Rip Van Winkle by The Devotions - Doo Wop Hit of the Day

First, let me thank Cool Bobby B for playing this for me on his Doo Wop show on SiriusXM. I remember haveing fun with this song in the 9th grade at Russell Sage JHS.

Tragedy at the Boston Marathon

Is there anything that I can say that hasn't been said before?  My prayers go out to the victims in Boston who were there to watch or run the Boston Marathon.  We just can't hide at home afraid to go outside and face a terrorist attack. Every time I walk through Penn Station in Manhattan I see National Guard troops with rifles.  I appreciate their presence there, but it is always a reminder of the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

The period from April 15 - April 20 has been a tough time for Americans:

• Waco Siege - ended April 19, 1993
• Oklahoma City Bombing - April 19, 1995
• Columbine Shooting - April 20, 1999
• Boston Marathon Bombing - April 15, 2013

So sad

I Highly Recommend 42

42 tells the story of Jackie Robinson's signing by Branch Rickey to the Brooklyn Dodgers as he became the first Negro player in the major leagues.  It shows how he had to fight the racial prejudice of the postwar years.  It is not a complete biography of Jackie since it only covers 1946-47.

On this Monday all major league players will wear #42 in tribute to Jackie.  When Mariano Rivera retires at the end of the season no player will wear #42.  I highly recommend it even for non sports fans.  Perhaps there will be a future movie featuring his later baseball years and his life after baseball.

River Deep Mountain High Should Have Been a Bigger Hit

Every year Rich Appel, seen above with radio legend Harry Harrison, compiles a list of records that should have been in the Top 10 years ago.  Very often records are more popular many years after their original release.  He calls this the IRS 104 and plays it just before the Internal Revenue Service requires us to file our tax returns.  He and Bob Radil play the list on Rewound Radio on Friday Night and on the Rest of the Week show heard Saturday 6 AM - 1 PM and Sunday 10 AM - 3 PM on WRNJ-Hackettstown, NJ.  I am not fussy about what song made what number, but I did submit a list to Rich. On the top of my list was River Deep Mountain High by Ike and Tina Turner.  It was strange that it reached #3 on the British chart but only #88 on the Billboard Chart in the USA.  Thanks Rich for your efforts.

Tribute to Pete Fornatale at Great Neck Arts Center on April 21

All the details are at this site - http://greatneckarts.org/Special%20Events/upcoming.htm#fornatale .  I have tickets for the Mets on that date, so I can't go :(

It's Wednesday Night and Time for Cousin Brucie

Still love listening to Cousin Brucie after over 50 years

Congratulations to Pat St. John on His 40th Anniversary in New York Radio

Over the years there have been plenty of radio personalities who have come and gone from the New York airwaves.  Pat St. John has certainly passed the test of time as he celebrates 40 years on the New York radio dial.  I had the pleasure of meeting Pat at the 3rd Annual Oldies Meet and Greet held at Ben's Deli in December 2008.  It was certainly nice of Pat to come out to meet his listeners.  Most of his years were spent  at WPLJ and WNEW-FM.

He is currently on the air on WCBS-FM on Sundays from 11 AM - 3 PM.  At that time I am usually in the car on the way to visit my mother in Westbury.  I just love his collectible cut feature which I usually hear as I drive into the parking lot of my mother's building.  I catch him from time to time on several channels on SiriusXM.

Rewound Radio  featured a 3 hour retrospective of his radio career last Saturday, but I was at the Met game.  It will be repeated tomorrow night at 7 PM when I will be listening on my iPhone on the way home from work.  Thanks to John Troll and Allan Sniffen for airing this show.

A hearty congratulations to Pat and I hope you will be on the radio for many more years.  More information may be found at:

• Pat St. John Web Site
• Wikipedia entry
• Facebook Page