WRCO Blog

When school would get out in May,  I would get off the bus and get on the Farmall Super C tractor and cultivate corn for the next month.  It was a way for my parents to give me something to occupy my time and perhaps it was punishment for phone calls they received during the school year from Mr. Modjeski.  There were only a couple of bright points of this long and boring job.  Once in a while when I was at the end of the row near Highway B, a cute girl from my school would go by.  I was motivated when I thought about her being impressed by that hard working Phil Nee on his 23 horsepower tractor.  The other bright part of riding the tractor all day, while turtles from Willow creek got to the end of the row before you did, was trying to listen to the radio.  My Panasonic AM radio came with a white ear plug.  You could hear the radio only if you cranked the volume and you held your hand over your other ear.  This made it even harder to stay in the corn rows.  The Super C motor also caused static over my favorite songs.  This week in 1978 I was struggling to hear songs such as:  Baby Hold On-Eddie Money,  Werewolves Of London-Warren Zevon,  Because The Night-Patti Smith Group,  Sweet Talking Woman-Electric Light Orchestra,  Still The Same-Bob Seger,  Only The Good Die Young-Billy Joel,  and Shadow Dancing-Andy Gibb.   Forty years later I can hear the songs better with my radio/hearing protector headphones.  I still do drive a Farmall Super C when I am mowing the grass.  Even after 40 years, the ladies going by on the highway are still not impressed.    This week on Those Were The Days from WRCO FM 100.9, I will be taking those old records off the shelf.  Give me a call this holiday weekend while you are doing fun stuff.  I will be in the studio between six and Midnight Saturday night.   You could be one of our six big winners from the trivia challenges. 

Philip  (corn cultivator boy of the year 1978)

I have always loved vinyl records.  My dad had a collection of 78s that I played when I was old enough to lift the tone arm on the record player.  Songs by Bing Crosby and Spike Jones got regular spins at the old farm house.  I saved money from my allowance and one day offered money to my dad to buy some of his records.  He told me that I could have them and that may be the reason I still buy records today.  It would still be a couple of years before I actually went to the store and bought my own music.  The radio was always on in the house and barn.  There were plenty of hits on the radio in May of 1969.  It was still the prime of Top Forty radio.  This week during my Those Were The Days radio show on FM 100.9, I will be playing of few of those classics from the first half of 1969 including:  Get Back-Beatles,  Hawaii Five-O-Ventures,  Grazin' In The Grass-Friends Of Distinction,  Bad Moon Rising-C.C.R.,  Gimme Gimme Good Lovin-Crazy Elephant,  and Sweet Cherry Wine-Tommy James.  The request line will be open for you to ask for a hit from the fifties through the eighties Saturday night between six and Midnight.   We will be playing trivia and giving you a chance to play along.  With better weather this weekend, I expect some of our Those Were The Days campfire gangs to check in from the hills and valleys of Southwest Wisconsin.  It could get wild by the time we head to the 'party at the moon tower'  at Midnight.  I hope you will join me for Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9 Saturday night!

Philip Nee

I graduated from high school in May of 1982.  You have never heard such a roar as the one that came from the Ithaca teachers the night they finally got rid of my class!   We were ready to conquer the World.  I noticed right away how much more stress there was when a small community was no longer looking out for you.  There are many more deadlines, student loans, security deposits, competition for jobs, and lonely nights away from home. Uncle Ricco in the movie Napoleon Dynamite felt that pain of missing high school.  In the film he even tried to go back to that year with a time travel machine he bought on the internet. We can't physically go back, so music is the only way.  Music has always been a comfort for me and in the Spring of 1982 there were lots of songs for which I would turn up the volume including:  Heat Of The Moment-Asia, Hang Fire-Rolling Stones,  Fantasy-Aldo Nova,  I Love Rock n' Roll-Joan Jett,  Don't Talk To Strangers-Rick Springfield,  and We Got The Beat-The Go-Go's.  My classmates were also jamming to these songs in May of '82 as Mr. Mojeski (our fearless principle) gave his speech about not seeing 'eye to eye with the class of 1982'.  I wasn't paying attention, because I was worrying about finding a blank cassette tape so I could make a mix tape to impress my girl friend.  My cassette/Walkman had two ear phone jacks so that we could both listen to the cool tunes at the same time.   We will be jamming with the hits of 1982 along with all of the requests for songs from the fifties through the eighties on this Saturday nights Those Were The Days on FM 100.9.  Listen and win during trivia time.  We will have a blast from our past between six and midnight courtesy of 100.9 FM.     

Phil

It has been fifty years since 1968.  It was Top Forty radios'  finest time.  There were songs that were two to three minutes long.  Music in all kinds of styles including: rock, folk, country, r & b, and middle of the road all existing on the same charts.  Some of the first songs I remember hearing on the radio came out in 1968.  Bobby Goldsboro's song Honey played that entire year.  The Beatles' latest was Lady MaDonna,  James Brown was singing I Got A Feelin',  Sly & The Family Stone were encouraging us to Dance To The Music,  and the Box Tops had their second hit with Cry Like A Baby.  The radio in our farm kitchen always had music going.  I remember the radio reports in June of 1968 when Bobby Kennedy was killed, updates on student protests and the violent Democratic Convention in Chicago in the Summer of that year.  While I was not old enough to understand what was happening,  I could tell by the reactions and the conversations of the adults around me that it was a rough time.  The music gave everyone an escape route.   I hope you will join me for musical memories from 1968 and for your rock and roll requests from the fifties through the eighties during Saturday nights Those Were The Days radio show.  We will be offering you the chance to win prizes during our trivia contests.  I hope you will remember to tune in 100.9 Fm Saturday night during Those Were the Days.

Phil Nee

Saturday night on FM 100.9  we will spend some time playing the songs from the fifties through the eighties that you request.  I will also share excerpts of an interview I recorded recently with John Galobich.  He was a member of a group that almost made it big.  The Richochettes had a few 45's that got played in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin and Illinois.  They opened shows for the Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five,  the Mindbenders, and other big names of the 1960's.  John has great stories about that time in music and has written a couple of books.  Milwaukee had many great bands at that time including:  Esquires,  Legends,  Little Artie & the Pharoahs, Harvey Scales & the Seven Sounds, Messengers, and The Robbs.   We still play some of the records that these groups released.  In those days artists could cut a record and take it to the nearest radio station for airplay.  There were many charts that featured songs from local and regional groups that ranked right along with the Beatles and the biggest bands of the day.    I will attempt to take you back to that magical era this Saturday night during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9 starting at 6 pm. Get ready for trivia!  Thanks for reading.

Phil

The Spring of 1976 was a wonderful time in my life.  I was twelve and would be thirteen later that year.   The radio was on every where I went.  My Panasonic portable went everywhere with me.  The radio was on while I was riding the bus, at school in the Art room.  The farm truck and the barn radio kept me going while I was doing the chores.   When I look at the chart today, I realize that I could have named the top fifty songs on the pop charts at my tender age back in '76.  Some Spring favorites included:  Let Your Love Flow-Bellamy Brothers,  Right Back Where We Started From-Maxine Nightingale,  Dream Weaver-Gary Wright,  Show Me The Way-Peter Frampton,  Bohemian Rhapsody-Queen,  December 1963 (Oh What A Night)-Four Seasons,   Dream On-Aerosmith,  Take It To The Limit-Eagles,  Lorelei-Styx,  Rhiannon (Will You Ever Win)-Fleetwood Mac,  and Shout It Out Loud-Kiss.  It is still fun to jam to these songs today!  We will spin a few 1976 gems and we will play your requests this Saturday night.  Get ready for trivia because six times (one per hour) we will quiz you on pop culture from the fifties through the eighties.  I may also play a few Record Store Day gems.  Saturday April 21st is Record Store Day across the World.  A journey to Madison with one of my fellow record nerds should produce some vinyl gems.  I have been saving my pop and peanuts allowance (don't tell June).  Hopefully I will find a few rare gems in Madison Saturday.   Thank you for reading.

Phil

One of our all time favorite guests will join us on the phone during our six hour rock and roll retro show on Saturday night.  Ray Graffia of the New Colony Six will look back on the history of that Chicago group.  It has been fifty years since the Six had the big hit 'I Will Always Think About You'.    It has been over twenty years since the New Colony Six celebrated our Those Were The Days anniversary show with a concert here in Richland Center.  My wife, June, was not feeling well that night.  She had just found out that our family was going to expand.  Our son, James, will be twenty in July!  The current NC6 will be a part of the Cornerstones of Chicago Rock show at this years Summerfest on June 28th!  The New Colony Six had a couple of well known national hits, however, several other songs were hits here in Wisconsin thanks to WLS radio.  The group has always been a request favorite on Those Were The Days.  I have talked with listeners that remember their Chicago heros playing at a high school or local community building here in Southwest Wisconsin.   We will hear from Ray Graffia, the request line will be wide open, the trivia bell will be ringing, and I will be in the studio this Saturday night to weave everything together.  What a show we have planned!   Perhaps you can join the party.  Just tune to 100.9  WRCO FM 100.9 between six and midnight for pop radio memories from the fifties through the eighties.

Philip James Nee

Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9, we will be flying back to 1973.  I have argued with other music nerds about that year.  It seems to me that it was one of the best years of the seventies for rock and roll music.  Others seem to feel that there were way to many  non-rock hits and cheese story songs.  They are not wrong, however, that is what makes the year good.  There was music for everyone. I had a great year buying records.  There were songs from Elton John, Deep Purple,  Paul McCartney, Led Zepplin, Carly Simon, Loggins & Messina, Spinners, and Joe Walsh released during the first six months of the year.  We will spend some time hanging out in 1973 during the second half of Those Were The Days.   In the first half of our Saturday night radio show,  I will bring back stacks of one hit wonders from the seventies.  I have dedicated two six hour shows to one hit artists in the past.  It seems the seventies featured more memorable one shots than any other decade.  Some of my faves include:  Reflections Of My Life-Marmalade,  Dancing In the Moonlight-King Harvest,  Beach Baby-First Class,  Magic-Pilot,  Hot Child In The City-Nick Gilder,  Drivers Seat-Sniff n' The Tears,  Do You Know What I Mean-Lee Michaels,  Smoke From  A Distant Fire-Sanford Townsend Band,  Get It On-Chase,  Tighter & Tighter-Alive n' Kickin',  White Lies-Blue Eyes-Bullet,  and Ma Belle Amie-The Tea Set.   It will be a pleasure to spin a few of these on my Close and Play record player this weekend.  I will not be in the studio to take your requests and give away trivia prizes  this weekend. Those features will return next Saturday night.  I hope you tune in to Those Were The Days on FM 100.9 on Saturday night.

Phil

On our Those Were The Days radio program Saturday night, I will be heading back to the Spring of 1981 through the theater of the mind which is music!  It was a great time to be listening to the radio.  There was a new artist on the radio that called himself John Cougar.  His record 'Aint Even Done With The Night' was one of the best coming from those 3 inch radio speakers.  Another top Phil Nee jam was from a band out of Canada.  They had a great rocker back in 1972 called 'Could Have Been A Lady'.  In 1981 April Wine was back on the scene with 'Just Between You and Me'. (I think that was the prom theme for a few area high schools).  Another Canada band called Loverboy was breaking through with 'Turn Me Loose'.  Blondie was heading to number one with the first Top Forty song to feature a rap.  The tune was called 'Rapture'.  I was outstanding in my field playing baseball for the mighty Ithaca Bulldogs.  It was hard to focus on the game for a young fellow that had all of those tunes running through his head and a girlfriend that was running for the track team at the other end of the football field.  How was a guy supposed to be alert for a fly ball in right field and look over his shoulder at a pretty girl at the same time?  The times they were tough!  That young lady surprised me with a gift after a game one night.  She bought me the latest REO Speedwagon album (High Infidelity).   I have transfered that to digital after all of these years and if you request an REO song Saturday night, it will be from the dub of that album she gifted me all of those years ago.  I hope you will tune in to Those Were The Days this holiday weekend while you are hanging out with family and friends.  Request a song and try to solve the trivia questions during the FM 100.9 radio program between six and Midnight Saturday night.  We will be spinning the best of the fifties through the eighties.

Philip Nee

I can vividly recall a classmate bringing 45's of the 1910 Fruitgum Company to school.  The teacher would play Simon Says on the classroom turntable that was built like a tank.  The entire class would play the game.  I rarely got to go out for a recess because of my mouth running (which now I get paid for).  On those rainy days when the rest of the class had to stay inside with me, we would listen to those little records that were pressed on the Buddah label.  This Saturday night I get to talk to one of the founding members of the 1910 Fruitgum Company (Frank Jeckell) during my Those Were The Days radio show.   It was fifty years ago this month when the song Simon Says was peaking in the Top Ten.   Hear about Bubblegum music and request a song between six and Midnight during our fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties radio show on FM 100.9.  Spring is finally here!  It will not be long before campfire gangs and campers will calling for songs.  It is very rewarding to hear from listeners of all ages.  I hope to hear from you during Those Were The Days this Saturday night.

Phil

I am excited about the arrivial of Spring.  The cold March winds keep slapping me in the face this week.  Perhaps some warm Spring songs on WRCO FM 100.9 Saturday night will motivate Mother Nature to bring on the next season. During our  Those Were The Days radio program, we will play a few Spring related songs from the fifties through the eighties.  One of the earliest rock and roll songs that paid tribute to the new season came from a group of local guys.  They were known as the Kollege Kings and later were renamed Vilas Craig and the ViCounts.  A record called Spring Fever was recorded in April of 1959 at Kay Bank Studios in Minneapolis.  This has been requested during the Saturday night show often over the years.  Many remember seeing Vilas and the band play live around Wisconsin.  Others like the sound of a record that was a hard rocking song and perhaps ahead of its time.  There are other songs that remind me of Spring even though the lyrics don't have anyting to do with the season.  That first time I could ride my Huffy bike (which featured a banana seat) following a long Winter was heavenly for a young boy.  I would strap my Panasonic radio to the back and try to catch some tunes while I rode to the main road.  My dad would be working in the tractor shed getting ready to turn some soil and plant the oats.  It is amazing how certain songs can paint a picture in your mind that is very vivid even though it may have been forty to forty-five yeears ago.  I will be spinning some tunes on WRCO FM 100.9 Saturday night that will paint memories.  We will be playing trivia and taking your requests.  Celebrate Spring, St Patrick's Day,  the weekend, family and friends, or whatever you want!  Just make sure you tune in WRCOs' Those Were The Days on FM 100.9.  It could get wild this Saturday night!

Phil

This week I interviewed singer/songwriter Andy Kim.  When I mentioned to someone that I was talking with Andy, they said "I thought he was dead".  They, like many over the years, are not sure who he is and some think Andy Gibb and Andy Kim were the same person. With all of his success, it is ironic that he remains all but nameless and faceless today.  Most people know Andy Kim's music.  He recorded twelve songs that made the Top 100 including:  How'd We Ever Get This Way,  Baby, I Love You,  Be My Baby and a 1974 number one song called Rock Me Gently.  His most famous song came as a co-writer with Jeff Barry.  The two wrote Sugar, Sugar which went to number one for the cartoon group the Archies in 1969.  Andy Kim is a great guy that I have gotten to know through the years and he has some cool stories.  Saturday night hear how John Lennon presented Andy with a gold record for the record Rock Me Gently.  One of the most rewarding things about this program is that I have had the chance to talk with many artists that I grew up hearing on the radio.  Andy Kim is one of those musicians.  I will be in the studio to take your requests from the fifites throught the eighties.  Perhaps you will be the winner of our always tough trivia games.  Those Were The Days can be heard on WRCO FM 100.9 between six and Midnight each Saturday night.

Phil

This Saturday night on WRCOs'  Those Were The Days,  some of our rock and roll era lady friends may be stopping by.  There have been many songs inspired by and written about ladies.  Some of our favorite rock and roll women include:  Barbara Ann, Ruby Tuesday, Beth,  Sharona, Proud Mary, Brandy,  Sweet Caroline,  Angie, Layla, Sherry,  Roxanne, Billie Jean,  Lucy In The Sky, Peggy Sue, and Donna.  If all of those pretty ladies are going to be in the studio,  I had better thow on a splash of Brut aftershave and take a Saturday night bath!  I hope you will request a song from our vast library of hits.  Perhaps you will ask for a song with a girls name in the title or another lost gem from the fifties through the eighties.  We will be trying to stump you with trivia questions inspired by the era.  This Saturday night during Those Were The Days on FM 100.9.

Phil

There are many that say that rock and roll was going down hill until the Beatles came along and saved it in 1964.  There is no doubt that the Fab Four brought excitement and several British artists took rock and roll in a different direction.  In 1963 there were some good sounding 45's on the charts.  The great records included:  Walk Like A Man-Four Seasons,  Ruby Baby-Dion,  In Dreams-Roy Orbison,  He's So Fine-Chiffons,  Little Town Flirt-Del Shannon, Up On The Roof-The Drifters, and The Night Has A Thousand Eyes-Bobby Vee.  Although I am not able to remember the first time these songs were on the radio,  I do have fond memories of hearing them a few years later and becoming an instant fan.  Those early Bobby Vee records were outstanding and years later I was able to strike up a friendship with the pride of Fargo, North Dakota.  He was on the phone with me several times during my years of hosting Those Were The Days.  This week during our tribute to the fifties through the eighties, we will stop for a bit in 1963 and feature your rock and roll requests from all of the decades that we play.  We will have a full night of music and sports updates from the high school Winter sports post season.  Lets have some fun this Saturday night between six and Midnight.

Phil

This Saturday night during Those Were The Days we will take a trip back to 1978.  A look at the music chart from forty years ago and your rock and roll requests will be featured on our six hour retro show called Those Were The Days.  In 1978 I was just starting to take mental notes about the young ladies at my school.  They were some of my good friends.  In fact, they would tell me so each time I suggested that 'we go together'!    This was usually followed by "You are so funny Phil. Would you go find out if Paul likes me, likes me"?    I was usually the go between friend that would find out the inside information on the love interests of Ithaca.  I knew all of the cool hits as most of my spare and work time at home involved the radio playing in the background.  This week in 1978 there were many great jams including: We Are The Champions-Queen,  Peg-Steely Dan,  What's Your Name?-Lynyrd Skynyrd, Long, Long Way From Home-Foreigner,  Thunder Island-Jay Ferguson, Name Of The Game-ABBA, and Breakdown-Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.  Those were some good songs to put on a mix tape for a young lady that really liked Paul!  Perhaps when Paul told her that he liked Tami, she would listen to her tape and realize what a great guy old Phil Nee was.  I knew that I was not going to win her over with my looks or athletic ability.  It had to be my wit and my music collection.  Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9 will hit the airwaves with hits this Saturday night between six and Midnight on WRCO FM 100.9.

Phil

This Saturday night during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9, we will fly back to 1971.  New songs that month which are now classics include:  Your Song-Elton John, Love The One Your're With-Stephen Stills,  Immigrant Song-Led Zepplin, and Knock Three Times-Dawn.  The television show All In The Family was a brand new program,  Apollo 14 was making news,  and Evel Knievel was settting a world record by jumping his motorcycle over nineteen cars.  What a time it was to be listening to my wonderful AM radio and those far off signals on a cold Winter night.  The shows on the Curtis Matthis television set were coming in clear except for an occasional low flying plane taking off or landing at the Richland County airport at Sextonville that would provide interference that was picked up on our VHF antenna.   The music will take us back and make us feel young this Saturday night during Those Were The Days. I will be here to take your requests and we will play trivia with one major question per hour during the six hour show. 

We had a great time this past Saturday night.  There were many requests that we have not had the chance to play for a long time.  The last half hour we were nearly stuck in the late fifties and sixties!  That is what makes the show so much fun.  We never know from week to week where we are going.  The show is listener driven.  Listen again this weekend for the best of the fifties through the eighties during Those Were The Days.

Phil Nee

This Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9, we will pay tribute to the artists lost fifty-nine years ago in 1959.   Our Those Were The Days radio program will highlight songs from the careers of Buddy Holly,  Ritchie Valens, and the J.P. 'The Big Bopper'  Richardson.  They were killed in a plane crash along with pilot Roger Peterson all of those years ago.  I have been to Clear Lake, Iowa and visited the Surf Ballroom which was the last play the three stars performed.  My visit was nearly thirty years ago and I can vividly recall walking the farm field out to the crash site.  At that time it was barely marked.  It was a strange feeling holding up the picture and realizing it was the same old rusty barbed wire that was there the night of the crash.  Our WRCO weather almanac lists the record high and low temperatures for each day of the year.  It is amazing how many record low temps still remain from that Winter of 1958-59.  Those were horribly cold days and nights and some of the biggest names in music were riding on an old school bus with no heat.  This would never happen in 2018.  During Those Were The Days on FM 100.9 Saturday night, we will not dwell on the sadness of the event and the what might have beens.  We will spin some of the biggest hits of the trio.  We will also take your calls for songs and the trivia games will be going on.  I hope you will join me for a celebration of the greatest music of the fifties through the eighties Saturday night from six until midnight on WRCO FM 100.9.

Phil

On this Saturday nights Those Were The Days radio show, I will play some of my favorite teen idols.  The men and women entertainers that I feel were more than just pretty faces!  The definition of a teen idol is sometimes debated.  Even though they were loved by millions of teens that screamed,  I don't feel that Elvis and the Beatles were teen idols.  The stars that got roles on television shows that led to music, got record deals because they were a pretty face, or were groomed into being music stars by a manager or talent agency.  In some cases, these stars put out some pretty good records. In many cases these entertainers were singers and played intstruments before fame.   I will take a look at some of my guilty musical pleasures this Saturday night.   I have always maintained that some Partridge Family records were pretty good,  Bobby Sherman had a couple of moments, and  Bobby Rydell is an incredible talent.  Rick Nelson was famous for being on his parents television show, however, his musical talent was obvious and his records were incredible.  This Saturday night I will spin a few of my favorite teen records and your rock and roll requests.  Those Were The Days is a proud part of the WRCO FM 100.9 Saturday 'retro'  shows.  I hope you will check in during trivia and requests between six and midnight.

Phil-WRCO

It does not seem possible that thirty-five years have passed since 1983.  That was a fun year for me.  I was studying to be a d.j.  (still am today) and my buddy Marty and me were on the road spinning little records for anyone that would cough up $40.00 or so.  I would trek home on the weekends to see my girl friend and to work for my parents for cash.  We would spin records and than head back to school on Sunday nights.  I had more energy in 1983!   MTV was on at the 'swinging bachelor pad' during the week.  It was an introduction to many new groups and styles of music.  We got to see and hear the Clash,  Dexys Midnight Runners, The Stray Cats,  Hall & Oates, and many others.  Thirty-five years later, I still am fond of many of the songs from that time.  I still can't believe that I am more that thirty-five.  This Saturday night during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9, I will spin some of the huge hits from the year of '83.  You can request any pop radio hit from the fifties through the eighties.  It is a blast when someone challenges me to find a song.  I have learned so much from listeners over the years.  There are songs that I never knew about until they were requested during Those Were The Days.  Perhaps you will be one of the six trivia game winners during Those Were The Days Saturday night.

Phil Nee-Trans American School Of Broadcasting graduate Spring 1983

There was so much good music blasting out of the radio in early 1973.  My Panasonic AM radio could pull in stations from all over North America and Canada.  On cold January nights I could hear what was hot and happening in other areas other than the farm at Aubrey Corners.  Our 'farmers four' television package featured shows that are now known as classics.  On January 14th of 1973, Elvis Presley was watched worldwide during his 'Aloha From Hawaii' special.  All In The Family was the top rated show and the last new episodes of 'Laugh In' and 'Bonanza'  were being shown.  The radio featured music from Carly Simon, Stevie Wonder, Loggins & Messina, Albert Hammond, The Eagles, and many other artists that I still love.  This Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 we will take you back to early 1973.  The music will take me back to riding on my runner sled,  doing chores in the old barn, and riding a frosted window bus.  I will be taking your requests this Saturday night during Those Were The Days.  Call in and ask for a song from the fifties through the eighties.  I hope you will join go on a spree with us!

Phil