The last weekend with the girl at home. You know, it's not the fact she is leaving that weighs heavily on my heart, she gets a chance to come back a lot. It's the fact that I woke up not long ago and realized that I am not sure how I got to be 51. Yes, time marches on, but one morning in Nashville about six months ago, I woke up and discovered that I have been placed in my 52nd year on Earth, about to say goodbye to the very one thing that helped me feel young, my daughter. I wasn't a kid when we had her, but she seemed to ground me into the fact that I wasn't old. I feel older as the time gets closer and now it's six days and counting...***************************************************************************************
It happened again today for about the third time this month. I sold some old CDs racks on Craigslist and when the woman came to pick them up, she said "you're Randy from KSHE aren't you? I used to listen to you all the time, someone in town needs to hire you." I told her that those days are gone, not likely to return again and she said it was too bad. "Randy from KSHE" is how people still refer to me. I left KSHE almost ten years ago. I know that KSHE is celebrating their 40th year on the air. I have not been approached to contribute anything to the celebration nor do I think I ever will. I am not sure why, but apparently there are still some hateful and nasty things said about me in the halls of the powerhouse. I don't get it, they fired me once shortly after my mother died and I didn't hold a grudge, I came back and kicked ass. It makes me wonder how the management there can justify bringing back JC after all of the mean, nasty personal shit he pulled before and after he left but I am still "persona non grata". I can't say it doesn't hurt, but it would be nice if things were different. If I could it to do over differently, I would have. I know the effect I had on St. Louis radio is negligible, but I spent over ten years there and they were some of the most creative and enjoyable times in my life. Too bad the current management doesn't feel the same way.**************************************************************************************
Being a former radio programmer, I am now messing with the format of the radio station/jukebox. By the end of the weekend, there will be two stations, one for "album rock" and the other for "old school top 40" with all the hits you know and some you forgot about. Just couldn't handle segueing from John Mayall to the OJays. The Top 40 station will feature music between 1956 (Elvis, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran) to the beginning of disco (approx. 1976). I will hopefully leave it alone for awhile (sure sure) and see what happens. If you like what you hear (and by golly, why wouldn't ya?), book mark it and tell someone.**************************************************************************************
My yard is dead R.I.P. I remember one time when I was a very young boy, I remember my father burning our yard, setting fire to it. I asked him why, and I remember he said "crabgrass". Man, do I wish I could just burn the whole yard up and start all over. I think the local fire department may not appreciate my desperation. No amount of watering this summer has saved any yards on my block. Hot, hotter, hottest. I grew up in a house that had no air conditioning but I don't remember it getting this hot. Ah, but when it did, it was just a short walk (a couple of miles) to the local creek and whammo, it's all good.**************************************************************************************
There are a few songs that when I hear them, I am immediately transported into my own old little world where all is safe (I thought) and life hasn't left it's pot marks on my face and scars on my body. Here are a few that I can think of off the top of my head. "Telstar" by the Tornadoes. "Have I The Right?" by the Honeycombs. "Bobby's Girl" by Marcie Blane. "Rhythm of the Rain" by The Cascades. "We'll Sing In The Sunshine" by Gale Garnett. "The Twist" by Chubby Checker. "Yakety Sax" by Boots Randolph. "Little 409" by The Beach Boys. "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean. If a radio station ever played stuff like that, I'd be a listener forever. And you know what? I just may be that guy. Tune back soon!
1 comment:
Probably a wise move on your part to split up your radio "formats". I can relate, based on the raised eyebrows I've received at my workplace during my A-Z CD sojourn when more than one co-worker asked me how on earth I could go directly from Ozzy Osbourne to the Osmonds! I headed off such queries this week by skipping Wham immediately after WASP...
I can also relate to those songs you mentioned that take you back to your own "little world", only mine were about ten years after yours. Songs like Daddy Dewdrop's "Chick-A-Boom", Three Dog Night's "Family of Man", "I'll Meet You Halfway" by The Partridge Family, "Yo-Yo" by The Osmonds, "Burning Bridges" by the Mike Curb Congregation and "One Less Bell To Answer" by The Fifth Dimension take me back to a simpler carefree time. I defy ANY Oldies station in this country to play classics like these on a regular basis!
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