WLSO.FM

ROCKOLLECTIONS: PSYCHOTHERAPY LEFTOVERS PT.1

Well well, August 25 is the 12th Anniversary of my being at the same station.
12 years…those people there REALLY need Psychotherapy!
These are some of the Psychotherapy Leftovers we never got to in the other chapters, and I must tell you, this is one of the strangest half hours of musical selections I have ever done.
Certainly the most somber in those 12 years!
I just went where the free-form Muse took me, and that was a weird place.
So you are forewarned, and the next and Final episode will be much different, more normal.
I started with a song for me, one that has been an old friend for many years.
Then, for some reason last week, I flashed back to a time in 1970 or 1971 when Scott Muni, then with the 2-7PM slot and also the Program Director at WNEW-FM, chose to replace for a day Jonathan Schwartz who couldn’t make it for his 10AM-2PM show.
Scott was unbelievable that day, maybe because it was a different time with possibly a different audience.
He played fantastic old sets he had done in the past where the music went together perfectly, plus terrific new ones.
It was great Radio!
And another of those defining moments that set the stage for how I present music.
One 2-song set stayed with me for all these years, an incredible segue that I will re-create here.
Janis Ian’s “Insanity Comes Quietly To The Structured Mind” into Dory Previn’s “Mr.Whisper”.
One a song about a ledge-jumper suicide, the other dealing with a Mr. Whisper who has an “apartment” in a lady’s head!
Normally I don’t tell you what I am going to play and ruin the surprises, but in this case I figure no one will know those songs anyway, so what the hell, lol?
That’s it, I am tired of writing, so you are on your own.
But I cordially invite you to hear undeniably the oddest, but not the worst, first half of a show I have ever done!
And that’s saying something for me, lol!
There is a Darkness here, and I DARE you to listen!

Mike

Tags: 12th Anniversary, 1970, 1971, Darkness, Dory Previn, Insanity Comes Quietly To The Structured Mind, Janis Ian, Jonathan Schwartz, Leftovers, Mr.Whisper, Program Director, radio, Scott Muni, The Free-Form Muse, WNEW-FM

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

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 THEIR OWN WORDS- REMEMBERING GEORGE & JOHN 2008 PT.2 END

Odd, how life and history affect us.
To one generation, today Dec. 7th brings memories of the bombing of Pearl Harbor- and they can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they got the news.
To many of the next couple of generations, they can do likewise for tomorrow Dec. 8th, when they heard of the senseless killing of John Lennon.
So now it is John Lennon’s turn In Their Own Words- and of course music too!
For some reason, all Lennon’s appearances on WNEW-FM are highlighted…except this one.
It took place on May 30, 1969 when he phoned Rosko (Bill Mercer), who was then on the air.
What followed was a far more incisive interview than when he talked to the others.
John talks about being a tough kid, not wanting to hear You Can’t Do That.
Then again, I didn’t like hearing that either, lol!
Oh, I mistakenly said it was a live track. Wrong, sorry- just made to sound that way. But a good remix!
John talks more about being a troublemaker with a chip on his shoulder.
But he found his peace.
Rosko asks him flat-out about his use of Christ in The Ballad Of John & Yoko, and you may be surprised with his answer.
Some more music and conversation, and I will close this year’s remembrance with a beautiful song by John.
Let’s all meet here next year, and I’ll have some more off the beaten path recordings by two guys who meant an awful lot to me!

Mike

Tags: , Bill Mercer, George Harrison, John Lennon, Pearl Harbor, Rosko, The Ballad Of John & Yoko, WNEW-FM, You Can't Do That

ROCKOLLECTIONS: REMEMBERING GEORGE & JOHN PT.2 2006 VERSION

I will now continue with the 2006 show I did, and a good time to point out that in 2007 I did full shows for EACH of them. You can hear them here by simply scrolling back on the words “previous posts”.
And also to announce there will be another new George & John show within the next few days, from this year 2008.

While most were watching Monday Night Football, I remember I was watching a hockey game (it’s a BETTER game!) on TV with a buddy when the phone rang and another friend told me John was shot.
I quickly put the stereo on to WNEW-FM, then the best rock station in the world, and Vin Scelsa was playing Springsteen’s “Jungleland”.
My heart sank, I knew instinctively we had lost him!
In this episode, I decided to play songs ABOUT John- as a little cottage industry has sprung up regarding that. And as it turned out, I didn’t have enough time to even play what I brought with me.
I remarked that there was a great shortage of songs about George Harrison or his death. None really. Maybe that is because it didn’t come so suddenly and in such a violent fashion.
But with intentional irony, I mentioned even George had written a song for John, and of course we will open with that.
I think you will hear some very interesting things here. George Martin’s comments on John’s death. A Letter To John written and read by Paul McCartney at Lennon’s induction ceremony to the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, and of course the song he wrote for John. An underrated song by Mickey Hart, drummer for the Grateful Dead, that has never gotten any airplay, and includes John Lennon and others.
And the other usual surprises I hope you have come to expect.
Rest in peace, George and John. We are diminished by your absence. Mike

Tags: A Letter To John, Bruce Springsteen, Grateful Dead, Jungleland, Mickey Hart, Monday Night Football, Paul McCartney, Vin Scelsa, WNEW-FM

ROCKOLLECTIONS: GETTING HOME FOR THANKSGIVING: PLANES PT.4 END

Well, here we are at the final chapter and you should be Getting Home For Thanksgiving very soon now.
Planes are our mode of travel this year, 2007.
I will open this episode up with someone else who used to say “Come fly with me”, and on a nightly basis- Alison Steele, the Nightbird on WNEW-FM! A tape of the beginning of her very first show, and a befitting song for that.
I found myself getting ticked off about what happened to the Wright Brothers.
It was a shame what happened to them, and to this day those who stole their invention have never apologized nor given them their due.
And imagine this, those amazing Brothers LEARNED how to fly while they were INVENTING flying!
Compare that to driving a car, but high in the air where any mistake could be fatal.
In honor of the Wright Brothers, Alison and Women’s Libbers everywhere, lol, I will play The True Story Of Amelia Earhart by Mathews Southern Comfort.
Then the late Long John Baldry with his interpretation of a Small Faces number.
What series could be complete without a falling in love song?
I’ll take care of that with one about a woman and a pilot, grounded during a storm.
Next, I wanna play a classic one by a classic group, which despite its reputation as a drug song is actually simply about circling and landing in London.
I was handed a just-in Thanksgiving forecast that you should find entertaining, despite my reading of it, lol!
Incidentally, the instrumental underneath me at the end is a slightly different Flying by the Beatles (appropriate, yes?).
Thus will end 2007’s trip home.
It is never hard to find things to be thankful for, no matter how bad things may seem.
If you have two of most of the things you are supposed to have two of- eyes, ears, arms, legs, etc.- that’s reason enough for me.
If you have family, friends, pets or just one person who loves you, you are blessed with a bounty.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
And I am thankful to you for taking this trip and all the others with me- it wouldn’t be the same without you.

But wait, there is one more way to get home in that movie title…coming right up!

Mike

Tags: Allison Steele, Amelia Earheart, Beatles, flying, Long John Baldry, Mathews Southern Comfort, Small Faces, WNEW-FM, Wright Brothers

ROCKOLLECTIONS: THE GHOST OF NEW YORK RADIO PAST

THE GHOST OF NEW YORK RADIO PAST

One last piece of unfinished business in our Salute To Radio.Here is a classic Radio Montage I wish I could say I put together, called The Ghost Of New York Radio Past.

In fact, it was done by WFUV’s Pete Fornatale with help from Don Feergard and Peter Mocover.(That’s Fornatale at the end, when he was a student at Fordham University’s radio station.)

And what a job they did!

It is without a doubt a grand, nostalgic trip down Memory Lane for listeners of New York City radio, but is a priceless piece of history no matter where you are from.

WOR-FM, WNEW-FM, the AM stations, the FM stations, Alan Freed, Murray the K, Cousin Brucie, Scott Muni, Mad Daddy, B. Mitchell Reed, Bobaloo, and just about anybody else you can think of will be represented here.

But of course, you will not hear ME, lol!

No where, no way!

This brilliant time capsule is now at the Museum Of Television & Radio.

Mike

Tags: Alan Freed, B. Mitchell Reed, Bobaloo, Cousin Brucie, Don Feergard, Fordham University, Mad Daddy, Murray the k, Museum Of Television and Radio, Pete Fornatale, Peter Mocover, Scott Muni, the AM stations, the FM stations, WFUV, WNEW-FM, WOR-FM

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: THE FALL OF FM RADIO

CHAPTER SIX: THE FALL OF FM RADIO

Anyone who has ever listened to my show or podcast knows that I do not have any rules about what I am going to play.
Most times doing a theme, the opening or the last song comes to me, sometimes both.
After that, I think of every song I can on the topic.
Then the most important part- I play them!
And while one is playing, the song that should come next becomes apparent to me.
No other song will do.
I have spent days looking for that next song- it HAS to be that one!
Most times I find it, sometimes I have to give up and think of what might be the 2nd best song to play next.
Sort of like an artist searching for a particular color, but I am not so egotistical as to regard that as a real comparison.
Then I go to the station, and sometimes because of time, I have to cut that song from the set, lol!
But for me, that is how I play the music.
No playlist, nobody tells me what I can or can’t play.
I am very aware of how lucky I am.
However, there was a brief time when that was the accepted way of doing radio.
For example, we had two commercial free-form stations here in New York- WABC-FM/WPLJ and WNEW-FM.
At ABC/PLJ that free-form format lasted less than 3 years, 1968-71.
Scott Muni, bless him, fought the good fight at WNEW-FM from 1967, as Program Director and just because he was the way he was, for himself and all the other DJ’s, until 1981!!!
If you detect some lingering animosity and bitterness on my part, you are correct.
Now, I will go after those sleazy beancounters who changed all that.
First up, a song about a guy after my own heart, who will hang up on you if you question why after Madonna he played George Jones.
Because he WANTED to!
And notice the statio he was at is WANT…as in what the people WANT?
Then the highlight, the centerpiece of not only this chapter but the whole series.
An epic poem by the singer/songwriter Mike Agranoff- Ballad Of The Sandman.
If you have never heard it, you are in for a treat and will never forget it.
If you have heard it, it is like a fine brandy, taken out on special occassions and savored.
In any case, it captures what 1960’s radio was like better than I ever could.
It is just a BRILLIANT piece of work, and I always get a huge reaction when I play it.
I will close this episode out with a song concerning something we all have experienced; losing our favorite DJ!
They hardly ever say anything and we are reduced to searching for him or her Around The Dial.
Now in this case I will admit to some ego in the lyrics, “you never gave in to fashion, you never followed any trend”.
Yeah, that’s me- just trying to play what I think is the best music!
There’s Magic in the Radio, Enchantment in the Ether!
Come join me for a look at how good the Radio COULD be, if it would DARE!

Mike

Tags: Around The Dial, Ballad Of The Sandman, George Jones, Madonna, Mike Agranoff, Scott Muni, WABC-FM, WNEW-FM, WPLJ