WRCO Blog

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

I was just a fresh arrival on the Willow Creek back in December of 1963.  James and Rose Mary may have wanted to take me back to the Richland Hospital and trade me, however, they did not.  I don't have memories of what was on the radio at that time, however, with my lifelong research of the music I can tell you that the tunes were good.  Among the 1963 radio hits were the following:  Louie Louie-The Kingsmen,  Everybody-Tommy Roe,  Drip Drop-Dion,  Walking The Dog-Rufus Thomas,  She's A Fool-Lesley Gore,  Forget Him-Bobby Rydell,  and Popsicles and Icicles-The Murmaids.  Join me for my Those Were The Days radio show Saturday night for some classic rock and roll.  I will be in the studio to take your requests and to play trivia.  We will take you back to the fifties through the eighties on FM 100.9.  We also talk with Richland Centers' own Vilas Craig who along with his band the Vicounts was very busy playing all across the region back in 1963.  His records remain some of your favorite requests.  Vilas will have an 80th birthday party on Saturday night December 22nd at the Phoenix Center in Richland Center.  He will give us more details during Those Were The Days this Saturday night between six and Midnight.

Phil

On Those Were The Days this Saturday night, Franke Previte will be my phone guest.  He is an Academy award winner after co-writing the songs 'I've Had The Time Of My Life'  and 'Hungry Eyes' for the movie Dirty Dancing.  He was the leader of Franke & the Knockouts back in the eighties.  They had a smash hit we still spin on Saturday night called Sweetheart. The entire catalog of that bands music has been remastered and released.  Franke also helps raise money for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network charity in Patrick Swayze's honor.  Hear about that on WRCO FM 100.9 Saturday night.  I will be in the studio to take your requests between six and midnight.  We will play trivia and have some fun.   There are four more Saturday night shows left this year.  We are going to close out the year with some cool jams.  I hope you will help me program Those Were The Days!

Phil

During this Saturday nights Those Were The Days radio show, I will be digging out the great hits from the fifties through the eighties.  The request line will be open for you to suggest one of your favorites.  We will be flashing back 50 years to late 1968 when Elvis and the Beatles were making headlines.  Elvis for his television special that was sponsored by Singer Sewing Machines.  It is now called his '68 Comeback Special. This hour of television originally aired December 3rd of 1968.  It showed Elvis that he still had a magic in front of an audience and it would lead to constant touring until his death in 1977.  Earlier this year I picked up the vinyl copy called 'The King In The Ring'.  It is the soundtrack from the special when Elvis was on a stage with his old band mates surrounded by an audience.  We will play some cuts from that historic performance Saturday night.  The Beatles 'White Album' had been released on November 22nd 1968 and by early December it was already being viewed as a classic.  It is not my favorite by the group, however, there are songs from the two album set that I think are among the groups best.  There was recently a special 50th Anniversary re-issue of the White Album.    I have that on my Christmas list.  Perhaps if I am good, Santa will bring that for me?   Those Were The Days will be the place to find some good old rock and roll and tributes to iconic moments from Elvis and the Beatles Saturday night between six and Midnight and your rock and roll requests.

Phil

The year of 1972 was my first full year of buying 45 r.p.m. records.  I would make pretend countdowns of my favorites for noone to hear (much like my current radio show! ha ha).  During the night my transistor radio was crackling with the sounds of KAAY-Little Rock, Arkansas,  WLS and WCFL-Chicago,  and any other signal that could be pulled in during a good clear night.  As a child prodigy of Top Forty music in 1972, I could have told you just about every song and artist and the names of their previous releases.  If only I could have had the ability and the desire to remember during my school days,  I might have made it out of Sextonville.  Thanksgiving holidays at the family farm were always memorable.  We would have a feast at noon and my mom would put the food away and get it back out a few more times during the day as late arrivals made their way down the gravel driveway.  There were friendly family euchre tournaments and lots of laughs.  I would use this opportunity to play the music I loved for an audience.  Some of my faves in November of 1972 were:  Rockin' Pneumonia-The Boogie Woogie Flu-Johnny Rivers,  I'd Love You To Want Me-Lobo,  It Never Rains In Southern California-Albert Hammond,  Operator-Jim Croce,  Burning Love-Elvis,  Listen To The Music-Doobie Brothers,  I Can See Clearly Now-Johnny Nash, and Your Mama Don't Dance-Loggins & Messina.   This Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 I will be playing some of those hits.  When I hear them, I am transported back to a happy childhood with a Top Forty soundtrack.  You will be able to request a song from any of the four decades that we feature during our Those Were The Days radio show between six and midnight Saturday night.    Thanks for reading this and listening to the radio.

Phil 

This Saturday night during our Those Were The Days retro radio show, we will be skimming favorites from this weekends 1988 survery.  I am feeling my age as I prepare for this weekends program.  I played these songs when they were brand new!  In 1988 I was playing the oldies on Saturday nights and there was a promo that would play featuring a bit of a  Bon Jovi song.  It proclaimed that you would not hear any of that 'new' stuff, only the good old stuff.  Our playlist has expanded since those days to include songs through 1989.  Looking at the November 17th 1988 chart, there was a real retro feel.  The Beach Boys were at number two with Kokomo which was their biggest hit in years.  Kylie Minoque as at number 3 with The Locomotion.  A song that had been number one twice before by Little Eva and Grand Funk.  Phil Collins remake of an old Mindbenders hit (Groovy Kind Of Love) was at number seven.  Baby I Love Your Way/Freebird by Will To Power was at number eight. Cheap Trick had a version of the Elvis song Don't Be Cruel in the Top 100.   Some of my other favorites from that chart include:  Look Away-Chicago,  Waiting For A Star To Fall-Boy Meets World,  Love Bites-Def Leppard,  Finish What Ya Started-Van Halen,  Forever Young-Rod Stewart,  In Your Room-Bangles,  and Wild, Wild West-The Escape Club.  Many of these artists were only available on the compact disc format and the vinyl 45 records were getting harder to find.  Do you remember cassette singles?  What a waste of money those were. 

I will be taking your suggestions for airplay of songs from the fifties through the eighties during our six hour tribute this Saturday night.  We will be playing trivia and together our lives will be back to our younger days through pop cultures biggest radio and tv hits.   Give me a call Saturday.

Phil

Hey rock and rollers.  It will be great to spin some records during this Saturday nights Those Were The Days radio program.  I hope you enjoyed a look at some of my favorite albums.  It was fun to put that together for this past weekends show.  This Saturday night I will be taking your requests, playing trivia, and saluting the Queen!  I had a chance to see the new movie Bohemian Rhapsody and it is very good.  I saw all ages in the theater.   A few college age kids were singing along to the songs.  It is great to know that the music that I loved when I was their age will live on for many years.  On the way home from the movie, I realized that we have never featured a salute to Queen during the past 32 plus years of Those Were The Days.  This Saturday night I will dig out some of my favorites and you can chime in with a request from the Queen catalog.  My friend Kent Kotal recently posted the Queen hit list on his website forgottenhits.com.  

THE QUEEN HIT LIST:

Peak Position shown for their National Top 50 Hits

1975 – Killer Queen (#11)

1976 – Bohemian Rhapsody (#4)

1976 – You’re My Best Friend (#9)

1977 – Somebody To Love (#9)

1977 – Tie Your Mother Down (#49)

1978 – We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions (#1)

1979 – Bicycle Race / Fat-Bottomed Girls (#18)

1980 – Crazy Little Thing Called Love (#1)

1980 – Play The Game (#38)

1980 – Another One Bites The Dust (#1)

1980 – Need Your Loving Tonight (#44)

1981 – Flash’s Theme (aka Flash) #39

1982 – Under Pressure (#22) Queen with David Bowie

1982 – Body Language (#11)

1984 – Radio Ga-Ga (#14)

1984 – I Want To Break Free (#45)

1986 – A Kind of Magic (#42)

1989 – I Want It All (#50)

1992 – Bohemian Rhapsody (#1)

1992 – We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions (#44)

1993 – Somebody To Love (#30) Queen with George Michael

What a list it is!  Freddie Mercury and company have a great legacy.  I hope you will join me for radio fun this Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 for Those Were The Days.  The hits will hit the airwaves between six and Midnight.

Phil

This Saturday night during Those Were The Days I will dust off a few favorite albums.  Many hours were spent jamming out to albums in my room at the old farm house.  Cassette dubs made it possible to take music with me.  My favorite music from the Those Were The Days era has always been Top Forty pop songs.  I love a three minute (or less) song which was played during radios Top Forty golden era.  Those songs led me to the record department to buy my own copies.  If I had $4.99 burning a hole in my pocket, I would spring for the entire album.  Once in a while I was not happy with my purchase and in other cases I am still listening to the record after all of these years.  During this weekends edition of Those Were The Days,  I will play some of my favorites.  Since I own over five thousand albums, it is a tough task to determine my ultimate albums.   While I like many of their songs, I have never been a big fan of Pink Floyd, Yes,  and Emerson, Lake, and Palmer albums.  A few of their long players put me to sleep.   I like more straight forward rock and roll and pop songs.  When choosing my list I included greatest hits packages.  A poor farm kid could get more bang for the buck with a package of familiar songs.  Live albums also gave me the chance to add more good songs to my collection.  I hope you will join me for the best of the fifties through the eighties on Saturday night during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  The request line will not be open this weekend.  That feature will return next Saturday night.  We have some great ideas lined up for the rest of the year.   Please join us on this blog for updates.  Perhaps you would like to weigh in with votes for your favorite albums.  Drop me a line at this blog site or send me an email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like to rate an album or give suggestions for future show themes.  Thanks for reading and we will look forward to playing some good old rock and roll Saturday night.

Phil

Saturday night I will host our annual Those Were The Days Halloween songs party on FM 100.9.  We will play some of the best haunting classics from the fifties through the eighties.  Some of these songs are requested the entire year.   Monster Mash by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett is still loved by many.   It is a song that made the Billboard charts three different years.  The last time was in the Summer of 1973!   Songs with horror movie themes have been popular since the start of rock and roll.  Every once in a while I discover a lost classic that I have never heard before.  A few years ago a listener pointed out 'The Man With The Weird Beard' by Arthur Godfrey.  That is truly a weird one that was released originally way back in 1947.  Maybe it was written about Solid Gold Dancer Ray Schroeder?  Other Those Were The Days faves include:  Frankenstein-Edgar Winter,  Haunted House-'Jumpin' Gene Simmons,  The Blob-The Five Blobs (one guy did this and his name was Bernie Nee....related to me?),  Werewolf-Five Man Electrical Band,  The Legend Of Wholly Swamp-Charlie Daniels Band,  Thriller-Michael Jackson,  Spooky-Classics IV,  Season Of The Witch-Donovan,  and Laurie (Strange Things Happen)-Dickie Lee.  I hope you will be able to attend this weekends Those Were The Days Halloween party on FM 100.9 from 6 until Midnight Saturday night.  Ask your parents if you can stay up until Midnight.  You can request any pop radio classic from the fifties through the eighties.  We will have a six pack of trivia questions for you and perhaps you will be a winner! 

Phil

Through the years Lynyrd Skynyrd has been one of the most requested groups during my Those Were The Days radio show.   The songs of this southern rock band have been used in many movies, television shows, and commericals.  This has brought their tunes to new generations of music fans.   Saturday night October 20th will be the 41st anniversary of the plane crash that took the lives of three group members.  I remember hearing the news about the crash on the radio (D-93, Dubuque)  while waiting for the school bus in 1977.  It was similar to four years prior when I was eating breakfast and heard that Jim Croce had died in a plane crash September 20th of 1973.  Both of these events had an effect on me.  At the time of the Lynyrd Skynyrd accident, they were one of the most popular groups in America.  Shortly after the tragedy the song What's Your Name, from the album Street Survivors, became at top 20 hit.  In 2003 I was able to interview Ed King who was a guitarist and songwriter with the group through the mid 70's.  Ed passed away earlier this year.   Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 I will play some of that interview and some of your favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd songs. You can even holler out 'Free Bird' if you like.  I will be taking your requests and we will be giving you the chance to win prizes during our trivia times.   The variety of the requests amazes me every week.  Last week we had requests for everything from Muddy Waters to the Beastie Boys!    If you have some time this Saturday night, I hope you will tune your transistor to 100.9 FM. 

Phil

In the first thirty years of rock and roll there were some awesome 'b' sides.  They were the side of the little 45 r.p.m. records that were not the hits.  There was a never another group that had better flip side songs then the Beatles.   Several times their projected hit side of the record took a back seat to the other set of grooves in the plastic.  Todays music buyers will never get the thrill of buying a song and getting a bonus free tune that you liked even better. During Those Were The Days on Saturday night, I will dig out our old Beatles records and flip them over.  The most requested Beatles 'b' side during the last 32 years of our rock and roll program is Rain, which was the flip of the hit Paperback Writer.  That may be my number one Fab Four flip.  Other Phil faves include:  I'm Down,  I Saw Her Standing There,  Don't Let Me Down,  Revolution,  For You Blue,  She's A Woman,  I Am The Walrus,  There's A Place, and This Boy.   I will be bringing out the records this Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9.  You can request a song from the fifties through the eighties.  If trivia is your thing,  we will have that feature as well.  Lets have a good time Saturday night!

Phil

Back in 1983 I was a mix tape king!  Making tapes with the top hits, oldies, and foolish skits mixed together, was what I lived for.  Once in a while I would put together a tape and send it to a radio station.  While my demos were not very good, I did get a couple of part time offers.  Most were offering a few hours a week for minimum wage in a far away town.  How was a young guy suppose to pay rent, buy the latest 45 r.p.m. records, and a bottle of Ski?   I was helping on the farm during the day and playing my little records at bars, high school record hops, and parties at night.  Some of the most popular songs in the Fall of 1983 included: Burning Down The House-Talking Heads,  Delirious-Prince,  Don't Cry-Asia,  (She's) Sexy + 17-Stray Cats,  Safety Dance-Men Without Hats, Uptown Girl-Billy Joel, Modern Love-David Bowie,  Heart and Soul-Huey Lewis, and She Works Hard For the Money-Donna Summer.   MTV was the number one place for music lovers to discover new music months before it would hit the charts.  I would watch  videos and the next day march to the Music Shop in downtown Richland Center where I would order the latest hits for the dances.   This Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9, I will be cranking out a few hits from 1983.  After going on a long weekend tour to visit friends last weekend,  I will be back to host a live edition of Those Were The Days Saturday night.  Please give a call if you are within range of our signal.  The Solid Gold Dancers and me will be hosting the festivities with trivia and all kinds of jumping hits!  This Saturday night between six and midnight WRCO FM 100.9 will have the live radio light on for you.  Lets party like it's 1983.

Phil

There are many that listen to the same music I do that feel 1973 did not have much to offer in terms of memorable hits.  It really had a variety of soft pop hits, hard rock, country, and novelty songs.  Maybe that is why I consider it one of my favorite years for pop radio memories.  Perhaps it is because I was still a newbie at collecting music and scanning the radio dial.  It was a year that many of the top music artists appeared on television shows such as Sonny & Cher,  American Bandstand,  The Midnight Special,  Don Kirshner's In Concert, or the many talk shows.  We could not wait to see what new artists looked like.  I first saw Jim Croce perform and I remember thinking that Helen Reddy was very pretty!  In my travels to Saffell's in Richland Center, I saw brand new albums in the bins.  They included:  Goodbye Yellow Brick Road-Elton John,  Red Rose Speedway-Wings,  Dark Side Of The Moon-Pink Floyd,  Billion Dollar Babies-Alice Cooper,  Desperado-Eagles,  The Captain & Me-Doobie Brothers,  Now & Then-The Carpenters,  and Aloha From Hawaii-Elvis.  I could not afford to buy many albums on my allowance.  That meant I had to shell out 89 cents for a new 45 single.  This Saturday night I will be playing some of the best of 1973.  I have another family thing going and so I will not be able to take your requests as my services will be needed elsewhere.  I hope you will listen to Those Were The Days this Saturday night.   We will be taking your requests and playing trivia again during the month of October.

Phil