Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2018 07:52:13 +0200
From: Driftin Cowpoke <driftincowpoke@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: The event that ended my radio career
Thanks Chris. Love your story, very well written too.
Michel
Op dinsdag 27 maart 2018 heeft Chris Mathis het
volgende geschreven:
> At the height of the Bee Gees’ remarkable disco-fueled popularity, Barry,
> Robin and Maurice Gibb dominated radio station playlists in a way not seen
> since the Beatles’ prime.
>
> Disco’s popularity from 1975 to 1979 sparked a fierce backlash. Some radio
> stations sought ratings by promoting Bee Gees-free weekends and disco album
> burning events. It took a couple of decades away from the limelight before
> the group was recognized for its musicianship.
>
> I witnessed a small part of the era as a weekend disc jockey at an AM-FM
> station. The AM side played pop, and the FM side was country. I knew little
> about popular music in either genre but faked it as best I could. The
> appearance of authenticity — no matter how fraudulent — is important.
>
> The other record spinners recorded their on-air shifts to critique their
> own performances. I couldn’t because I was embarrassed by the sound of my
> own voice. I told the others about it, which led some to recommend a career
> change. They weren’t necessarily teasing when some said I had a bedroom
> voice … that could put everyone to sleep.
>
> The event that ended my radio career occurred during an overnight shift
> from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. I had inadvertently left a Bee Gees long-play record
> on the floor and rolled over it with the announcer’s chair. The program
> director felt it was purposely done as a statement against Bee-Gees=99 disco.
> But it was simply carelessness on my part, which could be remedied by
> volunteering to go to Musicland to purchase another album.
>
> Musicland — the first one opened in Minneapolis in 1955 – was a cathedral
> for record buyers during a heyday that lasted through the 1990s. Changing
> times caused a financial collapse that Best Buy hoped to turn around in
> 2001 when it purchased the company. Although LPs have made a comeback,
> Musicland as it was once is no more.
>
> I purchased my first album from Musicland, which was the Doors’ classic
> “LA Woman’’ album. I acquired a second-hand stereo and turned the bedroom
> into a shrine for the late Jim Morrison. The music that tumbled downstairs
> and reached Mother’s ears drew a sharp response.
>
> “What is all that caterwauling,’’ she said, adding that it sounded like a
> couple tomcats fighting.
>
> Her musical tastes better fit polka masters the Six Fat Dutchmen and
> Frankie Yankovic. I was among those who appreciated “Who Stole the Kishka?”
> and “In Heaven There is no Beer.’’ Still, the Doors’ psychedelic ramblings
> ran much deeper. Mother tolerated, but never full accepted the music or the
> desire to mimic Morrison’s curly long locks.
>
> She was aided and abetted by the town barber, who felt shoulder hair
> length threatened the pillars of democracy and the wearer’s future. Long
> hair, he insisted, meant certain baldness later in life. Crewcuts and a
> little dab of Brill Crème was sufficient for all.
>
> Musical tastes change. I’ve learned what a kishka is and have come to
> appreciate the Bee Gees for their harmony. I have become the old dude who
> tries but doesn’t appreciate what Mother would consider caterwauling in the
> hard rock that Sam likes.
>
> Sam, who is young and still blessed with good hearing, purchased a ticket
> to the Metallica concert planned for September in the Target Center.
>
> The situation came to a head a couple weeks ago when Metallica announced
> it would make a September stop at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The
> ticket cost more than $100, which in younger times would have resulted in a
> lecture about spending money wisely. The current situation pegs a wish to
> be young again.
>
> Indeed, youth should not be wasted on the young. I would gladly seek and
> hopefully find the fountain that Ponce de Leon sought in the
> mosquito-infested Florida swamps.
>
>
>
>
> "Words & Music", Fans Of The Brothers Gibb ( Bee Gees )
> http://www.brothersgibb.com
>
>
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End Words@brothersgibb.com message digest 03/31/2018 15:01 (#2018-539)