Category: Radio

Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts

There’s a lot of Old Time Radio available for free listening online. One of the many sites offering OTR shows is RadioLovers.com, which is where I found this complete 1949 installment of Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts. It’s particularly interesting for who appears at 17 minutes into the program. He was 24 years old, and yet he’s introduced by his Jewish mother.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/NOV/ArthurGodfrey.mp3]

I watched Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour on CBS TV in the 60’s. Today, of course, the format is back as American Idol, etc.

Jonathan Ross and his “Juvenile Radio Prank”

I was flummoxed by how many items and editorials that originated in the UK today about the Jonathan Ross brouhaha didn’t explain exactly what he and his radio pal did. But now I have the story, and it’s strange. Here’s one of many write-ups about it. Sounds like typical shock jock antics, but where everybody knows each other, in one way or another.

Wait! This just came in from our man in Scotland, Petula Clark fan Dave Moncur.

Thought you might like this article which tells a bit about Ross’s fall from grace.

Click here

He is paid £18 million over 3 years, and he and his cohort Brand, thought it would be funny to mock the granddaughter of one of our beloved comedy actors, and to leave a filthy message about having shagged her on the guy’s voicemail.

In England, where they live, that is a criminal offence.

It wasn’t a live programme, it was recorded and “signed off” by a BBC executive.

So frankly, it would, in my opinion be good if there were a series of resignations. The manager, producer and to two so-called stars.

As I write, it seems that Brand has done the decent thing and resigned. Ross seems to be a little too fond of his £18 million to do that, but I hope he will be prosecuted under the Telecommunications Act which makes lewd calls a crime, and hopefully the BBC will sack him. This is not what we all pay £140 a year for!.

Incidentally the said Ross, was horribly patronising and rude to Petula when she appeared on his show in 2002 to promote the Ultimate Tour and Album. She was VERY polite, and a little cold back, but I’m pretty sure the little pipsqueak knew that he had been put in his place by someone who has been a superstar longer that he’s been alive.

From that time on I haven’t watched him or listened to him. Frankly most of his humour is a bit childish and crude. You know, anyone can get a laugh out of saying “fuck” or “wank”. It takes talent to get a laugh out of something less crude.

Hope your health is better now.

Thanks, Dave! Yes, my back is completely better. In fact, it’s better than ever and I can say I’m almost glad it happened.

Sorry to hear that Mr. Ross was anything other than sycophantically worshipful of Petula. The swine. But as a comic book fan, I have to give him credit and thanks for producing “In Search of Steve Ditko”.

Jonathan Ross in a row

The BBC’s Jonathan Ross, who I have praised up and down here, not only for his documentary “In Search of Steve Ditko,” but for his BBC2 radio programme, is in major hot water. I don’t even know yet what the furor is all about, but I heard enough on the BBC World Service on WBUR in Boston to know it’s big trouble.

Petula on Steve Wright’s The Big Show

Steve Wright on BBC Radio 2 promised back here that Petula Clark would be on his show, and indeed she was, last Monday. I missed Cilla Black’s appearance, unfortunately, and if you go back to my Cilla post, you’ll notice “Anyone Who Had A Heart” is almost conspicuous in its absence. That’s because Wright played it shortly before chatting with Petula, and I was saving it for now.

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JUN/SteveWrightCillaBlack.mp3]

I let the recording run into the next song, to provide some flavor (excuse me, flavour) of the show. BBC Radio 2 is the only place I can go that gives me the same fun feeling I had as a kid listening to the legendary station Musicradio 77WABC in New York.

OK, so there’s Cilla Black’s cover of Dionne Warwick’s “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” produced by George Martin. That’s an excellent piece of work. Whether or not you consider this recording to be too close to the original, as a vocal it easily holds up in comparison to Petula Clark and Dusty Springfield. Clearly, based on this recording Cilla had the vocal chops, and with nothing else to go on I have to assume it was the way George Martin produced her that kept Cilla Black from greater popularity in America.

So let’s get to Petula’s chat with Steve Wright, shall we?

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2008/JUN/SteveWrightPetulaClark.mp3]

She doesn’t like being called “Pet”?? The last thing I said when I had my two minutes with her was, “Thank you, Pet.” Yikes! But… that was my one chance. Saying “Pet” isn’t supposed to convey to her that she’s thought of as a child star, because she never was one here. Well, what’s done is done, and there’s no taking it back. I’ll know better next time.

BBC Radio 2

The most enjoyable radio listening, by far, that I do these days is over the Net, playing BBC Radio 2. I first got interested because of Jonathan Ross, who did In Search of Steve Ditko. He does a Saturday show, and it’s so much fun, with such a fantastic range of music. Then I started listening to Steve Wright, because he’s supposed to have Petula Clark on as a guest soon. Again, I found the show to be fun, and I was really taken with the song mix. I have no interest in Rap, but Europop has a sound that I enjoy quite a lot. For example, this was one of the songs on Steve Wright’s program today.

[flv:/Video/2008/JUN/Spiller.flv 400 300]

This is “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)” by Spiller, with vocal by Sophie Ellis Bextor. I flip through Boston radio stations a lot, seeing if anything catches my ear, and almost nothing ever does, so it’s not as though I’m completely inattentive. So why is it I find so much on BBC Radio 2 I’ve never heard before that keeps me listening?