WLSO.FM

ROCKOLLECTIONS: HOME FOR THANKSGIVING 2010 PT.1

Over the years we have travelled Home by Planes, Trains & Automobiles.
Last year, we even went by Boats.
This year the means of Transportation is up to you!
The important thing, and the one I will musically concentrate on, is getting Home For Thanksgiving.
I’ll open with a great old rocker that in fact has nothing to do with our topic, but it’s title and content have long reminded me of Thanksgiving- and this year it was finally time to play it.
After that, another rocker, and a classic, you are used to hearing done live- and I will play it live- but a DIFFERENT live, lol!
Engineer Ken preferred it!
I have to admit, the sound quality is excellent, probably superior to the one you have known for many years .
After that…well, I’ll take it from there.
I’ll get you Home For Thanksgiving.
And this is just the beginning!

Mike

Tags: Boats, Engineer Ken, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Transportation

ROCKOLLECTIONS: SONGS FOR AUTUMN PT.2 END

Late with this one because as some of you know, I am the Staff Announcer at a TV station and worked well into the night yesterday, recording promos in a flurry of activity for the coming Christmas season.
That will continue as I barely scratched the surface.
And I also write the promos- they tell me what they want, how much time I have for each of the spots, and then leave me alone- very much like the radio station- maybe it’s my abrasive personality, lol!
This episode will close out our Songs For Autumn.
We’ll have music from local lad Al Kooper, a terrific pop song he did about Autumn from an album he titled, and this always brings a smile to me, Rare & Well Done.
Some Classic Brits will check in with contributions- including an exquisitely beautiful one I am sure you have heard.
Would War Of The Worlds be a hint for that one?
I’ll play the BEST song ever written about about Autumn and the coming of Winter, pure poetry in my humble opinion.
In fact, I brought in FIVE different versions of the song, but ended up playing the one I always do, the first one I ever heard, by Tom Rush, and it seems that will always be my favorite version.
And I’ll give the final word to the guy who has written and recorded more songs about Autumn than ANY other artist…it’s non-negotiable!
We opened the show with him, so it’s only right we end with him.
That’s it, I have done enough writing lately, lol!
What it always comes down to is this- I hope you like what you hear, and I enjoyed playing what I did!

Mike

Tags: Al Kooper, Christmas, Classic Brits, Engineer Ken, Rare & Well Done, Staff Announcer, Tom Rush, TV Station, War Of The Worlds, Winter

ROCKOLLECTIONS: HALLOWEEN 2010 PT.1

Some fun strangeness to open this Halloween show, and an audition for my acting career, lol!
Strange Things Are Happening indeed!
And I’d like you to try to guess what world-famous group, one of the greatest Rock bands ever, does that instrumental I will play.
Incidentally, it is from the vinyl album- sound any different?
Then it is on to the main question of this particular show.
Is it the time for Zombies?
Or as another person declares, is it the time for Witches?
The answer lies in that old wood carved box with the odd engravings on it, which I will have to open.
Don’t crowd me, I need room to run, lol!
And a tip of the hat to my old pal, Engineer Ken is included- we always had some great fun with these Halloween shows- on and off the air.
Enjoy the proceedings.
There will a Part Two, unless I am turned into an ugly toad, as opposed to the…ahem…handsome Prince that…ahem…I am now!
Think there’s a frog in my throat, lol!

Mike

Tags: Engineer Ken, Frog, Greatest Rock Bands, Handsome Prince, Strange Things Are Happening, Ugly Toad, Witches, Zombies

ROCKOLLECTIONS: EARTHY MANN PT.2 & OTHER MANN MEN (HUH?)

We continue.
Today, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band’s music is called Progressive Rock.
Back in those beginning days of free-form FM Radio in 1966-67 we had a much looser definition- anything they DIDN’T play on AM was progressive rock!
It was simpler, and I hate labels anyway.
Got a couple of Angel songs to begin this one, one of them, yes, another Bob Dylan song covered by the Earth Band.
Then one I like called Questions- which reminds me very much of the old band Procol Harum.
That is the correct spelling, although I always see it as Procol Harem.
That annoys my obsessive/compulsive side, LOL!
Then a tune called Don’t Kill IT Carol, and Engineer Ken had me laughing hysterically because every time he referred to it he kept saying Don’t Kill Carol- BIG difference!
I will conclude with 2 songs you may have forgotten by other guys in Rock & Roll who also had names ending in Mann- one from the old Sun Records in the 50’s and another not much later by a songwriter who put his out as a joke, and it became a huge hit.
Can’t pass up opportunities like that to go back into the old vaults in the cellar, lol!
Hey, we are STILL good old-fashioned free-form radio!

Mike

Tags: AM Radio, Bob Dylan, Don’t Kill IT Carol, Engineer Ken, Free-Form FM Radio 1966-67, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Procol Harum, Progressive Rock, Questions, Rock and Roll, Sun Records

ROCKOLLECTIONS: END OF SUMMER CRUISE PT.2 CONCLUSION

Alright- cruises, boats, etc.- you need Sailors.
That is where I am going in this one.
And when I say sailor, who is the first one you think of?
I have a real good set about Sailors, and since we had the wind, I lengthened it even more.
Then a change of pace to an entirely different kind of seagoing vessel, with a button-down mind, then the World’s Greatest Group!
This one has the usual surprises I hope you have come to expect. (Stick around for the ending!).
There was a time in the beginning of my 12 years when I had to fight to get things played- especially when I had a partner on the show (I could NEVER go back to that!).
And even more especially when I wandered far from Rock & Roll.
As I have mentioned before, this was a station that never played Rock & Roll, and I am still the only one who does!
There was this fear about what the higher-ups would think- even Engineer Ken many times wondered where I was going.
“You want to play WHAT?”
I would argue and tell them I will not embarrass you, this will work!
Most times they yielded and I got the recordings on the show.
But in the last 7 or 8 years, they have totally left me alone.
This show is now very much what I had always envisioned it to be.
And of course, there is that wonderful vindication of winning the Best Entertainment Show Of 2004 and again for 2007.
Enough of that, let’s enjoy the salty air against our faces and sail on.
One more thing…don’t awake with a tummy ache!
Mean anything to you?

Mike

Tags: Best Entertainment Show Of 2004, Best Entertainment Show Of 2007, Button-Down Mind, Engineer Ken, Rock and Roll, Sailors, World’s Greatest Group

ROCKOLLECTIONS: FOR THE 4TH OF JULY- JAY AND THE AMERICANS PT.1

For the 4th Of July, I wanted something American.
Then it occurred to me- Jay & The Americans!
I had some fun with the beginning of this one.
Oh, and that famous Denise likes them too- I don’t know whether more than Herman’s Hermits or not.
After this, she will never have a reason to listen again- certainly not for ME, lol!
At the start there was Jay Traynor, and he was replaced by Jay Black.
Black had that at times operatic voice, as did Roy Orbison.
I’ll have the very interesting story of Only In America, ORIGINALLY recorded by the Drifters but given to Jay & The Americans with the same music track behind them, it was unchanged.
The song was considered unrealistic being sung by The Drifters!
As usual, I will be playing songs that are forgotten by the tight playlists of today’s radio.
Including one in particular, called Think Of The Good Times that had Engineer Ken and I look at each other and smile in recognition, an excellent old forgotten song that revealed nothing by its title, but when it started to play it was instantly recognizable.
There are extra studio bits of intro on some of the songs, that being a trend today.
Oh, and listen closely for that squeaking door at the beginning of one of the songs!
I was feeling very goofy during this show, and that will continue in Part Two- as well as some surprises.

Mike

Tags: Engineer Ken, Herman's Hermits, Jay Black, Jay Traynor, Only In America, Roy Orbison, The Drifters, Think Of The Good Times

ROCKOLLECTIONS: JUNE IS NATIONAL RIVERS MONTH PT.4 END

We will start off this final episode with a few more real River songs- for Rivers that geographically and specifically do exist.
And leaving the country once more for the Amazon River, with a wonderfully twisted use of words by an unlikely source- sweet, cuddly Don McLean.
Then a couple about one of America’s most famous Rivers, at least in song, that we have been misspelling for well over a century!
I have a behind-the-scenes story about doing a show one time, and Engineer Ken refusing to play a song that I wanted to come on next.
So while one song was playing, and running down with each second, I was out of the studio insisting the next tune was the way to go, all the while listening to that playing song tick away, knowing I had only seconds to literally run to be back on the microphone.
Ken and I have laughed about that incident for years now.
Particularly in light of what he did next, lol!
I will play that problematic (for him more than me!) song, and also my vindication for insisting that it was a damn good one.
In between…the most aptly named artist of the entire series.
Then I will begin to wind down our 2 week celebration of National Rivers Month in a Peaceful way.
Ending this Theme in an almost full circle way, I have a song that refers back to the very first song I played to open it!
Hope you enjoyed the trip.
I see Part 3 has gotten a lot of play, but where were you for Parts 1 & 2?
And finally, be kind to your Rivers- look at how the incompetents are ruining the Ocean!

Mike

Tags: Amazon River, America's Most Famous Rivers, Don McLean, Engineer Ken, Peaceful

ROCKOLLECTIONS: IT’S BLOOMING TIME PT.7

It’s still May, so we continue with our April Showers Bring May Flowers.
Well I promised you Grass, and I will now deliver.
It was funny, because of that smoking pot double meaning of Grass, I couldn’t look at Engineer Ken without both of us cracking up.
I tried very hard to only refer to the grass I walk upon, lol!
Got a real good cookin’ opening set of R&B/Soul songs, all of which you may not have heard in a long time.
Then, do you remember that after the Beatles broke up, we were all wondering what drummer Ringo Starr was going to do?
The others had put out their solo albums, but they wrote their own material.
It turned out Ringo did an album called Sentimental Journey, with all songs from the 1930’s & 40’s- some maybe older, I don’t know.
Now that has become trendy nowadays, but Ringo Starr aka Richard Starkey was the FIRST!
We have a song from that album that fits our Grass theme, followed by a couple of other songs you definitely ought to remember- and no doubt, definitely haven’t heard in a while.
Ahhh, that is my biggest joy with these shows- pulling out those forgotten songs!
We will close out this next-to-last chapter with a sort of musical argument.
It seems one lady thinks the grass is green, while two other women are of the opinion it is blue.
Let’s graze!

Mike

Tags: , April Showers Bring May Flowers, Engineer Ken, Grass, R&B/Soul Songs, Richard Starkey, Ringo Starr, Sentimental Journey, Smoking Pot, The Beatles

ROCKOLLECTIONS: IT’S BLOOMING TIME PT.2

As we will throughout this series, I will flip Gardens and Flowers, so a couple of rockers about Flowers open this installment.
First one, Picking Wild Flowers- and anything wild is good!
The next one by the Talking Heads contained the Crossed F incident.
Although I am one of the most disorganized people I know, I can also be very picayune about certain things.
This I have always regarded as just a minor facet of my insanity, not a problem.
So upon realizing on my handwritten list of songs that I had not crossed the F in Flowers, thereby making it Tlowers, I rushed out to tell Engineer Ken.
Ken, the poor soul, thought something had gone terribly wrong, lol!
But that was enough to throw me into an embarrassed lather.
Taking a quick sedative, I was able to continue, lol!
Got a song for Mothers Day that fits our flora requirement- from a couple of tough dudes, Johnny Cash & Waylon Jennings.
Returning to the subject of Gardens, there are lots of different kinds of Gardens.
I will open a set with a song that is NOT one of them (HUH?)!
But I later erroneously identified the singer as Loretta Lynn, and I should have said Lynn Anderson.
I always confuse the two…wonder why, lol?
Finally, we end this chapter with something we have known we have to do for decades- get back there to that Garden.
A very Happy Mothers Day to all those still with us, and loving remembrances to those who are not.
If you still have Mom, realize you are lucky, treasure the moments and tell her you love her!

Mike

Tags: Engineer Ken, Flowers, Gardens, Johnny Cash, Lynn Anderson, Mothers Day, Picking Wild Flowers, Talking Heads, The Crossed F Incident, Waylon Jennings

ROCKOLLECTIONS: IT’S BLOOMING TIME PT.1

April Showers Bring May Flowers…as we all know!
We are in the middle of Spring, the weather has gotten very hot here in the Northeast, and I will begin a new Theme series with Gardens, Flowers, Grass and some other things that grow out of the ground.
And this from a CITY GUY!
I may not know much about gardens, flowers, etc. But I do know music.
And I can promise you a truly enjoyable time, as I pick from Rock & Roll, Folk, Soul, Country and anything else to produce a free-form musical bouquet.
I will begin with the 45 RPM SINGLE version of a very long song from the 60’s- it’s so long I didn’t want to scare anyone away. But I’ll play it in full here someday.
Then something live from the old Fillmore East from early 1971, followed by a song from a 1993 CD dedicated to our planet.
When I do these Theme shows, I often take time to look at the topic from a different angle.
In this case, I had a choice of two songs, wanted to play both, but time restraints made me settle for one…well, what was the FIRST Garden?
Closing out this opening seed, we’ll hear Arlo Guthrie doing what he does best- getting into a song and having fun with the audience, and the audience with him.
Using the OLD way of teaching that still works!
And check out the false start- the shows were always either live, or live in the sense that once Engineer Ken and I started, we never stopped for anything short of a very large problem.
In this case, just as I was starting the show, somebody opened the door to my studio totally unexpectedly!
While it surprised me, it also struck me funny because over the years just about everything strange that can happen in radio, eventually will, lol!

Mike

Tags: 45 RPM SINGLE, April Showers Bring May Flowers, CITY GUY, country, Engineer Ken, Fillmore East, Flowers, Folk Music, Gardens, Grass, Rock & Roll, Soul, The 60's, The Audience, The First Garden, The Old Way Of Teaching

ROCKOLLECTIONS: THE CYCLE OF LIFE PT.6

One last song about children leaving home to open this chapter.
Saving the best for last, it is my favorite- and a return to old friend Tom Rush.
There should be a prequel to this one.
Something was said, something that will be regretted, forgiven but not forgotten.
Then a little detour.
Birthdays are certainly a part of The Cycle Of Life, and mine was last Sunday.
The only time it ever fell on the day of the show was in 2006- back with Engineer Ken, and we were doing the Tribute/Memorials.
I thought I’d do something cute for that birthday day and…well you decide.
So an excerpt from 4 years ago.
Then it is on to the next phase of The Cycle Of Life, the one it seems I am firmly entrenched in- at least I hope I am not in anything older, lol!
Welcome to Middle Age!
There is some real fine music picked out for this, what might seem like a ho-hum topic!
At my age, you can trust me on that, lol!
Next week, we go around the circle one last time.

Mike

Tags: Birthdays, Engineer Ken, Middle Age, Tom Rush, Tribute.Memorials

ROCKOLLECTIONS: BOSTON FROM BOSTON PT.2 END

We resume with Boston’s continuing legal squabbles, further holding up those snail’s pace albums.
Lots of time between them.
Then a combined instrumental and tune called Foreplay/Long Time…not the kind of song title you want with me around!
I had already said a number of things off-air, so Engineer Ken was hoping I had gotten it out of my system.
Guess I had one more, lol!
Graduation, you know.
As we close it out, Brad Delp committed suicide in a very strange way in 2007- charcoal burning poisoning.
And this as he was preparing for a summer tour, and also about to be married.
Even I wouldn’t go that far!
So our last song is the only one on that 1st Boston album he wrote.
As for my going with the flow, I sometimes do so on these one-artist or one-group shows, with just a broad idea of what I want to play.
But those theme shows I do are given a lot of thought and somewhat planned out.
However even within that framework, I go free-form.
Happy Boston and enjoy!

Mike

Tags: Brad Delp, Engineer Ken, Foreplay/Long Time

ROCKOLLECTIONS: CHRISTMAS PARTY 2009 PT.3

Still doing it from home, I thought I would open up this Christmas episode with the voices of some sisters, a group I always call the female Beach Boys.
There is something about the harmonies of sisters and brothers that is special.
Well, guess what that made me think of to play next?
Beach Boys would be correct, and after doing the “The Beach Boys Christmas Album” in 1964, they did another Christmas LP in the 70’s that remained unreleased for decades.
Got a great track from that, a Phil Spectorish, crammed-with-instruments song, with the lead done by Dennis Wilson
After that, my trusty old calendar indicated that yesterday was the First Day Of Winter.
So, a couple of my very favorite and beautiful songs to commemorate that.
I’ll play my annual different version of Run Rudolph Run (should be Run Run Rudolph, lol!).
This year’s choice is a surprise, as he is better known for rollicking nautical, warm-weather music.
I have the FINAL Beatles Christmas Message to their Fan Club in 1969- something we started in 2003 with the 1963 Message, and for all 7 years have kept a close 40-year pace, lol!
It’s the first one I am playing without Engineer Ken.
It is plain to hear that they are NOT a group any longer, each member doing his bit seperately, not even in the same country let alone in the studio together like those early ones.
Coming up in the next and final chapter, our own peculiar musical look at the Holiday movie, The March Of The Wooden Soldiers.
Now who would want to miss that?
The big, happy, wonderful Christmas Day looms ever closer…

Mike

Tags: 1964, Beach Boys, Beatles Christmas Message 1969, Beatles Fan Club, Engineer Ken, First Day Of Winter, Phil Spector, Run Rudolph Run, Run Run Rudolph, The Beach Boys Christmas Album, The March Of The Wooden Soldiers

ROCKOLLECTIONS: REMEMBERING JOHN LENNON PT.2 END

 

We continue our celebration of John Lennon’s life.
Last week we talked about George Harrison’s last song, Horse To Water.
But what was John Lennon’s?
I will play 2 versions of what is commonly regarded as his final song, one a rough cut by him and the other by Mary Chapin Carpenter.
Carpenter does such a good job on it, I feel she took it away from John and made it her own!
Back to his Beatle days after that, with a take that sounds very Buddy Holly to me.
Engineer Ken and I decided to go back to the Mind Games album to finish things off.
There are so many good songs on that LP that were never heard, as the radio playlists began to get even tighter.
So to rectify that a little, we will hear Tight A$ (that’s right, no typo), a catchy rocker called Only People, Out Of The Blue and finish with One Day At A Time- the best way to live your life.
If those song titles do not sound familiar to you, well, I rest my case about commercial radio!
And that will do it for George and John this year.
Hope you got something out of it.

Mike

Tags: Beatles, Buddy Holly, Engineer Ken, George Harrison, Horse To Water, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mind Games, One Day At A Time, Only People, Out Of The Blue, Tight A$

ROCKOLLECTIONS: REMEMBERING GEORGE HARRISON PT.1

It is time for our annual tributes to George Harrison and John Lennon.
Last year I did a split show.
But there is so much music out there by both of them, much of it unheard, I decided  each would get their own hour.
George died on November 29, 2001, with many of us here in New York City still reeling from the Sept. 11th attacks.
Looking over his songs, I wondered if they had taken on any greater meaning for him as he grew aware that he was terminally ill.
So, I thought I would open up with a few songs to show you what I mean.
But not wanting to play the same old same old, I will be playing different versions, or takes (sometimes demos), throughout these shows and John’s.
Take for instance, Give Me Love, Give Me Peace On Earth, where he sings almost pleadingly “give me life, give me hope”. If he even heard it during his illness, how would that make him feel?
Or the Art Of Dying, would that give him some strength and solace?
George had an ongoing battle with cancer, and that moron who stabbed him and punctured his lung didn’t help.
Isn’t It A Pity he had to leave us.
I have some live things too- one from a concert in 1974 and another from 1991.
Engineer Ken saw him in ‘74 but doesn’t remember hearing the track I will play- a bluesy version of a lesser-known Beatles song, complete with vibes!
It is a different George than the serious one, joking around with the band members and making up new words.
Plus I have George doing an acoustic version of a previously unreleased Bob Dylan song that ultimately ended as electric on the Porky’s Revenge soundtrack (HUH?)
I promise you will hear things you have never heard before.
And all guitar players should particularly enjoy this episode and the next with George Harrison!

Mike

Tags: Art Of Dying, Beatles, Bob Dylan, Engineer Ken, Give Me Love Give Me Peace On Earth, Isn't It A Pity, John Lennon, New York City, Porky's Revenge, Sept. 11th

ROCKOLLECTIONS: HEY HEY…THE MONKEES - PT.2 END

We are going to start this concluding chapter with my favorite Monkees song.
It took me years to realize I had one, lol!
We’ll talk a bit about them having Jimi Hendrix as an opening act- Engineer Ken was actually at the concert at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium in Queens.
Those teenybopper mothers were aghast.
So it seems that the Monkees were hipper than I gave them credit for.
During their 2nd season on TV they invited Frank Zappa and Tim Buckley on the show.
They were at the Monterey Pop Festival in ‘67, although they didn’t play.
So, I gotta give them credit, those things were cool.
In among the Monkees songs this time, I will play their last Top 20 song, and the original version by the Coasters- and I wonder how many people even knew there was a previous version.
And to take us out, another surprise.
A fun take on that favorite Monkees song of mine, by the writer of it.
I’ll bet you have never heard it!
This show turned out to be a lot of fun, as I suspected it would and how they usually are for me.
And I have revised my opinion of the Monkees.
They weren’t terribly important to Rock & Roll, but they were entertaining and valid.
Come hear for yourself!

Mike

Tags: Coasters, Engineer Ken, Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, frank zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Monterey Pop Festival, Queens NY, Tim Buckley

ROCKOLLECTIONS: HALLOWEEN PT.1

Well it’s that enjoyably creepy time of the year, Halloween.
And I usually try to acknowledge it on the show with themes within a Theme.
But first, I’ll start with a fellow you may remember from TV, radio and a hit record who was nicknamed the Cool Ghoul, John Zacherle.
I met him some years ago for the 2nd time, and what a nice guy he is.
And Zacherley is around 90 years old but you’d never know it- not by his looks or behavior.
He for some reason kinda latched onto and hung with me at this party, and we laughed and laughed.
One of the friendliest and funniest people I have ever met.
After a couple of things from him, we’ll take on some Haunted Houses.
This will include a song that is not a Halloween tune or scary song per se, but I always had it in the back of my head that it could be played for Halloween.
See what you think.
Then a couple of the ladies to sing about how your own house can seem haunted because of not having been able to get along with your significant other…you can even be a Ghost in your own home!
To close out this first half, a song based on the classic Agatha Christie story 10 Little Indians.
It is by my favorite madman Harry Nilsson, and I plead with you to listen to the lyrics- the humor and the plays on words, a truly funny song.
Interspersed throughout both halves is something by Tom Waits that became a Halloween tradition for Engineer Ken and I, and was a great source of laughs for us over the years.
Part Two will be Wolves and Werewolves.
You have been warned…

Mike

Tags: 10 Little Indians, Agatha Christie, Engineer Ken, Harry Nilsson, Haunted Houses, John Zacherle, The Cool Ghoul, Tom Waits, Zacharley

ROCKOLLECTIONS: CALLING ALL ANGELS PT.4 END, FOR NOW!

Well, I find it incredibly interesting that my 300th podcast is this one- dedicated to someone who meant very much to me.
It could never have been planned that way!
I will open this final chapter (until a sequel somewhere down the road) with some ID’s I owe from the last one.
Engineer Ken was making me laugh and making this one more fun because he kept writing and saying ANGLES instead of Angels, lol!
The beginning set will start with a great duet between two musical legends, then a song that is actually from an album Angel left in my house, (there are always things like albums left behind during a breakup- I got some of her albums, undoubtedly she got some of mine).
The set closes with another terrific duet. Bonnie Raitt calls John Prine onstage to do a classic Prine song.
Those 3 should flow nicely.
I’ll read a lovely poem sent to me by a girl from Illinois, that she found on the wall of a church.
It is simply called “Angels”.
Then one last trip to the movies, and the beginning of the end.
My three favorite Angel movies are The Bishop’s Wife with Cary Grant, of course Wings Of Desire which we already played something from, and this one…with my favorite movie Angel.
Some scenes from it, and fitting music.
As always, I hope you have enjoyed this topic and journey, using music as our means of transportation.
And Ang, I hope I did you proud.
I counted them, and I had brought 111 Angel songs to the program (maybe that means something to a numbers person!).
So there were plenty left over, which would almost guarantee sequels and return visits to the Angels.
In the meantime…Ring Them Bells folks!
 
Mike

Tags: bonnie raitt, Cray Grant, Engineer Ken, John Prine, Movie Angels, Ring Them Bells, The Bishop's Wife, Wings Of Desire

ROCKOLLECTIONS: CALLING ALL ANGELS PT.3

As we continue with our Rock & Roll musical exploration of Angels, I have to explain the beginning.
Frequently, people outside will wave, make faces or something, or Engineer Ken will say something into my headphones just as I am about to open the show in an attempt to make me laugh and screw it up.
That was the case here. See what I have to put up with, lol?
Being a man of limited ideas, since we opened Part One with a Calling All Angels, I thought we would do it again.
This time by a group called Train.
There are a few people I tell when I am thinking about doing a Theme Show.
Sometimes they have good, even brilliant, suggestions.
Sometimes horrid ones- AAHHHHHHHHH!!!!
And I keep it small because when they do suggest something and I DON’T play it, they may be insulted and I have to explain why I didn’t.
Not enough time mostly, didn’t fit in anywhere, or it just plain sucked.
This time, so many of them mentioned a song I had not the slightest intention of playing, I had to re-think it.
Kind of glad I did play it now, cause it did bring a warm memory of simpler times.
We will discover that Angels are not just for crackpots- there are many stores devoted to them, and prestigious universities teach courses in them, including Harvard Divinity School and Boston College.
Got a cover of an oldie to play you may not have ever heard, by John Lennon from a posthumous album released in 1984.
Interestingly, Angels can be found anywhere.
Knocking at your door, living right next door to you, even in a Broken Radio!
We’ll take a look and listen to that phenomenon.
One more episode to go, and 2 things to mention.
If you are interested in that terrific Wim Wenders movie, Wings Of Desire, a friend of mine named Matt pointed out to me that U2’s video for the song Stay (Faraway So Close) is an obvious homage to that flick.
Watch the video and you will get a tiny taste of Wings Of Desire.
And that next episode will be my 300th podcast.
Seems real nice to me that it comes in the Finale of remembering a loved one!

Mike 

Tags: Boston College, Broken Radio, Engineer Ken, Harvard Divinity School, John Lennon, Stay (Faraway So Close), Train, u2, Wim Wenders, Wings Of Desire

ROCKOLLECTIONS: A ROCKOLLECTIONS LOOK AT WOODSTOCK PT.3

Just a note before I get into the Woodstock Festival, I was on vacation and completely forgot my 11th anniversary at the in station in late August!
Hard to believe I haven’t ticked them off that badly by now, and further proof none of the people upstairs are listening, lol!
Also odd, that in all those years, I have never done a show on Woodstock.
Moving on to this episode, we’ll stay with one of Engineer Ken’s favorite groups for a while.
Then it is on to one of mine.
Not much more to say, as I am now a confirmed Lazyer…or is that a Lazyist?
Enjoy the music!
One more chapter to go.

Mike

Tags: Engineer Ken

ROCKOLLECTIONS: A ROCKOLLECTIONS LOOK AT WOODSTOCK PT.2

I came back in this half kidding about the name Wavy Gravy.
Engineer Ken told me what his real name was- you will not believe it, lol!
As I mentioned before, the premise of my doing Woodstock was to bring a different look at it.
So the first priority was to NOT play any of the songs that were on the original Woodstock album from 1970.
Remember, that 3-disc LP that was so amazing back then?
I mean, nobody put out 3 vinyl records in one album!
But by now, most people have heard those songs over and over, and I wanted to avoid making you do so again.
However there were necessary exceptions- and you will hear 2 of them in this episode.
To open, I have Richie Havens in his own words, talking about how they wouldn’t let him off the stage.
No one else was prepared to play, and they kept sending him back out there over and over.
And I have a confession to make- I have always done my show as a local one, a show from New York that does not try to be more than it is.
Nowadays there are so many sterile, syndicated shows that go nationwide.
As a result, they aim at such a broad audience that they lose all local color.
I want to be an exception and a throwback to when radio was your friend, and when I say it is a beautiful day I am talking about a beautiful day in New York City.
Even though terrestrially I am on over 70 affiliated stations across North America, never mind the internet where the reach is around the world.
Hell if I thought about that, I might get stagefright, lol!
All of this is leading me back to what was our local FM Rock station WNEW-FM again, and a reporter from there that would only be recalled by us New Yorkers.
His name was Mike Eisgrau, I don’t know if he is still around- but I will play the first of one of his reports filed live from the Woodstock Festival.
Also in this chapter a Bob Dylan song that I have never heard sung by Dylan, not even on bootleg.
Do enjoy our trip, definitely not on LSD, as we get ourselves Back To The Garden!
There are two more of these to come!

Mike

The audio clips used in this series were obtained from the archives of Dennis Elsas of WFUV, and they can be heard there along with much more, at Dennis’ website www.denniselsas.com.

I personally thank him for the memories.

Tags: Back To The Garden, Bob Dylan, Engineer Ken, FM Rock, Local New York Radio, Mike Eisgrau, Original Woodstock Album, Richie Havens, Wavy Gravy, WNEW-FM, Woodstock Festival 1969

ROCKOLLECTIONS: A ROCKOLLECTIONS LOOK AT WOODSTOCK PT.1

The 40th Anniversary of Woodstock took place while I was on vacation. I was not going to come back and do shows just for that.

But it nagged at me.

So I called Engineer Ken and asked him what he thought about doing it this week.

He was all for it, pointing out that the new movie Taking Woodstock just opened a few days ago, and that was after the anniversary.

I decided to do it, but only if I could bring my own peculiar presentation to it.

Whether that is good or bad is up to you, lol!

The first day featured mostly folk acts, so that is what we will focus on these first two chapters.

That made sense, because they weren’t finished with the stage and sound equipment, and folkies only need a mic and some amps.

We will start before the Festival began however, with an old 1969 commercial on WNEW-FM by legendary Program Director and DJ Scott Muni, one of my heroes.

And take it from there…

Mike

The audio clips used in this series were obtained from the archives of Dennis Elsas of WFUV, and they can be heard there along with much more, at Dennis’ website www.denniselsas.com.

I personally thank him for the memories.

Tags: 40th Anniversary Of Woodstock, DJ Scott Muni, Engineer Ken, Program Director, Taking Woodstock, WNEW-FM

ROCKOLLECTIONS: IN PRAISE OF LAZINESS PT.2 END

Man, I am good at this laziness!
Gonna open the 2nd half with a song that was a big hit in England in the 60’s- not over here.
But if you were listening here in those early FM radio days, you should have no trouble remembering it.
If you had to pick, what is the best time of day to be lazy?
I’ll give you my musical answer.
Later in, I played a song from an album called Twin Sons Of Different Mothers.
I had noticed both Engineer Ken and I were wearing Beatle shirts…different ones, but still…and both black!
So are we Twin Sons Of Different Mothers?
I doubt it, lol!
But THAT was odd- it’s not like I call him and tell him my fashion statement of the day.
This is too much writing for a lazy guy!
Let’s just say I played some damn good music regarding our subject.
And I reverted to an old tradition from when I was a kid and always brought the music to parties, something I have done before on the show, I ended with one of my 2 favorite groups- seemed like a good time to do that again.
Let’s drink to those of who are into sloth, raise a glass to the lazy from birth.
And enjoy the music!

Mike

Tags: Beatle Shirts, Early FM Radio, Engineer Ken, Lazy Music, Twin Sons Of Different Mothers

ROCKOLLECTIONS: 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EAGLE LANDING- SPACE: THE FINAL FRONTIER PT.1

Here is the first chapter of a BIG series, maybe the biggest I have ever done, inspired by the July 20, 1969 Moon Landing and in tribute to those marvelous words 40 years ago (FORTY, is that possible?), “The Eagle has landed!”.
Space: The Final Frontier.
When I do these Theme Shows and Series, I place a great emphasis on what I will Begin with, and End with.
Sometimes the beginning comes to me first, sometimes the end and I work backwards, and sometimes they both come to me simultaneously.
In this particular instance, I immediately had a beginning, but then another one made itself necessary.
Why not have 2 beginnings then?
And we will. The first beginning is rather unusual for a rock show, but we are free-form, remember!
But then a very strange thing happened during the playing of the final song in that 2nd beginning set.
The music played but NO vocals!
Unexplained ghosts in the machine, or extraterrestrial aliens? I have no idea.
For our purposes, I have inserted the song here, so you will hear it in its entirety with the vocals.
However, you will also hear me talking about that mysterious lack of voices that forced Engineer Ken and I to quickly go to another song. Pay it no mind.
Very very weird!
I will be giving you some scientific data regarding the mission, easy to understand and hopefully interesting.
Then the Moon Landing itself!
It occurs to me that I never identified the last song of this Part One. It is titled Armstrong, Aldrin & Collins, done by the Byrds.
Stick with this series, it is going to be a bumpy, fun ride.
I promise, you will be hearing the most amazing and eclectic music!

Mike

Tags: Armstrong Aldrin & Collins, Engineer Ken, July 20th 1969, The !st Moon Landing, The Byrds

ROCKOLLECTIONS: THIS IS A MANN’S WORLD PT.1

I think I can guarantee you a fun time with this one,

it was a treat for me to do!

The music of that 60’s British Invasion group, Manfred Mann.

Just wait till you hear these songs- the memory section of your brain will be in overdrive.

We will start off with a countdown, 5-4-3-2-1.

The band was asked to provide a new theme for the famous British TV music show, Ready, Steady, Go.

That was what they came up with, and it was their first hit.

Then it is on to two nonsense titled songs, including their biggest ever hit, Do Wa Diddy Diddy- and listen closely, I have a rare TRUE stereo version that you don’t usually hear.

As usual, I will be telling you a bit about the band throughout.

Next up, the recipe that made ME- Hubble Bubble, Toil & Trouble.

Followed by a racy song for its time, written by Bob Dylan, though not released by him.

A song I first heard in FRENCH- by the old Fairport Convention, called by them, Si Tu Doir Partir.

Well, here is the first English version I heard. If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You’ll Have To Stay All Night). My sentiments exactly!

If I didn’t outright say it, I suggested as much many times in my lifelong bachelor life, lol!

The tune reached # 2 on the British charts despite being banned or edited by many stations.

Then one of the most autobiographical songs I have ever heard, The One In The Middle.

Listen closely to those lyrics- they name NAMES! Of course they are their OWN names, but still…

Got their version of the old Coasters song after that, Poison Ivy- and a damn good version it is.

We will close this episode out with one I’ll bet you haven’t heard in years, Ha Ha Said The Clown- and a song that always make me really laugh out loud, thinking of those folks who are afraid of clowns.

That calls for another Mike Pell Moment Of Clarity.

People, now hear this. There are many things in the world to fear. Clowns are NOT one of them, LOL!!!

By the way, Engineer Ken said he was dedicating that clown song to me.

Wonder why?

There will be more Manfred forthcoming in Part Two.

Mike

Tags: 5-4-3-2-1, Bob Dylan, Do Wah Diddy, Engineer Ken, Fairport Convention, Ha Ha Said The Clown, Hubble Bubble Toil & Trouble, If You Gotta Go Go Now, Manfred Mann, Poison Ivy, Ready Steady Go, Si Tu Doir Partir, The Coasters, The One In The Middle

ROCKOLLECTIONS: A LOTTA LITTLE PT.1

Well it is about time we honored one of the Founding Fathers of Rock & Roll!

And it’s reigning madman.

I am talking about Little Richard, or Richard Penniman.

But the reason it took over 10 years was because he has re-recorded his songs so many times, you never knew which version you would be getting.

Rock & Roll fans knew which were the originals though, and I can assure you I will play the REAL, authentic Specialty label recordings of his many many hits here.

It took me a while to catch up with them all.

I will open with the most frenetic Ready Teddy the world has ever heard (with the possible exception of Buddy Holly’s take), and during this and the next chapter I will undoubtedly play some Little Richard you have never heard.

I gave Engineer Ken a few choices, and he picked Richard’s interpretation of the old Wilbert Harrison chestnut, Kansas City.

Listen to this and you will hear how the Beatles got THEIR version of the song!

Unfortunately, the biography I read from was poorly written, and I apologize for that.

But you will discover that Richard used to watch the medicine men at carnivals and used that to forge his style.

He was also greatly influenced by singer, and perhaps an even greater madman, Esquerita.

I would think probably most people have never heard of him, so maybe someday I’ll do a show on him.

For now, please join me for some timeless, high-energy music that without question was vital in the creation of what came to be known as Rock & Roll.

As crazy egotistical as Little Richard can be at times, he does have the credentials.

Mike

Tags: Beatles, Buddy Holly, Engineer Ken, Esquerita, Kansas City, Ready Teddy, Richard Penniman, Wibert Harrison

ROCKOLLECTIONS: SONGS FOR APRIL FOOLS PT.2 END

 

I will open the concluding half of our Songs For Fools with one about a guy so dopey he doesn’t even know when to come in out of the rain- or so the expression goes, right?
Then I have a Contrast- 2 versions of the same song (which I would be shocked if you didn’t know), and both of note.
First, after hearing the single for so many years, you will find the longer beginning of the LP version very strange.
Then an unreleased interpretation of that same song by a BIG name group (some guy named Keith Richards does some of his rare lead singing).
After that, a song I HAD to play, or insult my pal, Mike Hennessy.
I don’t remember where or how he found this song, but it was a Top 10 song and I had never heard it!
Just goes to show you, there are little gems out there each of us for some reason has never heard.
Oh, and I also didn’t know the microphone was ON! For the longest time.
Anybody who has been on the radio knows we are constantly clearing our throats for that wonderful rich sound, lol!
Well, I coughed, and Engineer Ken and I just looked at each other like a bomb had exploded!
It was pretty funny, and I don’t have to tell you to listen for it- you will hear it easily enough, lol!
No question, I am a full-time fool, and don’t have to work at it.
I have a song to prove that not just men are fools, women can excel in that department too.
And I will give the final words to the world’s greatest band ever, and a guy you’ll know named Cliff Edwards.
Happy April Fool’s Day to All Of Us Fools!

Mike

Tags: Cliff Edwards, Engineer Ken, Keith Richards, Mike Hennessy

ROCKOLLECTIONS: TRIBUTE/MEMORIAL 2008 PT.6

It’s Part Six of this series, and well, I am not sure how to put this…
The Network I do my show from is in a state of flux, and I have seen this coming.
While I understand their point of view and problems, I will not be returning to the Guild for at least the next few weeks.
Engineer Ken (who for months has had his hours cut) and I are confident that things will be resolved.
If not, and know this, my little Rockollections show will continue- perhaps from home, and without Ken and all the bells and whistles of the studio, but with less time constraints and no change in the quality of the music, the choices, or how they are presented.
I only know one way to play music, and once it’s out you can’t get the toothpaste back in the tube!
So beginning next week, I’ll dust off some old shows and bring them back for an encore- many people have never heard them and some I am extremely proud of- until I settle in to new surroundings, or go back to where I have been for over 10 years.
As my Mom would say, “We shall see what we shall see.”
This time, we finish June and July and get into August.
To be continued…one way or another!

This series is not morbid nor maudlin, it is rather a celebration of the lives of those we lost in the previous year- in this case 2008.
Sort of an Irish Wake!
At least SOME of these people should have touched you in some way, shape or form, and made your life a bit happier and more pleasant.
I will be dealing with the notable or should be noted.
For the musical folks who passed on, they are deserving of one more play, at the very least.
And we will deal with other cultural figures as well, with some hopefully appropriate music for them.
You are welcome, encouraged even, to anticipate or second-guess my own musical choices!

In this sixth, and final new episode for a while, those selected are:
Jim McKay
George Carlin
Dody Goodman
Larry Harmon (Bozo the Clown)
Les Crane
Jo Stafford
Isaac Hayes
They can’t give any more than they have already given us.

Mike

Tags: Bozo The Clown, Dody Goodman, Engineer Ken, George Carlin, Isaac Hayes, Jim McKay, Jo Stafford, Larry Harmon, Les Crane

ROCKOLLECTIONS: MELLENCAMPCOUGARJOHN PT.2

Sorry for the delay, been somewhat under the weather- but then we are all always under the weather, aren’t we?
Continuing on, Mellencamp’s breakthrough album was American Fool.
He won a Grammy and had his only # 1 song on Billboard.
I mentioned in this episode that in my life I have always been known to be somewhat rebellious.
Engineer Ken started laughing hysterically.
Even after the show, and I had forgotten about it, he was still laughing and breaking my chops about it!
Since he knows me so well, he found great humor in my rather casual statement.
In fact, I am a Class A Rebel and always have been, lol!
So, a song for that, which is how the subject came up, and I have loved it since the first time I heard it.
And IT ALWAYS MAKES ME DANCE- even sitting down!
“Been doing it since I was a young kid…”
We’ll close this chapter with an interesting contrast.
One by John and one by a group that did their song 7 years earlier.
And an awful lot of people think they sound a little too much alike!
More John Whatshisname coming.

Mike

Tags: American Fool, Engineer Ken

ROCKOLLECTIONS: BOOKER T AND THE MG’S PT.1

 

This is the first time I have ever featured an instrumental band on the show- and I couldn’t have picked a better group than Booker T & The MG’s.
A popular soul band in the 60’s & 70’s, they were also the Memphis house band at the great Stax/Volt studios.
We will get into the history of the band.
Wait until you get a load of who and what they played behind!
You may not know however that Booker T was often at school, and his place in the band for session work was taken by Isaac Hayes.
Sometimes they even played together- one on organ, one on piano.
I’ll try to clear up some dispute over the group’s name.
You’ll hear some hits in this episode that have been unplayed for a long time, plus their most famous song.
Which in 1962 was released as the B-side of a single, the A-side called Behave Yourself.
That didn’t make it, but the famous flip side did, hitting # 3 on the Pop Charts.
I’ll play both, so you can hear that rarely played originally chosen A-side!
The oddest thing in this chapter is Engineer Ken nagging me to play a song I didn’t think was good enough.
It was Lonely Avenue, their interpretation of the old Ray Charles song.
He kept pushing, I said go ahead then, and he proclaimed it the best song we heard so far, lol!
See what you think.
Another half of Booker et al, coming soon.

Mike

Tags: Behave Yourself, Engineer Ken, Isaac Hayes, Lonely Avenue, Memphis, Ray Charles, Stax, Volt

ROCKOLLECTIONS: BROKEN AND BREAKING RADIOS

CHAPTER EIGHT: BROKEN AND BREAKING RADIOS

Continuing the Salute to Radio and my 10 Years as the host of Rock Lives, Rockollections or anything else you want to call it…as long as it’s nice, lol!
I am going to pick up exactly where we left off, and even on my feel-good show, not all love stories have happy endings. Under our BIG umbrella of what I consider Rock & Roll, the great George Jones will sing.
Followed by a short set regarding Broken Radios.
Then going in the other direction, how Radio can do the Breaking- unknowingly breaking your heart!
How many times have you had the radio on at home or in the car, a song comes on and you are transported back to a sense of sadness or loneliness over the loss of an ex-love?
Just another example of Radio being a part of, and affecting, our lives.
I’ll play a beautiful song by Merrie Amsterburg, and a rocker by Roy Orbison to illuminate that circumstance.
Got a song that Engineer Ken turned me on to, and a Beatles’ theme they did for their own BBC show.
Finally, I am very much aware of the special relationship- the attachment- that forms between the listener and the guy on the radio. I have had a part in both sides of that.
So, I will close this episode with a tradition born on Dec. 18, 1967- the day Scott Muni started at WNEW-FM, and stayed for 31 years!
For his first 3 to 6 years- I wish I could recall precisely- he would end his show with this song, 7 days a week, and making it easy for me to tell when it was a few minutes till 7PM.
After that, during his remaining years there, he would always use the song to end his anniversary shows, and always leave me with a huge lump in my throat.
For a man who provided such a musical style and education for me, I could do much worse than to close my own 10th Anniversary with it in honor of him.
I am sure there will be 2 more parts to this Salute To Radio, so I will have more gratitude to express.
But for now, to anyone who has EVER listened to my little radio show/podcast, a great big thank you!

Mike

Tags: BBC, Beatles, Engineer Ken, George Jones, Merrie Amsterburg, Rock Lives, Roy Orbison, Scott Muni, WNEW-FM

ROCKOLLECTIONS: SEX AND THE RADIO

CHAPTER SEVEN: SEX AND THE RADIO

I am back in Brooklyn and it looks like I may just make it under the wire New York time.
It was on this day ten years ago, October 21, 1998, that I did the first Rock & Roll show at a station that never played that music.
Back then it was quite a bit different- more emphasis on talk rather than music.
I would read the Billboard album reviews and tell what were the top 10 or 20 songs on the charts.
But one of the most fun things was Engineer Ken and I each time wondering what we could get away with.
Could I play 2 songs in a row without coming on in between, could I play an 8-minute song and get away with it, could I do a whole hour dedicated to one theme holding the songs together?
All these things developed slowly, as each week I would try something different until the show evolved into what it is now- and I am pretty happy with it.
This is almost ideally what I always had in mind- the only thing preventing complete satisfaction are those damnable time constraints.
If instead of an hour, I need an hour and 13 minutes or 2 hours, well that would be just fine, lol!
The show should be over when I am done, and that changes from week to week!
But I can’t really complain, as I have far more freedom than the folks at those big corporation commercial stations.
My 10th anniversary was the impetus for this whole Salute To Radio- as I wanted to do something special, but not put the emphasis on me.
And there are no guaranties I will be there 10 years from now.
I will explain the odd fact that although I am on only one day a week, it falls 10 years to the day.
This will be a fun episode, beginning with a fun couple of songs for you and I.
Then a set I am calling Sex And The Radio.
That should arouse your interest- or arouse something!
There wasn’t enough time for the last song, which although a drastically different situation, I felt sort of fits in there. So listen to me stretch to the break with my wonderful gift of gab, lol!
And we will get to that very interesting storysong first thing in the next chapter.
Hope to see you then!

Mike

Tags: Billboard, Engineer Ken, Salute To Radio, Sex And The Radio