Category: Radio

Alive On Departure, but…

This week, with thousands of American Airlines passengers inconvenienced by FAA mandated inspections of possibly defective wiring, it’s important to keep in mind how important airplane safety is, and how relatively common crashes once were…

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/APR/DOA.mp3]

This song was a huge cult hit in the first months of 1971, the same time that Alice Cooper’s “I’m Eighteen” from Love It To Death was on the charts. Alice was tongue-in-cheek enough that I could tell his macabre bent was all in fun, but D.O.A really gave me the creeps. It still does! I probably first heard it on WKBW, out of Buffalo, NY.

Ivory and Ebony on WABC, 1962

I enjoyed doing an oldies post last Saturday night, so I’ll do another one tonight. On the audio player is a classic WABC Musicradio jingle, then two songs from the WABC chart for the week ending June 30, 1962. The first one is number 19, followed by number 20.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/FEB/WABCJingle.mp3,http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/FEB/DrKildare.mp3,http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/FEB/INeedYourLovin.mp3]

You must play the first song all the way through to get the full effect when the second song comes in. This is one of the best examples I’ve ever heard of the culture clash that was so unsettling to the White establishment of the time.

Randy Bachman’s Vinyl Tap

Saturday night is oldies night everywhere, it seems, even in Canada, eh? CBC Radio One has Randy Bachman’s Vinyl Tap. Randy Bachman was the first name in Bachman Turner Overdrive, and before that with Burton Cummings he formed the core of The Guess Who, a band that had a string of big hits in the late 60’s and early 70’s.

The Guess Who

David Lee Roth had an infamous failed attempt at being a DJ, but other musicians have done well as radio hosts. I always enjoy Nights With Alice Cooper, aired Saturdays over WZLX in Boston. Bachman is also very good. It comes in on 1550 AM on my GE Superadio III, but it’s better to play the live streaming audio.

Tonight, Bachman had an all-British show, starting with songs by Cliff Richard and The Shadows, and finishing, of course, with Petula Clark. Here are the last 10+ minutes of tonight’s program.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/FEB/RandyBachman.mp3]

Did you hear “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” by The Foundations? To my ears this is definitely a different vocal than the American single, maybe even a different singer. I happen to have an original 45 of the song from 1967. And here it is.

The Foundations 45 Single

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/FEB/BabyNowThatIveFoundYou.mp3]

As always, I’ll rely on Pop Musicologist D.F. Rogers to provide some explanation.

On The Beat In New Hampshire

Tom Moroney - Simply Put on Bloomberg RadioTom Moroney is host of a show on Bloomberg Radio called Simply Put. Prior to that he was a newspaper columnist. Kudos to Tom for succeeding in the two businesses I tried, but gave up! By chance Tom lives not far from here, and we cross paths every so often. My sister Jean and I went to high school with Tom. We were all in the drama club, along with a remarkable woman named Noreen Barnes, a dear friend who is now a college professor in Virginia. Here’s a picture of Tom and Noreen in a high school play together. I don’t want to say how long ago this was!

Noreen Barnes and Tom Moroney

Tom Moroney is up in New Hampshire right now, covering the Presidential primary. The surprise news at the moment is that Hillary Clinton is holding a lead over Barack Obama. Here’s a brief clip of Tom on the radio tonight.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JAN/Moroney.mp3]

Being PETicular

Petula ClarkMy sister Jean has reminded me that it’s been a while since I’ve posted something about dear Petula Clark. Indeed! First, I would like to send you over to View Images to see a fabulous collection of over sixty Pet photos, some very early, and some very recent.

What a long and varied career Pet has had. She is so deserving of the title of Dame in the UK, but we’re still 100 shy of the 1000 mark for signatures on the PETition. I guess I’m not really entitled to say “we’re” because I can’t vote, not being a citizen or resident of the UK. There are only a couple more months to vote, folks! So please do it now. While you’re doing that you can listen to an audio interview with Pet, conducted for the U.S. Army in December, 1966, by disk jockey Harry Harrison, while he was with WMCA in New York. In ’68 Harrison jumped over to WABC to replace the departing Herb Oscar Anderson.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JAN/PetArmy.mp3]

As a child, Petula sang for the British troops on BBC radio during World War II. She was famous for singing “Mighty Lak A Rose.” Later, as a young woman she sang it again. I’m not sure exactly when this recording was made.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JAN/MightyLakARose.mp3]

And finally, I’ve a confession to make. I never wanted any of the Beatles to hold my hand. That’s why I’m glad Pet recorded her own version of “I Want To Hold Your Hand.”

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JAN/PetHoldHand.mp3]

Welles and Barrymore In “A Christmas Carol”

Lionel Barrymore

From Christmas Eve 1939, here is Orson Welles and his Mercury Theatre of the Air, performing “A Christmas Carol,” by you-know-who, featuring Lionel Barrymore as Ebenezer Scrooge. Everything clicked that evening, and if you’ve never heard this outstanding hour-long radio adaptation, I highly recommend it.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/DEC07/ChristmasCarol.mp3]