1987 Best of Times

July 17, 2024 11:12 AM CDT

Nineteen hundred and eighty-seven was a great year. The Milwaukee Brewers were known as ‘team streak’, the top movies included 3 Men and a Baby, Fatal Attraction, Beverly Hills Cop 2, and La Bamba. Television shows that I watched on the Sylvania Superset were Cheers, Golden Girls, and the Simpsons on the Tracy Ullman show. Nintendo released Mike Tyson’s Punch Out video game and compact discs began out selling vinyl records. I was working afternoons at WRCO and helping my dad on the farm. He would make sure to leave the fun jobs for me such as calf pen cleaning, corn shoveling, and fence mending. Once there was a nest of wasps under the tractor hood. They kept flying out and trying to sting my dad. After donning a winter coat, gloves, and ski mask, I jumped on the tractor and drove fast up and down the road with bees flying all around my head. Fortunately, I did not get stung, and my dad could use the tractor again. In September of that year, I walked down the aisle with a beautiful young bride who was out of this world (June lived in Neptune). It was a great time to be in radio. I loved playing vinyl records, radio station carts (they looked like 8 track tapes), and reel to reel tapes. If modern technology suddenly failed, I would go back to those old radio days in a heartbeat.

On this Saturday night’s Those Were the Days radio show, I will be digging some of the hot tunes from July of 1987. Some of my favorites from that chart include, Shakedown-Bob Seger, Girls Girls Girls-Motely Crue, Heart and Soul-T’Pau, Wanted Dead or Alive-Bon Jovi, La Bamba-Los Lobos, Something So Strong-Crowded House, You Keep Me Hanging On-Kim Wilde. and Alone-Heart. You can help us program the show and we will have lots of fun stuff to give a way during our trivia sessions. Between six and midnight Saturday night I hope you will be able to listen to Those Were the Days on WRCO FM 100.9, WRCO.com and on the Civic Media app. Enjoy this summer weather and thank you for supporting local radio.

Phil