WRCO Blog

On Saturday nights Those Were The Days I will be spinning some of the top hits from the Spring of 1966.  What a great time for Top Forty radio!  There were so many two minute melodies on the radio waves.  This Saturday nights chart will come from one of my favorite radio stations when I was a 'Wee Nee'.  WISM 1480 AM out of Madison Wisconsin played so many regional and national records that weren't always big hits across the nation.  Find out what the top hits were in the Mad city during the Spring of 1966 during WRCOs' Those Were The Days.  My special guest will be Ray Graffia of the great Chicago group The New Colony Six.  The Colony was enjoying its first radio hits in 1966 including the often requested 'I Confess'.  Ray will talk about a special benefit show that the group will be at in April.  Here are the details.

SUNDAY APRIL 19th 2015 - At the "Arcadia Theatre" in St. Charles, IL. The NC6 in CONCERT- Their 50th Rock n Roll Anniversary. Benefitting the "Rhythmic Arts Project" W/Guests Chet Coppock- Cadillac Casanovas & Denny Diamond and others! ..DOORS OPEN at 4:00PM  105 E. Main St  Saint Charles,Il.60174   630-962-7000  /Need tickets ? CALL or go to  (oshows.com)       

I will be in the studio and ready to answer the phone Saturday night.  Maybe you will win a prize and amaze your friends.  Request a song from the fifties through the eighties between 6 and Midnight on WRCO FM 100.9.

Phil

Hey Rock n' Rollers!  This Saturday night during Those Were The Days I will be dusting off your favorite requests from the fifties through the eighties.  Join me for Pop radio memories and trivia.  On this weekends show we will go parking in 1973 with the radio on.  I was just completing my first year of collecting vinyl music (a habit that I still can't shake).  My favorite songs included:  Last Song by Edward Bear,  I'm Just A Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) by the Moody Blues, Dancing In The Moonlight from King Harvest, Stuck In the Middle With You-Stealers Wheel, and Little Willie-The Sweet.  This was one of the best years of the 1970's for Top Forty radio stations.  Elton John had the number one album (Don't Shoot Me, I'm Only The Piano Player).  It was the second of seven albums in three short years to reach number one in America for Elton.  Pink Floyd released the classic Dark Side Of The Moon album in March of 1973.   Join me for these memories and more Saturday night on FM 100.9.

Phil

I will be back in the air chair for this Saturday nights Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  I hope you enjoyed our time sweep that was featured on last weeks show.  The show was obviously pre-recorded so I could go out on the town with my best girl friend.  June likes to go on a date with me once in a while.  This Saturday night all of the regular features return.  We will be traveling back to this weekend in 1985.  While I was driving the Ford Maverick to see Beverly Hills Cop (which was the number one movie for March of 1985), I was jamming to Only The Young by Journey, High On You-Survivor, Naughty Naughty-John Parr, and Turn Up The Radio-Autograph.  It cost me $1.09 for a gallon of gas to go pick up June in Neptune and head to the big city of Richland Center. 

This Saturday night we will spin some hits from the '85 chart, play your requests,  and we will play trivia.  You could win a ticket to see Vic Ferrari Symphony On The Rocks during this Saturday nights fifties through the eighties rock and roll party.  Rock On!

Philip

This Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 we will go 'old school' once again on Those Were The Days.  This time we will feature a time sweep.  We will play the top hits of the weekend starting in 1957 and than we will jump ahead to 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, and 1987.  These were some of the best years for Top 40 rock and roll.  See what I mean this weekend between 6 p and Midnight.  I love the variety of songs that we play each week.  That is the way pop radio used to be.  It was like a K-tel record of original hits/original stars.  It was the K-tel company that fueled the fire for me.  I was a radio listener before that, however, when I bought the album 'Believe In Music' in 1972 it made me want to go out and find more of my favorite music on black vinyl and play it on my Airline model stereo at home.  You would get everything from Eric Clapton, Slade, Bobby Vinton, and Donny Osmond on one long playing album! K-tel went on to produce many albums of greatest hits.  Those Were The Days on WRCO is a lot like those great albums from back in the day.  We will not be taking your requests this week.  Stay tuned for a special show with many memorable tracks that we don't often get a chance to play.        Phil

Here is a track listing for my favorite K-tel album 'Believe In Music' from 1972.

This Saturday night Those Were The Days will slip on a few 45's from 1977 in between high school sports coverage of wrestling and basketball.  Join us for musical interludes from 1977 and your rock and roll requests.   This weekend back in '77 Manfred Mann's Earth Band was 'Blinded By The Light', The Jackson's were encouraging you to 'Enjoy Yourself', Rose Royce was taking everyone to the 'Car Wash'.  One of my favorite Kiss songs was 'Hard Luck Woman' was on the airwaves.  It was written with Rod Stewart in mind.  Peter Criss had sung the groups biggest hit 'Beth' the year before and he sang 'Hard Luck Woman' a year later with his signiture raspy voice.   Kansas had one of the hottest songs on the radio with 'Carry On Wayward Son'.  It was a good time for music.  The old barn radio had finally faded to silence and a new one included the FM band.  That allowed me to fine tune stations like D-93 out of Dubuque (now Kat-FM). They played many of the previously mentioned hits and they programmed a few lesser known songs and album tracks. It helped me get the chores finished faster.  I hope you will go back to 1977 with me on Saturday night.  Join me in between sports coverage for another edition of Those Were The Days.

Philip

The World lost another great singer this week. Lesley Gore lost her battle with cancer.  Ever since my young days I have always loved her records.  Many remember 'It's My Party' which was her first hit.  Her songs got better with each release.  'The Look Of Love' is one of my faves.  Just a couple of weeks ago I was t.v. channel flipping and I came across the 1967 episode of Batman in which Lesley Gore played one of Catwoman's helpers and sang 'California Nights'.  What a great moment from the '60s!  I have always felt that Ms. Gore stole the show in the concert movie The T.A.M.I. Show. from 1964.  Even though she was just a teen, her stage presence was simply amazing.   You can hear some of Lesley Gore's finest hits during this Saturday nights Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  Request a song from the fifties through the eighties this weekend.  I will be hosting the weekly trivia game as well.  Let's have some fun this Saturday night with Those Were The Days.

Phil

There were so many songs about magic from the first thirty years of rock and roll.  This Saturday night on Those Were The Days I will spin a few of those.  It will be a 'Magical Mystery Tour',  'Magic Carpet Ride', 'Grand Illusion', 'Magic Moment'.  We may mix up 'Love Potion Number Nine' for some 'Strange Magic'.  'Hocus Pocus', 'Abracadabra'...Saturday night will be here before we know it!  Join me for great fun with Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  I will be taking your requests and playing trivia.  It is very rewarding to hear from you.  It is like a family gathering when we all get together.  I would also like to thank all of our sponsors.  Jones Chevrolet-Buick, Town And Country TV And Appliance,  Chets Feed And Seed, and Dairy Queen of Richland Center have been in our sponsor family since the early days of the show.  Thank them for me!

Phil

I heard many wonderful songs that I still love today on the radio in the barn.  The fact that it had tubes that needed to warm up meant that you would turn it on in the morning and guess the volume while you walked to the other end of the barn.  When it warmed up sometimes it was very loud, once in a while off the station, and sometimes the sound was not loud enough to be heard over the various barn noises.   When you got the station tuned correctly and the sound so that you could hear, the radio was on all day until the milking was done that night.  WRCO AM 1450 was the station that was loud enough to never fail.  Once in a while when dad wasn't paying attention I would turn the dial slightly to 1480 AM and get WISM Madison which was a great Top Forty station

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WRCO FM 100.9 will play great hits from the fifties through the eighties on Those Were The Days Saturday night. We will stop for a time and park in January of 1975.  The chart was full of such comeback artists as Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka, and Frankie Valli.  Stevie Wonder, Grand Funk, The Eagles, and The Doobie Brothers were all in the top twenty. Put on your elevator shoes and your plaid pants this Saturday night.  We are going to have a party and your requests will be welcome.  Play trivia and be the first on your block to win a prize.  It will be a really cool, neat, dyn-no-mite,  radio show Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9.

Phil

This Saturday night on WRCO FM our Those Were The Days radio show will feature coments from Madison area musician Richard Wiegel.  He has a new cd called  'Wiegel Room' which features some awesome guitar work. It has 17 tracks of original instrumental tracks and the lead cut is called 'Buddy Holly'.  We will look back at Richards earlier work in memorable bands including:  The Bowery Boys,  Baby Grand, and Clicker.  I remember hearing 'Keep On Trying' from the first Clicker album on WISM in Madison.  I had no idea at the time that they were a local group.  It was later I learned of their roots in Southwestern and Southern Wisconsin and they hailed from such towns as Belmont and Darlington.  Cubby Tracy, who was the drummer for the group, joined us on Those Were The Days live in the studio way back in 1993.  Richard Wiegel will soon be celebrating fifty years in music!   I look forward to hearing from you this Saturday night.  The request line will be open for all six hours of the program and we will have a trivia stumper each hour.  We will keep it rocking for you this Saturday night from six until Midnight.

Philip

I went to the D.M.V. in January of 1980.  A stern man by the name of Ray Schroeder stepped forward to ride with me and determine whether or not I was worthy of driving freedom.  Somehow I was able to secure a piece of paper that declared my legal driver status.  The first time I drove solo (off the farm) Another Brick In The Wall by Pink Floyd was playing on the radio.  I was driving a 1970 rusty Chevrolet farm truck which had a three on the tree transmission and an AM radio.  On special occasions I could borrow my parents 1978 Impala.  I remember hearing Smokey Robinson singing Cruisin as I drove through the night after dropping my date at her front gate.  The Eagles album The Long Run featured some great music including the title song which was a big hit in January of 1980. Some of my other faves included:  Jane by Jefferson Starship, Head Games from Foreigner, and Romeos Tune by Steve Forbert.  There is still no such thing as a time machine, however, music is the closest thing that I have found.   I hope you will climb in the cab of our old yellow pickup and take a trip back to 1980 this weekend.  I will be playing all of your favorite requests from the fifties through the eighties during this weeks Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.

Phil-Mr. January 1980

During our Those Were The Days Saturday night old rock and roll party we will pay tribute to Elvis Presley.  The 'King Of Rock And Roll' would have been eighty this week.  He is forever young on the old TV clips and movies that still are shown often.  I have many favorite Elvis songs.  He sang so many different genres of music and it is hard to pick his best song ever.  You can request your favorite 'E'  song Saturday night.  You can also ask me to play anything else from the fifties through the eighties pop radio charts.   We will be playing trivia each hour of the 6 hour program this Saturday night.

I remember watching Elvis movies as a kid on the CBS Late Movie.  My aunt Joyce was babysitting me (I think I was a Senior in High School...no... just kidding) and they would often show an old movie that featured my hero.  Favorites included:  Jailhouse Rock, Tickle Me,  Live A Little Love A Little,  Change Of Habit, and Speedway.  In 1973 there was an offer on television where you could send in money and receive a two record set of some of the best Elvis tunes.  I gathered up my 6 bucks and sent the money away.  I am sure there were some quarters and dimes in the envelope.  In a few weeks I had my first Elvis collection.  I used to try to act and sing like him working my lip moves in front of the mirror and later I would impress my sisters friends with my Elvis act.  My teacher Mrs. Varana used to encourage me to sing 'Hound Dog' in front of the class.  It gave me my 15 minutes of fame at the Ithaca elementary and even some of the girls tolerated me.  

Many of his songs have meant a great deal to me.  'The Wonder Of You' was the song I chose to sing to my bride, June,  as she walked towards me down the aisle.  I hope to hear from you Saturday night.  Thanks for listening to WRCO FM 100.9.

Philvis

This Saturday night we will welcome in the new year with another old year.  Join me for Those Were The Days when we play for you some of the big hits from this weekend in 1965.  It is a fun chart to recap because there are several great records from the original wave of the British Invasion.  Some fine 45s from the Beatles, Dave Clark Five, The Rolling Stones, and Manfred Mann.  I will be back and propped up in the studio this Saturday night between 6 and Midnight to take requests for your faves from the fifties through the eighties.  Join me for trivia and all of the regular stuff on WRCO FM 100.9.  Happy New Year!

Phil

This Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 you will be transported back to December of 1974.  I remember recording the year end countdown on my new Panasonic tape recorder and writing down each song in my loose leaf notebook.  I will admit I was a first class nerd, however, it bolstered my love for music, radio, and countdowns!  The 1974 year end survey is very interesting because it displays the diversity of the era.  There are comedy songs, Country, Pop, singer songwriter tunes, solid rock and roll and all kinds of surprises that you may not have heard for a few years.  I will count them down this Saturday night December 27th between and 6 p and Midnight.  We will not be taking your requests this week.  Request time will resume in 2015.  Thanks for listening and Merry Christmas to you and yours.

Philip

This Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 we will spin a few classic rock and roll Christmas tunes.  The Solid Gold Dancers will be dancing on the tables and watch out for the mistletoe because Ray Schroeder will be trying to give you a Christmas kiss!  We will play all kinds of tunes from the fifties through the eighties.  I hope you will request a song and join the party.

I have fond memories of listening to the radio during the holiday season.  I would get my little transistor radio out every night and listen for the Cinnamon Bear.   My favorite Christmas songs were the lighthearted ones and the comedy classics.  'Snoopys Christmas' by the Royal Guardsman is my favorite silly one.  It also has a good message.  Join us for Those Were The Days this and every Saturday night on WRCO FM  100.9.

Phil

We will be taking your Top Forty Radio requests this Saturday night during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  We will also be flying back to Pop Radios' finest hour.  The year of 1966 featured hit after hit.  Artists that debuted that year included:  The Monkees, The Grass Roots,  The Association, Tommy James, Neil Diamond, B.J. Thomas, and The Mamas And The Papas.  Groups dominated the year as The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Lovin' Spoonful, and Hermans Hermits ranked as the biggest selling of 1966.  Many recorded jingles for radio commercials.  It was hard to tell the commercials from the full length songs. Tune in this week for great hits from the fifties through the eighties on Those Were The Days. You can play trivia and join the party this weekend.

Phil

This Saturday night on Those Were The Days you will be transformed back to early December 1971.  There were big tunes from Cat Stevens,  The Grass Roots,  Three Dog Night, and Isaac Hayes.  It was a great time for music as I played with my G.I. Joe Adventure Team action figure and listened to the radio.  My first 45 record purchase would soon be made.  Bought at Saffells music store in Richland Center, 'Have You Seen Her' by the Chi-Lites started me on a habbit of buying music that I still have 43 years later.  Tune in WRCO Fm 100.9 this Saturday night and request a song.  Play trivia with us and win some cool prizes.  Lets escape to the fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties again.

Phil

I turned eighteen in November of 1981.  There were many great tunes on the radio as I drove to basketball practice in the Ford Mav.  Daryl Hall and John Oates had two songs in the Top Twenty.  There were popular tunes from The Police, The Rolling Stones,  Rod Stewart,  Lindsey Buckingham, Genesis, and the J. Geils Band.  These songs were playing in the back ground as I slapped on the Brut and picked up my girl friend.  I am sure she was impressed.

Join me Saturday night on WRCOs' Those Were The Days for some great hits from 1981 as I put another candle on the cake.  I will have a mystery in studio guest to help me celebrate.  You wont want to miss this! 

Listen for Backtrackin at 5:30 p Saturday when I talk to Glen Leopold of Gunhill Road.  The group that brought us Back When My Hair Was Short has a new album called 'Every Forty Years'.  Hear the story of the new album this weekend.  We will celebrate with music together Saturday night.  Give me a call and request a song and play trivia.

Phil

The fourth weekend of November in 1970 we were jamming to some cool tunes.  The Partridge Family was a TV hit and 'I Think I Love You' was in the Top Five.  Neil Diamond was singing about 'Cracklin Rosie',  The Supremes were climbing the chart without Diana Ross,  The Jackson Five were the top selling act in music,  British groups like Free and The Who were having chart success.  What a great time to listen to Top 40 radio!  When I wasn't tuned in to hear the latest hits,  I was listening to the Milwaukee Bucks dominate teams.  They would win a championship the next Spring.  When the weather was just right, I could clearly see Marsha Brady on television.  Once in a while dad would have to get up on the roof and adjust the UHF  antenna so I could see the Brady Bunch better.

I hope to hear from you Saturday night during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  I will be in the studio to answer the Bat phone!  Join me for trivia and other fun stuff between 6 pm and Midnight Saturday.

Mr. P

This Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 our Those Were The Days radio program will spotlight The Box Tops.  My special guest (by phone) will be Gary Talley who was the lead guitarist of the group and at 19 years of age was one of the elder statesmen when they first hit with 'The Letter' in 1967! Other hits followed including: Cry Like A Baby, Soul Deep,  Neon Rainbow, Choo Choo Train, and I Met Her In Church.  After the Box Tops days, Gary has backed up a long list of great artists with his guitar. Hear his story on Saturday night.

We will be taking your requests again this week and playing trivia.  Last Saturday night you did a great job asking for songs that we have not played for a while.  Keep up the good work!

Philip

This weekend on Those Were the Days, we will park the Ford Maverick on a hill far away and imagine that it is 1979.  The songs coming from the radio included hits from such artists as Supertramp,  The Cars,  Cheap Trick and many more.  Relive those hits with us during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9 on Saturday night.  I was starting to shoot hoops on the basket that hung on the outside of our corn crib.  My big debut with the Ithaca Bulldogs was near and I soon discovered that I was an outside shooter.  When I went inside the gym it wasn't all that pretty.  Speaking of pretty....I was about to go on my first date after dancing to the song 'Babe'  by Styx at the school dance. (the dance wasn't pretty but she was!)  The song 'Lets Go'  by the Cars was playing on the radio a week later as we went out for on a night on the town.  I will be set to play what you say this Saturday night as the best of the fifties through the eighties will be heard on the radio again.  Join us for a good time on Those Were The Days.

Philip