Bloggin' with WFDU

WFDU's Brand New Website!!

2011-11-09T07:53:00.000-08:00

Get ready folks cause the new site is about to be unleashed!!!! Please stay tuned, you won't be disappointed!!

Thinking About Little Willie John....And A Few Nice Things

2011-07-13T06:53:00.000-07:00

No less an authority than James Brown once said, "Little Willie John was a soul singer before anyone thought to call it that". His original version of "Fever" inspired Peggy Lee to record it. He had 14 hits on the R&B charts between 1955 and 1961, and an equal number of hits on the pop charts. He appeared on "American Bandstand" and "Route 66". Unfortunately, he was also convicted of manslaughter in 1966 (even though it was never proven that he killed anyone) and died in prison at age 30 in 1968.

On Sunday, July 17th, WFDU-FM's "On The Record" with Richard Sibello will pay a 2-hour tribute to the singer who influenced many of the future stars of soul, including James Brown and Stevie Wonder. We'll be playing many of his hits, his forgotten masterpieces, and selections from his doomed 1966 session for Capitol Records (which stayed unreleased until 2008).

We will be interviewing author and journalist Susan Whitall, who has written a new book on the life of this incredible performer, entitled "Fever: Little Willie John - A Fast Life, Mysterious Death and The Birth Of Soul" (available now at www.amazon.com).

Not only that, but we will also feature an interview with Little Willie John's two sons, Kevin and Keith John, who will share their personal memories of their father and his music.

So be sure to tune in Sunday, July 17th, at 1:00 pm EST at 89.1 on your radio dial or at www.wfdu.fm on the web. This promises to be something special!

TRADITIONS & SUNDAY SIMCHA UPDATES

2011-05-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

TRADITIONS-----Having been a Johnny Come Lately to some of Andrew Calhoun's music from his earlier days (He was a guest with a brilliant piece of work a few years back) I will be making up for that when I feature some his great material this Sunday. The John Prine piece is totally autobiographical---he told me that. Andrew will be by guest on 5/29. Much more this Sunday in a topical vein---hey---you know the world is ending on 5/21 so we have to commemorate that and feel sad that Ron will not be around for the show on 5/22---or will we.

SUNDAY SIMCHA----A new voice tomorrow---and, as always, the old standards along with some requests. Dennis Wolfberg is our unexpected stars by the requests that have come in===only fitting for you to hear him on this blog. Brilliant comedian who died in 1994----I mourn him since I knew him personally.

Back to the John Prine comment. In addition to the Dennis Wolfberg piece there is a piece by Mr. Calhoun and to find out more you will have to either tune in or catch it on the archives.

SUNDAY SIMCHA / TRADITIONS AND SOME UPDATES

2011-04-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

So much on the Website regarding Roots Music and The Smithsonian that it is nice to realize that some of the material from that great organization has been a staple of both programs and that our personal relationship that permits us to present much of their work on this station---and what I call---"The Eclectic Weekend Sound of WFDU"---but, in reality, it is "eclectic" all week long.

So--for SUNDAY SIMCHA---an update---The Passover Holiday is upon us and we did a great commemoration---EXCLUSIVELY---in this area with a wonderful production of THE WITCHES OF LUBLIN and on April 17 we do some music and a brilliant comedy piece---which you will see below--by a comedian that you should know of but, sadly, passed away many years ago at a young age---a personal friend.

TRADITIONS on April 17 the memory of PHIL OCHS will be musically recalled and, amongst all the other features, that segment will finish with a piece by an artist who has totally inhabited Phil Ochs' great compostion---CRUCIFIXION.

Now---take a peek at the brilliant comedy of DENNIS WOLFBERG---and, as far as Roots is concerned, as the saying goes---we got it all---but you all knew that anyway:

SUNDAY SIMCHA UPDATES AND SPECIAL SHOWS

2011-03-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

We have some really interesting things coming up on the program during next month or so----

March 20----A focus on the 100th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirt Waist Fire with some music by Si Kahn who will be appearing in a commemoration of this tragic event at the Middle Collegiate Church on 3/26. Check the website www.circle.org for more information.

March 27----Adrienne Cooper joins us the day after her performing in the above mentioned event to talk of her newest recording (Enchanted) and her work with The Three Divas

April 3----.We have an extended Comedy Corner as we present 30 minutes of THE CAPITOL STEPS in the exclusive NY NJ CT Metro presentation of their quarterly hi-jinks.

April 10---YALE STROM (Hot Pstrami) and Elizabeth Schwartz join us to talk of the very special program that will air next week with an all star cast.

April 17---A very special treat for the Passover Holiday. The entire program will be turned over to a brilliant radio drama with an all star cast starring Tovah Feldshuh. THE WITCHES OF LUBLIN. Basically---a holiday treat as in the Golden Days of Radio.

CHARLIE LOUVIN - I DON'T WANT IT

2011-02-04T04:09:00.000-08:00

January 26, 2011 was a very bad day for good music. We lost two great, but vastly underrated singers - Gladys Horton and Charlie Louvin. Gladys, of course, was one of the two lead singers of the Marvelettes, along with Wanda Young, but Gladys was the lead on all the early hits, including Motown's first-ever #1 national hit, "Please Mr. Postman". Gladys' importance to the story of Motown Records can not be overstated, and yet, here in 2011, her passing is listed by the media as nothing more than a footnote.

Charlie Louvin wasn't even that lucky. If you ask ten out of ten people (outside of the south) who Charlie Louvin was, you'll be answered with a blank stare. That's a shame, because Charlie Louvin had an amazing career in the field of country music.

I was first introduced to Charlie Louvin by my father's collection of old reel-to-reel tapes. My favorite toy when I was a kid was my dad's JVC reel-to-reel tape player. I would play his old tapes and marvel at the unknown songs (Dad never listed anything on the tape boxes) that would come out of the speakers. Eventually, as my musical knowledge increased, I began to recognize a lot of the rock and roll songs my dad recorded off of friends' records and off of AM radio. But there was one tape which had about half an hour of C&W sides recorded off of radio station KXCN ("serving St. Louis and Festus") in 1966. Since my dad was doing his tour of duty in Vietnam that year, I couldn't figure out how he recorded this. One day I asked him, and he said his best friend Bobby recorded this when he himself was stationed in St. Louis during the war.

There was incredible stuff in that half-hour: Connie Smith's "The Hurtin's All Over", Porter Wagoner's version of "Ole Slew-Foot", "I Hear Little Rock Calling" by Ferlin Husky, "Send Me A Box Of Kleenex" by Lamar Morris - and "The Proof Is In The Kissing" by Charlie Louvin.

Since I knew NOTHING about country music at the time, and, as usual, nothing was listed on the tape box, it took me many, many years to track down those records (in fact, there's still one on that tape I haven't found, because I don't know the title or the artist to this day). But when I did, I developed a taste for 50s and 60s C&W that only gets stronger as the years go by (it also helps that I have a girlfriend who is a country music junkie).

Anyway, here's a little history: Charlie Louvin (real name: Charles Elzer Loudermilk) was born on July 7, 1927, in Rainesville, Alabama. He and his brother Ira grew up in nearby Henegar, AL. Ira played mandolin and Charlie played guitar, patterning themselves after such "brother" acts as The Blue Sky Boys and The Monroes. In 1943 the brothers (after a stint with the Foggy Mountain Boys) won an amateur contest in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the prize being their own morning radio show. Eventually their radio program would move to Knoxville, Tennessee's WNOX, where they became featured artists on the station's most popular program, "Midday Merry-Go-Round". All this exposure led to a contract with MGM Records in 1949, but their recording career came to a halt when Charlie got drafted and went to fight in Korea. After Charlie returned, their good friend Fred Rose (of Acuff-Rose publishing fame) convinced them to sign with Capitol, since MGM was putting all of its promotional energies toward Hank Williams.

The move to Capitol was a good one, and by 1955 the Louvin Brothers were major country stars, and in 1955-1956 they had five Top Ten country hits - "When I Stop Dreaming", "Hoping That You're Hoping", "You're Running Wild", "Cash On The Barrel Head", and their only #1 country hit "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby". They joined the Grand Ole Opry and soon became (strangely for the era) hot LP artists, releasing about 20 LPs between 1956 and 1962. Half of the LPs were of sacred songs, including the LP "Satan Is Real", which has become their most (in)famous LP because of the unintentionally hilarious cover. See it here.

Unfortunately for the Louvins, the word "production" began to creep into Nashville by the early 60s, and soon the pure backwoods sound of country was being "softened" for public consumption. Fiddles became violins, and Ira Louvin's mandolin was replaced by Chet Atkins' guitar. The pressures of "new Nashville" began to take its toll on the brothers, both professionally and personally (their relationship was always, to say the least, a bit shaky, especially since it was well-known that Ira could be a helluva mean drunk - and he was usually in the bag), and in 1963 they split up. Each brother started a solo career, and by mid-1964 Charlie had a Top Ten country hit with "I Don't Love You Anymore". Between 1964 and 1982, Charlie Louvin charted 29 times on the C&W charts (though he only had one other Top Ten hit, with "See The Big Man Cry" in 1965).

Ira didn't fare as well. Shortly after the brothers broke up, Ira was shot in an alcohol-soaked argument with his third wife, Faye. Shortly after his recovery (and a divorce from Faye), he married the girl singer in his show, Anne Young. On June 20, 1965, Ira and Anne were in the middle of a week-long series of concerts in Kansas City, Missouri when they were both killed in a car crash in nearby Williamsburg (though some sources list the location as Jefferson City, MO). It was only then that Ira had a country chart hit, with "Yodel, Sweet Molly".

Today's selection is one of Charlie's most rockin' sides. It was released as the B-side of Charlie's version of Roger Miller's "Less And Less" in November 1964. It's a really bluesy, "forget you, girl" number that has a strange (but cool) echoey riff on the bass and great drums. I hope you enjoy this and become inspired to hunt down other great Charlie/Louvin Bros. records.

Also, thanks, Dad, for letting me play with those reel-to-reels.

- Richard Sibello

Charlie Louvin - I Don't Want It (Capitol 5296) - 1964

LOOKING FOR A SLOGAN

2011-01-27T15:47:00.000-08:00

There are some stations that come to you so frequently for donations that it seems like it just one long commercial---these are, allegedly, non commercial stations. WFDU does its necessary pleading just one time each year (in Feb. ---for only 3 weeks) and makes do with the monies that our loyal listeners donate to keep the eclectic sound of the Right Place On The Left Side Of The Dial on the air. Surely you have heard improvement in the sound quality with the new equipment purchased (including transmitter, mics, and a large megaphone) with your dollars.

Since I host one program and co-host another I would surely like a submission for a slogan for one of them since I already have one for SUNDAY SIMCHA--"KEEPING YIDDISHKEIT ON THE AIR---WFDU". Perhaps we should get some bumper stickers to put on some of the old jalopies that still have bumpers and are owned by folks who still want to support a cause---you have seen them---they pride themselves on every place they ever visited and had an Honor Student and Our Lady of The Many Mitzvahs Yeshiva. Just being ecuminical here.

NOW---we need a slogan for TRADITIONS. Come up with one and if it is selected you will rcve. a CD---pledging is not necessary. But, as that horrendous historical hellion once said---"Ve Take Names".

I could, of course, go on to espouse---you have to love the larger words here---the quality of both programs, the interesting guests, the meaningful moments, and mostly the comradeship they instill in all of us---both programs---and hope you feel that way and will support us come Feb. After that you and I are on our own.

I guess since I have spoken for both programs then I suppose I should offer you a video sample of some of our guests from each one.

Metropolitan Klezmer from an appearance near Battery Park City in NYC

Auld Lang Syne or Some Semblence on Traditions December 26

2010-12-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

Aside from that title you may rest assured that Ron Olesko and Bill Hahn will not be doing the ubiquitous top 10 list when they share the microphone (the station is down to only affording 1---but surely you will pledge next year and we shall order another one). What they will be doing is choosing 10 recordings of the past year that impressed and were meaningful to them. Since everything is subjective they are definitely not the 10 best but, rather, their most meaningful 10. Yours may well be different and your comments on that would be most appreciated for an early broadcast in 2011.

Sadly, as is the nature of life, we lost some wonderful people and they will surely be recalled on this year end broadcast.

Rather than giving away any surprises about the recordings that the lads have chosen this year and in keeping with TRADITIONS always staying current as well as Traditional here is an unrecorded piece by some of the program's favorite artists---Buskin & Batteau (with the truly talented tapper of tympanic tones--Marshal Rosenberg)

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like.....Just Another Christmas Radio Show.

2010-12-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

Ah, yes, it's that time of year again - a time to beat other people up over merchandise marked 35% off (of prices recently jacked up 40%), a time to run wild-eyed into a convenience store at 4am Christmas morning to find the PERFECT gift for your wife, a time for your loved ones to say "no gifts this year" only to buy you a new car when you decided to actually FOLLOW the "no gifts this year" rule!!

Wanna forget Christmas is happening this year? Well, my radio show won't help. But it will be a fun trip through the years to hear some really strange and rare Christmas records (in other words, none of that CRAP you're hearing on those stations that have devoted themselves to playing Christmas music since Dad finished carving the Thanksgiving turkey).

This year I've decided to play really odd stuff that you don't hear very often (or at all) on other stations. No "Jingle Bell Rock", no "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree", not even Chuck Berry's "Run, Rudolph, Run"! No, I'm playing things like "Santa Got A DWI" by Sherwin Linton, Art Carney's version of "'Twas The Night Before Christmas", Canned Heat's duet with The Chipmunks (pictured above), and, not one, but TWO Christmas records by Jim Backus! Ole Mr. Magoo (and Thurston Howell III) himself!! So tune in Sunday, December 19th at 1:00 EST to "On The Record" on 89.1 FM on your dial or on the web at http://wfdu.fdu.edu/home.html

We Are Not Going To Interrupt This Record!

2010-12-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

....yes we are! Tune in to "On The Record" with Richard Sibello this Sunday from 1:00 to 2:00 (we only have an hour this week, due to WFDU's coverage of the FDU basketball game) for a one-hour look at the career of Buchanan and Goodman, the two guys who created the first "break-in" record - "The Flying Saucer (Pt. 1 & 2) - in 1956. In the process, they not only created a hit record, but a slew of imitators, tons of lawsuits, and paved the way for the 90s phenomenon known as "sampling"! I will be playing the complete (well, near-complete - some of their B-sides aren't worth even ONE spin) works of Bill Buchanan and Dickie Goodman in the magical year and a half that they were partners, before going their separate ways. So tune in this Sunday at WFDU-FM, 89.1 on your dial, on hear us streaming on the web at www.wfdu.fm.

SHERIFF and THE RAVELS - SHOMBALOR

2010-12-06T15:52:00.000-08:00

Greetings and salutations, all, and welcome to the first installment of my blog. Simply called "On The Record", it will be a weekly (or more frequent) review of records played on my radio show, coincidentally (ok, maybe not) entitled "On The Record". Warning - over the years, I've become a crusty old man (and I'm only 41!!) with even crustier opinions. So if you don't like what I write in this space, you are more than welcome to comment - you may even change my mind about some things! Not likely, but you never know....

Anyway, this blog starts off with one of the weirdest, wildest, wackiest records I've ever heard - "Shombalor" by Sheriff and The Ravels from December, 1958. This and the Chips' "Rubber Biscuit" will live forever side-by-side as the two wildest (and finest) examples of doo-wop nonsense. It is also a prime example of why the record industry will never be vital again until it is taken over by people who actually like MUSIC you can go CRAZY to.

Apparently, The Ravels were a Brooklyn streetcorner group, just another of many hundreds of similar singing lads, looking for a shot at the big time (or at least a spin on Dr. Jive's show on WWRL). One of their acquaintances, a man named Elmore Sheriff, had a song he had written back in 1955 that he called "Shombalor". After doing some research (including a good article by Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders - read it here), I found that this wacko tune was based on an old African work song. Anyway, Sheriff knew a guy named Aki Aleong, who was working as an actor and was heavy into the doo-wop scene (his 45 of "How Do I Stand With You?" on Mona-Lee Records is a VERY desirable slab of wax for group harmony freaks), and Aki had some contacts with some local recording studios. Result: The Ravels got their chance to cut a record. They immediately cut one of their original songs, "Lonely One" (written by one "W. Denson" - could this have been Wee Willie Denson, who later had the equally strange 45 "Fried Marbles"? Was he a member of The Ravels?) and for the flip side, ol' Sheriff let the group know that they were gonna cut his tune. The group got behind it, and made the record (this is why original copies on Vee Jay have "Sheriff and The Ravels" on one side and "The Ravels" on the other). Of course, not only did Aki Aleong take half the writers' credit for both sides, he got one of the EARLIEST production credits EVER for a rock and roll 45! Aki then shopped the tapes around to several labels, and Vee Jay Records in Chicago picked it up. Neither side was picked as a "plug side" (Vee Jay never printed "plug side" on their promotional 45s for some reason), but some DJs flipped over "Shombalor" - I have no evidence of this, but I am almost CERTAIN that someone like Mad Daddy in Cleveland or Dr. Jive in Harlem would have gleefully spun this on their shows.

Of course, the record never became a hit, but over the years it has consistently blown the minds of everyone who hears it. My girlfriend Jess absolutely HATES group harmony music, but can't get enough of this one. Even the doo-wop snobs I know love this record! And why not? It's got everything that make a record great - noise, atmosphere, simple melody you can sing along to (even if you can't decipher the lyrics, you can still join in with nonsense of your own), and - best of all - it ROCKS. I'd like to lock the heads of several record companies in a room with just a record player and this record - their heads would probably explode. And that would be a good thing. Who needs lame Disney-sponsored singers singing "keeping it positive" and "don't let anyone get you down, you are beautiful" lyrics over a horrid electric morass which is supposed to pass for melody, when you can turn this one ALL THE WAY UP and bug your square neighbors with some joyous, primal noise!!! On top of everything else, this record might (just might) have the first use of the F-bomb on a rock and roll record - listen carefully at about 25 seconds into it!

Sheriff and The Ravels - Shombalor (Vee Jay 306)

New Years Is Coming---and So Are THE CAPITOL STEPS

2010-12-02T16:34:00.000-08:00

SUNDAY SIMCHA is happy to be pre-empted with an hour long version of THE CAPITOL STEPS on Jan.1. WFDU and SUNDAY SIMCHA are delighted to be the exclusive purveyors in the NY NJ Metro area of the very Kosher Product known as THE CAPITOL STEPS every quarter. This is the hilarious year end edition of Politics Takes A Holiday by this brilliant troupe of troubadors of mirth and insight.

SO---Jan.1---10 AM on the right spot on the left side of your dial (if you still have a horizontal dial)--here is a sample of what you might hear:

Sunday Simcha Celebrates Hannukah

2010-12-01T16:47:00.000-08:00

OK---spell it anyway you like but this Sunday (12/5) we celebrate the festival of lights---there is more to the legend and you can see more on my blog www.billhahnprogramnotes.blogspot.com after Thursday evening.

We will be celebrating it on Sunday on SUNDAY SIMCHA right here on WFDU---and here is a sample of something you might hear ---well, not see, but hear then:

"Blues & the Beat" w/Dennis Gruenling (THU) playlists & website up now up!!

2010-11-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

Be sure to check out the new "Blues & the Beat" website, with archives, historical information, and CD recommendations...

Here is the playlist for 11/25/10 show focusing on 1953

"Blues & the Beat" features blues & blues-related American music every Thursday from 1:00-3:45. Every week you are guaranteed to hear artists or songs you haven't heard, and learn a little history while you're digging the music.

Keepin' the blues alive!

- Dennis Gruenling

http://dennisgruenling.com

http://badassharmonica.com

http://bluesandthebeat.com

www.facebook.com/dennis.gruenling

THANKSGIVING ON TRADITIONS

2010-11-19T15:48:00.000-08:00

Lots to be thankful for and not the least of which having some great talents that grace this program often---SUNDAY 11.28/10 is no exception when Si Kahn joins Bill Hahn for some great music and conversation.

Given that Si has over 16 CDs to his credit (one of which is THANKSGIVING), and his latest is #1 on the FolkDJ charts, he is the perfect guest for this holiday weekend. We will be playing music from his CDs, having an interesting conversation about his wide ranging activities---community organizing, book author, musical show writer, and anything else that comes into our minds---including some humor.

SO--a bit of a precursor of the program::

See you SUNDAY---November 28 for the Holiday Weekend---and on the web at www.wfdu.fm

"Blues & the Beat" playlists now online!

2010-11-19T08:43:00.000-08:00

Playlists for the first 2 hours of my "Blues & the Beat" radio program are available now on the WFDU site (on the "Blues & the Beat" page - go figure!)...and on the new "Blues & the Beat" website homepage- http://bluesandthebeat.com

Each of the first 2 hours are themed, and this past program's themes were:
1:00 - Hubert Sumlin / Lloyd Glenn / Hank Ballard
2:00 - George "Harmonica" Smith / Papa Lighfoot

Keepin' the blues & roots alive!!

- Dennis Gruenling

http://dennisgruenling.com

http://badassharmonica.com

http://bluesandthebeat.com

www.facebook.com/dennis.gruenling

SUNDAY SIMCHA 10 A M

2010-11-17T17:21:00.000-08:00

We welcome Si Kahn---world renowned singer, activist, author and playwright to the program on Nov. 21 at 10 AM (ET) and streaming on the web at www.wfdu.fm

Conversation,.Music, and some great humor which will pre-clude Comedy Corner this week---who needs it when you have Si.

The WFDU Blog Launch!

2010-11-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a year since we first started talking about having a WFDU blog site. Many listeners have suggested we do this because they are very interested in what's happening with our DJs as well as the station. Please, have fun with this and thank you for being a loyal listener of WFDU!

P.S. Keep an ear open for our 40th Anniversary celebration highlights!

Best wishes,
Wendee