WRCO Blog

What a great night of requests this past Saturday night!  You made me dig for songs not played in a while and some that we have never played.  The hotline will be open and the 'Magic Cow Bell' will be ringing when its trivia time this Saturday night. We will also feature a few Elvis favorites and rare cuts.  

Many of us can well remember where we were on August 16th of 1977 when we first heard the news of his death.  I was with a cousin of mine and we were taking some time for bike riding because the rain that day had postponed the hay making.  When we got back to the house I went to my room and turned on the radio.  ABC news was just starting on WRCO and the newscast began with a portion of the song Hound Dog.  The newsman than stated that the King Of Rock And Roll had died in Memphis.  It didn't seem like it was real.  It took a few hours for it to sink in.  I had been a big Elvis fan as a very young boy.  I even saved my change and sent away for an Elvis record that was advertised on TV.  I used to imitate him in front of the mirror and branched out to Mrs. Varana's classroom in 5th grade.  This even won over a few 6th grade girls who actually talked to me after my Elvis tributes!  

Elvis is probably more popular today than in 1977.  We still get some of his songs requested each weekend.  Request one of your favorite Elvis tunes during this weekends program.  I hope to hear from you this Saturday night. 

Phil

During the recent Greater Richland Area Cancer Elimination radio auction, two of our great Saturday night listeners were  winning bidders and will now get to program their favorite songs during an hour of Those Were The Days.  Thanks to everyone who bid on this unique chance.  Congratulations to Marlene and Jeff.  They will each get to tell me what to play during an hour of Those Were The Days.  The show will air on Saturday night September 8th.  Thanks to everyone who helped G.R.A.C.E. in any way this year.

Phil

Thanks to everyone who bid on an hours worth of music during our radio auction for Greater Richland Area Cancer Elimination.  The two winning bidders combined to contribute  $315.00 to this years Walk With Grace.  Congratulations to Marlene and Jeff!.  They are two of our most loyal Saturday night listeners.  They each will get to program an hours worth of music on Those Were The Days.  The show will air on Saturday night September 8th on FM 100.9.

Phil

The group Earth Wind And Fire had a pile of hits in the 70's and 80's.  An interview with group member Ralph Johnson will be among the highlights of this weekends Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  The super group was getting much airplay this weekend in 1978 with a Beatles remake 'Got To Get You Into My Life'.  That song was from the ill fated movie 'Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band' which was getting panned by the critics during the Summer of 1978.  Listen for chart memories from '78 and get set to request a song during our 6 hour tribute to Rock And Roll that was made  between 1954 and 1989.  I hope to hear from you Saturday night.

Phil-WRCO

This week on the show we will feature another night of songs with titles and lyrics about walking and running.  I think that you will be amazed at the amount of songs about motion.  The following is an example of the types of songs you can hear on WRCO's Those Were The Days on Saturday night:  Walk Don't Run,  Runaway,  Walking In The Rain,  Walk Away Renee,  Fox On The Run,  Born To Run,  Sleepwalk,  I Walk The Line,  Band On The Run,  Running Bear,  Walk This Way,  Take It On The Run, and many many more.  After six hours featuring  all of those motion songs, we will be in great shape!  Tune your radio to WRCO FM 100.9 Saturday night.

We hope to see you on August 11th for the classic car show at the Starlite 14 Drive In.  Beautiful cars, vintage music, and a benefit for the Smiles For A Child effort.  The local effort also continues to save our in door and out door theatres in Richland Center.  I hope you will get involved.

Thanks for reading.

Phil

I was very young in 1969, however, I remember my parents and aunt and uncle in front of the Curtis Mathis tv watching the Apollo 11 mission and the first steps on the moon.  I can still see  the glow of the tv from the living room and going outside to the screened front porch to look at the moon in hopes of seeing men walking on the moon with my own eyes!

There were some great hits on the radio during July of 1969.  I will spin some of them for you on this Saturday nights edition of  Those Were The Days. You will be able to hear an interview with Denny Zager.  He was 1/2 of the duo Zager and Evans.  That union has the title of 'Biggest One Hit Wonder Of All Time'.   In The Year 2525 was number one for 6 weeks in the Summer of 1969 (including the day man first walked on the moon).  Zager and Evans never had another chart success after that.  Hear some of the great hits from the Summer of 1969 and requests from throughout Soutwest Wisconsin.  WRCO FM 100.9 is the place this Saturday night for 6 hours of great pop radio memories.

Phil

The Beach Boys are touring in support of a new album and a single which we are currently playing on WRCO FM 100.9 called 'That's Why God Made The Radio'.  It has been 50 years since their first single 'Surfin' debuted on the radio.  They were one of the few American groups that made sure that the Top 40 charts of the 60's were not totally dominated by British acts.  A while back I interviewed  David Marks.  He was one of the founding members of the Beach Boys.  As a neighbor of the Wilson's he was asked to join the group at the age of 14.  Five albums later he left the group at the top of its popularity.  He is back with them this Summer and touring the World during the 50th anniversary year. 

Hear tunes from the Beach Boys and your rock and roll requests on this Saturday nights edition of Those Were The Days on FM 100.9.  I thought we had a great show last week.  There were so many requested songs that we hadn't dusted off for awhile.  It was incredible!  Thank you for making the host of Those Were The Days proud.

Phil

This week on WRCOs' Those Were The Days we will check out the hot happenings from the Summer of 1981.  I think it was one of the best ever in terms of music, tv, and movies.  We will prove our point on this Saturday nights show.  Big songs on the radio came from such acts as: Loverboy,  Moody Blues,  Pat Benatar,  REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, and more.  We will hear the music and from some of the artists that were enjoying Summer hits in 1981.

Top movies included:  Mel Brook's History Of The World Part One,  Bill Murray in Stripes,  Raiders Of The Lost Ark,  the James Bond action film For Your Eyes Only,  Cheech and Chong's Nice Dreams,  and The Great Muppet Caper.  I watched all of these in downtown Richland Center and later at the Starlite 14 Drive In (one of our sponsors).

We will feature an open phone line all night for your choice requests and you can win a cool prize when we play trivia.  Hear the best of the 50's through the 80's pop radio music on this weeks Those Were The Days from app: 6:00 p to Midnight.

I hope to year from you this week.

Phil

The WRCO G.R.A.C.E.  radio auction begins July 30th on WRCO FM 100.9.  Those Were The Days fans can bid on one hour of the show!  If you are the successful bidder, you will be able to program one hour of music during a future Saturday night.  The songs must be rock and roll classics from the 50's through the 80's  that we play on Saturday nights.   We play app: 15 songs  per hour on Those Were The Days.  Help out Greater Richland Area Cancer Elimination  and tell me what to play for one hour on a future edition of old time rock and roll on WRCO FM 100.9.  Listen for future updates on the G.R.A.C.E. auction during Those Were The Days.  Watch for details on our website and keep checking this blog for more information on a fun fundraiser.

Phil

This week on Those Were The Days we will turn the clock back to this weekend in 1964.  Everyone remembers that the Beatles took the first shot and led the British Invasion on the American charts that year.  This weekend several American acts such as the Beach Boys were firing back great hits. 

Last Saturday night, someone requested 'Raindance' by the Guess Who.  That got me thinking that we should play a few rain songs this week and maybe we can shake some rain out of the sky.

It was a sad day recently when we heard of the death of Andy Griffith.  I wanted to live in Mayberry when I was a kid.  My dad had an Andy Griffith 78 rpm record that came out long before The Andy Griffith Show. The record featured  Andy's stand up routine "What It Was, Was Football" which is still funny after all of the these years.   He was so talented and had so much class.

Last week we lost Don Grady to cancer.  Don was well known for his role in My Three Sons. He was also the drummer of a 60's music group known as The Yellow Balloon.   He was my guest a few years ago on Those Were The Days and I will feature a bit of that interview on this weeks program.

We will also be taking your requests and playing trivia.  I hope to hear from you this Saturday night between 6 and Midnight  when we again 'take those old records off the shelf' on WRCO FM 100.9.

Phil

This week on Those Were The Days, you will hear a tribute to some of the best Summer songs of all time.  Songs that take us back to those care free times.  Here is a list of the Top 12 All Time Summer Songs according to readers of the Forgotten Hits website and Scott Shannon of the True Oldies Channel.

12.  A Summer Song-Chad & Jeremy

 11.  Itsy Bitsy Teenie  Weenie Yellow  Polka Dot Bikini-Brian Hyland

 10.  California Girls-Beach Boys

   9.  Wipe Out-Surfaris

   8.  In The Summertime-Mungo Jerry

   7.  Surfin'USA-Beach Boys

   6.  Under The Boardwalk-The Drifters

   5.  Hot Fun in the Summertime-Sly And The Family Stone

   4.  Summer Of '69-Bryan Adams

   3.  All Summer Long-The Beach Boys

   2.  Summertime Blues-Eddie Cochran

   1.  Summer In The City-Lovin Spoonful

You can listen for a few of these songs and more this Saturday night between 6 p and Midnight on WRCO FM 100.9.  We will be taking your requests and when we ring the 'Magic Cow Bell', you could be the trivia winner.  Happy Summertime!

Phil

Class Of '82

This week on Those Were The Days from WRCO FM 100.9, we will feature some of the great songs from the Summer of 1976.  Relive the sounds of the Bicentenial Summer.  Great TV theme music from Happy Days,  Laverne and Shirley, and  Welcome Back Kotter, along with a host of music and memories from that awesome Summer so long ago.  Hear other features including a few twin spins, and time sweeps from Those Were The Days.   Join us for great radio memories from the 50's through the 80's from 6 pm until Midnight Saturday night.

I hope to see you at Star Spangled Celebration this weekend.  Thanks to everyone who volunteers and attends one of the only major non-profit concerts in the World!  Ron and I will be the announcers for a 19th year!

This week you can take 2 to 3 minute vacations with classic rock n' roll songs on WRCOs' Those Were The Days.  Inspired by a current TV commercial that features a song for every region that is shown, we will pay tribute to Memphis,  San Francisco, Detroit, New York, and others.  While New York and L.A. might be the most often cities mentioned in songs,  Cleveland has had its share of tribute tunes!   The phone lines will be open for all of your requests and a chance to talk music with the poor old d.j. (me). Request a song for your dad during this Fathers Day weekend.  Listen for your chance to answer trivia and to win great prizes. 

Those  Were The Days begins after CBS news at 6 pm Saturday night and we will play that old rock and roll until Midnight.

Phil

I hope you enjoyed last weeks Time Sweep show featuring the best of 1957 through 1987.  This week I will be back in my bean bag chair and ready to spin your requests.  We will ring the 'Magic Cow Bell' and give you a chance to win some great prizes.  I will bring out a few 45's from this weekend in 1970 that will take us back to the first days of the Milwaukee Brewers.  A team called the Seattle Pilots had just moved to Milwaukee.  Music fans were mourning the loss of the Beatles.  It had just been announced that the group was breaking up.  I had just finished a stint at Neptune school and my Summer vacation was starting.  I remember taping a portable radio to the handle bars of my red Huffy bike and riding around listening to the radio.  I hope you will join me for another flash back weekend with Those Were The Days Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 from 6 pm until Midnight.

Rock and Roll!

Phil

Join the Southwest Wisconsin band of campfire gangs,  porch sitters,  Scrabble players,  cruisers, and music lovers that listen to WRCO 100.9 FM on Saturday nights.  Those Were The Days will fly you back to the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's again this weekend.  Join us for trivia and lots more fun stuff. 

Phil

After hearing about the passing of music legend Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, I thought it would be good to pay tribute to the music of the Brothers Gibb this Saturday night.  I personally love their earlier hits and ballads, however, we will spin a couple from all of their years as hit makers.  Here is a piece that appeared on Kent Kotal's Forgotten HIts website.

Wake up in 1980 this weekend as Those Were The Days remembers a Spring season of great music from the likes of Boz Scaggs,  J. Geils Band,  Bob Seger, The Clash, and Reo Speedwagon.  We will be taking your rock and roll requests from the 50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's on Those Were The Days.  Join us for the rock and roll party.  It should be a great weekend for camp fires.  Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9 sounds even better under the stars.

Those Were The Days will remember Donna Summer this weekend.  She dominated the charts from 1975 through the early 80's.  I am sad to say that there was more sad news this week about a legendary performer. 

Phil

This Saturday night on WRCOs' Those Were the Days, we will again pay tribute to 1977 during this 35th anniversary year.  It was a year in music that featured a contrast of styles including: Country, Disco, and Rock.  Singer song writer Alan O'Day had the hottest hit on the radio 35 years ago this weekend.  His tune 'Undercover Angel' was just entering the Top 40 survey and eventually would go to number one.    Hear the story behind that song with Alan on Saturday night.

Thank you for all of the good coments.  I hear from listeners that string up speakers and listen by the camp fire on Saturday night. They are out on a boat somewhere or are leaning back in a chair enjoying a Ski soda pop.   It is an honor to be in the back ground of your weekend fun! 

Phil

There was a ton of great music coming from small dash board speakers and portable radios this weekend in 1966.  I will be spinning a few of the hottest hits.  I will also play a couple of songs from Wisconsins' hottest band in the Spring and Summer of 1966. The Robbs from Milwaukee were appearing on National TV on the hit show Where The Action Is.  The Robbs have been dubbed as the 'Kings Of Bubbling Under'.  Billboard Magazine publishes its weekly Top 100 and during the 60's and 70's they would also add a few extras that they called  Bubbling Under the Top 100 hits.  The Robbs hold the record for the most records of any act that never made the Hot 100.  Their songs include: Race With The Wind, Bittersweet, and Last Of The Wine.  Group member Craig Krampf will have a few coments about those days of long ago. 

I hope you enjoyed the Top 50 IRS (It Really Shoulda Been A Top Ten Hit) countdown last Saturday night.  Get those requests ready!  After a week off from requesting,  I am sure there will be some lost gems that you come up with this week.  The Magic Cowbell will return when we play trivia Saturday night on TWTD.

Phil

This week I will feature the 5th Annual It Really Shoulda Been A Top 10 hit countdown.  We have partnered with radio host/author Rich Appel these last few years to bring you this list of  songs that have been voted on by music lovers from across the globe.  Many of your favorite artists such as Bruce Springsteen,  the Byrds,  the New Colony Six,  Beach Boys,  Four Seasons,  and Neil Diamond are included in this years top 50 countdown.  Nearly 4,000 songs were voted on and the ones you hear on Saturday night are the best of the best.  The countdown begins just after 6 on Saturday night.  Later in the show we will feature hits from this weekend in 1977. 

Thanks for checking out the latest Those Were The Days news!

Phil

Thanks for all of the great requests last Saturday night.  There were several rare ones  that caused me to rummage through my piles of cds.  Play stump the old d.j. again this week!  Give me a call and ask for a great old hit from the 50's through the 80's.  We will play trivia and feature the music and profile of Gino Vannelli.  His biggest hit was in 1978 with the song I Just Wanna Stop which peaked at number 4 in Billboard magazine.   Among his other radio favorites were Living Inside Myself from 1981, and People Gotta Move from 1974.  In our Lost 45 segment I will spin Gino's forgotten 1985 tune Black Cars.   Listen and win great prizes.  Our winners the last few weeks have hailed from as far away as Westby,  Cross Plains,  Baraboo, and Boscobel.  It is great to know that there are people that far out in radio land that still enjoy the same old memories that I do!

Phil