(Above: JRL in what is described as a "pensive promo shot.") I've been tremendously lucky to have worked with some of the most talented people ever to grace a radio station. I've joked with students that in some ways I was a sort of Forrest Gump of radio, being in the right place at the … Continue reading Election day special: John Records Landecker, “Press My Conference” (1974)
Month: November 2016
Election week special: Presidential satire albums (1962 – 1982)
Radio history trivia: for a number of years, it was against the law for anyone to impersonate the voice of the President of the United States on the radio. This was a response to the "scare" of The War Of the Worlds (1938). I say "scare" in quotation marks because media research has shown us … Continue reading Election week special: Presidential satire albums (1962 – 1982)
Election week special: The Royal Guardsmen, “Snoopy For President” (1968)
There hasn't been much funny nor entertaining about the election season this year. Rational discourse has gone out the window in favor of the repeated posting of memes. Even the most benign and apolitical of subjects take a turn in that direction in the comments sections on social media. If only we could go back … Continue reading Election week special: The Royal Guardsmen, “Snoopy For President” (1968)
Lost local hits (Grand Rapids, MI): The Fredric, “The Girl I Love” (1968)
(Above: The Fredric, circa 1967). In an earlier post I wrote about the phenomenon of the local chart hit, a product of a bygone era when local radio programmers had sway in adding songs to the playlists of their radio stations. It was a phenomenon I investigated in writing my dissertation to see if the … Continue reading Lost local hits (Grand Rapids, MI): The Fredric, “The Girl I Love” (1968)
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