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| courtesy Joe Haupt Wikipedia |
I am sure you grew up listening to the radio. The day you received that first transistor radio was a big deal. There was probably one station that you called your favorite. You knew the DJ's names and what made them fun to listen to. Maybe one of them even showed up at your school to host a sock hop; that was a big deal.
There were some hit songs you just couldn't hear often enough. When you got your driver's license, one of the buttons on the radio became yours: no one touched your station. When a favorite song started, the instinct was to crank up the volume and sing along at the top of your lungs.
It is no surprise that this relationship with a radio station doesn't exist anymore. Oh sure, there may be a person hosting a talk show that you make an effort to hear. But, the days of DJs and music are gone. Just like streaming video channels are rapidly replacing cable TV and even movie theaters, streaming music services are the go-to choice. No commercials, no chatter from a fast-talking announcer, nothing that interrupts the constant flow of music. Spotify, Prime Music, Pandora...take your pick. They all provide instant access to millions of songs when you want to listen.
I miss the days when radio announcers were an exciting addition to the music-listening experience. Today, a DJ talking over the beginning of a song, stopped just a split second before the vocal part begins, is irritating (and almost never heard).
For me, being able to do that was a point of professional pride. I would practice for hours to make sure I could deliver a rapid-fire patter of promotion or simply energy and song identification, stopping within a half-second of what was known as "stepping on the vocal." Still talking while the artist or group started the lyrics upset listeners, but also marked the announcer as not up to professional standards.
I will admit that I still practice that "skill" in a car. The local oldies station is mostly announcer-free. So, as I am rolling down the highway, rocking out to The Stones or BTO, I will "talk up" the song, and give myself a fist pump if I "hit the post," or stop when the singing starts. Silly? Yes. Irritating to Betty? No, she is used to it. I will say that if the grandkids are in the car, they think old Grandad is a little odd.
I also believe radio lost a big chunk of its influence when it was no longer local. I am not spilling a big secret if I tell you that for stations that still have announcers at all, virtually all of them are located in some major city, far removed from where their voice originates on a local radio station.
Their "show" is actually just them recording their talk segments. Then, those are inserted into the music programming for that hour by computer and eventually delivered to the local station by satellite or Internet. "Local" radio is local the way the Burger King down the street is "local." All the possibilities for a true personality, talking about a local issue or problem are gone. The DJ is polished and professional, but she or he will never be at your school mixer. They are now faceless voices.
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| Jethro Tull |
Spending time with the likes of Rod Stewart, Jethro Tull, or Bob Seger before and after the show was exhilarating. Being asked for an autograph, being featured on the weekly music survey available at local record stores (remember those?), and being a minor, local celebrity was a real kick. Of course, eventually, I grew up and decided to earn my living in another area of broadcasting. But, while it lasted, it was a hoot. No great surprise, it fed my ego and made me feel like a success.
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| Bob Seger & his band |
That experience is gone. If some teen or young adult says he or she wants to be a DJ, they mean the type who mixes music on a stage in front of a 1,000 writhing dancers, not the voice on a radio. I am not sure anyone under 35 even connects the term DJ with what comes out of a speaker.
Music remains an important part of my life, even if I am not being paid to play it. Today, Spotify fills my need to hear music from my past and what is popular today. I listen to oldies, all sorts of curated playlists, a carefully selected (by Spotify) of the best of new pop, rock, instrumental, and even classical recordings.
During Covid, I bought a turntable, found some old vinyl LPs, bought more at a local vintage store, and have discovered the joys of music on large, black, platters again. Having to flip over the album every 15 minutes or so keeps me from dozing off!
I got rid of hundreds of CDs a year or so ago. Everything on them is on Spotify with instant access and better sound. Cassettes? Not for 20 years.
So, much like the post about the streaming video services you choose, what about music? Spotify is my favorite, but I also have the free versions of Pandora and Prime music that I spend some time with. What service do you depend upon?
Do you have CDs that remain important to you? Any vinyl album users among us? Cassettes, 8-tracks?
And, in a question that interests me on a very personal level, what part do radio stations still play in your life? Do you miss the chatter and local touch, or was that always something you could have lived without.
You won't hurt my feelings with whatever your response might be. Frankly, I rarely listen to a real radio station much anymore, except in the car. But, I am interested whether you remember and miss those days of Wolfman Jack or your local DJ star. At one point in your life was that important?
Thanks for sharing. Now, I must go and practice my ability to still hit the post and not step on the vocal.
Some things never change.
Love this post, Bob, and truly appreciate your insider's perspective on the radio scene. I had a few favorite local DJs, but I have to admit that I was a huge fan of a couple of the "national" DJs who were on the air in the 80's/90's - John Lawrence and Steve Whose Name I Don't Remember. Most of the music I listen to these days comes from a playlist, but I can't seem to let go of the LPs, cassettes and CDs. One of the best loved songs on my playlist is Lionel Cartwright's "I Watched it All (On My Radio)". The song sums up the best parts of radio; it and your post were made for each other. To this day, I prefer listening to major league ballgames on the radio and rarely watch one on TV - it's just not the same.
ReplyDeleteThe imagination is a powerful force. That is why a ball game on the radio can be so appealing or why audio books are so popular at our library.
DeleteInterestingly, I just read that vinyl records are becoming big sellers again. The record companies are hard-pressed (pun?) to keep up with the demand. At $25 or so for a new LP they are not cheap, but have a sound so much richer than the digital version.
First I would only listen in my car and I’m retired. So I never listen to the radio except for NPR. And even that, not often. The music choices on radio in my area are limited to country, old rock and roll (but not the really good stuff) and Sunday church. And the am stations are full of right wing nuttery. No thanks to any of that.
ReplyDeleteYour radio choices are pretty common across the country. In the Phoenix area close to half the AM and FM stations program Mexican music, with the rest being conservative talk, various shades of rock, a few country, and sports talk.
DeleteOh, and all of them are loaded with commercials.
Bob,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the memories. I loved radio as a teenager in the 60's. I could name every DJ in every time slot on two local radio stations. I envied Jack Scorbi when he came to spin music for our sock hop. Those were the days. I have a sizable CD collection, but my new truck came without a CD player--only USB ports and Bluetooth. Today I get music from SiriusXM either in my car or streaming from my Amazon Echo. The only DJ that resembles DJs of old is on the 60's on 6 channel. Loved this post. Joe
Thanks, Joe. I am glad it triggered fond memories.
DeleteAfter my air shift at the radio station was done, several nights a week I played the music and ran the light shows at a local night club..
an early disco-type place. It was tiring and none of people at the club paid much attention to the person playing the music!
I listened to AM pop radio as a youngster but I only had a tiny transistor radio so it was hard to hear much and we weren't allowed to go near my father's "HiFi". As I was starting high school, and I was able to buy my own stereo equipment, FM "underground" radio was just starting and that was my radio of choice. In the early days they would play everything from acid rock to classical, whole sides of albums in one go, and I soaked up the variety. It was kind of a golden age when a new format was on the scene though by the early 70s, when I was in my 20s, FM radio had become just as formulaic as AM radio but that was what there was. I also thought that all the best music of whatever type never made to the radio play list, they had become pretty much "all hits all the time".
ReplyDeleteThen I spent a weekend at a cabin way outside the city I lived in and I tuned into the national CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) radio network which had the only station I could pick up clearly. Until then I had always considered the CBC to be old people radio but it had a bit of everything. New music, classical, jazz, comedy, a book segment (what we'd call an audiobook now), political interviews, the whole gamut and I've pretty much been a CBC listener ever since.
Of course now that I am retired, one of the "old people" that I assumed was CBCs core audience, I find that I am drifting away a bit and for pretty much all my music I now listen either to Spotify or a curated streaming service I subscribe to. I do still listen to jazz and classical music on the radio when I am out and about in the car but I don't tune in to any particular radio host or "DJ". I still return to the CBC radio network for specific radio shows but they aren't music oriented. Today's pop music doesn't have any appeal to me but I remember my parents and grandparents saying the same about my pop music when I was young. I think that's just how it goes.
It's been a sonic journey--from AM pop, underground FM, CBC, to streaming. Life goes on and nothing stands still.
In the mid 70's I helped launch and program an FM station in a college town in West Virginia. To serve the tastes of the audience we did play deeper cuts (those not on the top 40 list) and well as album sides (like all of Thick as a Brick, for example). It was fun for me because I was doing a show on the AM top 40 station, then switching over to more laid-back FM side.
DeleteEconomics, though, dictated that we combine the AM and FM programming, so some of the more progressive music on the FM station was no longer played during the day. As you noted, today FM music is as highly formatted and limited as AM used to be. The only place you can still hear "free-form" music is on community-owned or student stations, usually at the very low end of the FM band.
For quite awhile I made it a regular habit to listen to the CBC broadcasts on shortwave radio. Now, virtually all of their programming is available on the Internet.
The radio still attracts me. There's a "local" country station that plays new & old country music. The DJs are dynamic, mostly apolitical, comedic. I can tell you what time each announcer is on and tune in accordingly. Like ddavidson, I'm a CBC fan for all the reasons he stated. Household chores are scheduled for a Saturday morning with radio in the background - Wide Cut Country hosted by Allison Brock on CKUA with a playlist that often includes folk musicians that have played in my home thanks to Home Routes. This is followed by Leroy Stagger's Dirty Windshield with a well-curated playlist.
ReplyDeleteWell, a holdout for local radio! If such a station existed in my area, I would do exactly what you do. Unfortunately, in the States, virtually all local stations must carry canned programming due to the economics of the business. You are lucky.
DeleteOne of my favorite pastimes on a long road trip is to scan the AM radio dial for those rare local radio stations still serving their communities with the same programming they’ve used for decades. It may be a call-in show where listeners give their phone numbers along with items they’re trying to sell. Or the agriculture report with the latest prices for corn and soybeans. And nothing is more local than hearing the announcer read the daily obituaries and funeral notices.
ReplyDeleteYou’ll also hear some local news, weather, and maybe a song or two. Locally produced commercials promote the local grocer, auto mechanic, and hardware store.
These stations are still out there as you drive through small towns across the heartland. Finding one is a real joy, but inevitably the signal fades away and the static of the AM band takes over.
One of the most popular shows on an AM station I worked for was "The Trading Post." People would call with with something they had to sell. The stuff was always so specific, like the tie-rods for a 1967 Dodge pickup, or an old sink and faucet set, maybe a set of brown patterned drapes...it didn't matter. The contact info was aired, including the person's name and home phone number. It must have worked because the show ran for decades.
DeleteOMG, I did a show like that when I worked at a local radio station in the early '70s. We were in a university town, though, so we had to run it on delay, because the guys in the dorms loved to call in, sound normal for a bit, then through in something really crude to see if they could get it on the air. Great memory now, but really stressful then for a 19 year old. LOL.
DeleteGrew up in the hey day of great music.. MoodyBlues, Santana, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, so much good music. And we all listened to the RADIO to hear the latest!! Back East in Philly we had great radio personalities and we all had our favorite shows/DJ’s. I attended the Jerry Blavat dances at Paul VI High School on Saturdays. Those dances were announced on the radio and teens came from all over Jersey and Philly to attend. Hy Lytt was another I remember hosting dances. Here in Phoenix I used to love Beth and Bill but the station is silly now and Beth has taken a bit of a hard edge,in my opinion.I don’t really listen to radio at all anymore.I use my streaming services: Apple Music and Spotify. I make play lists and listen to their channels, like French Cafe music, when I cook. Got rid of CD’s years ago. I kinda like hi tech and went to online streaming, with a nice BOSE speaker, years ago.
ReplyDeleteYou probably remember both WIBG and Famous 56, WFIL. Jerry Blavat was the Geater with the Heater! Both stations were top 40 powerhouses in Philly at the time.
DeleteIn my opinion, I think Beth has overstayed her welcome. She has ben on the morning show for 40 years, but things have passed her by. I agree she was much better when teamed up with Bill Austin.
You can find Jerry Blavat every Saturday on WXPN FM in Philly 6-7 PM.
DeleteYou can stream it live on https://xpn.org/xpn-programs/geator
I have to mention, when my Mom was having hospice care at the end of her days, she was most peaceful when we played her favorite old time radio shows for her.. my Dad had “cassettes” and an old cassette player. They were good memories for her and made her transition a bit more peaceful.
ReplyDeleteThere are several websites with old time radio shows available for listening. On occasion, I will listen to old detective or mystery radio programs from the 40s' and 50's. The sexist language wouldn't fly today, but it still evokes memories.
DeleteI have some CD's that I occasionally listen to, but mostly it's Amazon Music via Alexa while I'm cooking. I loaded a ton of my music into iTunes before they started limiting my ability to transfer it to new devices. So now all of "my" music would either have to be uploaded again (and the new iMacs have no disk drive, so that would be a real task) or I would have to buy it again. Nope. We do have Sirius in the car, so I mostly listen to that. I have multiple stations programmed and jump around until I find songs I like, which drives my DH nuts. LOL. And I listen to NPR.
ReplyDeleteDH is another story. He has 1500+ CDs and listens to them all the time in addition to our local jazz & classical station. They are filed by genre and artist, and I have given up trying to convert him to digital. When I am out, I sometimes return to the Saint-Saens organ symphony rocking the foundation.
Growing up, we listened to WLS out of Chicago at night when we could pick up the signal from our town in the boondocks. We didn't have much in the way of music stations where I grew up. WLS was pretty exciting stuff in H.S.
I bought one of the first iPod and loaded it with music. In those days, memory on these devices wasn't much, but it served its purpose for walking or while time at the gym.
Delete1,500 CDs is quite a collection. Think of it this way: he could have decided to collect 8-track tapes, which would take up most of the house!
For a year I lived in Cambridge, Ohio. The local station signed off at sunset, so WLS and KDKA from Pittsburgh were my stations of choice.
I had a transistor radio in second grade. That started me seriously listening to radio. In Syracuse there were two Top 40 stations, WNDR and WOLF. WNDR was my favorite. I used to work skip at night and see what I could get on the AM band. My favorite was WWVA because they played old country tunes and came in well. But now I listen in the car to an FM station that doesn't even have DJs. They play hair band music with a few real oldies, and do commercials for regional businesses up here in the North Country of VT and NH. At home we tried internet radio but it gives my husband tinnitus. The car has Sirius capability but the company never tells you what the service costs, just offers deal upon deal. I envision having to call them annually to renegotiate, as I used to help my clients do with Dish and DirecTV. I will never do that. (As a result we have no TV service.) We have a vinyl library and plenty of CDs, and have tunes on the computer and phones to keep us going. I'm afraid radio as we knew it is gone and it is a loss.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly. I worked at both WNDR and WOLF, but really learned the business on WOLF as Bob Sherman, doing nights and then afternoons on The Big 15. The two photos above were taken while I was a DJ at WOLF.
DeleteThose days of fun radio are gone, never to return. It is a loss, but reflects people's changing tastes. Even so, I miss the nightly "Battle of the Bands."
Growing up in the the 50's and 60's and beyond, radio was always like a good friend. The DJ's showcased the music, gave us the time and temperature and our local weather forecasts. Of course there was the promotional advertising to keep the revenue stream going. There was just something magical about the AM radio band. When FM came out suddenly we had more choices and a nicer sound. I've made many trips to the record shops to pick up my personal favorites. Lately I listen to NPR which offers a variety of subjects and some local stations in my area. As far as subjects of personal interest, you can find just about anything via a podcast. I still enjoy my record collection and there's something about the warmth of a vinyl record. 45's, 33's, and yes some cassettes too! Some of my music is on my phone and when I'm in my car I'll tune in some local stations. Thanks Bob for bringing back all those great memories!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Russ, for sharing your memories. Music we listen to growing up has a lasting power to trigger memories and remind us of simpler times. A few tapes of some of my radio shows are still floating around on the Internet. When I want a real time travel trip, I will listen to myself from 50 years ago!
DeleteOh dear, I wasn't aware that local radio has a limited shelf life although thinking about it the independents have been getting larger (and less local) with a lot of pre-recorded sessions. Here in the UK though we still have all the local BBC radio stations with a mix of music, presenter chatter and local news and interviews. Sounds like I'd better enjoy it whilst I can.
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky. I listen to Radio Wales on occasion and am aware of the local nature of many of the BBC stations. I wish we had similar options.
DeleteI grew up listening to KRLA, which was located in a small room up at the Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, and the DJs were Dave Hull, Dick Biondi, and Casy Kasem (before he went national). The station was close enough that we would often drive up to see them - we stood outside their window and they would wave to us teenage girls.
ReplyDeleteI remember the station running a contest between ours and our top rival to see who would supply the most toys in a Toys for Tots drive. Our school won hands down and got a Three Dog Night concert from the station as our prize!
The school had also worked with them earlier to have The Association appear as well as the one-hit wonders The Seeds ("Pushin' Too Hard"). We loved their loud music, long hair and platform boots, but school parents were horrified and the school and station had to apologize for that one (and our next musical assembly was opera).
One of our favorite things KRLA did was "overplay" a new record the DJs liked. I remember hearing The Animals "House of the Rising Sun" about every fifth record one day. - loved it! Can't really remember any other stations from back in the day because nothing matched or came close to the magic of KRLA.
These days I keep the radio off in the car - I prefer the peace and quiet. I am thankful for the radio our kids listened to growing up though, and their introducing me to music I probably wouldn't have listened to otherwise (like rap, which I hated at first but now like). But their stations were canned, or getting that way, and they were never as into their stations as I was into the whole KRLA scene.
Your memories are tremendous examples of what radio meant to us back then. The DJs became almost like family. The contests, dances, and a constant stream of great music made it all such an important part of our lives.
DeleteThree Dog Night for a school concert? That would be an advantage of going to school in L.A.
I still have my Thick as a Brick LP along with all the others I had. Now my sons argue over them. I listened primarily to an AM station WSGN 6.10 with Dave Roddy. This post brought back a ton of memories.
ReplyDeleteI do still listen to the radio, mostly Sirius because I love show tunes and they have an all Broadway station, but I hate all the canned voice overs with Seth Rudetsky.
That tells me you lived in Birmingham. WSGN was a very well known Top 40 station.
DeleteI assume you recognized the picture of Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull above. I pretty much memorized Thick as a Brick, enough so I could pretend to "direct" the music track.
I am pleased this post brought back good memories for you.
I only listen to the radio now when there is someone else in the car with me. The rest of the time I listen to streamed podcasts. I like oldies and also listen to 103.1 which is a commercial free radio station from Florence AZ. I never liked the morning show chat and hate commercials so will switch to another station to avoid them. Used to listed to NPR a lot but nowadays can't stand listening or watching the news and get all my news by reeading online.
ReplyDeleteNews online is the majority's way to keeping up to date, much to the chagrin of newspapers and TV stations.
DeleteI think you are the first person to mention podcasts. They have exploded in choices and popularity in the last few years.
My main music source is now Sirius (the paid version). I can run it in my car, on my laptop and via phone. What I miss out on is brand new releases unless the channel I choose happens to feature one when I'm listening.
ReplyDeleteToday's radio? So much chatter. "host pairs" with their banter passing time, so many advertisements, no song intros.....they lost me. I don't drive very much and on an average drive time of 12 minutes I'm lucky to hear 1 song. I'm a musician and I want music not what happened on your way to work or what your kid said this morning as you left or what you did for your birthday.
I miss radio from the 70s, 80s. Loved the DJs. I miss the song introduction of artist/song name. Sirius does that with writing on the screen and I can glance at that.
I'm sure something new will come along in the next 15 years right?
How very COOL that you DJ'd for a period of your life. Love this story :-)
In my day there were strict limits on the number of commercial minutes per hour. Also we had to keep similar products separated by 15 minutes. Now, it is normal to hear two car dealers back-to-back.
DeleteI really don't understand how advertisers think being part of an 8 to 10 minute block of solid advertisements does them any good.
Our research made it clear listeners wanted songs identified. Today, it is very rare to be told what just played.
In any case, it was one of the highlights of my life and an experience not to be missed.
I’m young at 59, but in 1981 I was a camp counselor in Down East Maine and Noel Paul Stookey played for us. He lived, still does nearby. All might know him from a small trio known as Peter Paul and Mary. Great guy who started WERU community radio which I listen via podcast from west coast
ReplyDeleteCool. That is a great memory.
DeleteCommunity radio is the last stand of local radio, with volunteer announcers, usually a wide-open music policy and no commercials. I will take a listen to WERU.
Rock and Roll is the sound track of my life...great article Bob...good to have you back.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bob. It was a very memorable time in my life and fun to mentally travel back to those times every now and then.
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