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ROCKOLLECTIONS: A ROCKOLLECTIONS LOOK AT WOODSTOCK PT.4 FINAL

Beginning this our final look at the Woodstock Festival, I will again take you back to WNEW-FM.
In 1969, Rosko was still working the 7 to midnight shift there, so we will hear him briefly sell you on the Festival- followed by another report from their newsman Mike Eisgrau.
I thank Dennis Elsas again for these snippets, and he has a website www.denniselsas.com that is well worth visiting.
After that, the Band didn’t make onto that old original vinyl album, but we have them here.
A couple from them, starting with a song you should know by Johnny Cash, although I believe it was written by Lefty Frizzell.
I suppose I could look it up, but I am still lazy, lol!
So go ahead, you look it up!
And don’t forget, Woodstock was the Band’s neighborhood- they did Music From Big Pink there.
I’ll have a list of folks who either canceled or declined to play at Woodstock that I am sure you will find very interesting.
Some of the reasons are good ones, some are not.
More music, coming almost full circle, and finally, one of the guys who thought up Woosdstock had an idea as to how he wanted to end the Festival.
He couldn’t…but we can!
I hope you enjoyed our little look at that historic weekend.
Next, something completely different…that’s the plan anyway!

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.

Mike

Tags: Dennis Elsas, Johnny Cash, Lefty Frizzell, Mike Eisgrau, Music From Big Pink, Rosko, The Band, WFUV, WNEW-FM

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