1966 Top 40 Glory

One of the few things that I excelled at in school was when we discussed current events. Mr. Stoddard would play Newscope Quiz once in a while during Social Studies class. When we chose teams, that was the rare instance when I was not the last kid picked. The reason that I could hold my own was the fact that our radios were always on. Hearing the news was a necessary part of listening for my favorite songs and so I absorbed a lot of information. I also memorized songs and the artists that recorded them. Little did I know that someday I would be using some of that knowledge for my radio job! While in the barn listening to glorious AM radio, I was giving every animal a name. Some of my buddies included Speckled Pete the rooster (a love hate relationship), Stubby the duck (poor guy frostbit his feet), Tiger Puss the tomcat, Sandy the cow dog, and all of the cows had names. My bovine buddies included Lady Belle, Cripply Dipply, Milky Moo, Badger, Bunteroo, and Neat-oh Nice Cow. The animals seemed to like the radio playing and they put up with my singing. There was a doorway in front of the stanchions where I imagined I was on the stage. The cows would stare at me. They were my audience. By some miracle they still let down their milk. I was like Dr. Doolittle with his animals. My mom and dad would have agreed that I did little. This weekend in 1966, the barn radio was playing tunes such as Summer in the City-Lovin Spoonful, Dirty Water-Standells, Aint Too Proud to Beg-Temptations, Wild Thing-Troggs, Over Under Sideways Down-Yardbirds, Paperback Writer-Beatles, Red Rubber Ball-Cyrcle, Wouldn't It Be Nice-Beach Boys, and Sugar and Spice-Cryan Shames.

This week on Those Were the Days, I will be playing some of the hits from Top 40 radio's heyday. It will be great to revisit some of the songs that do not get requested as much as they used to. Feel free to help us program any song that tickles your fancy from the first 40 years of rock and roll. Call or text me and we can share some memories. Trivia games each hour and great hits make Saturday night a great party. Join us at the cool kid's table on WRCO FM 100.9. WRCO.com, or download the Civic media app. Check ya later!

Phil