That WLS Reunion Special made for a great two hours of radio ... well-prepared, well-conceived and great airchecks and stories.
As much as I enjoy Landecker / Sirott on WGN, THIS two hours had more content in five minutes than their WGN hour did two weeks ago. So great to hear those familiar voices. Hearing Bob Hale, Ron Riley and Jeffrey Hendricks "calling in," too, was awesome. Good to hear SOMEONE still has Lujack's trashcan. I have his tooth fairy tooth and his WCFL business card made for the large advert in the ‘70’s on ‘CFL. Catherine, Les, Jeff, Larry and Tommy were so great in the ‘80’s. I wish Jeff Davis (who produced this?) woulda been on, too. I was friends with ‘80’s WLS programmer Tim Kelly when he and his father owned and operated a station here in Lincoln just a few blocks from my house. He got me an autographed Animal Stories LP once. My one 15 minutes of fame on WLS was around 1986 when I was on Bob Bateman's "Music People" Sunday night show.
Where's Bob at these days? Tim?
Clark Besch
You can thank Bill Shannon, Ted Gorden Smucker and Scott Childers for assembling this very special special … kudos all the way around.
Maybe somebody on the team can answer as to where Bob Bateman and Tim Kelly may be, circa 2025. (kk)
And, since you mentioned it, this just came in from Bob Sirott …
Friday night for radio geeks only ... August 15th … 7 – 10 pm WGN Radio
Sirott and Landecker host
For the record, I did offer this up for their consideration …
Glad you guys are going to continue doing this.
I'll tell you, the number of mandatory breaks dictated by the station really messes with the pacing and momentum of the show ...
Be nice if you could somehow "segmatize" this a bit in order to get the full impact of any given topic out there and take full advantage of it coming to full fruition! WGN doesn't seem to give you much leeway when it comes to this consideration.
(I’m just not sure it’s within the realm of flexibility!) kk
Well, it’s all over but the shouting.
I just want to say how excited I was to help produce a very special radio program as we presented WLS Unwound: Personalities of the Musicradio Years on the station that brought it to you in the first place … The Big 89. What a thrill and honor to work with people that helped bring Top 40 music into homes throughout the USA. There was a unique gathering of folks as they came to the WLS studios all these years later to share their stories of working at “The Rock of Chicago.” They included voices from the ‘60’s, ‘70’s, and ‘80’s that many have come to know. This reunion allowed Tommy Edwards, Chuck Buell, Chuck Knapp, Jim Kerr, and Catherine Johns to all be behind the microphones together these many decades later.
A huge salute to the staff and management of WLS as they gave us the keys and let us drive the “WLS Magic Bus” for two full hours of entertainment. Even though we all didn’t know each other personally, the program came together nicely with a wonderful balance of real history and funny stories, both live and recorded, from many different personalities from over the years. It was peppered with airchecks and hilarious DJ bits, thankfully caught on tape, and all tied together by WLS Historian Scott Childers.
I have told a number of people that I wanted to experience the playback of the program in its most endearing way. So, on Saturday night at 10:00 pm I put on my AM radio headphones and began walking the city while I listened to Scott host this once in a lifetime event. Some of the audio we included were original ‘60’s and ‘70’s recordings that we had edited down of the DJs that were on hand live in the studio. It was a blast for me to hear these old airchecks played back on AM89 as I am standing outside 360 North Michigan Avenue, home of WLS for many years, or on the bridge to Marina City, in which their arch rival WCFL originated their programming.
If you did not have a chance to catch this amazing show, you can catch it through the Storytellers Podcast Site. Just grab the link below.
Storytellers Season 1 Episode 96
https://www.timlarsonmedia.com/s1-e96-wls-unwound-radio-reunion-show/
Once you have recovered from doubling over with laughter, you will be able to return to your original upright position.
Ted Gorden Smucker, along with Bill Shannon
Producers of WLS Unwound: Personalities of the Musicradio Years
Chuck Buell also sent me a YouTube link that offers the audio for the entire broadcast (sans commercials thankfully) Well worth a listen if you missed it … or just wanna hear it again! (kk)
For those of you who've asked, (and to a couple of you who didn't!), here's the link to last Saturday Night's "WLS Unwound Special" : https://youtu.be/oVNATtts9Ec
It runs around 1:40 - Commercial Free.
BTW, the default random promo photo shown is not of those of us who were on the show.
Now you're welcome to listen to as much or as little as you wish, of course, but because I was asked to target this availability, you get the location of some of my audio mileposts in the program!
OK, I was slotted in the first hour of the show and got the first laff of the night early on! So, I'll start with that!
In at 7:15 my story of a "stolen line!"
Then, at 21:55 I relate about some naval personnel who listened nightly from off the coast of Vietnam 8,000 to 9,500 miles away from Chicago!
And at around 36:48, a very early and brief WLS Show Aircheck when I first started there as a high-energy, early 20-something, promising, young, hotshot Chicago Radio Guy!
You're on your own to listen up to, through and beyond those and/or and to whatever else you wish, of course.
It was an Historic Gathering.
Thanx for your interest!
Chuck
Chuck was in town doing the WLS thingy while I was at the Chubby Checker concert, so we weren’t able to get together during this trip … which only mandates a “we’ll get together next time” visit …
Still, he had this to say …
>>>We made it out to see new Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee Chubby Checker in concert at The Des Plaines Theatre. (kk)
WAIT! He was in town the same day I was and I missed him??!!
Just kidding!
Sidebar: Interesting how new phrases suddenly appear in our vocabulary and almost everyone immediately knows exactly what they means! (i.e., in Forgotten Hits: the "Coldplay Doctrine!" … ”If there's anybody out there that does NOT want to be caught on camera, please discreetly leave the theater before we start filming.) I wonder how the group is feeling about their new degree of cultural reference!
Overall, great review, Kent! Thanx!
Buell
Fabulous write up, Kent! My brother got Chubby to autograph the Twist LP in 1988 and said he was great, too. Would love to see your interaction with Chubby. I’m sure Ron Onesti has it but will refuse to send it to press for a certain amount. Amazing he is 84 and can do that long set.
I love Brian's "I’m Afraid to Go Home" Civil War anthem as given from a Confederate's point of view. It's interesting that it was big in Chicago. Did he do "Why Cant You Stay And Love Me All Summer"?
Clark Besch
No, sadly he did very few of his own hits when you consider the number that he had. The biggest ones were there however: “Itsy Bitsy,” “Sealed With A Kiss” and “Gypsy Woman” … only “The Joker Was Wild” was missing
Brian spoke very fondly of “I’m Afraid To Go Home” … said it was one of his favorite songs of all that he had recorded and was absolutely convinced that it was going to be a big hit. It was written by the songwriting team of Gary Geld and Peter Udell, who penned nine straight chart hits for him, the biggest being “Sealed With A Kiss.” (kk)
Got this from Brian Hyland:
Hi Kent,
“I’m Afraid To Go Home” is a song I always do to honor the Vets. “Save You Heart For Me” was a hit for Gary Lewis, not me, so I usually leave it out. I sometimes do “The Joker Went Wild” … however, with a band, the song seems to run flat. It’s repetitive and is not as good as the record. But, if I do a track show, it’s always included. Most artists today do lots of covers, as did Chubby.
Sorry I missed you backstage .
Rock n Roll is alive and still going strong.
Best,
Brian
Hi Kent,
Enjoyed your review and photos of Chubby and Brian's Concert. He deserved SO MUCH to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Glad to hear he also did Slow Twistin, a favorite of mine that he sang with Dee Dee Sharp!!!
Brian has always been a favorite of mine. He has such a tender voice. His version of Save Your Heart For Me I liked better than the Gary Lewis version. Too bad he didn't sing it. I also liked Gypsy Woman, Let Me Belong To You and The Joker Went Wild.
Carolyn
Gary Lewis also did a Top Ten version of Brian’s hit “Sealed With A Kiss” … but honestly, it’s painful to listen to. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Gary … he has been a good friend of Forgotten Hits for many, many years … but even HE admits that his vocal on this one is awful!!! (kk)
Excellent review of the Chubby Checker show, Kent! And what a great video clip.
I was noticing that Brian's big hit - your first record - was climbing fast this week in 1960. Depending on which chart one prefers, it was Number 2 this week, heading for Number 1 next week, just 65 years ago.
It doesn't seem possible that 1960 was 65 years ago. Sixty-five years before that would have been 1895!
David Lewis
Brian says that nobody much noticed him BEFORE his first record came out … but once it did, there were kids hanging out on his porch non-stop, trying to catch a glimpse. (Now there’s a rare example of a true “overnight success!”)
Fortunately, Hyland was young enough at the time (he was only 16 years old when “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” topped the charts) that he wasn’t typecast as a novelty artist. He was able to continue to grow as an artist, regarding a wide variety of styles over the years. And he’s STILL making new music.
Hi Kent,
Sounds like you were a little kid in the ice cream store at the Chubby Checker / Brian Hyland show. I love how Chubby got you up dancing. That would be a sight to see! He is one amazing performer and seems like a heck of a nice man. So happy he finally got inducted into the Rock Hall.
When I had my Dick Biondi Fan Club in 1961, Dick introduced me to a young Brian Hyland at the Oak Park Arms in Oak Park, IL. Brian was, and still is, a handsome talented guy, and sweet as can be.
Love the photo of you and Chubby!
Pam
Great piece, Kent. I'm forwarding it to our Jukebox Diner Zoom group. We occasionally have heated debates about the Rock Hall.
Bill
For whatever it's worth, I think Chubby is legitimately hurt deep down inside about being snubbed for forty years. Finally getting in means nothing to him at this point ... the wounds are too deep. Kind of an "OK, so they're finally inducting me" sort of thing. He ASKED his manager to book him somewhere else that night because performing for the people and all of his fans is what he does ... and what he HAS been doing for the past 65 years. He would rather be with the people who have stuck by him all those years than spend the night sitting at a ceremony to finally recognize what all the REAL fans already know. Shame on The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. (kk)
