Monty Python’s very funny ‘Ethel the Frog’ in high school, on WBCN-FM, the station that broke the Pythons in America. The mockumentary told the story of the criminal Piranha Brothers.

What I didn’t know at the time was, the Piranha Brothers were based on the all-too-real Kray brothers of London. In Boston there was Whitey Bulger, and Cape Cod had Melvin Reine. They were violent and, in a word, crazy. Compared to the Krays, the notorious Whitey was a misunderstood businessman.

Tom Hardy, perhaps the finest actor of this or almost any generation, portrayed both of the insanely dangerous Kray twins in 2015’s Legend.

After watching that, listen to this story, as told to me by Prue.

More MOR, Please!

In the radio biz of long ago, there was a subtle distinction between the Easy Listening and Middle of the Road formats. The former was intended more for background music, while the latter would have some livelier, ear-catching tunes.

Frank Sinatra sounding like Ray Charles.

One of the very successful musical collaborations between Herb Alpert and Burt Bacharach.

Before Miniskirts

The warm weather is here, and you know that means!

First released on a small record label in 1957, ‘Short Shorts’ is a perfect example of what I think of as White Kids Rock. It was the first hit song for Bob Gaudio, who later joined the Four Seasons and wrote or co-wrote virtually all of their hits.

Radio Freed America

Back when I was working in radio, we’d get free movie passes at the station. Most were given away in contests, but there were plenty of extras for the staff.

I saw American Hot Wax for free more than once, contributing to the movie’s financial failure. There are factual errors, no mention of DJ payola, and Tim McIntire is more like the Big Bopper than Alan Freed, but American Hot Wax deserves a proper video release.