Koch The Movie

I have certainly seen many musical documentaries over the years.  My favorite for obvious reasons has to be Don’t Look Back.   Koch has the be the best non-musical documentary that I have ever seen.  In my opinion producers Neil Barsky and Joan Davidson deserve an academy award for this film.

I commend the producers for being objective by showing people who loved and hated Ed Koch.  They shouwed how he confronted many of the urban problems that faced NYC from 1978-89.  Koch  of course was the consummate politician and made many friends and enemies in his lifetime.  I had not recalled that the AIDS activists felt that Koch did do enough to fight the disease in its early days.  There was a scene where the City Council was voting  on renaming the Queensboro Bridge the Ed Koch Queensboro bridge.  Councilman Charles Barron voted against it saying that Koch was insensitive to the concerns of Blacks.

I was touched by a scene where Ed was shown visiting his nieces and nephews breaking the fast after Yom Kippur.  He had time to be a family man and was very proud of his Jewish heritage.

The film did a good job of showing the controversy over Koch’s sexual orientation.  Since he never married many thought he was gay.

I wish there was more time devoted to his role as a journalist after he left office.  He actually wrote movie reviews for  newspapers and hosted radio shows on WABC  and later on WEVD.  On numerous occasions he appeared as a guest on a Saturday morning show of a radio personality whose name will not be mentioned.  Alan Berman knows who he is.

The film was released about the time of Ed Koch’s passing.  Hopefully when the DVD is released there will be an addendum showing part of his funeral.

Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, or Independent, this film is for all New Yorkers who lived in the city during the Koch year.  The man was colorful and controversial to say the least.

Wheel of Fortune Taping at the Theater at Madison Square Garden

Karen and Lee have always been the bigger fans of Wheel in the family.  I am more into trivia while they are more interested in word games.  A few weeks ago we filled out a form we got from 7online.com and mailed it in.  We subsequently received tickets to attend a taping at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.  The big event at the Garden last night was the Big East Tournament, but there were at least a few thousand people watching Wheel.  Most of the people in the audience were middle aged so I assume that it was a cross-section of the avid viewers of the show.

We got on the line at about 5:30 and were allowed into the theater at 6:30.  The taping began at 7:40 PM.  Jim Thornton, the announcer, warmed up the audience and warned everyone not to shout out answers to the puzzles.  The two shows that were recorded (I must assume that video tape is no longer used) will be on the air on May 2nd and 3rd.

The Hy Lit Story

People who know me and others who have read this journal know that I am a big enthusiast of Top 40 radio of the 1950s - 1970s.  This style later evolved in oldies radio.  Of course I grew up in NYC and was a big fan of WABC, WMCA, and WINS and later listened to WCBS-FM.  The dominant feature of  these radio was the personalities who promoted the music.   I listened to Cousin Brucie, Dan Ingram, Murray the K, B. Mitchell Reed, and Dan Daniel among many others.  I was never familiar with what was going on in Philadelphia, a mere 90 miles away.

As we moved into the 1990s I was able to connect with radio enthusiasts all over the country.  Then I was able to obtain air checks on tape of  classic jocks from heritage radio stations.  As the internet matured in the 2000s radio stations of different formats emerged on the web.  Until then I was only vaguely familiar with Hy Lit of Philadelphia.

Some years ago Hy and his son Sam developed an internet radio station called Hy Lit radio.  After Hy passed away in 2007 Sam continued the station featuring the oldies and radio station IDs from all of the country.  I was always  amused hearing “Hyski O’Rooney Mcvoutie O’Zoot”.

Sam has just published part one of the Hy Lit story shown above.  The book includes:

• Numerous photos of Hy with recording artists
• Photos of Hy behind the microphone
• Reproductions of newspaper articles about Hy
• Weekly Surveys from WIBG popularly called Wibbage

The book comes with a CD which is part I of the Hy Lit Collector Series.  It includes many air checks of Hy from WIBG in the 60s and 70s.  It features the last show heard on WIBG 990 AM before it was sold and changed formats.

If you don’t know anything about Hy Lit, check out the entry in Wikipedia.   But as I tell my students, very often the information there is very cursory.  From there check out Hy Lit  Radio.  By all means purchase the book either at the web site or at Amazon.com.  I am already waiting for Part 2 which will cover Hy’s later years in oldies radio..

Thanks Sam for a job well done.  Your father is smiling right now.

Bob Dylan to Be Honored by American Academy of Arts and Letters

The big news for me today was that Bob Dylan will become the first rock musician to be honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.  This is one of the most distinguished honors  in the arts.

New York Times article

There is even a Wikipedia entry listing the honors that Mr. Zimmerman has received in his long career

A Day in the Life - Beatle Song of the Day

I can vaguely remember the very first time I heard it in June 1967 just before I graduated from Forest Hills High School

The Bully Mayor Loses The Battle of the Soft Drinks

I agree with some of the opinions that Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made on issues such as gun control.  If I had may way I would go even further and ban assault weapons and pistols, but that is not the topic of the day.  In his third term especially, the mayor has really bullied the public.  He had attempted to ban large sugary drinks sold by restaurants, movie theaters and other food businesses. One could not buy a drink larger than 16th ounces.

In his ruling, state Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling in Manhattan zeroed in on the loopholes, noting it would only have applied to businesses that are under the purview of the health department, like restaurants, and would allow sweetened milk-based drinks like milkshakes.

I agree with the mayor's sentiment that people should eat and drink in a healthy manner.  But I think in this case the government is going too far by invading people's choices of food and drink.  Why doesn't the mayor ban all tobacco products?

The mayor vows to appeal the judge's ruling.

On a related issue, Subway sandwich shops have a meal where you can get a discount by purchasing a sandwich, bag of potato chips and a 32 ounce drink.  This is the other extreme since who can drink a quart of soda with their lunch.

Dedications to Lee on the Radio

Lee actually has been into oldies since the day he was born.  Bob Shannon announced his birth on the air by playing "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong.   When Lee was 7 years old Bob played Crying in the Chapel by Elvis Presley for Lee.   His Bar Mitzvah was announced by Harry Harrison on WCBS-FM.  A few weeks ago stated in this journal Cousin Brucie played I Walk the Line by Johnny Cash.  Just tonight Cool Bobby B played Mister Lee by the Bobbettes for him.

I will be listening to Sounds of the Sixties on Sunday March 24 to hear if Brian Matthew plays It Ain't Me Babe by Johnny Cash for Lee.  Brian says that the show gets many requests, so I hope he picks mine.