Post by John Quincy on Aug 17, 2006 14:25:59 GMT -5
This "KYKurmudgeon" column appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader on August 2, 2006:
Radio days
Gotta take a break from politics, government, scandals, wars, etc., for a moment to pay a little tribute.
Bryon Crawford's column in The (Louisville) Courier-Journal today was about an upcoming reunion of former on-air personalities at Louisville's WAKY and WKLO, two of the best AM rock 'n' roll stations of that music genre's golden era. I was one of the WAKY faithful, but they were both outstanding. The column reminded me of an editorial I wrote back in 1986, when I heard that WAKY would turn its 790 dial position over to an easy listening station. (WKLO left the air earlier.) The following is that editorial. If the words mean nothing to you, well, it's a boomer thing that other generations might not understand.
STOP! IN THE NAME OF ROCK
Good golly, Miss Molly; wake up, little Susie; it's the end of the world - the day the music died.
I heard it through the grapevine that WAKY (as in "Wacky radio," one of Kentucky's first rock stations, if not the first) wants me to hang up my rock 'n' roll shoes and listen to beautiful music. I'm all shook up. It's like someone stepped on my blue suede shoes and left me with heartaches by the number.
When I start reeling in the years, I can remem-mem, remembe-member, remem- mem, remember when - way back in 1958 when that little one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater came to Earth to get a job in a rock 'n' roll band. He stayed at WAKY all through the first day the station was on the air. That was one fine day. Pretty soon, the station had us dancing in the street.
I dig rock 'n' roll music, and WAKY is a big reason why. WAKY was there during school days. It was there at the hop. It helped cure those summertime blues. If it was another Saturday night and we had nobody, we could always cruise in our little deuce coupe and let the music take us higher. We listened eight days a week, and called in to request songs dedicated to the ones we loved. When we had to get a job, it reminded us there was a five o'clock world and helped keep Friday on our mind. It was there for afternoon delight and in the midnight hour; and we always thought it would be there, still rocking around the clock, in the year 2525.
Well, it's still rock 'n' roll to me, and it's kind of a drag to hear that WAKY is no longer the leader of the pack. It's like someone just took a piece of my heart and left me crying (96 tears) in the chapel. I never felt more like singing the blues. I'm wishin' and hopin' we could turn back the hands of time.
C'mon WAKY, don't be cruel; stop and think it over. Breaking up is hard to do. Rescue me from the sounds of silence. My world is empty without you. We're still having fun, and you're still the one. The beat goes on, because rock 'n' roll is here to stay. So give me just a little more time. Get back in with the in crowd. Don't tell me it's over, it's over, it's over.
Radio days
Gotta take a break from politics, government, scandals, wars, etc., for a moment to pay a little tribute.
Bryon Crawford's column in The (Louisville) Courier-Journal today was about an upcoming reunion of former on-air personalities at Louisville's WAKY and WKLO, two of the best AM rock 'n' roll stations of that music genre's golden era. I was one of the WAKY faithful, but they were both outstanding. The column reminded me of an editorial I wrote back in 1986, when I heard that WAKY would turn its 790 dial position over to an easy listening station. (WKLO left the air earlier.) The following is that editorial. If the words mean nothing to you, well, it's a boomer thing that other generations might not understand.
STOP! IN THE NAME OF ROCK
Good golly, Miss Molly; wake up, little Susie; it's the end of the world - the day the music died.
I heard it through the grapevine that WAKY (as in "Wacky radio," one of Kentucky's first rock stations, if not the first) wants me to hang up my rock 'n' roll shoes and listen to beautiful music. I'm all shook up. It's like someone stepped on my blue suede shoes and left me with heartaches by the number.
When I start reeling in the years, I can remem-mem, remembe-member, remem- mem, remember when - way back in 1958 when that little one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater came to Earth to get a job in a rock 'n' roll band. He stayed at WAKY all through the first day the station was on the air. That was one fine day. Pretty soon, the station had us dancing in the street.
I dig rock 'n' roll music, and WAKY is a big reason why. WAKY was there during school days. It was there at the hop. It helped cure those summertime blues. If it was another Saturday night and we had nobody, we could always cruise in our little deuce coupe and let the music take us higher. We listened eight days a week, and called in to request songs dedicated to the ones we loved. When we had to get a job, it reminded us there was a five o'clock world and helped keep Friday on our mind. It was there for afternoon delight and in the midnight hour; and we always thought it would be there, still rocking around the clock, in the year 2525.
Well, it's still rock 'n' roll to me, and it's kind of a drag to hear that WAKY is no longer the leader of the pack. It's like someone just took a piece of my heart and left me crying (96 tears) in the chapel. I never felt more like singing the blues. I'm wishin' and hopin' we could turn back the hands of time.
C'mon WAKY, don't be cruel; stop and think it over. Breaking up is hard to do. Rescue me from the sounds of silence. My world is empty without you. We're still having fun, and you're still the one. The beat goes on, because rock 'n' roll is here to stay. So give me just a little more time. Get back in with the in crowd. Don't tell me it's over, it's over, it's over.