| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| jazmaan |
Posted - 08/12/2005 : 05:51:23
I've been listening to a lot of vintage radio from the 60s as you may know from other posts here. It's funny how a disproportionate number of "last" shows survive from various DJ's just before they switched jobs, or from underground stations just before their plug was pulled by "The Man." Usually the last song they play is "The End" by the Beatles or "The End" by the Doors.
But I was just listening to the very last broadcast of WFMU-FM, an underground station broadcasting out of East Orange, NJ. Their plug was pulled on August 28, 1969. Guess what the very last song they played was?
THE RED TELEPHONE!
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| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Gill |
Posted - 09/12/2005 : 00:25:45
Hi Allan and Jazmaan
You guys in the States were just so far ahead of us in the UK where radio is concerned. In the 60s we only had the BBC (oh and Radio Luxembourg of course) until the offshore stations came along - not even a radio station that played pop music let alone underground music! It's really only in recent years that specialist radio stations have started to broadcast.
Thanks for the link Jazmaan - I just wanted to have another listen to some of the stations.
Love
Gill |
| jazmaan |
Posted - 08/12/2005 : 22:15:36
That's right. In the USA in the late 60's rock radio was dominated by Top 40 AM. Because FM radio hadn't penetrated to most automobiles, advertisers and owners didn't seem to mind if the FM DJ's played longer LP cuts with fewer commercial breaks. Even a few AM stations toyed with playing LP cuts or mixing them in with the Top 40 singles. This less restrictive format combined with the hippie "do your own thing" mentality gave birth to "Underground Radio".
"Pirate Radio" was more common in Europe. In America the only "Pirate Radio" station with any substantial listenership was XERB, broadcasting "Wolfman" Jack's oldies out of Tijuana, Mexico with 50,000 illegal watts of power that reached up across the border into a dozen States.
To tell you the truth, most Underground Radio airchecks don't age so well. Too often the DJ's were untrained, unprofessional and self-absorbed in seeing just how "laid back" they could be on the air. The best Underground DJ's like B.Mitchell Reed and Allison Steele actually had substantial previous experience as "above-ground" jocks and it showed in their timing and delivery.
Conversely, some of the best Top 40 airchecks age surprisingly well. I might have been too hip to listen to KHJ back in the day, but now when I listen to The Real Don Steele, Robert W. Morgan and Humble Harve I hear how incredibly talented those guys really were within the constraints of the "Boss Radio" format.
You can hear many incredible and free Top 40 airchecks at www.reelradio.com a non-profit online museum of radio. Donate!
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| Allan |
Posted - 08/12/2005 : 21:06:43
Hi Gill...Hope you're well 
I'm not answering for Jazmaan, but I will give you my take
Back in the 60's here in the States, we referred to radio stations that played 'the new rock' music as underground radio. We called it that because the music wasn't mainstream (like MoTown or Rock n' Roll).
Maybe that's what Jazmaan means. If not, please forgive me Jazmaan.
Allan |
| Gill |
Posted - 08/12/2005 : 11:47:52
Hi Jazmaan
I remember some time ago you posted a link to some of the 60s radio stations you'd been listening to - any chance of re-posting it?
When you talk about "underground" radio stations I'm assuming you mean stations that are not licenced? What we in the UK call pirate stations.
Love
Gill |
