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RockRoll360 #108 Golden Age of Underground Radio Vol. 2 (Part 2)

above photo :::  B.Mitchell Reed

KMET was a Los Angeles radio station originally owned by Metromedia that first took to the air in June 1968 at 94.7 MHz. The station, nicknamed “The Mighty Met,” was the pioneering station of the “underground” progressive rock format.

KMET stood in direct contrast to other music stations of the era. Rather than the tight, high-energy Top 40 sound of popular AM stations such as KHJ, KMET and other progressive rock stations played more eclectic artists with much longer songs and more socially-conscious lyrics. The disc jockeys talked much less, and in a more personal, relaxed manner. They were also not afraid to voice their opinions on controversial topics, such as politics, the Vietnam War and civil rights, and most importantly, they chose the music that they played on the air. There was no playlist. Evident of this approach is longtime KMET late night host Jim Ladd (currently at onetime rival KLOS-FM), whose laid-back philosophical ruminations usually led into a song, from artists such as Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Pink Floyd, The Doors or Led Zeppelin - that underscored his point.KMET often mixed counterculture comedy skits by Firesign Theatre and The Credibility Gap with the music. The Credibility Gap broadcast satirical skits during the Pasadena Rose Bowl Parade in the 1970s.^[1] Another KMET staple at the time was Dr. Demento, whose show began on KPPC-FM. The “Dr. Demento Show” moved to KMET-FM in 1972 and soon became the most listened-to Sunday evening radio program in Los Angeles. Following Dr. Demento on Sunday nights, Mike Harrison hosted a phone-in talk show called Harrison’s Mike.The adventurous KMET was a member of a fraternity of widely respected progressive rock stations that emerged across the country in the late 1960s and early 1970s, along with KSAN, WNEW in New York, WBCN in Boston, WMMS in Cleveland, KQRS-FM in Minneapolis, and others.The 1978 movie FM was reportedly loosely based on KMET. Much of the history of the salad days of KMET is documented in Jim Ladd’s book Radio Waves, where the station is referred to as Radio KAOS and many of the DJs are given pseudonyms ^[2].   From  ( Wikipedia )

Show Listings :::

ALONE AGAIN OR  /  LOVE
B. Mitchell Reed   ( Drug Songs )   /  Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
PUSHER   /  STEPPENWOLF
B. Mitchell Reed  ( Station I.D. )   /  Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
Music Odyssey Commercial   /  Sound bite from KMET FM
B. Mitchell Reed  [Fat Bernie’s Waterbeds]  /  Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
KMET  News   /  Sound bite from KMET FM
NATURE’S WAY   /  SPIRIT
WOODEN SHIPS  /  JEFFERSON AIRPLANE
B. Mitchell Reed    ( Wooden Ships )  /  Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
Grateful Dead Concert Commercial  /  Sound bite from KMET FM
B. Mitchell Reed  ( New York Radio)  /  Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
WITCHI-TAI-TO  /  BREWER AND SHIPLEY
B. Mitchell Reed’s Sign-Off  /  Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
CITY   /  MARK-ALMOND

Tags: aaa radio, b.mitchell reed, brewer and shipley, Classic Rock, eclectic, free mp3, freeform, Jefferson Airplane, kmet, Love, mark-almond, mp3, music, progressive album rock, Rock, RockRoll360, Spirit, steppenwolf, wbcn, WLSO

RockRoll360 #107 Golden Age of Underground Radio Vol. 2 (Part 1)

   

Front yard of Estrellas house above, MJL plays guitar. Around this time, early 70s, she and her friends recently made a jingle for KMET radio station. “A little bit of heaven, ninety-four point seven, KMET twiddle-dee”

RockRoll360 #107  Golden Age of Underground Radio Vol. 2 (Part 1 )

Various Artists - Golden Age of Underground Radio
              (1989 Dcc Compact Classics ) (CD)   (Part 2)

A logical and proper extension of the first volume of the series (which spotlighted FM underground pioneer Tom Donahue), Golden Age of Underground Radio, Vol. 2 features recordings of the legendary Los Angeles disc jockey B. Mitchell Reed, who was one of the mainstays on KMET FM, as well as an extremely important mover and shaker in the city in its prime. Taken from shows of the 1968-1971 period, this show showcases what FM radio was, as well as its necessity and artful production. Around fabulous (full-length) versions of FM staples by Love (”Alone Again Or”), Donovan Featuring the Jeff Beck Group (”Barabajagal”), and about a dozen other turntable hits, Reed keeps the flow going with smooth, hip, and very honest raps that capture the moment in tact and in real time. Commercials of the era (such as “The Hip Bagel”) and news reports only add to the period charm and transport the listener to a very real evening of music and intelligent thought. Like Donahue, Reed started in AM radio, during its loud, fast, mile-a-minute Top 40 heyday. The metamorphosis that he and the audience were going through at the dawn of the 1970s is captured here in all of its glory, making this an exquisite social, spiritual, and political document, not to mention an artistic one as well.

                                                                    ~ Matthew Greenwald, All Music Guide

B. Mitchell Reed’s Sign-On Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
I GOT A LINE ON YOU  /  SPIRIT
BARABAJAGAL ( Love Is Hot )  /   JEFF BECK GROUP & DONOVAN
B. Mitchell Reed  ( Thoughts )  Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
HONKY TONK WOMAN /  IKE AND TINA TURNER
B. Mitchell Reed [Hip Bagel Commercial] Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
ROLLIN’ AND TUMBLIN’  /    CANNED HEAT
KILLING FLOOR  /    THE ELECTRIC FLAG
Leather Ltd.  KMET Progressive Radio commercial
B. Mitchell Reed [Jeans West Commercial] Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
ONLY YOU KNOW AND I KNOW  /    DAVE MASON
B. Mitchell Reed  ( Beatle Record)  )  Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
YOU CAN’T DO THAT  /    HARRY NILSSON
B. Mitchell Reed Sound bite from KMET FM’s B. Mitchell Reed
EIGHT MILES HIGH  /    THE BYRDS

Tags: aaa radio, b. michell reed, canned heat, Classic Rock, dave mason, Donovan, eclectic, free mp3, freeform, Harry Nilsson, ike and tina turner, jeff beck group, kmet, mp3, music, progressive album rock, Rock, RockRoll360, Spirit, The Byrds, the electric flag, WLSO

RockRoll360 #089 - Golden Age of Underground Radio (Part 1)

 

Various Artists - Golden Age of Underground Radio (1989 Dcc Compact Classics ) (CD)   (Part 1 )

“This is Tom Donahue and I’m here to play phonograph records.”
With that sign-on, Tom Donahue defined “underground” FM radio in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This disc takes the listener back to that time period, with samples of Donahue’s news spots, commercials, and between-song chat taken from airchecks while he worked as the “Big Daddy” of Bay Area broadcasting at KSAN-FM in San Francisco. The music here is a compendium of popular album cuts from that 1968-1972 era. Listening to this album is like spending 70 minutes in a time warp, when flowers, beads and long hair were de rigueur, head shops and independent record shops flourished, musicians were free to take risks with their recordings, and FM radio still allowed its announcers to choose their own music. Peace, love and hope are once again in the air and on the airwaves. It’s a trip worth taking.

Close your eyes and picture yourself with your Grateful Dead tee shirt on along
with your sandals. Your long hair brushes against your shoulders and your
driving down Ashbury in “The Haight” in San Francisco in your VW bus with your friends. The sweet aroma of God’s gift to you fills the bus.  Then you turn on your FM / 8-Track car stereo and tune into 94.9.  You see that bright red stereo light letting you know you are receiving the signal loud and clear. Now you are there, in the years of 1968 through 1972 - Have a nice trip won’t you with the Legendary Tom Donohue KSAN Radio Stereo 94.9 in San Fran.

Not from original Compilation Cd , with this symbol .   #  

Nobody Knows - Faces     #
Tom’s Donahue’s Sign-on
Fresh Garbage - Spirit
Tom Donahue
Time Has Come Today  - The Chamber Brothers ( Edited Short from RockRoll360)
So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star - The Byrds
Family Dog Commercial
Get Together - The Youngbloods
Tom Donahue
Shoot Out On The Plantation - Leon Russell
Delta Lady - Joe Cocker
Leopold Records Commerical
Atlantis - Donovan

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Tags: , aaa radio, Classic Rock, Donovan, eclectic, faces, free mp3, freeform, Joe Cocker, ksan, Leon Russell, leopold records, mp3, music, Rock, RockRoll360, Spirit, The Byrds, the chamber brothers, tom donahue, WLSO

ROCKOLLECTIONS: A CELEBRATION OF WINTER PT.4 CONCLUSION

My beloved Winter ain’t over yet.
I am going to open up this final chapter with a set of music about those freezing Cold Winds that are always able to slip in through the cracks, no matter what kind of house you live in.
We will hear from the Fairport Convention, the Doors and a great but grossly ignored group called Spirit.
I have some info on the famous 1816 Winter Without Summer- in which Connecticut had blizzards in JUNE & JULY!
Plus all the strange temps in other places that year.
We are all aware that it is always colder at night in the Winter, sometimes by as much as 15 to 20 degrees or more.
And never more so than when you are without your sweetheart, your main squeeze.
So some songs about that.
Including the beautiful “On A Winter’s Night” by Willie Nininger- with lyrics like these, “…just for now, we’ll stay by the radio, we’ll sing every song we know, turn off all the lights, wrap the blankets warmly, shut the windows tight, put your arms around me- for all we know, it may snow tonight”.
And an equally wonderful song from Gordon Lightfoot, one of the rare non-Christmas songs to have sleigh bells in it. Listen for them.
I have chosen an appropriate and meaningful to me song to end it all with.
This was great fun for me.
I hope I have made the case that Winter songs can be just as good as Summer ones.
And hey, remember it is STILL Winter- for all we know, it MAY snow tonight!

Mike

Tags: 1816 Winter Without Summer, Cold Winds, Connecticut, Fairport Convention, Gordon Lightfoot, On A Winter's Night, Spirit, Summer Songs, The Doors, Willie Nininger

RockRoll360 # 021 - Statue - Pt. 1

 

Above photo is a statue of

Jimi Hendrix in Seattle, Washington

 

Yep ! We are still waiting for summer here in

New England, and I know when it comes, it’s gonna come

with a vengeance.  In fact most of the country

is going through that right now. During this week.

we are seeing hot temps in the 90’s through 100 degrees.

 

So here I am to get your mind off of the hot weather and

enjoy some good music.  Great stuff here including some

indie music and a very deep track by Spirit.

 

So let’s enjoy the sounds below….

Oh! Please pass it on..

 

Songs include :::::

COLD WIND - ARCADE FIRE
GAMBLE EVERYTHING FOR LOVE - BEN LEE
TRAFFIC JAM  ( Live ) - JAMES TAYLOR
DID YOU EVER HAVE TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND - THE LOVIN’ SPOONFUL
STATUE - LOW MILLIONS
I GOT THE BLUES - THE ROLLING STONES
GHETTO BLUES - MARSHALL’MARZ MASON
MECHANICAL WORLD - SPIRIT
WELCOME TO THE MACHINE - PINK FLOYD
HERE COMES TOMORROW - THE MONKEES
THE WIND CRIES MARY - JIMI HENDRIX

Sound Bites Include :::::
Jetsons door bell - Sound Bite From “The Jetsons”
What knockers ! - Sound Bite From “Young Frankenstein”
Escape To The Cape ( From WROR )
                    - Song Parody from the  “Loren & Wally Show”
Time now for a lost 45 - Computer Generated Sound Bite
WBOS ( Part Of The Greater Boston Radio Group ) - Radio I.D.
I give you the moon Mary - Sound Bite From “Jimmy Stewart“

Tags: aaa radio, arcade fire, ben lee, Classic Rock, eclectic, free mp3, freeform, hendrix, james taylor, lovin spoonful, low millions, mixed, Monkees, mp3, music, pink floyd, Rock, RockRoll360, Rolling Stones, Spirit, WLSO