Before The Rhapsody



Just days before the third annual World AIDS Day in 1991, 30 years ago, one of Rock’s most iconic front men, Freddy Mercury, died of the disease. This show revisits the time just prior to their worldwide success, when they were breaking out of the Glam Rock ghetto into becoming legendary. #AIDS #WAD2021 #HIV #LGBTQ #HardRock #GuitarRock #GlamRock #1970s


Flash, Cash and Trash



For my final show of Rocktober 2021 on it’s final day, Halloween, another act, much like the first three featured this year, that laid the foundation for their respective sub-genre of Rock and Roll: Glam Metal. Today we revisit the first decade of band that just won’t die, Motley Crue. #glammetal #hairmetal #heavymetal #motleycrue


The New Wave Tsunami



For our third show for Rocktober 2021, a band that seemed to do something only The Beatles did a decade prior: absorb all of their influences so well as to create their unique but highly recognizable sound that proved the leading light of a new form of Rock and Roll in the late 70’s and early 80’s, American band Blondie. #blondie #newwave #debbieharry #altrock #CBGB


Sha-la-la-la Roll You Over



Our second program for Rocktober features a band that achieved some mainstream success in the U.S., but remain a cult favorite and one of the most influential acts that would spawn not only the New Wave of British Heavy Metal but also the American Thrash Movement, English and German heavy rock/metal act UFO. #UFOband #heavymetal #hardrock #1970s #guitarrock


White Heat and Black Leather



For my first program for Rocktober 2021, an audio primer for the very first documentary of one of the most important bands of the latter half of the 20th century, The Velvet Underground, directed by Portlander Todd Haynes and broadcasting on October 15th on Apple TV. The Velvet Underground are a band you have heard … Continue reading White Heat and Black Leather


The Power of Friendship



Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first ever major, large-scale charity benefit and album that all came about because one person who felt powerless asked another very famous friend for help. The result was first-ever major musical charity event: The Concert for Bangladesh. #bangladesh #georgeharrison #charity


Could This Be The First True Indie Rock Record?



Taking a look back almost five decades to one of the most unique and iconic albums of the 1970’s, Something/Anything? by Todd Rundgren, that proved an album of incredibly diverse styles, almost all written and performed completely by the artist himself, could prove a template for all lo-fi, indie and self-produced and self-performed albums in history. #toddrundgren


Really Old School Vol. 5: Early Hip-Hop 88-89



How do you know when you have made it? When the lawyers start coming around. As Hip-Hop was becoming more a part of the mainstream daily, all of sudden, the checks got bigger. At least it did for some. What started out as Black, block party music in New York City over a decade prior was now very big business, and about to get bigger, which also drew the attention of an unfair, racist system that wanted it gone. #hiphop #oldschool


Really Old School Vol. 4: Early Hip-Hop 86-87



Nineteen Eighty-Six was the year mainstream America could no longer ignore Hip-Hop. It exploded nationally in the middle part of the year and then did something that took it even further: white kids from the suburbs became fascinated with it in a major way. This was also the era where Hip-Hop sub-genres, such as New Jack Swing and Hip-Hop Soul, were hitting the Pop charts regularly, along with female rappers and dance remixes further pushing it everywhere. #hiphop #rap #hiphipsoul #newjackswing #oldschool


Really Old School Vol. 3: Early Hip-Hop 84-85



In the sixth and seventh years of emergence into recorded music, Hip-Hop was branching out into the mainstream through inroads into Dance and Pop music with two new hybrids, Hip-Hop Soul and Latin Freestyle, while MC’s started to become more forceful in their delivery and a new sonic experience, the Human Beatbox, was making its mark on the culture. oldschool #blackmusic #hiphop #electronic #bboys #bgirls #hiphopsoul #humanbeatbox #freestyle


Really Old School Vol. 2: Early Hip-Hop 82-83



Three years after the initial wave of Hip-Hop singles released on vinyl made a sudden impact, the genre went into completely different directions at a rapid pace, much of this stirred on by advancements in technology and a refocus on lyrical themes. #oldschool #blackmusic #hiphop #electronic #bboys #bgirls


TSOP Legacy Pt. 2



A look back at recordings from the greatest and most important R&B label of the 1970’s, Philadelphia International Records, on their 50th anniversary with a selection of songs that go far beyond better known recordings to many lost gems and fan favorites spanning almost their entire 20 year output. #TSOP50 #PIR #Soul #randb #blackmusic #4thofjuly #1970s #1980s


TSOP Legacy Pt. 1



A look back at recordings from the greatest and most important R&B label of the 1970’s, Philadelphia International Records, on their 50th anniversary with a selection of songs that go far beyond better known recordings to many lost gems and fan favorites spanning almost their entire 20 year output. #TSOP50 #PIR #Soul #randb #blackmusic #4thofjuly #1970s #1980s


Queen of the Doubles



The 1970’s were the era of the double vinyl LP. Forget what you think you know or remember about this time, because no one was more successful at this format than the most unlikely of music giants of the era: a Black woman from Boston named Donna Summer. #donnasummer #disco #dancemusic #1970s #giorgiomoroder #summer #solstice


It’s A Zoo Out There



Sometimes I like to have a good time, sometimes I get a little heavy. Today, I talk about both featuring a wide variety of artists across decades and genres all with one thing in common: They are singing about animals, literally or metaphorically. Dedicated to baby girl, Gypsy Pug, my husband’s service dog, who left us at the age of 16 on May 28th. #animals #musiceducation #fun #serviceanimals #servicedog #puglife #mentalhealth #disability


When SoCal 70’s Rock Didn’t Suck



After the 1960’s folk rock made it’s biggest impact on the U.S. charts, a new sound was developing from it: the singer-songwriter movement. Things got slower, less political and much more personal. But not all of it was a middle-of-the-road mainstream snoozefest. Children of the Revolution, please allow me to introduce Little Feat. #littlefeat #socal #lowellgeorge


hi-NRG Gay 80s



As we celebrate Pride month worldwide, a look back to when Gay men were dying in record numbers due to AIDS and when a record number of Gay men came out of the closet in the music industry to provide the soundtrack to battle the darkness surrounding them with a new form of dance music called hi-NRG that evolved from Disco. #AIDS #HIV #GayMen #LGBTQ #Dance #hiNRG


Power Pop For Now People



“Pete Townshend coined the phrase to define what the Who did. For some reason, it didn’t stick to the Who, but it did stick to these groups that came out in the ’70s that played kind of melodic songs with crunchy guitars and some wild drumming.” – Eric Carmen of the group Raspberries #powerpop #rockandroll #guitarrock #classicrock #summermusic #partymusic


Beyond The Legend



Chances are, you only own one Reggae album and it is Legend by Bob Marley. It’s a stunning collection of his hits and mostly inoffensive tracks, which has constantly drawn criticism for appealing to whites in the suburbs. This program will feature selections that you probably never knew existed, which paint a different picture than the one you are used to. #bobmarley #thewailers #reggae #Jamaica


The Very Definition of Grown Folks Music



For Mother’s Day 2021, former back-up singer Dionne Warwick carved out her niche as an easy listening, adult contemporary icon with timeless songs that endure on true oldies stations and in endless covers and made songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David household names. #popmusic #1960s #1970s #1980s #easylistening #adultcontemporary


The Filth, The Fury, The Frenzy and The Fun



The original U.K. Punk scene, from 1976 to 1978, made up of acts from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, was more than just “us against the man”, but a whole culture that rejected the status quo in ways that one single idea could not encapsulate.


Billie Holiday: The Lady Day Anthology (Jazz Day 2021)



A special tribute to one of the most important and influential Jazz vocalists in history whose story and music enthrall us still, some six decades after her untimely passing at the age of 44. #ladyday #billieholiday #jazz #womeninmusic #jazzday


A Rock and Roll Pop Art Explosion



Revisiting the formative years of what many consider one of the greatest Rock and Roll bands in history, The Who, where they went from being part of the Swinging Sixties Mod youth culture to just before the release of their fourth album, Tommy, by which time they honed their skills as a live act that no one could beat. #swinginglondon #1960s #thewho #rockandroll #mods


“I’d like to thank the Academy and all the little people…”



For April Fool’s Day, and just weeks from the annual Golden Raspberry Awards (The Razzies), a program featuring some of the worst and sometime unintentionally hilarious film music of the 80’s and 90’s wrapped in an essay of how badly people have ruined the entire award system by truly not challenging it at every level. #razzies #filmmusic #1980s #1990s #razzies #aprilfools #webbys #commuunicatorawards


Sisters of The 70’s



For those of you who may believe that the “Girl Group” sound died in the 1960’s, it didn’t. It decided to evolve and mature in ways that were’t always geared at the Pop chart, and with a newfound freedom that didn’t always include bouffant hairdos, high heels and with new found themes of independence and honesty. #IWD2021 ##InternationalWomensDay


Electric Miles (Jazz Day 2018, Pt. 2)



Revisiting my International Jazz Day program from three years ago for Black History Month, with a two part special focusing on the Jazz idioms most visible practitioner, Miles Davis, during his “electric period”, which saw him move away from traditional Jazz (again) and create a whole new vocabulary for the art form. jazzday #jazzfusion #milesdavis #BHM #BlackHistoryMonth


Electric Miles (Jazz Day 2018, Pt. 1)



Revisiting my International Jazz Day program from three years ago for Black History Month, with a two part special focusing on the Jazz idioms most visible practitioner, Miles Davis, during his “electric period”, which saw him move away from traditional Jazz (again) and create a whole new vocabulary for the art form. #jazzday #jazzfusion #milesdavis


The Other Side of Love, Vol. 2



Revisiting the tumultuous decade that almost saw the organization that had been the leading and most successful Black business in history almost go bankrupt as it struggled to find its voice. #motown #1970s #blackhistorymonth #BHM #marywilson #singlesawarenessday #valentines #valentinesday


All The Squares Go Home



Spotlighting the first several years of a band that blew all conventions out the door, Sky and The Family Stone, the first major music act that was multi-gendered and multi-ethnic, who also became the Haight-Ashbury San Francisco music scene’s most popular act. #blackhistorymonth #BHM #slystone #psychedelicsoul #rockandroll #RandB #1960s


Bartender, I’ll Have a Triple Icy Stalli Bacardi.



Spotlighting a unique moment in music history, one where female Hip Hop artists of color are making their biggest-ever impact on the charts and on culture. Featuring Saweetie, aka Icy, Megan Thee Stallion, aka Stalli and Carbi B, aka Bacardi. NOTE: This program contains language and subject matter some may find objectionable. We are in … Continue reading Bartender, I’ll Have a Triple Icy Stalli Bacardi.


The First Lady of Songbooks (Jazz Day 2019 Pt. 2)



A slightly edited version of the program I ran almost two years ago for International Jazz Day. This is the second of two parts featuring what many consider the greatest vocal Jazz albums in history by an artist considered one of the immortals. #ella #Jazz #ellafitzgerald #jazzday


More Than Apple Vanity



For this series 100th program, a extended show dedicated to some of the many talented artists of music history’s most amazing experiment in the business, Apple Records, that started off with great promise but crashed and burned amid a bitter divorce among what were once close friends. #beatles #applerecords #apple


Willing to Play Two Female Country Artists In A Row



Spotlighting the early achievements of female artists in the 74 years of the Billboard Country Chart’s existence, which, since its inception, has been a hard, rough and long continuous battle to be heard and represented. #country #countrymusic #womeninmusic Recently, Billboard magazine reported, in an article disseminated by the Associated Press, a startling find: by mid-summer … Continue reading Willing to Play Two Female Country Artists In A Row


Ma Rainey’s Original Black Bottom



A brief overview and spotlight on the real Blues musician who’s name adorns an upcoming film on Netflix that features Academy Award winner Viola Davis and the last filmed performance of Chadwick Boseman. #marainey #blues #bluesmusic More than 75 percent of all correspondence to me is concerning an artist or recorded audio that someone has … Continue reading Ma Rainey’s Original Black Bottom


A Marvelously Unofficial Soundtrack



Though no one seems to know why, the songs in film soundtrack to Captain Marvel didn’t rate a physical release, which is a major disappointment, considering the number of Black female artists in it. So, giving you a special digital one here, since they can’t pull it off. #moviemusic #captainmarvel #MCU #Marvel #brielarson


Fela Kuti and Africa ’70 On World AIDS Day



December 1st is the 32nd Annual observance of World AIDS Day. As a tribute to people worldwide who have lost their lives to this disease or are still living with it, we dedicate this show to you and to our spotlight artist this week, Fela Kuti. #AIDS #HIV #WAD2020 #Africa #Nigeria #Highlife #afrobeat


The Music of Degenerates That Became a Phenomenon



Birthed from the same circumstances that gave rise to the U.K. Punk scene, The New Wave of British Heavy Metal took the sound of what was called “degenerate trash” by the mainstream and transformed it into a worldwide phenomenon. #heavymetal #metal #UKmetal #NWOBHM


They Were On A Mission From God



A tribute to our friend and loved one Wendy Posson who who left us at the age of 50 last month. The Blues Brothers was hands down her favorite film, and we are celebrating one of cinema’s most outrageous, most diverse and most amazing musical movies in her memory.
#bluesbrothers #filmmusic #blues #rhythmandblues #soul #danaykroyd #johnbelishi #johnlandis #jamesbrown #cabcalloway #arethafranklin #raycharles #johnleehoker #tvthemes


The Very Short In-Town Move



How can a group survive by proudly staying local, being possibly too talented for their own good, not being pigeonholed and rising to the occasion when others drop the ball? Not for long, at least in the case of The Move. #themove #roywood #jefflynne #bevbevan #freakrock #UKrock #psychedelic #powerpop


Santana and the Latin Rock Breakthrough



Though Hispanic/Latinx/Latino music from the United States of the last couple of decades has primarily focused on club bangers and Pop music, there was a time when practically everyone in the underground and the mainstream was grooving to a brand new and hip sound not before experienced by anyone. #hispanicheritagemonth #latinorock #lantinx #santana


When Hippies Overtook The Great White Way



Billed as the “The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical”, Hair made an immediate and far-reaching impact outside of Broadway. NOTE: This program contains language and subject matter not suitable for all audiences. Racism. The Vietnam War. Rejection of uptight sexual mores. Nudity. Profanity. Simulating open drug use. Hippies and the counterculture. This was definitely not your parent’s … Continue reading When Hippies Overtook The Great White Way


Jazz Fusion: 1969-1976, Pt. 2



The second of the two International Jazz Day 2016 promised to all of you I would start bringing out of the archives. #jazzday #JazzFusion #Jazz #JazzRock Note: Biographical/historical information about each selection follows below the track listing. Even though the seeds of what we now call the first wave of Jazz Fusion had been sewn … Continue reading Jazz Fusion: 1969-1976, Pt. 2


Art Laboe, The Original Oldie But Goodie



Happy 95th birthday to a man who not only is a Guinness World Record holder for broadcasting, he literally saved an entire era of music by people of color from being whitewashed and became an icon of Southern California Hispanic culture. #oldies #oldiesbutgoodies #lowrider #chicano #rhythmnadblues #rockandroll #doowop #crusing


“Florian Schneider is Recharging His Battery”



“Florian Schneider is Recharging His Battery”

The co-founder of electronic music pioneers and early Hip-Hop influence Kraftwerk passed away in April, but his death was not revealed until the first week of May. #electronica #kraftwerk #florianschneider #krautrock


Veteran’s Day with Johnny Cash live (with Veteran’s Crisis Line info)



Celebrating the U.S. version of Armistice Day with Air Force veteran and Country music cornerstone Johnny Cash with live performances from 1955 to 1968. Additionally, about 20 veterans daily commit suicide, far higher than the national average. There is 24/7 free help available to you.