WRCO Blog

Hey Rock n' Rollers!  I look forward to visting with you this Saturday night during my Those Were The Days radio show.  On this weekends WRCO FM 100.9 program, we will feed you with some fun food songs.  You could have a 'Cheeseburger In Paradise', 'Jambalaya', 'Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie', and other delicious song treats!  I hope you are 'Hungry', for 'Bread And Butter'.  It will be 'Yummy, Yummy, Yummy'.  We featured this theme a few years ago.  It is back by listener request.  There are many food songs that are easy to think of.  What about tunes such as; Popcorn by Hot Butter,  Eat It-Weird Al,  A Taste Of Honey-The Beatles,  I Want Candy-Strangeloves,  Sugar Sugar-Archies,  and TV Dinner-ZZ Top.  The request line will be open for those of you who want to contribute a song choice.  You can request your favorite song from the fifties through the eighties between six and Midnight this Saturday night.  Perhaps you will win tickets for the outdoor concerts during 80s In The Dells August 16th and 17th at Crystal Grand Music Theater.  Brush up on your trivia and be ready when you hear the 'Magic Cow Bell'  on Saturday night during Those Were The Days.

Phil

This is your old buddy Phil Nee.  I will be sitting by my rotary dial telephone this Saturday night.  You can help me with the playlist for my Those Were The Days radio show.    It will be great to be back in the studio with a live show.  During the six hour tribute to the first four decades of rock and roll, we will play a few songs that were at the number one position on the 4th of July.  These are tunes that take me back to those old days of Summer.  Many friends, neighbors, and relatives would come to our family farm during the Independence Day weekend.  We always had a lot of fresh from the farm food and a wash tub full of ice that was chilling bottles of Ski, Double Cola, and Hillbilly Beverages that were bottled in Richland Center.  Music was always in the background.   If I wasn't pretending to be a d.j.,  we would warm up the tubes in the radio.  Some of the biggest hits of Summer were number one during the first week of July.  Bill Haley and the Comets helped bring rock and roll to the mainstream.  Rock Around The Clock was the number one song back in 1955 on July 4th.  It was a hit when it was used in the movie Blackboard Jungle.  My dad told me a story about being in downtown Richland Center when that movie was showing at the theater.  Outside on the street they were playing Rock Around The Clock continously over loud speakers.  In 1989, my wife (June) and I were at Graceland in Memphis hanging out at the Elvis mansion.  That was a great trip and an outstanding place to be for the holiday.   The old Saturday night tunes take me back to those great celebrations and special occasions.

This Saturday night you could be the winner of two weekend passes to the Crystal Grand Music Theaters' 80's In The Dells which will be held August 16th and 17th.  We will also be giving away tickets to see the Beatles tribute band the Britins on Friday night July 12th at Richland Center High School. Get ready for a quiz!  It is going to be a really big shoe this weekend on FM 100.9.

Phil

Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9, I will be spinning some of the hot tunes from the Summer of 1980.  Some of my favorites from that era include:  Cars-Gary Numan,  I'm Alive-ELO,  Brass In Pocket (I'm Special)-Pretenders,  Gimme Some Lovin'-Blues Brothers,  All Night Long-Joe Walsh,  Misunderstanding-Genesis,  Clones (We're All)-Alice Coopers,  We Live For Love-Pat Benatar,  Let My Love Open The Door-Pete Townsend,  and Into The NIght-Benny Mardones.  These were the songs that were running through my head as I ran the two row cultivator attached to the Farmall Super C tractor or threw hay bales. The Summer of 1980 I made a trip to Dubuque, Iowa.  That was a highlight for a farm boy who had rarely been out of the county.  It seemed like such a big city!    I remember crossing the bridge into Iowa just as Tired Of Toein' The Line by Rocky Burnette came on D-93 FM (The Love Rock) out of Dubuque.  Please stop by and check on us this Saturday night during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  I will be celebrating with songs from other memorable Summers.  We will also have a cool in studio guest that will play us a song.  The request line will not be open this Saturday night.  We will resume that feature during five Saturday nights in July.  Starting next Saturday night, you could win tickets to 80s In the Dells at the Crystal Grand Music Theater.  This is going to be a great music bash coming up August 16th and 17th.  Later this year Elvis impersonator Tony Rocker will be in Richland Center (September 22nd) at the Richland Center City Auditorium.  We will be telling you more about that and giving you chances to win tickets later this Summer.   Thank you for reading.

Phil

Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9 we will create new memories with those classic Pop songs of the past.  The spotlight band will be the Dave Clark Five.  They arrived in America just after the Beatles fifty-five years ago.  They always seemed to finish second to the Fab-Four and the Rolling Stones.  I always have loved the songs they put out.  They packed so much excitement in a two minute record.  They were one of my favorite groups to collect.  Dave Clark has been known as a shrewd business man over the years, however, he has not authorized many re-releases of his groups material.  I believe that the group would be better remembered today if their songs would have been allowed to be used in movies and commercials.  Despite the challenge, I was able to buy good used copies of their original U.S. albums over the course of about ten years.  All have been converted to digital and we can play some of those high energy tunes for you during Those Were The Days salute to the DC5 this Saturday night.  In 2003 I had the honor of interviewing lead singer Mike Smith while he was doing a brief tour of the states.  I will feature a few highlights during the show.  Mike died in 2008 and I have great memories of how nice he was to me during our chat.  Those Were The Days will officially celebrate the arrival of Summer on FM 100.9 Saturday night.  Please give me a call and contribute a request to the program.  It would be awesome to hear from you.  Perhaps you can be on of our trivia winners! 

Phil

The Summer of 1979 was a good time in my life.  Things were looking up on the farm and with the power of music, I was getting my chores done by day and making mix tapes at night.  I did not have my drivers permit yet, however, there were a few girls I could call that did not hang up on me right away.  Older friends of mine were nice to pick me up and give me a ride to Dog n' Suds for a Texas Burger or a Coney Dog.  A bunch of farm friends would pile in for a ride to town to see movies such as:  Star Trek The Motion Picture,  Meatballs,  The Muppet Movie, and Moonraker.  Some of my favorite songs that Summer included:  The Logical Song-Supertramp,  Rock N' Roll Fantasy-Bad Company,  I Want You To Want Me,  Dance The Night Away-Van Halen,  Gold-John Stewart,  and ShakeDown Cruise-Jay Ferguson.   Disco music hit its peak that Summer.  I may not have admitted it at the time,  however, there were some memorable songs in the Summer of 1979 with a disco beat.  The group Kiss even stepped into the dance spotlight with I Was Made For Lovin' You.  New wave band Blondie had the groups first hit, Heart Of Glass, which has a Studio 54 feel.  On July 12th  a Disco Demolition publicity stunt went awry at Comiskey Park in Chicago.  The White Sox had to forfeit their second game of the doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers.  It was a great time to grow up!   Some 1979 youth grew up and I never have.  Those old songs are like old friends.  It will be great to meet them again this Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9.  Please invite your friends to join Those Were The Days between six and midnight.

Phil

Paul McCartney played Madison Wisconsin for the first time on Thursday night June 6th. This was his 5th appearance in the Badger State counting the Beatles only appearance in Milwaukee in September of 1964. I attended this show by myself. My wife, kids, and friends were not interested and I was not paying for a pricey ticket for someone that did not really want to be there. Several family members and listeners told me that they thought Sir Paul should have retired a while back and that his voice was shot. I agree that the latest videos of his live singing have been rough. I simply wanted to go see him because he may never be this close to my house again. When I went to the Kohl Center, I expected a decent show but figured I could be a bit let down by the 76 year old (soon to be 77) as he struggled to hit the notes. This may be the biggest surprise concert that I have ever attended. Paul played from 8:15 p and when the band finished Carry That Weight/ The End it was 11:15 p. Entertainers that are half his age sometimes can not generate that much energy. I will admit that a few of the first few songs sounded a bit rough at times. Let Me Roll It (from the Band On the Run album) may have been his weakest vocal of the night. That is a tough song to sing. He looked a bit tired at first and the vocals were raspy, however, he sounded better and seemed to have more energy three hours later! I counted only two sips of water in all of that time. His band does help with some of the high notes. His powerful drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. is simpy amazing with his playing and backing vocals. Paul was very funny and did a great job with stories and he read many of the signs that were being held up in the audience. One gentlemen had a sign that exclaimed that this was the 123rd time that he had attended a Paul McCartney concert. “You know we love you, but it’s slightly obsessive,” McCartney responded with a grin. Previously I have gone to his concerts at stadiums with 50 thousand plus. The 15,000 that saw the show at the Kohl Center witnessed a much more intimate setting. The three person horn section really added to songs such as: Got To Get You Into My Life, Let Em In, Lady Madonna and many others. There were two high school boys that sat by me and they sang along to every song. I asked them how they knew the music so well. They said that they and all of their friends are McCartney fans. "He is the greatest ever" said one of them. I can't think of another living artist that has that kind of reverence from young to the older than me. I am so glad that I went to this concert. Here is the playlist.

1. A Hard Days Night 2. Save Us 3. Can't Buy Me Love 4. Letting Go 5. Who Cares 6. Who Cares 7. Got To Get You Into My Life 8. Come On To Me 9. Let Me Roll It 10. I've Got A Feeling 11. Let 'Em In 12. My Valentine 13. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five 14. Maybe I'm Amazed 15. I've Just Seen A Face 16. In Spite Of All The Danger (The Quarrymen Song) 17. From Me To You 18. Dance Tonight 19. Love Me Do (George Martin tribute) 20. Blackbird 21. Here Today (John Lennon tribute) 22. Queenie Eye 23. Lady Madonna 24. Eleanor Rigby 25. Fuh You 26. Being For the Benefit Of Mr. Kite! 27. Something (George tribute) 28. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da 29. Band On the Run 30. Back in the U.S.S.R 31. Let It Be 32. Live And Let Die 33. Hey Jude Encore: 34. Birthday 35. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) 36. Helter Skelter 37. Golden Slumbers 38. Carry That Weight 39. The End

Phil

During our Saturday night old music party, we will take a look at the Billboard chart from fifty years ago.  A Florida group known as Mercy was finishing second to the Beatles 'Get Back'.  The runner up song is considered by many to be the best love song of the 60's.  'Love (Can Make You Happy)' was featured a couple of weeks ago when we did a countdown of Forgotten HIts/Those Were The Days favorites from 1969.   This week on Those Were The Days on WRCO 100.9 FM, I will talk with James Marvell who was a member of Mercy and toured with them during a memorable music year.  We will talk about the groups followup called 'Forever' and the album which was released by Warner Brothers.  James has great stories about the days as a traveling rock and roller,  his career in country and gospel music, and he still makes music today.  He has recorded new Country versions of Mercys' hits.  Look for James Marvell on tour this year with Southwest Wisconsins' own Bobby G. Rice.  Bobby started as a child star on WRCO radio in the 50s' and has gone on to have a long career.  I will be in the studio Saturday night to take your 50's through the 80's pop chart requests.  You can win a prize during our trivia times throughout the six hour program.  We will also pay tribute to the Bruce Springsteen album Born In The USA which was released thirty-five years ago in June of 1984.  I recall an iconic moment of the 80s'.  Some of my friends met up with me on State Street in Madison.  We were standing on the side walk in front of one of the four record stores on that street when the shop owner was putting the new Springsteen album in the window.  I remember wondering if the album was good and worth buying.  Within days we knew it was an all time classic.    It is my hope that you will get a chance to tune in 100.9 WRCO FM 100.9 on Saturday night.

Phil

This Saturday night June 1st I will be playing some of my favorite Paul McCartney songs during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  Thursday night June 6th I will be in the same room as a former Beatle!  It is a big room called the Kohl Center, but it will still be cool.  This will be the 2nd time that I have witnessed Sir Paul in person.  The first time was back in 1993 at County Stadium in Milwaukee.  Those Were The Days will be the place for the pregame show for the two McCartney concerts during his 2019 tour (the other is at historic Lambeau Field).  We will get you fired up to see the show, or make you wish that you were going!  I grew up listening to the Beatles and have liked many of Paul's solo records. He has been playing few surprises during the early stages of this years tour.  Some of the songs that I wish he would play include: Getting Closer,  Coming Up,  Ballroom Dancing,  I've Had Enough,  My Brave Face,  Helen Wheels,  With A Little Luck, and  Daytime Nighttime Suffering.   A few of our listeners have told there stories about seeing the Beatles in Milwaukee on September 4th of 1964 (which was the groups only Wisconsin appearance).  One of our friends even brought that original program to the radio station proving that she was actually there.  Whoever put together the program had two names swapped and listed George under John's picture and John under George's photo.  It most likely made that program even more collectable.  This Saturday night you will be able to request your favorite McCartney song or Beatles tune.  I will be in the studio taking your requests and playing  trivia.  You can request any pop song you would like from the fifties through the eighties.  The party will start on FM 100.9 this Saturday night at 6 pm.

Phil

WRCO FM 100.9 will feature another 50th anniversary tribute to the year of 1969.  Saturday night you will be able to hear 40 hits picked by two guys that have studied the music of that year for 50 years.  Kent Kotal, the author of the Forgotten Hits website, has teamed with our Those Were The Days radio show for a list of faves that I hope you will enjoy.  You will also hear sound bites of news that was happening locally and nationally during that year.  Find out what Kent and I think is the best song to be released 50 years ago. You will hear some of radios geatest pop hits including songs from artists such as; CCR,  Tommy James and the Shondells,  Bob Seger System,  Beatles,  Doors,  Box Tops,  Classics IV, New Colony Six,  Rolling Stones,  Spirit, Beach Boys, and many more.  We will feature other highlights of the 50s' through the 80s' later in the program.  I will not be in the studio to take your calls this weekend and will miss you.  Please enjoy our special holiday weekend program on FM 100.9 Saturday night.

Phil

During our Those Were The Days radio show on FM 100.9 Saturday night,  I will be crowning some of the greatest hits of all time again this weekend. The playlist will include artists with royal titles, and royal nicknames.  There are plenty of royal song titles including:  King Of The Road,  Dancing Queen,  King Of Pain, Queen Of Hearts,  Kings and Queens,  King Tut, Ballad Of A Teenage Queen.  We will feature songs from artists such as: Sir Paul McCartney,  Sir Elton John,  Queen Of Soul,  King Of Rock & Roll,  Queen,  The Kings,  and Prince.  Perhaps you can request a song from that theme.  You can also ask for anything from the first thirty-five years of rock and roll.  We will be playing trivia and we wont be acting our age.  What fun would that be?  I am proud that we are one of the few stations that still has a light on during the weekend and that still answers the phone on Saturday nights.  It is a tribute to our owners, Ron and Beth Fruit, and our sponsors that help pay the bills.  Thank them for me when you get the chance.  The party will start here on Saturday night!

Phil

The Billboard Hot 100 chart this weekend in 1966 featured many songs that are still highly regarded today.  This week during Those Were The Days,  I will be featuring a few of the most requested gems from the second weekend of May including:  Good Lovin-Young Rascals,  Kicks-Paul Revere and the Raiders,  Gloria-Shadows Of Knight,  A Groovy Kind Of Love-Mindbenders,  Eight Miles High-Byrds,  Time Won't Let Me-Outsiders,  Try Too Hard-Dave Clark Five,  and Monday, Monday -Mama's and the Papa's.  Those songs still play on oldies channels everyday.  During our Those Were The Days radio program on WRCO FM 100.9, we will play a few of the hot ones from this weekend in 1966 along with your rock and roll requests from the fifties through the eighties.  We had a busy night last weekend.  It is rewarding to hear from listeners that have Summer homes in this area. Many were back and they checked in last Saturday night for the first time since last Fall.  I feel that many listeners are like family members, however, I would know them if we met on the street.  It is one of the most rewarding parts of this job.  Perhaps I will hear from you this weekend?   The party starts Saturday night at 6:00 on WRCO FM 100.9!

Phil

Saturday will be the day that fans of the Star Wars franchise most look forward to.  'May The 4th (force) Be With You Day' is a day to talk like Yoda, play with your light sabers, and nerd out with Star Wars stuff.  We will be playing a few songs in honor of the Sci-Fi classic films during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9 this Saturday night.  You can donate requests and play trivia during the six hour salute to the fifties through the eighties.  May the 4th has been a good day for Spring songs to hit number one.   I will be playing a few of those this week.  Number one songs in the 70s during early May included:  1970  American Woman-Guess Who,  1971  Joy To The World-Three Dog Night, 1972 The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face-Roberta Flack,  1973 Tie A Yellow Ribbon-Tony Orlando and Dawn,  1974  The Locomotion-Grand Funk,  1975 He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)-Tony Orlando & Dawn,  1976 Welcome Back-John Sebastion  1977 Hotel California-Eagles  1978  Night Fever-Bee Gees   1979  Reunited-Peaches & Herb.  Those songs bring back lots of memories of riding bikes on gravel roads,  playing Euchre on the bus, trying not to be obvious about my crush on Brenda,  and those last days of the school year.  At that time, public school students were out for the season by the middle of May.  Summer was about to begin and I could not wait to listen to the radio every day and night!  I was ready to make some mean mix tapes using the songs I recorded off the radio.  This Saturday night I will be playing dj.  I will try not to talk over the intros of the songs so that you can get good clean recordings of the tunes for your mix tape!  The party Saturday night is on WRCO FM 100.9!

Phil

The power of music is amazing.  When I hear songs such as Come And Get Your Love by Redbone,  The Locomotion by Grand Funk, Blue Suede's  Hooked On A Feeling, or Oh My My by Ringo Starr, I am transported back to the Spring of 1974.  I can smell the dirt from the freshly plowed fields and feel the warm Spring breeze while riding my Hiawatha three speed bike (that included an AM radio on the handle bar).  With my 'high water flare leg jeans',  and my red with blue striped rugby shirt, I thought I was rocking the halls of Ithaca elementary.  The songs that Spring were so good, that it was tough to wait for the Watergate news to end so that another hit could spin!  This Saturday night I will again be going back to my childhood when I spin some of those hits on WRCO FM 100.9.  We have a radio party each week during our six hour Those Were The Days show.  We play a variety of hits and have fun with trivia games.   Perhaps we can hang out this weekend?  The party is on WRCO (where all the cool kids get together) between 6 pm and Midnight.

Phil

The music of the late fifties seems to be fading away more each year.  It is hard to find it on the radio dial.  We try to spin a few fifties tunes, however, our playlist during Those Were The Days is based on listener requests.  This weekend on the show we will remind you of how good some of those songs are.  I will spin a few records from the Billboard chart this weekend all of those years ago in 1959.  The music world was still reeling from the loss of J.P. Richardson, Richie Valens, and Buddy Holly in a plane crash earlier that year.  Buddy was on the chart with his last major hit, It Doesn't Matter Anymore.  A few other song favorites from this weekend in '59 include: I Need Your Love Tonight-Elvis,  It's Late-Ricky Nelson,  Sea Cruise-Frankie Ford,  Fabian-Turn Me Loose,  Sorry (I Ran All The Way Home) - The Impalas, and Almost Grown-Chuck Berry.  Along with a tribute to 1959,  I will be taking requests from the four decades of hits that we feature each week on Those Were The Days.  The weather is suppose to be very nice for Easter weekend.  Perhaps family and friends will be gathered around campfires and on front porches while they tune in to FM 100.9  Saturday night between six and midnight.  We will have updates on the Easter Bunnies progress during the evening.  Hopefully the Solid Gold Dancers don't scare him away! 

Philip Nee

After a successful Saturday night of remembering seventies one hitters,  this Saturday night WRCO will feature wonders from the eighties!  It was the decade of MTV creating some hits.  Several British artists became stars in the U.S. for one record.  On Those Were The Days this week, I will remember a few of my favorites from that decade including:  Love Plus One-Haircut 100,  Major Tom-Peter Schilling,  Der Kommissar-After The Fire,  Heart and Soul-T'Pau,  and Lunatic Fringe-Red Rider.  I hope you will check in with a request for an eighties 'One HIt Wonder' or any pop song from the fifites through the eighties!  Last Saturday night we had the most requests since last Summer!  The weather getting better helps the oldies hot line heat up.  I heard from a couple of great listeners that are 'snowbirds'.  We had not heard from them for five months.  They were back at their property and they leave FM 100.9 on all of the time now.  This Saturday April 13th is Record Store Day.  This date honors those brick and mortar stores still offering vinyl records and cds' for young and old that want to hold something in their hands other than an electronic device. I will be making my way around the stores in Madison with the Vinyl Varmint (a.k.a. Bob Koch).  He and I usually find some rare gems.  Perhaps I will bring some of those goodies back to the show this Saturday night!  We will be playing trivia during Saturday nights Those Were The Days.

Phil

P.S. My friend Kent Kotal of the website Forgotten HIts is currently hosting a poll.  He is looking for everyone to vote on their favorite classic rock songs.  You can vote for one or as many songs as you would like.  He would like to put together the ultimate list.  I cast my votes for some of my favorite and a few of the most requested Classic Rock songs from Those Were The Days.   The email address to place your votes is  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

One of the most popular Those Were The Days topics has been One HIt Wonders.  On WRCO FM 100.9 this Saturday night, I will drag out a few from the best decade for those one time chartbusting artists.  My definition of a One Hit Wonder is an artist or group that only hit the Top Forty chart one time.  When you search the web, there is a lot of wrong information on this subject.  There are sources that call  Joan Jett is a one hit wonder with I Love Rock n' Roll.  What about Crimson and Clover (#7 in 1982) or I Hate Myself For Loving You (#8 in 1988)?  The Go-Go's are also listed by some sources as a One Hitter.  They had four songs make the Top Twenty including:  Our Lips Are Sealed,  We Got The Beat,  Vacation,  and Head Over Heals.  The Knack has been put in that category by a few experts.  My Sharona is one of the biggest hits of all time when it was number one for six weeks.  The followup song in 1979 went all the way to number eleven.  It was called Good Girls Don't.  I feel that many of the composers of those lists did not live through the Seventies or Eighties. 

This Saturday night we will look at some of your most requested Seventies One Hit Wonders of all time.  They include:   Venus-The Shocking Blue,  Play That Funky Music-Wild Cherry,  Dancing In The Moonlight-King Harvest,  Black Betty-Ram Jam,  Reflections Of My Life-Marmalade,  Beach Baby-First Class, and How Long-Ace.  The One Hitter that has been asked for the most is Spirit In The Sky by Norman Greenbaum.  I will be in the studio this Saturday night to take your requests and to host the trivia portion of the show.  I hope you and your friends will tune in 100.9 WRCO FM for this weekends edition of Those Were The Days.

Phil

This Saturday night during our Those Were The Days radio show, we will be doing our first tribute to 1969.  We have special nights planned this year which will pay homage to one of Top Forty's best years.  Kent Kotal from the website ForgottenHits.com will join me later this year and we will both pick our favorite singles from the last year of the sixties.  ForgottenHits features the WLS Silver Dollar Survey for that week in 1969 each Sunday.  There have been some real cool tunes that have shown up during the first four months of the year. Those melodies take me back to playing with my Billy Blast-Off Space Man and his cool space vehicles or looking at my McDonalds Moon Map   Some of the big tunes this weekend fifty years ago included:  Dizzy-Tommy Roe,  Proud Mary-C.C.R., Galveston-Glen Campbell,  Build Me Up Buttercup-Foundations,  Things I'd Like To Say-New Colony Six,  Crimson and Clover-Tommy James,  Mendocino-Sir Douglas Quintet,  and I Got A Line On You-Spirit.   Whenever those songs came out of the radio,  I had to stop playing with my Hot Wheels race cars and listen for a while.  Many of those songs are better known today than when they were new.   This Saturday night it will be a pleasure to play those great hits on the radio again.  You can hear comments from some of the hit makers and those big records during Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  I will be answering my rotary dial phone so that I can take your requests and we will be playing trivia during the six hour pop radio salute (listen for the 'Magic Cow Bell').   We will be playing all of your faves from the fifties through the eighties between six and midnight.  

Phil

It is so awesome to be able to be in the Spring season!  When I think about this time of year, I always think of certain songs.  There are many classic rock songs about Spring.  Many songs that were popular as Winter came to an end are etched in our memories.  I go right back to those Springs of long ago when I hear songs such as: Let Your Love Flow-Bellamy Brothers,  Seasons In The Sun-Terry Jacks,  Joy To The World-Three Dog Night, 65 Love Affair-Paul Davis, and I Love Rock And Roll-Joan Jett.   During this Saturday nights' Those Were The Days, I will be pulling out a few songs that are forever tied to this new season.   Thank you for all of the fun over the Winter season.  The Saturday night oldies show is my escape from all of the cold and ice.  We are always amazed and honored when we make new friends that have never listened to the show.  It is also with great sadness that we say goodbye this week to a great friend, Jeff Peper, who passed away Monday.   He was one of the most dedicated listeners that I have ever known.  He had to rig up his radio to hear us in the hospital the last couple of Saturday nights.  From now on there will be certain songs that I play which will make me think of 'Sarge'. That will make me smile and remind me of our good talks.  He also was a guest d.j. twice as a part of the G.R.A.C.E radio benefit auction when he gave us great donations.   I believe he will still hear all of the fun we have on WRCO FM 100.9 on Saturday nights. He will surely find a radio in heaven to rig up so that he can hear us.   I will be in the studio Saturday night to spin the best of the fifties through the eighties and play trivia.   We will celebrate Spring and the best music ever placed on vinyl records.

Phil

As the snow was melting in March of 1971,  young Philip was waiting to pump up the tires of his Huffy bike (with the sissy bar and banana seat). He could not wait to ride past the neighbor girls and impress them with playing cards stuck in his bike spokes.    Spring was in the air and it would not be long before the mighty Farmall M would be pulling a plow so that oats could be planted.  The barn radio provided a soundtrack of hits.  Some favorites included: Proud Mary-Ike and Tina Turner,  Have You Ever Seen The Rain-CCR,  What Is Life-George Harrison,  Temptation Eyes-Grass Roots,  Another Day-Paul McCartney,  One Toke Over The Line-Brewer and Shipley,  and Me And Bobby McGee-Janis Joplin.  On this Saturday nights Those Were The Days radio show,  we will highlight selected tracks from the Billboard Hot 100 from March of 1971.  We will pay tribute to Hal Blaine who died this week at age 90.  I had the extreme honor of interviewing him twice.  Hal played on hundreds of records.  He played drums in the legendary Wrecking Crew and was on many hit songs by artists such as;  Frank Sinatra,  The Beach Boys,  Paul Revere And The Raiders,  The Partridge Family,  John Denver, and the Righteous  Brothers.    I will be in the studio on Saturday night to take your phone call requests and I will quiz you about some of the things that you did not realize you remember.  I hope you will join me for Those Were The Days on WRCO FM 100.9.  Wear your green while you listen to the radio Saturday night.  We may give Irish Jig lessons in honor of St Patrick's Day.     

Old Philip                                                                                              

Anyone that grew up in the 90's and beyond has no idea what a record hop was.  It was an old title even when I was in school.  We still used it because we had high school dances and records were played and we hopped.  I don't believe high schools today have a quarter of the school dances that we did.  Many Friday nights after the big games students would pay a dollar to get into the gym and dance for a couple of hours.  I graduated from trying to be John Travolta to attempting to be Dick Clark.  I was the dj at many of those hops in the 80s'.  I would go to the Music Shop in Richland Center and attempt to buy the 45's that were the most popular with the kids.   In March of 1984 some of the hot records included:  I Want A New Drug-Huey Lewis,  Footloose-Kenny Loggins,  Karma Chameleon-Culture Club,  Radio Ga-Ga-Queen,  and the number one song was Jump by Van Halen.   I remember playing records at Webb High in Reedsburg and the students had a 'flying V kick' competion.  The best jump that was like VH lead singer David Lee Roth won the prize.  Those were great times and I recall playing records at Richland Center, Weston, Lancaster, Kickapoo,  Ithaca, and Riverdale on other Friday nights.  I even got in on a few proms that Spring.  After carrying 10 heavy crates of albums, a heavy amp and 2 large speakers into the school and back into the trailer at the end of the night,  I was ready to wind down with other great 1984 radio hits such as:  That's All-Genesis,  Got A Hold On Me-Christine McVie,  Back Where You Belong-38 Special, and Runner by Manfred Mann.    This Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9, I will be jamming those hits from thirty-five years ago and all of the fifties through the eighties hits that you want to hear.  I will be in the studio to answer the rotary dial phone.  You could win a trivia prize when we play our hourly trivia games.  Those Were The Days will be on the radio Saturday night.  Let's have a party!

Phil