Thursday, June 30, 2016

Internet Radio Specials for the 4th of July Weekend


Don Tandler will feature the NY #1 Time Sweep: every #1 song in chronological order, from Jan. 1, 1955 through May, 1982. 10a-10p ET Friday, Saturday & Sunday on Pop Gold Radio.  Certainly no terrestrial radio station would do this.  I'll try to catch as much of this as I can.

Rewound Radio
Rewound Radio will feature the Dan Ingram Electric Theater which will feature Dan Ingram airchecks from WABC and WCBS-FM.  The weekend's programming will feature "The Life & Times of Dan Ingram: In His Own Words" which is a 6 hour show hosted by Allen Sniffen which will include interviews an airchecks.  Thank you Allan for putting this together.

I think I'll need two sets of ears this weekend.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Current Radio Rituals


 Terrestrial Radio

Weekdays
6:10 - 6:40 WFUV with Corny O'Connell
8:20 - 9:00 WBGO with Gary Walker

Weekends
Saturday
6:25 - 6:50 - WINS
6:50 - 7:50 - WCBS-FM with Sue O'Neill
8:00 - 9:30 (intermittantly) WBGO
Late afternoon - Don McGee's Mixed Bag on WFUV

Sundays
6:25 - 7:00 WINS
7:00 - 7:50 WCBS-FM America's Greatest Hits
8:00 - 9:40 Q-104.3 Breakfast with the Beatles
Late Afternoon - Sunday Supper with John Platt on WFUV

Satellite and Internet Radio

Monday
Lunch Hour - Classic Vinyl on SiriusXM
Evening - Breakfast with the Beatles with Dennis Mitchell (Podcast)

Tuesday
Lunch Hour - Willies Roadhouse on SiriusXM
Evening - Deep Tracks on SiriusXM

Wednesday
Lunch Hour - Outlaw Country
Evening - Cousin Brucie on SiriusXM 60s on 6

Thursday 
Lunch Hour - Dylanradio.com or Bob Dylan Tracks
Evening - Buried Treasure with Tom Petty on SiriusXM

Friday
Lunch Hour - BB Kings Blues Channel on SiriusXM
Evening - 60s 70s Show with Bob Radil on Rewound Radio

Saturday
Morning - Johnny Cash Radio
Late Morning WOLDRadio.com
Late Afternoon  - Don Tandler's Time Machine Show on Pop Gold Radio
Evening - Cousin Bruce on SiriusXM 60s on 6

Sunday
Mornings - Classic AT 40 with Casey Kasem on iHeart Radio
Late morning - Sounds of the 60s with Brian Matthew on BBC2
Early Evening - That Thing with Rich Appel on Rewound Radio
Late Evening - Doo Wop Stop with Cool Bobby B on SirusXM 50s on 5

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Original Met Jim Hickman Passes Away at age 79


While watching today's Met game against the Atlanta Braves Gary Cohen announced that original Met Jim Hickman passed away at age 79.  There is a short article about him in the Sporting News.  He played his first 5 years for the Mets while he later played for the Dodgers, Cubs, and Cardinals as he retired from baseball in 1974.

Jim Hickman's entry in Baseball-Reference.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

My Thoughts on the Mets Signing of Jose Reyes


I have mixed feelings about the Mets signing of Jose Reyes today.  People make mistakes in life and deserve a chance to earn a living in their chosen profession.  Jose made a terrible mistake by beating his wife, but since it only happened once he disserves a second chance.  If it happens again, then I say throw the rascal out.

From a financial point of view it is a "no brainer" since the Colorado Rockies  are liable for most of his salary.  The Mets have sent him to Class A Brooklyn, but what does he have to prove by playing at that level.  I presume that they will eventually move him to AAA Las Vegas before letting him play at the major league level.  But where will he play?  Asrubel Cabrera is doing quite well at shortstop  while Neil Walker is OK at second base.  That leaves third base where Jose has never played.  Can he develop proficiency at the position at the minor league level.  He could become the regular third baseman if David Wright does not come back?  When we saw Jose play against the Mets last season it was obvious that his skills eroded.

I am concerned that the Mets have several infield prospects whose development may be stifled f Reyes comes to the parent team.  They are:

  • Dilson Herrera
  • Matt Reynolds
  • Amed Rosario
  • Ty Kelly
Can an aging Jose Reyes be better than Wilmer Flores at third base?

Let's see what happens.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Summer of 1976 Special on the 60s 70s Show


Tonight's 60s 70s Show hosted by Bob Radil on Rewound Radio will feature the music of the summer of 1976.  Here are some of the songs that charted on WABC that summer:

 TW                                                             LW
  1. Kiss and Say Goodbye - The Manhattans (Columbia)*3 weeks #1*1
  2. Afternoon Delight - Starland Vocal Band (Windsong)          9
  3. More, More, More, Part 1 - Andrea True Connection (Buddah)  3
  4. Turn the Beat Around - Vicki Sue Robinson (RCA)             5
  5. Silly Love Songs - Wings (Capitol)                          2
  6. You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine -                  
                         Lou Rawls (Philadelphia International)  8
  7. I'll Be Good to You - The Brothers Johnson (A&M)           12
  8. Misty Blue - Dorothy Moore (Malaco)                         6
  9. Heaven Must Be Missing An Angel, Part 1 - Tavares (Capitol)13
 10. Shop Around - The Captain & Tennille (A&M)                 11
 11. Sara Smile - Daryl Hall & John Oates (RCA)                  4
 12. Got to Get You Into My Life - The Beatles (Capitol)        17
 13. Love Hangover - Diana Ross (Motown)                         7
 14. Love Is Alive - Gary Wright (Warner Brothers)              --
                                                                 
 15. The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy (Mercury)           21
 16. Let 'Em In - Wings (Capitol)                               HP
 17. Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk) -          
                                        Parliament (Casablanca) --
 18. Let Her In - John Travolta (Midland International)         28
 19. Moonlight Feels Right - Starbuck (Private Stock)           29
 20. Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John & Kiki Dee (Rocket)--
 23. Rock and Roll Music - The Beach Boys (Brother/Reprise)     18
 24. You're My Best Friend - Queen (Elektra)                    --
 32. Another Rainy Day in New York City - Chicago (Columbia)    HP
 39. Get Closer - Seals & Crofts (Warner Brothers)              HP
                                                                 
I remember the summer of 1976 was a tough time for me as I lost my job as a laboratory chemist in May and spent that summer job hunting.  There were some horror stories during that summer that I wish I could forget.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Mets 2 Royals 1

I usually don't see games in the middle of the week, but I really wanted to see a rematch of last years World Series.  Bartolo Colon was the starting pitcher, but was hit in the hand by the first batter and had to leave the game.  5 relief pitchers were able to hold the Royals to just one run as solo home runs by Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes were enough to win the game.

It seems that Mets can only score by the home run and can rarely put several hits together to score several runs in an inning.  This puts a lot of pressure on the pitching staff.

Box Score

Remembering Radio Personality Dan Daniel (1934-2016)


I was at the Met game last night and as I was looking at my phone I saw the announcement that longtime radio personality Dan Daniel just passed away.  Over the years Dandy Dan Daniel (DDD) was one of my favorites.  Here are some notes about him:

  • He was a WMCA Good Guy in the 1960s and was on the air from 4 PM - 7 PM and played the Top 25 survey.  Wednesday was new survey day.  I believed he left the station a few years before it flipped to all talk in 1970
  • He had two  tenures at WHN when it was a country station
  • He was with WYNY when it was at 97.1 FM as an Adult Contemporary station in the 1980s.  He was doing morning drive for a while but the morons running WYNY dropped him for a couple of clowns named Harris and Harris.
  • He returned to WYNY when it was a country station at 103.5 FM.  He was there at the time the format and calls were changed to WKTU.
  • In 1996 he came to WCBS-FM and did fill in worked until Ron Lundy retired in 1997.  At that time he was on the air from 9 AM - 12 noon.  He stayed on that shift until the end of 2002.  For a few months in 2003 he did some weekend work at CBS-FM, but then retired.  He came back in July 2012 for the 40th anniversary of the oldies format.
I saw Dan a few times in person:
  • WMCA reunion at the Museum of TV and Radio now known as the Paley Center.
  • WYNY day at Shea Stadium in early 1983
  • He did one morning show at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.  I was working at NYPL at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street at the time.
  • He was the MC at a concert that WCBS-FM gave at the World Trade Center.
Below is a tribute produced by Radio's Best Friend Art Vuolo


Monday, June 20, 2016

Rolling Stone Magazine Names Bob Dylan World's Great Songwriter


Needless to say I second that emotion!  Thanks to the editors of Rolling Stone for making Bob #1.  He has left some legacy and hopefully he will write more songs as The Tempest released in 2012 was his last album with his compositions.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Braves 6 Mets 0


What do the years 1970, 1974, 1987, and 2001 have in common?  They were years that followed the Mets appearances in the World Series.  In those 4 years the Mets were flat and just could not repeat the good performances of the previous years.  It lools like the same is happening in 2016 as the Mets lost a three game series to the last place Atlanta Braves.  I spent my Father's Day suffering in the stands of Citifield as the Julio Teheran one-hit the Mets who lost 6-0.

Game recap

The Mets are now 36-32 and trail the first place Washington Nationals by 6 games.  The pitching is usually excellent, but the hitting has really gone south.  Will some roster moves be made?  Will Brandon Nimmo be brought out?  Will Sandy Alderson make trades that perked up the team as he did last July?  There are 94 games to go.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Mets 6 Pirates 4


 It is unusual for us to go a game during the week, but our 13 game package inlcuded last night's game against the Pirates.  Ageless wonder Bartolo Colon was the starting pitcher and actually hit a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly.  There were home runs by Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto, and Neil Walker as the Mets took a 6-0.  Colon should not have pitched in the 8th inning as the Pirates scored two runs off him.  Reliever Addison Reed was ineffective in the 9th and allowed two more runs.  Jeurys Familia came in to put out the fire as the Mets held on to win 6-4.

Game Recap

I finally met Facebook friend Joanna Ente who is likely a bigger Met fan than I.  I knew her brother-in-law Philip and late husband Bernie back in Forest Hills High School.


Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Remembering the Tom Seaver Trade on June 15,1977


39 years ago today I was living in New London, CT as a I was working as a chemist at Pfizer in nearby Groton.  Most of the baseball fans there rooted for the Red Sox while my lab partner Butch was a big Yankee fan.  I was one of the few Met fans in that neck of the woods and was loyal to them even though they were playing poorly.  Back then the players salaries were starting to escalate, but General Manager M. Donald Grant was too cheap to meet Seaver's salary demands.  On that day which was the trading deadline he traded Seaver to the Cincinnati Reds for Pat Zachry, Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson and Dan Norman.  A few days later Joe Torre who recently became Met manager said that in a few years this would be known as the Steve Henderson trade.

The Mets went further downhill from there and didn't begin to recover until the team was sold to Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday in 1980.

Monday, June 13, 2016

My Favorite Traveling Wilburys Song


Dennis Mitchell just played in on Breakfast With The Beatles as George Harrison was one of the group's members.  Roy Orbison really made this song.  This video was recorded after Roy's untimely death.

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Song for The Tragic Events in Orlando


How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, and how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take 'till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Don't Look Back at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in SoHo


About a week ago I read an announcement in the free newspaper AM New York that there would be a display of photographs from Don't Look Back, the D.A. Pennebaker documentary about Bob Dylan's tour of England in Spring 1965.  There was a more detailed article about this exhibition at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in the New York Times.  Today we decided to take the subway to SoHo to see this exhibit.

There were many black and white prints taken from the film.  I was most impressed by harmonicas that were used by Dylan and autographed by him.  Each harmonica cost $5,000!  I'd love to have one, but I have to save for retirement.


D. A. Pennebaker is still going strong at age 90 as he has a new documentary called Unlocking the Cage which was recently released.

We walked from SoHo uptown to NoHo and then to Greenwich Village.  There was a large gathering of Hare Krishnas in Washington Square Park.


Friday, June 10, 2016

Random Comments of the Day

I noticed there was a delay on the #7 Train today.  Thankfully, I missed that one, but when I return to work next week I will be confronting delays on both sides of the river.

I really think that this year's presidential campaign will be expecially nasty and bitter with Clinton and Trump bashing each other.  It will be unusual since both candidates will be from New York.  Now the big speculation will be on who will be the vice-presidential candidates.

Muhammad Ali was certainly an American icon, but I think the media coverage of his passing was excessive.  If you are not interested, don't watch it.

Today is my last weekday of staycation, so I guess I'll go over to Crocheron Park in Bayside.  It is usually quiet there in June, but in July and August a local day camp takes it over and it is very noisy.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Afternoon at the Paley Center


Since the weather forecast called for rain today I decided to visit the Paley Center instead visiting another park in Queens.  Sometimes I go there was some ideas on what TV shows I would like to view, but today I was somewhat impulsive.  Here is what I did:


  1. Since Morley Safer recently passed away I did a search on him and found a show on CBS where he interviewed Charles Kuralt as he retired in the early 1990s.  Those two were really heavyweights in broadcast journalism and great assets to their profession.
  2. Eight is Enough - this was one of my favorite series in the late 70s and early 80s.  They only had one episode in their database which I viewed.
  3. Room 222.  If you turn the clock back another 10 years, this was one of my favorite series in the early 1970s.  Sadly its star Lloyd Haynes passed away in 1986.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

The Johnny Cash Muhammad Ali Connection


I don't know the date of the photo above, but the connection between Ali, Johnny Cash and other members of the Highwayman is best describe at this web site.


Monday, June 6, 2016

Staycation Week in June This Year


I usually take a staycation week in May, but this year I am doing it in June since one of my colleagues scheduled a vacation in Europe in late May just after classes ended.  I need a break from commuting and the work grind.  I don't have anything much planned.  It is a good time to get some reading done and maybe take a stab at writing an article for the SABR Games Project.  I guess New Jersey Transit loses its most reliable customer for one week.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

The Bob Dylan Muhammad Ali Connection


This morning we heard the sad news the boxing icon Muhammad Ali passed away at age 74.  There are a few connections between Ali and Bob Dylan.  In the photo above Ali met with Bob backstage at the Night of the Hurricane concert at Madison Square Garden on December 8, 1975.  This concert, part of the Rolling Thunder Revue, was a benefit for box Ruben "Hurricane" Carter.

Here are lyrics taken out of context from I Shall Be Free #10 which appeared on the Another Side of Bob Dylan album in 1964.

I was shadow-boxing earlier in the day

 I figured I was ready for Cassius Clay

 I said “Fee, fie, fo, fum, Cassius Clay, here I come

 26, 27, 28, 29, I’m gonna make your face look just like mine

 Five, four, three, two, one, Cassius Clay you’d better run

 99, 100, 101, 102, your ma won’t even recognize you

 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, gonna knock him clean right out of his spleen

Friday, June 3, 2016

What is the Future For David Wright?


It was announced today must refrain from baseball activities for 6 to 8 weeks since he has a herniated disk in his neck.  David will undergo physical therapy for this condition for now instead of surgery.  For the second season in a row he will miss significant time for injuries.  He is now 33 years old and is obviously not getting any younger.  Any athlete's skills will erode with aging, so the question is what is David's future?  He already suffers from spinal stenosis which is a permanent condition and not an injury.  Can he bounce back or will he be forced to retire early?  Only time will tell.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

The Fans of Harry Harrison Facebook Page


I think it was around 2007 or 2008 I initiated the Fans of Harry Harrison page on Facebook.  He was the morning radio personality on WMCA (1959-68), WABC (1968-79) and WCBS-FM (1980-2003).  From Fall 2004 until May 2005 he did a Saturday morning show on WCBS-FM.  Today Steve Gilinsky who is a personal friend of Harry posted a hand written note from him thanking us for setting up and maintaining the Facebook page.

It is my pleasure to do this Harry and I always remember your saying "Every brand new day should be unrapped like a special gift."

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Bob Dylan's Fallen Angels Hits #7 on Billboard


Who says Bob Dylan should retire?  His newest CD Fallen Angels has debuted at #7 on the Billboard charts.  22 of Dylans albums have now charted at #10 or higher which extends his record as the male artist with the most #10 or better albums since 1963.
 
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