Phil Nee

The Billboard Hot 100 chart this weekend in 1966 featured many songs that are still highly regarded today.  This week during Those Were The Days,  I will be featuring a few of the most requested gems from the second weekend of May including:  Good Lovin-Young Rascals,  Kicks-Paul Revere and the Raiders,  Gloria-Shadows Of Knight,  A Groovy Kind Of Love-Mindbenders,  Eight Miles High-Byrds,  Time Won't Let Me-Outsiders,  Try Too Hard-Dave Clark Five,  and Monday, Monday -Mama's and the Papa's.  Those songs still play on oldies channels everyday.  During our Those Were The Days radio program on WRCO FM 100.9, we will play a few of the hot ones from this weekend in 1966 along with your rock and roll requests from the fifties through the eighties.  We had a busy night last weekend.  It is rewarding to hear from listeners that have Summer homes in this area. Many were back and they checked in last Saturday night for the first time since last Fall.  I feel that many listeners are like family members, however, I would know them if we met on the street.  It is one of the most rewarding parts of this job.  Perhaps I will hear from you this weekend?   The party starts Saturday night at 6:00 on WRCO FM 100.9!

Phil

Saturday will be the day that fans of the Star Wars franchise most look forward to.  'May The 4th (force) Be With You Day' is a day to talk like Yoda, play with your light sabers, and nerd out with Star Wars stuff.  We will be playing a few songs in honor of the Sci-Fi classic films during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9 this Saturday night.  You can donate requests and play trivia during the six hour salute to the fifties through the eighties.  May the 4th has been a good day for Spring songs to hit number one.   I will be playing a few of those this week.  Number one songs in the 70s during early May included:  1970  American Woman-Guess Who,  1971  Joy To The World-Three Dog Night, 1972 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face-Roberta Flack,  1973 Tie A Yellow Ribbon-Tony Orlando and Dawn,  1974  The Locomotion-Grand Funk,  1975 He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)-Tony Orlando & Dawn,  1976 Welcome Back-John Sebastion  1977 Hotel California-Eagles  1978  Night Fever-Bee Gees   1979  Reunited-Peaches & Herb.  Those songs bring back lots of memories of riding bikes on gravel roads,  playing Euchre on the bus, trying not to be obvious about my crush on Brenda,  and those last days of the school year.  At that time, public school students were out for the season by the middle of May.  Summer was about to begin and I could not wait to listen to the radio every day and night!  I was ready to make some mean mix tapes using the songs I recorded off the radio.  This Saturday night I will be playing dj.  I will try not to talk over the intros of the songs so that you can get good clean recordings of the tunes for your mix tape!  The party Saturday night is on WRCO FM 100.9!

Phil

The power of music is amazing.  When I hear songs such as Come And Get Your Love by Redbone,  The Locomotion by Grand Funk, Blue Suede's  Hooked On A Feeling, or Oh My My by Ringo Starr, I am transported back to the Spring of 1974.  I can smell the dirt from the freshly plowed fields and feel the warm Spring breeze while riding my Hiawatha three speed bike (that included an AM radio on the handle bar).  With my 'high water flare leg jeans',  and my red with blue striped rugby shirt, I thought I was rocking the halls of Ithaca elementary.  The songs that Spring were so good, that it was tough to wait for the Watergate news to end so that another hit could spin!  This Saturday night I will again be going back to my childhood when I spin some of those hits on WRCO FM 100.9.  We have a radio party each week during our six hour Those Were The Days show.  We play a variety of hits and have fun with trivia games.   Perhaps we can hang out this weekend?  The party is on WRCO (where all the cool kids get together) between 6 pm and Midnight.

Phil

The music of the late fifties seems to be fading away more each year.  It is hard to find it on the radio dial.  We try to spin a few fifties tunes, however, our playlist during Those Were The Days is based on listener requests.  This weekend on the show we will remind you of how good some of those songs are.  I will spin a few records from the Billboard chart this weekend all of those years ago in 1959.  The music world was still reeling from the loss of J.P. Richardson, Richie Valens, and Buddy Holly in a plane crash earlier that year.  Buddy was on the chart with his last major hit, It Doesn't Matter Anymore.  A few other song favorites from this weekend in '59 include: I Need Your Love Tonight-Elvis,  It's Late-Ricky Nelson,  Sea Cruise-Frankie Ford,  Fabian-Turn Me Loose,  Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home) - The Impalas, and Almost Grown-Chuck Berry.  Along with a tribute to 1959,  I will be taking requests from the four decades of hits that we feature each week on Those Were The Days.  The weather is suppose to be very nice for Easter weekend.  Perhaps family and friends will be gathered around campfires and on front porches while they tune in to FM 100.9  Saturday night between six and midnight.  We will have updates on the Easter Bunnies progress during the evening.  Hopefully the Solid Gold Dancers don't scare him away! 

Philip Nee

One of the most popular Those Were The Days topics has been One HIt Wonders.  On WRCO FM 100.9 this Saturday night, I will drag out a few from the best decade for those one time chartbusting artists.  My definition of a One Hit Wonder is an artist or group that only hit the Top Forty chart one time.  When you search the web, there is a lot of wrong information on this subject.  There are sources that call  Joan Jett is a one hit wonder with I Love Rock n' Roll.  What about Crimson and Clover (#7 in 1982) or I Hate Myself For Loving You (#8 in 1988)?  The Go-Go's are also listed by some sources as a One Hitter.  They had four songs make the Top Twenty including:  Our Lips Are Sealed,  We Got The Beat,  Vacation,  and Head Over Heals.  The Knack has been put in that category by a few experts.  My Sharona is one of the biggest hits of all time when it was number one for six weeks.  The followup song in 1979 went all the way to number eleven.  It was called Good Girls Don't.  I feel that many of the composers of those lists did not live through the Seventies or Eighties. 

This Saturday night we will look at some of your most requested Seventies One Hit Wonders of all time.  They include:   Venus-The Shocking Blue,  Play That Funky Music-Wild Cherry,  Dancing In The Moonlight-King Harvest,  Black Betty-Ram Jam,  Reflections Of My Life-Marmalade,  Beach Baby-First Class, and How Long-Ace.  The One Hitter that has been asked for the most is Spirit In The Sky by Norman Greenbaum.  I will be in the studio this Saturday night to take your requests and to host the trivia portion of the show.  I hope you and your friends will tune in 100.9 WRCO FM for this weekends edition of Those Were The Days.

Phil

This Saturday night during our Those Were The Days radio show, we will be doing our first tribute to 1969.  We have special nights planned this year which will pay homage to one of Top Forty's best years.  Kent Kotal from the website ForgottenHits.com will join me later this year and we will both pick our favorite singles from the last year of the sixties.  ForgottenHits features the WLS Silver Dollar Survey for that week in 1969 each Sunday.  There have been some real cool tunes that have shown up during the first four months of the year. Those melodies take me back to playing with my Billy Blast-Off Space Man and his cool space vehicles or looking at my McDonalds Moon Map   Some of the big tunes this weekend fifty years ago included:  Dizzy-Tommy Roe,  Proud Mary-C.C.R., Galveston-Glen Campbell,  Build Me Up Buttercup-Foundations,  Things I'd Like To Say-New Colony Six,  Crimson and Clover-Tommy James,  Mendocino-Sir Douglas Quintet,  and I Got A Line On You-Spirit.   Whenever those songs came out of the radio,  I had to stop playing with my Hot Wheels race cars and listen for a while.  Many of those songs are better known today than when they were new.   This Saturday night it will be a pleasure to play those great hits on the radio again.  You can hear comments from some of the hit makers and those big records during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  I will be answering my rotary dial phone so that I can take your requests and we will be playing trivia during the six hour pop radio salute (listen for the 'Magic Cow Bell').   We will be playing all of your faves from the fifties through the eighties between six and midnight.  

Phil

It is so awesome to be able to be in the Spring season!  When I think about this time of year, I always think of certain songs.  There are many classic rock songs about Spring.  Many songs that were popular as Winter came to an end are etched in our memories.  I go right back to those Springs of long ago when I hear songs such as: Let Your Love Flow-Bellamy Brothers,  Seasons In The Sun-Terry Jacks,  Joy To The World-Three Dog Night, 65 Love Affair-Paul Davis, and I Love Rock And Roll-Joan Jett.   During this Saturday nights' Those Were The Days, I will be pulling out a few songs that are forever tied to this new season.   Thank you for all of the fun over the Winter season.  The Saturday night oldies show is my escape from all of the cold and ice.  We are always amazed and honored when we make new friends that have never listened to the show.  It is also with great sadness that we say goodbye this week to a great friend, Jeff Peper, who passed away Monday.   He was one of the most dedicated listeners that I have ever known.  He had to rig up his radio to hear us in the hospital the last couple of Saturday nights.  From now on there will be certain songs that I play which will make me think of 'Sarge'. That will make me smile and remind me of our good talks.  He also was a guest d.j. twice as a part of the G.R.A.C.E radio benefit auction when he gave us great donations.   I believe he will still hear all of the fun we have on WRCO FM 100.9 on Saturday nights. He will surely find a radio in heaven to rig up so that he can hear us.   I will be in the studio Saturday night to spin the best of the fifties through the eighties and play trivia.   We will celebrate Spring and the best music ever placed on vinyl records.

Phil

As the snow was melting in March of 1971,  young Philip was waiting to pump up the tires of his Huffy bike (with the sissy bar and banana seat). He could not wait to ride past the neighbor girls and impress them with playing cards stuck in his bike spokes.    Spring was in the air and it would not be long before the mighty Farmall M would be pulling a plow so that oats could be planted.  The barn radio provided a soundtrack of hits.  Some favorites included: Proud Mary-Ike and Tina Turner,  Have You Ever Seen The Rain-CCR,  What Is Life-George Harrison,  Temptation Eyes-Grass Roots,  Another Day-Paul McCartney,  One Toke Over The Line-Brewer and Shipley,  and Me And Bobby McGee-Janis Joplin.  On this Saturday nights Those Were The Days radio show,  we will highlight selected tracks from the Billboard Hot 100 from March of 1971.  We will pay tribute to Hal Blaine who died this week at age 90.  I had the extreme honor of interviewing him twice.  Hal played on hundreds of records.  He played drums in the legendary Wrecking Crew and was on many hit songs by artists such as;  Frank Sinatra,  The Beach Boys,  Paul Revere And The Raiders,  The Partridge Family,  John Denver, and the Righteous  Brothers.    I will be in the studio on Saturday night to take your phone call requests and I will quiz you about some of the things that you did not realize you remember.  I hope you will join me for Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  Wear your green while you listen to the radio Saturday night.  We may give Irish Jig lessons in honor of St Patrick's Day.     

Old Philip                                                                                              

Anyone that grew up in the 90's and beyond has no idea what a record hop was.  It was an old title even when I was in school.  We still used it because we had high school dances and records were played and we hopped.  I don't believe high schools today have a quarter of the school dances that we did.  Many Friday nights after the big games students would pay a dollar to get into the gym and dance for a couple of hours.  I graduated from trying to be John Travolta to attempting to be Dick Clark.  I was the dj at many of those hops in the 80s'.  I would go to the Music Shop in Richland Center and attempt to buy the 45's that were the most popular with the kids.   In March of 1984 some of the hot records included:  I Want A New Drug-Huey Lewis,  Footloose-Kenny Loggins,  Karma Chameleon-Culture Club,  Radio Ga-Ga-Queen,  and the number one song was Jump by Van Halen.   I remember playing records at Webb High in Reedsburg and the students had a 'flying V kick' competion.  The best jump that was like VH lead singer David Lee Roth won the prize.  Those were great times and I recall playing records at Richland Center, Weston, Lancaster, Kickapoo,  Ithaca, and Riverdale on other Friday nights.  I even got in on a few proms that Spring.  After carrying 10 heavy crates of albums, a heavy amp and 2 large speakers into the school and back into the trailer at the end of the night,  I was ready to wind down with other great 1984 radio hits such as:  That's All-Genesis,  Got A Hold On Me-Christine McVie,  Back Where You Belong-38 Special, and Runner by Manfred Mann.    This Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9, I will be jamming those hits from thirty-five years ago and all of the fifties through the eighties hits that you want to hear.  I will be in the studio to answer the rotary dial phone.  You could win a trivia prize when we play our hourly trivia games.  Those Were The Days will be on the radio Saturday night.  Let's have a party!

Phil

The Guess Who have always been a favorite group of mine.  They may be one of the best and most deserving acts that is not in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.  Formed in Winnipeg, Canada in 1963, their first hit  was called Shakin' All Over in 1965.  They had six Top Ten hits over the course of the next ten years and there were many others that were played on the radio.  This week on Those Were The Days, we will pay tribute to the group by playing some of the most requested songs from the Guess Who. My favorites from the group include:  No Sugar Tonight,  Albert Flasher,  Runnin' Back To Saskatoon,  Star Baby, and Clap For the Wolfman.  It has been a real treat over the years to interview  group members Burton Cummings, Randy Bachman, and Jim Kale. The chance to tell artists what their music means to you is an amazing thing.   I will be in the studio to take your requests and playing trivia.  You could be the winner for the hour and amaze yourself and your friends by what you didn't realize that you remembered!   Lets have a Saturday night party again this week on FM 100.9 between six and Midnight and try to escape this severe Winter weather we have been living with.

Phil                                                                                                                    

In early 1964 Beatlemania was just beginning.  The Fab Four made three appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show in February and radio was scrambling to be the first to play their latest releases.  My dad was an avid radio listener and once told me a story about an incident he heard.   The disc jockey played the Beatles number one  'I Want To Hold Your Hand' and when it was done he smashed the record on the air.  He than said "that will be the last time we ever play a Beatles record on this radio station'.  I am sure that was not true.  Many of the old timers thought the group was a passing fad.  My dad collected records in the forties and fifties.  Englands' brash young moptops did not produce his kind of music, however, he often liked  their songs.  He felt they had good melodies.  This week in 1964, The Beatles held down number one and two on the charts.  They also had songs at number 29 and number 35.  The Dave Clark Five were arriving this weekend at number 65 with a brand new song called 'Glad All Over'.  American artists had some memorable hits this weekend including:  Dawn (Go Away)-Four Seasons,  Hey Little Cobra-Rip Chords,  California Sun-Rivieras,  Forget Him-Bobby Rydell, Surfin Bird-Trashmen, and Puppy Love-Barbara Lewis.  During this weekends Those Were The Days radio show,  we will check out the Billboard Hot 100 chart from 1964 and we will be taking your requests.  Join me for trivia contests and radio fun like it should be.  We will be featuring updates on high school sports and a night of music from the fifties through the eighties on WRCO FM 100.9.

Phil

When young Philip Nee used to walk from Keegan Mill to Saffells Music Store to buy 45 RPM records, he needed to try to buy the best bargain.  It was a real deal if both sides of the 7 inch vinyl prize were hits.  If I was going to spend my hard earned 63 cents, I needed to make sure that I was getting the best value.  On this Saturday nights Those Were The Days, you will be able to hear some of the 45's that had winners on both sides.  The Beatles, Elvis, and C.C.R. were masters at the two sided hits!  During our rock and roll tribute on Those Were The Days, I will also be playing your favorite requests from the fiftties through the eighties. This will be during the second portion of the show.  I will be flying back to Richland Center in the WRCO Pedal Helicopter from Adams Friendship after a day of covering the WIAA Sectional wrestling tournament.   I will hit a couple of Ski soda pops, and dine on a couple of Mallow Cups and the Solid Gold Dancers and me will have a party on the air.  Saturday night, join us for Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.

Phil

It was early February of 1979 and I was just finishing my Freshman year on the mighty  Bulldog J.V.basketball team.  My goal was to get one point in every game.  As it turned out, many people were pointing at me each game!  For every road game I would bring my Panasonic tape recorder and play back some of my mix tapes.  Some of the teams favorites included:  Every 1's A Winner-Hot Chocolate (our team certainly did not win many),  What A Fool Believes-The Doobie Brothers,  My Life-Billy Joel, Soul Man-Blues Brothers,  Blue Morning, Blue Day-Foreigner, Hold The Line-Toto,  and  New York Groove-Ace Frehley.   I will be spinning a few of these songs and more this Saturday night during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  When songs from that time play I can remember the frosty bus windows,  icey cold times around the farm,  and the high school record hops.  Those first nights when I got the nerve to ask a young lady for a dance on the old gym floor.  Through the power of music, WRCO will transfer you to the fifties through the eighties again this Saturday night.  You can contribute a request to the show.  I will be in the studio taking calls and playing trivia during our six hour Those Were The Days radio show on WRCO FM 100.9. 

Phil

In the early morning hours of February third, 1959, a plane carrying Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper, along with pilot Roger Peterson crashed in a corn field in Iowa.  Back in 1990, my buddy (Gary Gutknecht) and I walked the barbed wire fence line just outside of Mason City Iowa and found the spot where the crash happened.  It was a lonely spot along the rusty wire.  The very same fence that was in the black and white photo taken the morning after that tragic night.  That was nearly thirty years ago and it does not seem that far in the past.  The event had happened just over thirty years before that.  For an elderly lady that lived on adjacent property to the field, she recalled all of the emergency responders that came by her house at daylight back in 1959.  It did not seem to her like it had been over thirty years.  On this weeks Those Were The Days radio show, I will be paying tribute to those three rock and roll pioneers who last played at the Surf Ballroom February 2nd, 1959.  I hope you will join us for our tribute and you can help us program the show with your requests.   There will be one trivia question per hour during the six hour rock and roll radio program.  The best of the fifties through the eighties will grace the airwaves on 100.9 Saturday night.

Phil

Hey Rock n' Rollers!  Saturday night can't get here soon enough as we have much more radio fun lined up for Those Were Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  One of our long time listeners suggested that we do a show with Kiss as the feature band.  This will be a first for our program now in its 33rd year.  Even though Kiss is a favorite of mine, not everyone feels the same way about them.  When I was a youngster, someone loaned me a cassette of Kiss 'Alive'.  I was not a fan until I heard that album. I couldn't believe the energy of those live songs.  I still believe that might be the best live rock and roll album of all time.  Many of my friends liked Kiss and there were those that did not.  This subject would sometimes cause arguments.  I finally got to see them live in the early 80's and have since gone to six more Kiss concerts.  It is amazing how the crowd has changed through the years.  It went from high school and college age students in the 70's and evolved to parents and grandparents with their children.  It is much more of a family gathering than it used to be!  The Kiss guitar riffs blasted from the speakers of my '75 Ford Maverick with such albums as;  Destroyer, Rock and Roll Over,  Love Gun, and the greatest hits album Kiss Platinum.  They have been often requested on the Saturday night program.  Their biggest chart hits were Beth and Forever which were two of the groups few ballads.  A few Phil favorites include: Hard Luck Woman,  Shout It Out Loud,  I Love It Loud,  Detroit Rock City, and (of course) Rock and Roll All Night.   Paint up your face and get ready for a Saturday night spotlight on rock and roll hall of famers, Kiss.   I will be in the studio to take your requests and we will play trivia each of the six hours we are on the air.  This Saturday night between six and midnight we will fly back to the fifites through the eighites for some classic rock tunes on Those Were The Days.

Phil 

This year will mark the 55th anniversary of the Rolling Stones first chart hit in America.  When Not Fade Away made the Billboard Hot 100 in the Spring of 1964,  the Stones were on the way to becoming stars all over the world.  They are set to embark on another tour this year.  The fact that they are still together and making music after all this time easily makes them the 'greatest rock and roll band of all time'.  On this weeks Saturday night Those Were The Days radio show,  I will be pulling out a few Rolling Stones classics.  The most requested Stones song on my Saturday night show  is Paint It Black.  The tune was used in the movie Full Metal Jacket and was the theme of the television show Tour Of Duty which has helped keep it popular with other generations.  (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction is probably the number 2 all time Stones song that has been requested on FM 100.9.   My favorite tunes by Mick and Keith and the boys are mostly from the seventies.  Those faves include:  Tumbling Dice,  You Can't Always Get What You Want,  Angie,  It's Only Rock n' Roll,  and Beast Of Burden. I will be dragging some of the old vinyl with me this weekend.   Please give me a call Saturday night and request a song from the fifites through the eighties.  You can call for a Rolling Stones song or any old pop, rock, soul, or metal will do.  We will playing radio trivia so get ready to amaze your friends!    

Thanks to Dawn Kiefer and the staff at the Richland Observer for an article in last weeks paper about WRCO and our Those Were The Days program.  I bought five copies for my mother!     

Phil                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

In the late 60's, one of my Christmas gifts was a  Coast to Coast Coast-King metal runner sled, painted with an Apollo rocket.  This was a cool gift because it could fit at least 3 young riders or one big belly flopper.  It was much better than any other sledding toy because you could actually steer it.  By January of 1974 I was king of making perfect paths for my Apollo!  There was always plenty of ice around the milk house and the barn and I could start near our house and make my way all the way past the barn and to the cow yard.  The real thrill, though, was when dad would pull the manure spreader to the field.  I would tie my sled behind so I could get a lift and hope that he remembered I was back there before I got a green shower of poo.  Readers of this blog that grew up in a town or city have no idea what fun this was for a farm kid that did not get down the town road very often.  Our television and my Panasonic AM radio were my ways of keeping up with the outside World.  While riding over frozen manure clumps in January of 1974, I had many great songs playing in my little white ear plug including:  The Joker-Steve Miller Band,  Show And Tell-Al Stewart,  You're Sixteen-Ringo Starr,  Living For The City-Stevie Wonder,  Helen Wheels-Wings,  Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)-Helen Reddy,  and Jungle Boogie-Kool & the Gang.   I would have to lean the Apollo sled against the house on Saturday afternoons when ABC channel 27 showed American Bandstand.  When Dick Clark was on, that even trumped dad spreading manure!   I will be reliving those golden days this Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 during Those Were The Days.  You will be able to request a song and play trivia during the six hour program.   Let's have some fun this weekend.

Phil

Hey rock n' rollers!  This Saturday night WRCO FM 100.9 will take you back to more favorite radio classics from the past.  We will stop and park in 1983.  I will count down the biggest records of that year.  Back in the day I was spinning records at bars, softball parks, high school dances, and anywhere else that needed background noise.  There were so many danceable songs in 1983.  The most popular requests included:  Beat It-Michael Jackson,  Cum On Feel The Noise-Quiet Riot,  Safety Dance-Men Without Hats,  Come On Eileen-Dexys Midnight Runners,  Uptown Girl-Billy Joel,  Flashdance (What A Feeling)-Irene Cara and many more.  Todays Top Forty songs all seem to be the same tempo.  If I get caught on the dance floor during a wedding dance, I just stand there and move my head and arms back and forth. There is a strong resemblance between me and Mr. Gopher from the movie Caddyshack.  Young people of today do not like to dance to really fast songs and slow songs!   In 1983 there was a great mixture of fast and a few good slow love songs.  I hope you will dance along with the countdown this Saturday night during Those Were The Days.  I will not be in the studio to take your requests.  Hang on to those and get ready for another rocking year of radio good times. 

Phil-Assistant Mobile Disc Jockey Of The Year 1983 (Self Proclaimed)

Saturday night our final Those Were The Days old time rock and roll show for 2018 will hit the airwaves.  I will be putting together a playlist that could inspire you to write your resolutions.  There were many songs with inspiring titles and lyrics during the first thirty-five years of rock and roll.  Where did 2018 go?  It seems like we were just ringing it in and here it is almost 12 months later.  Thank you for listening.  We have had lots of fun times and enjoyable interviews with guest stars.  In October we celebrated our thirty-second birthday and continue to hear from listeners that are much younger than thirty-two!  That gives me hope that the music will live on for a few more generations.  This Saturday night on FM 100.9 we will spotlight six trivia questions and the request line will be open for you to help with the playlist.  Maybe you can think of a song that fits the resolution theme.  One of my favorites is one I discovered a few years ago.  It is a song by the Zombies and it is called 'This Could Be Our Year'.  It is a very positive look at the new year and trying to be optimistic.  I will be in the studio seated by my rotarty dial phone.  Give me a call Saturday night between six and Midnight at (608)  647-4155,

Phil

On this Saturday nights' edition of Those Were The Days, we will flash back to the end of the year in 1978.  I will be in the studio to hopefully chat with many of my Saturday night friends.   We will be spinning a few fave rock and roll Christmas tunes and playing trivia.  Christmas time in 1978 was a bit of a rough patch for my family.  My dad had to be hospitalized and that left the family to try and keep the farm running during a bitter cold and snowy Winter.  At Christmas we were thankful but fearful of what the new year would bring.  His surgery went well in early 1979 and he lived to see many more Christmas seasons with his family.  The Top 40 music of that time got me through.  The radio was always on in the barn.  Many mornings I had to shovel manure before getting on the school bus.  Looking back on it now, I am greatful that I learned about hard work early in life.  When I hear some of those late '78 songs, I am right back in that cold barn with the radio turned up loud.  The cows were kicking to such hits as: Hold The Line-Toto,  Every 1's A Winner-Hot Chocolate,  New York Groove-Ace Frehley,  Bicycle Race-Queen,  Instant Replay-Dan Hartman,  My Best Friends Girl-The Cars,  and Straight On-Heart.  I hope you will find some time to tune in 100.9 Fm Saturday night when once again we fly back to Those Were The Days.   Merry Christmas to everyone out in Southwest Wisconsin radio land.  When I count my blessings this holiday season, I will think of being lucky to work in radio all of these years and the loyal listeners of WRCO.

Phil