Thursday, April 22, 2010

Worth Listening To

Here are some programs oldies fans out there may wish to check out over the next few days:

TODAY:
(Actually in a matter of minutes, depending on what time you're reading this!!!)
The long-awaited Jim Shea interview with comedy legend Tommy Smothers takes place this morning (normally between about 7:20 am and 8:00 am Central Time ... so if you're reading this as I'm posting this, you'll need to click on over REAL soon!!!) But, if you miss today's interview, I'm sure it'll be replayed this Saturday Morning on the brand new "Best Of Jim Shea" Program at Y103.9.
Click here: Homepage - Y103.9

FRIDAY:
This Friday night my show should be really special.
Stu's Pop Shoppe is on Friday nights from 7 PM till 3:01 AM
It all happens at
www.topshelfoldies.org
When our site comes up, pick the player that matches your computer.
Here's this week's schedule:
7:00 / 9:00 A mixture of the 50's and 60's. Many songs that you won't hear anywhere else. I call it The Greatest Songs That Ever Lived.
9:00 / 10:00 A phone conversation with Barry McGuire.
What a career this man has had over the years. He sang with The New Christy Minstrels,
he had a solo career. Some of his songs were backed up by The Mamas and The Papas. I've spoken to Barry a couple of times already. He is a most interesting person and has lots to talk about. You might want to check out his website
www.trippinthesixties.com
10:00 / 12:00 I'll dig out some material from my Doo Wop garage. This week I'll be including some early recordings that a friend transferred from his 78 rpm records. Do you remember what 78's were. They looked like flying saucers. They had a small hole in the middle and more often than not sounded scratchy!!!!
12:00 / 1:30 It's Midnight Country. Let's remember when country music was really country. Part of this segment will feature the western swing of Hank Thompson.
1:30 / 3:01 AM We'll finish up the night with more music from the 50's and 60's with a touch of the 40's.
All you have to do is get a front row seat by your computer and I'll do all the work.
You can also try getting into our chatroom for contact with other listeners.
You must be here Friday night because I don't want to be alone.
Sincerely yours,
Stuart Weiss / DJ STU


SATURDAY:
Hi Kent.
I will be playing 70 of the top 104 i.r.s. hits on my show this weekend. I will also feature artist interviews and Rich Appel's coments throughout the evening.

Phil
Wrco FM

Unfortunately, no live stream on this one ... but if you live in the Richland Center, Wisconsin area, you CAN pick this up on WRCO-FM, 100.9 FM. Meanwhile, it sounds like Phil's had some pretty interesting shows lately!!!
Recent and future guests on my show include three artists with new releases for 2010. They include Billy Joe Royal, out is out with a new cd call 'Hard Rock to Roll'; former Paul Revere and the Raider Freddy Weller ... he has some great stories from those old days ... he helped Tommy Roe write Dizzy while Tommy was the opening act for the Raiders and our country format is playing Freddy's new song 'Your Memory Walks Through Walls'; and Andy Kim, recently inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame, has a great cd new release called 'I Forgot to Mention'.
All three cds are available from the artists respective web sites.

You can also catch Rich Appel's Top 104 I.R.S. Countdown here:
Bob Radil’s Friday Night 60s-70s Show ... just click on the Oldies Message Board

THIS WEEKEND:
The True Oldies Channel is doing their "Rock And Roll Zoo" weekend, featuring song titles and artists with animal names in their title! You can always Listen Live here:
Click here: True Oldies Channel


And ... in OTHER radio news ...
Rook on parade on Internet
By Richard Wagoner
(Los Angeles Daily News, 04/09/2010
You may not know the name John Rook, but you probably know his work.
Rook is the man who made KFI (640 AM) what it once was: one of the last of the bigger-than-life AM powerhouses, when he programmed it as a high-energy top-40 station from 1976 to 1992.
He also programmed WCFL - Chicago's Voice of Labor, as it was called due to its ownership by the Chicago Federation of Labor - as a top-40 leader in the 1970s.
Rook knows radio. Good radio. So when he launches an Internet-based music station, people take note.
His latest creation is Hit Parade Radio, available at
www.hitparaderadio.com.
Longtime listeners of Southern California radio may remember that Rook used the idea of a hit parade when he was at KFI. This time it isn't current music he is focusing on, but rather oldies.
"While most `oldies' stations feature just a few hundred hits aimed at a younger demographic, Hit Parade Radio relies on thousands, beginning with the '50s for a 30-year period," Rook said, adding that the format "concentrates on the highly underserved listener, those over 45 years of age."
Those underserved listeners represent a growing demographic, and one with money, according to the Hit Parade Web site. These people use the Internet, surf the Web longer and go to more pages than their college-age peers.
What better way to reach them than to use the Internet, playing the songs they grew up with? Well, maybe. The problem with Internet-based radio stations is that it is more difficult than traditional radio to take the music with you, since you need an Internet connection wherever you want to listen.
But Hit Parade has this covered as well: It is working on signing up affiliates to carry the programming on local stations. In fact, the great Wink Martindale, one of the on-air talents of the station, told me the Internet stream is a "test stream," and that the station is looking to do a nationwide launch this summer.
Along with Martindale (on air from 8 a.m. to noon, local time), the station's on-air talent includes legendary Chicago superjock Larry Lujack (noon to 4 p.m.). The variety of music is impressive - check it out and let me know what you think.


From Rob Feder's column:
On May 2, 1960, a skinny kid from Endicott, N.Y., arrived in Chicago and signed on at WLS-AM (890) as the new Top 40 station’s nighttime screamer. Five decades later, Radio Hall of Famer Dick Biondi, 77, is still playing the music that rocked Chicago — from 7 to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday on oldies WLS-FM (94.7). To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Biondi’s debut on WLS, the Citadel Broadcasting station will air a not-to-be-missed live special from 7 p.m. to midnight on May 2. Biondi will host the five-hour Sunday night extravaganza, featuring appearances by celebrities and highlights of memorable moments in his career. “We’re proud and privileged to have Dick broadcast on our station every night,” said Michael La Crosse, operations director of WLS-FM. “He still sounds as great now as he did then.”
We've already heard from a number of our "Local Heroes" planning on attending and participating in this very special tribute. You can Listen Live here:
Click here: 94.7 WLS-FM