Phil Nee

This week on Those Were The Days we will fly back to 1962.  Awesome artists such as Elvis,  Chubby Checker, Roy Orbison, and Sam Cooke were every where on the radio.  Did you know that the movie American Graffitti was set in 1962?  That is the movie that motivated me to choose a radio career.

The request line will be open this holiday weekend and we will be offering up prizes during our trivia segments.  I hope that you will tune in to WRCO FM 100.9 this Saturday night. 

Rock On!

Phil

This weekend on WRCOS'  Those Were The Days, we will try something that we have never before.  We will fly back to two seperate weekends of the past.  For the first 3 hours we will go back to the first three months of 1972.  It was a great time for music and it was the first time in my life that I started collecting the songs I heard on the radio.  Hear music from such acts as America,  the Osmonds, Yes, T-Rex, the Carpenters,  Bread,  Elton John, and many more.   During the final 3 hours we will fly back to the first 3 months of 1982.  That was a time in my life when I was cruising in my Ford Maverick with the heavy smell of Aqua Velva and Brut in the air.  The radio was always on with the likes of Joan Jett,  J. Geils Band,  Rick Springfield,  Little River Band, and Hall and Oates,  blasting out of the speakers on the back dash.   

Tune in to WRCO FM 100.9 from 6 until Midnight this Saturday night.

Phil

This week I had the chance to interview Mel Carter for the first time.  He is most famous for the the 1965 Worldwide hit "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me"which has been featured in many movies and tv shows.  He had other hits in the 60's such as When A Boy Meets A Girl,  All Of A Sudden My Heart Sings,  and Band Of Gold.  He has a new music release of American Standards available on his web site.

We will be taking your old rock n' roll requests this Saturday night on Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  You can win a great prize when you play along with our trivia games.  A.N.G.E.L. Inc. is sponsoring a Costume Party at Dayton Hills Bar on Saturday March 31st with proceeds going to the Angel Autism Network.  To help promote the event, they have given us cds which are packed with old classics from the 50's and 60's.  Win one this Saturday night on Those Were The Days.

Phil

Many of the TV shows that we grew up with have stuck with us over the years.  The shows can still be watched on various channels and on demand services.  In some cases, the themes have lasted longer than the shows ever did.  On this weeks Those Were The Days, we will play a few TV themes that were big hits, and some memorable dittys that opened our favorite shows.  This will include a few from Mike Post who is the Dean of TV themes.  He had a big hit with the theme from the Rockford Files, and he co-wrote the Theme From the Greatest American Hero (Believe It Or Not) by Joey Scarbury. 

We will also be playing trivia and your favorite rock and roll requests following WIAA Girls Tournament Basketball Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9. 

We will rock with you then!

Phil

This week on the Saturday night program, we will remember some of the great hits from those leap years of the rock and roll era.  There were some great hits on February 29th! 

It was sad to hear that Davy Jones of the Monkees died.  I am a huge fan of the group and to this day will pull out an old album or cd of their songs.  I especially like the songs of which  Davy sang the lead.  His appearance in the Brady Bunch movie is still one of the greatest cameos of all time.  We will remember Davy on this Saturday nights show.  Those Were The Days can be heard each Saturday night between 6 p and Midnight on WRCO FM 100.9.

Join us for some of the great rock and roll tunes of all time.

Phil-WRCO

Return with us to a weekend in 1973 on this Saturday nights Those Were The Days radio program.  This is still one of my favorite years for music.  I was soaking up all of the pop, country, rock, and r and b songs on the radio during that year.  Whenever I could save up 63 cents I would shuffle to downtown Richland Center and pick up a new 45 rpm record.  The chart from 1973 is packed with tunes from Elton John,  Carly Simon,  Seals and Crofts, and many more.  There were a few one hit wonders from the likes of Edward Bear and King Harvest (The Last Song and Dancing In the Moonlight). 

We will be taking your requests for tunes from the 50s through the 80s.  We will also have updates and play by play from the state individual wrestling tournament finals on Saturday night.  Join us for the fun on WRCO FM 100.9 Saturday night.

Phil

Return with us to this weekend in 1969 on this Saturday nights edtition of Those Were the Days.  What a great period for Top 40 music!  Tommy James,  the Doors,  Marvin Gaye,  the Bee Gees,  and the New Colony Six were among the artists and groups  that were riding the radio waves the most.   We will also have a live request show and the chance to win prizes when we play 'Magic Cowbell Trivia".    I will fly back in the stations pedal helicoptor after wrestling to man the 'Close And Play'.  Give us a call on Saturday night.  You can always email me during the week and make a request for a song or feature.  I  look forward to hearing from you.

Phil

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This week I had the chance to chat with the lead singer of the Marshall Tucker Band, Doug Gray.  He helped found the band in 1971 shortly after returning from his service in Vietnam.   We will share portions of that interview on Those Were The Days this Saturday night!  The MTB broke out of the Southern Rock scene with a huge hit in 1977 called 'Heard It In A Love Song'. Other classic songs include Can't You See, and Fire On The Mountain,  which have been requested on a regular basis  during the last 25  years of our program.  They have released a new live greatest hits album!  You can buy it as a vinyl album which also comes with a free down load. 

It is amazing to note how many new releases are being issued as vinyl record albums.  I am afraid that there might be a shortage of cds in a couple of years.  It is hard to believe that record albums have made such a comeback.  I am finally cool again!  It has been a long time coming.

Join us for a full 6 hour show with requests, trivia, and the Marshall Tucker Band on this weeks edition of Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.

Phil

This week on Those Were The Days we will remember some classic mid-70's hits.  Well known hits that are still known today were released during time.  It is unreal to me that some of those songs are 37 years old and are enjoyed today by more than just the generation that grew up with them.   In 1975 several generations were not flashing back to the music of the 1920's and 30's.  It goes to show how timeless many of those songs are!

Those Were The Days will follow our high school wrestling coverage on WRCO FM 100.9  Saturday night.  We will have trivia and requests later in the program after I return back to home base in the WRCO peddle helicopter.  I hope to hear from you on Saturday night.

Take Care.

Phil

Along with our regular features on this weeks edition of Those Were The Days, we will jump in the Ford Maverick and drive back to this weekend in 1977!  Disco songs like Car Wash by Rose Royce,  Hot Line from the Sylvers, and You Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Leo Sayer were big.  The Eagles were flying high and Aerosmith had an up and coming single with Walk This Way.  The group Kiss had released a good single called Hard Luck Woman.  We will feature some of these and other 1977 cool tunes. 

Listen for trivia and other surprises this Saturday night between 6 and midnight.  Thank you for the great requests last week.  It was one of the best nights we have had recently.  You made me dig for tunes that we had not played for a while.  I hope to hear from you on Saturday night.  You can also email me this week and I can make sure that I rummage  through my vaults and have it ready to play for you.  My address is  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Phil  

WRCO FM 100.9 is the place to be for another musical party featuring the music that I have collected over the past 40 years. The year of 1967 is still one of the best music years ever!  I will back up that statement on this Saturday nights Those Were The Days.  Hear what was hot and happening during January of '67.  Wisconsin native Gary Myers will join me by phone.  He has written two books on Wisconsin rock and roll of the 50's and 60's.  He was in a group that was known as the Portraits and they released several songs during 1967 including two songs that were used in movie soundtracks.  Gary has released a cd of the Portraits music and it is available on his MusicGem website and the address is music.gem.com. 

Request a song during this Saturday nights program.  We will ring the magic cowbell and find out how much useless knowledge you still have.   I hope you enjoy all of those old songs of the 50's through the 80's on Those Were The Days this weekend.

Phil

Hear part two of my interview with Dennis Tufano of the Buckinghams this Saturday night on Those Were The Days.  They were the most successful of the late 60's Chicago area bands.  Hear Buckingham classic songs like Susan,  Don't You Care,  and Back In Love Again.

I hope that you will request a song this week.  Challenge yourself to play 'Stump the D.J.'  Request a song from the 50's through the 80's that you don't think  we have.  Even though the show is now over 25 years old, we still play at least one song every week that we have never played!  Listen for the 'Magic Cow Bell' to ring and see if you can win the trivia prize. 

I will hope to hear from you this Saturday night.  You can call the request line at 608 647-4155 or email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Thanks.

Phil-WRCO

To kick off a new year on Those Were the Days, we will feature portions of an interview with Dennis Tufano during the first two Saturday nights of the year.  Dennis was an original member of the Buckinghams.  It has been a 25 plus year mission of mine and I finally tracked down Dennis!   We will talk about that incredible year of 1967 in which the group had 4 top ten hit records.  Next week during part two we will feature coments about his days as a dou with group member Carl Giammarese and later days when he toured and sang with Olivia Newton John.  We will have the request line open all night Saturday night.  Give me a call and try to stump me.  I love it when someone calls and makes me dig for a song that we have rarely played.  Trivia returns this Saturday night as well.

We will keep on rocking in 2012! 

Sincerely,

Philip James Nee

Hey Rock and Rollers!  During our Those Were The Days time on Saturday night we will feature the 24th annual Triviathon.  Held on New Years Eve for many years,  it just happens to fall on Saturday night in 2011.  I know that many love to hear the trivia questions each Saturday night, so this time you will possibly hear 30 plus questions.  Many of your favorite songs from the 50's through the 80's will hit the airwaves again during Triviathon which will start at 6 pm on WRCO FM 100.9.  If you would like to enter a team, check out more details on this website.  Listen in January 2012 when we get back to our regular format and special guests including a first time caller to the show that sang lead on 4 top 10 hits in 1967. 

Thank you for reading.

Phil Nee

Those Were the Days will celebrate Christmas Saturday night with a host of great holiday tunes from our favorite artists of the 50's through the 80's.  We will feature some of the great musical moments from those good ole' days and the 'Nee Deep Christmas Group' might even make a few appearances.

Back in the old days at home we always had the radio on while the folks were dining on oyster stew and I was stewing over how many presents my sister had,  and how many I didn't  have.  She was usually on the 'nice' list.  Whatever your holiday plans are for Christmas Eve, I hope you will have the radio on in the background. 

Merry Christmas from the Solid Gold Dancers and me!

Phil

This week on Those Were The Days hear some of the hottest 45's from the 1969 Billboard survey.  We will feature some of the top songs that were on the charts as the 60's ended and the decade of the 70's drew near.  It was the year that my parents sprung for a color tv made by Curtis Mathis and a UHF antenna.  I was able to watch Sesame Street,  which debuted in November, and I quickly discovered Marsha and her sisters on the Brady Bunch.  Tunes from CCR, Three Dog Night,  and the Beatles along with your special requests will be featured on this weeks program.  Listen for the chance to win when we play trivia and have a great time at 33 and 45 revolutions per minute.  Those Were the Days can be heard on WRCO FM 100.9 Saturday nights between 6 pm and Midnight.  Spend Christmas Eve with us next Saturday  night.  Can you believe that it is so close to the end of the year? 

Thanks for reading.  I will look forward to hearing from you Saturday night.

Phil

Hey Rock and Rollers!  On this weeks Those Were The Days Saturday night program,  Lee Loughnane will be my guest.  Lee has been the trumpet player in the great group Chicago since 1967.  I played trumpet in the Ithaca junior high and high school bands from 1976 until I was asked to go to study hall in the Spring of 1982.  So you can see that Lee and I have a lot in common.  Chicago has a brand new Christmas album in stores and available for down load.  Hear about that from Lee Loughnane and  we will play some classic Chicago hits on this weeks show.  The request line will be open and you will be able to try and win prizes from the grab bag of goodies.  You just have to remember some stuff from the good old days.  Be with us on WRCO FM 100.9 this Saturday night between 6 pm and Midnight.

Thanks for the good feedback on last weeks 71 from '71 year end countdown.  It was great fun putting it together.

Philip

As we approach the end of the year, it is time for our annual classic year end countdown.  This year we will flash back 40 years to 1971 and remember the top 71 tunes.  I will be counting them down on this weeks Those Were The Days between 6 pm and Midnight Saturday night.  It was a great year for music and it featured many future greats that saw the first signs of success on the music charts.

New artists in 1971 included:  The Osmonds,  Helen Reddy,  Alice Cooper, Olivia Newton John,  Cat Stevens,  Rod Stewart, and Earth, Wind, & Fire.  The top 10 selling artists according to Billboard magazine were the Bee Gees, The Jackson 5, Bread, Dawn, The Carpenters,  Aretha Franklin,  The Osmonds,  Chicago,  Three Dog Night, and James Brown.   Hear songs from many of these artists on this weeks show during the 1971 end of the year countdown.

Thank you for reading this.  I hope you enjoy this weekends special show.

Phil

Return with us to 1974 during this weekends Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  Hear the story behind the number one song this weekend in '74.  Billy Swan remembers his chart topper 'I Can Help'.  Billy wrote Clyde McPhatter's big hit 'Lover Please',  was a member of Kris Kristofferson's band, and he was a record producer before he enjoyed his surprise hit in late 1974.  Our six hour tribute to the 50's through the 80's pop radio memories hits the airwaves  between 6 pm and Midnight Saturday night and can be heard  on WRCO FM 100.9.  We will take your requests, play trivia, and we wont act our age!  I hope to hear from you Saturday night.

Phil

Those Were The Days began on October 12th 1986.  We now currently play songs that were new when the show started!  The show is a Top 40 variety show which features music from 1954 through 1989.  I began collecting records in 1971.  My first 45 was 'Have You Seen Her?' by the Chi-Lites.  I love to share my collection each week and its really great when someone makes me dig out something that we have never played before.  It is amazing to say it still happens after all of these years!   We do play a few album cuts that may have not been released as singles to radio over the years.  A great number of local records have made our airwaves as well.  Richland Centers' own Vilas Craig and the Vicounts and the Madison based band Clicker are among the most requested.   We do get a few requests for Country songs from time to time.  Our rule of thumb is that the song had to have made the Top 40 or Pop charts for us to play it on Those Were the Days.  That is why  you might hear some early Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, or a comedy record by Ray Stevens.  The request line number is 608 647-4155.  You can also email a request or dedication to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  I hope that you will listen to Those Were The Days Saturday night from 6 p to Midnight.

Happy Trails.

Phil