Toronto Radio; Out with the Old, In with the New

This spring Toronto had one radio station finally go off the air for good while another finally won it's battle to go on the air. Still another once proud radio icon engaged in yet another one of it's revolving door format changes.

First the deceased;



CKLN 88.1fm was a campus/community radio station based at Ryerson University since 1983, or earlier depending on who you ask. Over the years a lot of good programming went on there and the station was quite influential on the Toronto music scene. Some talented people got their start there, Handsome Ned, Mean Steve Piano, Sucking Chest Wound, Jill Heath, Brian Taylor, Bill Grove, David Scurr, James Bailey, Arnie Achtman, The Blue Demon, Mike Hanson, Gerry Belanger, Charles Watson, Jaymz Bee, DJ Barbie, Dave Neudorf, Michie Mee, Freedom in a Vacuum, The Tape Beatles, Chris Twoomey, Ian Danzig. A bunch of people who later went on to The Flow and CBC and Exclaim Magazine. Oh and I did a show there too for several years before moving to CIUT.

Unfortunately like a number of other campus/community radio stations in Canada CKLN was also full of professional DJ's and show promoters who used CKLN to make money on the side and also became a haven for a cadre of fanatical left wing activist types who engaged in their usual vicious sectarian infighting that inevitably tore the place apart. In 2008 the left wing groups staged coup to seize control of the station. After a year long campaign of harassment, slander, nuisance lawsuits, frivolous complaints to the CRTC, threats and occasional violence backed by the equally leftist Ryerson Student Union (RSU, who also withheld the station's funds to force it into bankruptcy) the leftists got their way. But only after the RSU actually seized the station itself, changing the locks and forcing it off the air for seven months. Unfortunately for them after getting the run of CKLN it turned out that left wing activists didn't know the first thing about running a radio station. So after several months of jaw dropping incompetence the CRTC finally called hearings to decide if the whole sorry embarrassing mess should be allowed to continue. The hearings happened in December 2010 and I testified as a witness. There is no room here to go into the hilarity of the proceedings and the awe inspiring ineptitude of the new CKLN management but suffice it to say the CRTC was not impressed and ordered the station shut down for good. CKLN tried to fight this shut down order in court and via a public campaign claiming "corporate censorship". To the surprise of absolutely nobody the court challenge failed and the public campaign fizzed out and CKLN finally went dark this April.

The Torontoist had the best article about the CKLN debacle which I can't improve on so here it is;

"Timeline: Why CKLN Radio's Broadcast License Was Revoked
by Steve Kupferman on January 28, 2011 3:30 PM

Today the CRTC revoked the broadcasting license of radio station CKLN—an independent community-run radio station located in Ryerson University's campus (and largely funded by its student union) but not officially affiliated with that institution—citing the station's failure to comply with federal broadcasting regulations for the past three years. The decision document announcing the revocation is an epic catalogue of alleged violations, some of them outrageous in their negligence. But the document is long, and you have stuff to do. So we've boiled the whole thing down to a series of key points.

August 13, 2007: The CRTC renews CKLN's license for a term of seven years.

Between August 2007 and March 2009: CKLN is riven with internal disputes. The station fires staff and volunteers, and eventually elects competing boards of directors. (A case concerning the competing boards is currently underway at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.)

The Palin Foundation, the building manager for Ryerson's Student Campus Centre (where CKLN has its studio), locks staff out from March 2009 until October the same year. During the lockout, rather than its usual programming, the station plays a recorded loop of a jazz program, complete with spoken commentary. CKLN is denied access to its transmitter at First Canadian Place, so broadcasts are intermittent.

July 2, 2009: After hearing complaints about CKLN's alleged "ongoing difficulties with its governance structure," CRTC staff sends a letter to CKLN requesting responses to the accusations.

September 14, 2009: CRTC staff members meet with representatives of CKLN to discuss the station's compliance difficulties. Face-to-face meetings of this kind are not something the CRTC typically does.

September 17, 2009: CRTC staff sends another letter to CKLN, requesting information on the station's operations and governance structure. The letter informs CKLN management that the station hasn't filed its required annual returns with the CRTC for the past two years.

October 6, 2009: CKLN files its response to the CRTC's letter of September 17. It promises to hire paid management staff and resolve its internal difficulties.

February 10, 2010: The CRTC sends CKLN a letter requesting tapes, logs, and program schedules relating to the week of January 10, 2010. CKLN sends the tapes on time, but files the schedules and logs almost two weeks late. The tapes are full of static, and they don't match the logs. Later, the CRTC reiterates an unfulfilled October, 2009 request for tapes and logs from June 2009 (which was during the lockout period) and again CKLN sends them after the deadline. When a CRTC staff member asks why the material is late, a CKLN representative says that the person responsible for sending the stuff was "in the Caribbean for a month.

March 1, 2010: In response to the CRTC's continued insistence on receiving those required annual returns, CKLN sends a letter saying that it has "no knowledge as to why the returns had not been filed," and that they'll be in the mail within a few days.

May 12, 2010: The CRTC adjourns a public hearing on CKLN's alleged regulatory violations, but requires CKLN to file monthly reports beginning June 14.

July 7, 2010: A scheduled host doesn't appear at the station for his or her show, and so a CKLN volunteer broadcasts the online stream of a Seattle, Washington, jazz radio show as a substitute. The CRTC takes this and other lapses as evidence that the station's infighting is ongoing. CKLN has not hired management staff and is still controlled by a "working board."

September 14, 2010: CKLN tries to file its annual return for the broadcast year of 2006/2007 with the CRTC, but sends in the wrong form.

October 13, 2010: CKLN tries to file four years' worth of annual returns with the CRTC, all at once. But the data for each year goes only until April 30—the CRTC requires data ending August 31. CKLN promises to file corrected returns within a month, then doesn't.

December 8, 2010: The CRTC reconvenes the previously adjourned public hearing on CKLN's alleged violations. Ron Nelson, head of the station's working board, tells the CRTC that the board has no experienced guidance. "We have never been a program director at a radio station before," he reportedly said. "So we had to do a lot of consulting with the NCRA and other radio stations and their program directors, such as CHRY and CIUT, to find out how to do our job properly."

January 28, 2011: The CRTC revokes CKLN's broadcast license, effective February 12."



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On another note, not an entire radio station but rather the last remaining shred of a once respected radio station's glory years. In the 1980's CFNY was Toronto's Alternative, Toronto's New Wave. Then at some point in the late 1990's they changed formats, substituting new wave for Madonna and (gasp) Phil Collins. There were protests, mass firings and resignations, an ownership change and CRTC hearings, which I also testified at come to think of it. The new owners promised to bring back the old format and foster new talent. Instead there were more mass firings and a re-branding as "The Edge 102.4" whatever that means. One of those few from the glory days who managed to survive was DJ Alan Cross. But only just. In 1992 he was given the choice of doing a new project of doing a historical retrospective show called "The Ongoing History of New Music" which would give The Edge some CFNY gravitas. Or Cross could dust off his resume. He reluctantly chose to do the show and given his deep musical knowledge and research skills honed when he had earned a history degree he was able to turn it into a much respected show. Recently he was unceremoniously dumped off the Edge who have long ago learned that gravitas doesn't sell nearly as well as marketing. Sometime this year CFNY also closed their street level audience friendly studios at the Eaton Center. Speaking of which this year Q107 also closed their street level studios across the street at the Hard Rock Cafe. Why in an age when radio is under challenge from newer user friendly media forms these corporate geniuses would want to isolate themselves from the public I'm sure I don't know. But then again I also couldn't for the life of me figure out why CKLN's far-leftist fanatics wanted to turn that place into an insular sectarian cult either. Hey how did that turn out again? Oh right.

Alan Cross in action;





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for the new;

The Caribbean Radio Network (or CARN) has been pushing laboriously for a license since 2002 and after having been shot down a few times finally got permission from the CRTC to broadcast at 98.7fm in June. CARN Had to get past objections from the CBC (because of their fears that CARN's 98.7fm signal would interfere with the CBC's 99.1fm signal) as well as unrelated objections from Rogers, Astral and CTV (because they're dicks). Also Ron Nelson from the soon-to-be corpse of CKLN also complained on the air calling CARN "vultures" for having the temerity to claim that CARN would be "The Voice of the Black and Caribbean Communities in Toronto" a role that CKLN had claimed. It has been noted that once upon a time The Flow made the same claim only to abandon that role to become a more mainstream (and more profitable) station. For that matter the same has been said about CFNY and Proud fm so we shall see. CARN is not actually on air yet and there will be a delay while they get ready, they will also probably have different call letters.

On another note there is the never ending saga of 1050 CHUM am. Once the powerhouse of Toronto rock radio from the 1950's to the early 1980's. CHUM ruled the roost in Toronto for twenty years presenting everyone from Elvis to the Beatles and could claim the title of "The Voice of Young Toronto". The CHUM Top 30 charts became a fixture and eventually branched on to a television version as well. The owners of CHUM Group also started a CHUM FM sister station as well. I have fond childhood memories of all of it. However times were changing as AM lost ground to FM and top forty lost ground to more specialized rivals like the avowedly hard rock Q107, the new wave CFNY and more eclectic campus/community stations like CKLN and CIUT. CHUM seemed not to notice times were changing until suddenly in the mid eighties it's ratings finally tumbled dramatically. In 1986 they switched from Top Forty to Adult Contemporary Soft Rock and Pop, then in 1989 they went to Golden Oldies. When that didn't work they suddenly gave up on music entirely in 2001 to become an all sports station, ignoring the fact that Toronto already had an all sports station. That turned into a disaster and the ratings cratered completely so they desperately switched back to golden oldies only a year later.

They never recovered from this debacle and in 2007 when the network was sold the new owners, CTV, abruptly switched formats again to a 24 Hour news station, once again ignoring that Toronto already had such a station. This time it was widely assumed that the new CHUM was just making time by running a shell station since there was no actual programming at all, just a direct feed from the Cable Pulse 24 television channel, which led to some odd moments when the television announcers referred to video images that the radio audience (assuming there was one) could not see and long unexplained silences. This year brought another change back to...wait for it...another all sports station. This time they took the time to plan it out and got a fair amount of press attention for the big switch over to what they are now calling TSN Sports Radio. Whether there is still any point to having another sports station in Toronto remains to be seen. At any rate the long winding road of CHUM and CKLN is a unique one in the history of Canadian radio for better or (eventually) worse.

NXNE 2011 Review

I was a little under the weather this year so I didn't get to see as many bands this year as I usually do, also I wanted to see the Three Blue Teardrops on Saturday. There were also a couple of long lineups I didn't have the patience for, however I actually got to see most of what I really wanted wanted.

Pick up press pass on Wednesday. Actually there have been films showing since Monday, including ---- but they don't issue press passes until Wednesday so I don't get to see them. Why do you always do stuff like this NXNE? Really, there is always some sort of completely avoidable scheduling fuck up every single year. Anyway there is only one actual show this night.

The Drive-By Truckers ~ The Phoenix;

One of the best Southern Rock bands around today, they're tight, play well and have some good songs. I just wish I could remember more of them after-wards. I wish they had more personality. And I wish they would rock out more. Still those who like the genre like them a whole lot.

Thursday;

The Descendants ~ Dundas Square ~ 9pm;

Easily the most popular show of the weekend, with people literally coming in for miles around, I ran into people I haven't seen in a decade. Milo and the boys are still as rock solid and tight as ever. And the toughest nerds in punk rock. At some point somebody through a bottle and hit Milo right in the head, drawing blood even. Hey asshole! This is a free show for fuck sakes. Shouldn't you be in Vancouver celebrating your teams ability to choke like George Bush on a pretzel? Sorry where was I? Oh right Milo; anyway he continued on as if nothing happened. Not only did he not miss a beat but he never even mentioned it after the song was done. Now if that had been Mike Ness or Glen Danzig they would have stopped the show for half an hour while they harangued the crowd about how they were punk rock while you were in kindergarten.Speaking of which Milo brought his two young kids on stage to read the Descendants Ten Commandments to the crowd; to wit,
Adorable Young Daughter; "Thou shall not partake of death"
Milo; "Uh no sweetie, that's decaff"
Yes well, It's still good advice though.

Take Drugs ~ The Bovine ~ 10pm;
So-so local punk band in that grey area between early hardcore and old school punk.

Darlings of Chelsea ~ The Bovine ~ 11pm;
These local guys are always a solid trash punk band. I really must get a cd at some point.

CJ Ramone ~ The Bovine ~ 12am
As one of the last standing Ramones, albeit one of the least important ones, CJ knows where his bread is buttered. All Ramones songs all the time. Reminds me of the version of The Misfits that has been touring for the last several years now featuring fellow bassist Jerry Only (finally living up to his name). Still even though unlike CJ Jerry actually played on the original songs CJ pulls this of with less embarrassment. Must be the makeup.

Komunga ~ The Hard Luck ~ 2am
Formed by the singer of the late lamented Brown Hornets. The Hornets were a blues/r&b garage band with a smoking love show that never really translated in the studio. The new band is more 1970's Grand Funk with less swagger and more volume. We'll see.

Friday;

CATL ~ BBQ at Casa Del CATL;
CATL put on a BBQ and played a few acoustic blues numbers, they should really add that into their live set. Col. Tom Parker from the late lamented Backstabbers played a few old timey country numbers as well and a low key good time was had by all.

The BB Guns ~ The Silver Dollar 11am;
Another most girl garage band. Featuring the guitarist from the late Machetes. I saw them last year time when they had the worst amp malfunction I've ever heard but I was assured that wouldn't happen again. And it didn't. They were in fact better than White Eyes or The Dum Dum Girls with more melody and variety.

White Eyes ~ The Bovine 12am;
A band from Taiwan getting some buzz. They are indeed loud and intense and they do indeed have an attractive scantily clad girl singer. But to me they sound like every other buzz band from the orient that comes here every couple of years; a whole lot of distorted guitar, driving bass and a singer's indecipherable caterwauling which may or may not be in English. See also; Guitar Wolf, The Zoo Bombs, Melt Banana, Jittering Jim. I don't know if all bands in Asia are like this or lust the ones who come here. Probably the latter. Also as usual the audience is full of Asian students who I never see at another gigs.

The Dum Dum Girls ~ The El Mocambo (secret show) ~ 1am;
Another band getting some buzz right now. An all girl four piece dressed all in black playing mid tempo droney guitar pop. There pretty cool alright but I couldn't help but notice that all their songs are exactly the same. Seriously, Alana, guitarist from the BB Guns comes over and asks my opinion; "I like them enough but all their songs are the same". "They are using all the same chords!" She says, "Really, they are just changing the placement a bit or using a capo". Also while they have two guitars they are both playing the same chords as well. I note that they are also using the same Mo Tucker drum pattern in every song as well. We wonder how they are going to last long term if they don't start to change it up a bit. Oh well she assures me they are very nice.

Saturday;

Devo ~ Dundas Square;
I only caught the last few songs so no "Whip It" or "Satisfaction". I have to admit I've never seen them before and had no idea they were so rockist. I swear one of their songs lifted a riff from a Black Sabbath song. Yes they did wear the black jumpsuits. No conehead hats though. Apparently those got lost before I got there.

RIP to New Wave producer Martin Rushent

PETE SHELLEY ~ HOMOSAPIEN;



UK record producer Martin Rushent died June 4 aged 62. Producer for the classic New Wave hit albums of the 1980's by The Buzzcocks, Stranglers, Human League and Soft Cell.
The Buzzcocks and Stranglers albums made his name but he really hit the big time with the classic and massively successful series of hit albums with The Human League and Soft Cell. Besides selling tons of copies these records (that's right kids, actual records!) were also hugely influential to a new generation of electro music artist and dj's for better or worse. This is in spite of the fact that the technology then used will probably never be used again and would be considered by today's electronic musicians as being as hopelessly out of date as the player piano.

THE HUMAN LEAGUE ~ DON'T YOU WANT ME;



Today's electro musicians do can do everything from a single computer program using premade samples, drum tacks and auto-tuning which removes any actual human fingerprints. Rushent's records with The Human League and Soft Cell were done with analog technology (ask your parents) and required not only that each sample clip be separately edited in but also that the entire mix be programed in step by step lest it go out of time. Then you add in flourishes like a horn section which also had to be programed in step by laborious step and you have days and days of work for something that could be dashed off in a day now.

SOFT CELL ~ TAINTED LOVE;



At the time many music writers and musicians didn't see these records as being legitimate in the way that guitar oriented New Wavers like say, The Pretenders, Blondie, Police, Talking Heads or even avowedly keyboard heavy bands like Ultravox. Now, in retrospect we can see them as much a part of pop (if not exactly Rock and Roll) as the heavily orchestrated girl groups of the 1960's.

THE STRANGLERS ~ NO MORE HEROES;



And if that weren't enough remember Rushent also produced the classic albums by The Buzzcocks Generation X, 999, Dr. Feelgood, the dB's and the Stranglers, and nobody could deny those. He had actually been around since the early 1970's and had worked with T Rex, Fleetwood Mac, Gentle Giant and even Shirley Bassey.

999 ~ HOMICIDE;



Partial Martin Rushent discography;

1971;
T-Rex ~ Electric Warrior
Gentle Giant ~ Acquiring the Taste
Fleetwood Mac ~ Future Games
1972;
Gentle Giant ~ Three Friends
Gentle Giant ~ Octopus
Shirley Bassey ~ I Capricorn
1975;
Shirley Bassey ~ Good, Bad but Beautiful
1977;
The Stranglers ~ Rattus Norvegicus
The Stranglers ~ No More Heroes
1978;
The Stranglers ~ Black and White
The Buzzcocks ~ Another Music in a Different Kitchen
Generation X ~ Generation X
The Buzzcocks ~ Love Bites
999 ~ Separates
Dr Feelgood ~ Private Practice
1979;
The Stranglers ~ Live (X Cert)
The Buzzcocks ~ A Different Kind of Tension
J-J Burnel ~ Euroman Cometh
1981;
The Human League ~ Dare
Pete Shelley ~ Homosapien
The Raybeats ~ Guitar Beat
Altered Images ~ Happy Birthday
The dB's ~ Stands for Decibels
1982;
The Human League ~ Love and Dancing
Altered Images ~ Pinky Blue
1983;
The Human League ~ Fascination!
Pete Shelley ~ XL1
1984;
The Human League ~ Hysteria
The Go-Go's ~ Talk show


GENERATION X ~ KISS ME DEADLY;

The top 40 songs about televison

Gil Scott Heron died today; writer of the greatest song about TV ever. So here is my list of the top 40 songs about TV. Ironically I actually started assembling this a couple of weeks before Gil Scott died and had already chosen his "The Revolution will not be televised as number one. Cue Twilight Zone theme (the Ventures version of course). BTW theme songs don't count, neither do covers of TV theme songs;
(I couldn't find videos for all of them)

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1. The revolution will not be televised ~ Gil Scott Heron;



2. She watch channel zero ~ Public Enemy;



3. Turn it on again ~ Genesis;



4. Action Time Vison ~ Alternative Television;



5. Where's Captain Kirk ~ Spizz Energi;



6. Money for nothing ~ Dire Straits;



7. T.V. Mama ~ Big Joe Turner (the side long version w/Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge & Harry Sweets Edison, but the version with Elmore James is cool too);



8. T.V. is the thing this year ~ Dinah Washington;



9. Along came Jones ~ The Coasters;



10. Plastic Fantastic Lover ~ Jefferson Airplane;



11. T.V. Casualties ~ The Misfits;



12. T.V. Eye ~ The Stooges;



13. T.V. Set ~ The Cramps;



14.Ready Steady Go ~ Generation X;



15. I wanna be a Flintstone ~ The Screamin' Blue Messiahs;



16. Katrina and The Waves ~ Spiderman


17. Channel Z ~ The B52's;




18. I am a TV savage ~ Bow Wow Wow;



19. Video killed the radio star ~ The Buggles;



20. Top of the pops ~ The Revillos;



21. Dirty Laundry ~ Don Henley;



22.This Bud's for you ~ Neil Young;



23. T.V. dinners ~ ZZ Top;



24. Static Age ~ The Misfits

25. Television's Over ~ The Adverts

26. T.V. Party tonight ~ Black Flag;



27. MTV Get Off The Air ~ Dead Kennedys;



28. The Kursaal Flyers ~ Television Generation;



29. I Saw It On TV ~ John Fogerty;



30. 57 Channels and Nothing On ~ Bruce Springsteen;



31. Soap Commercial ~ Psychedelic Furs;



32. Sluggin for Jesus ~ Cabaret Voltaire (part 1);



33. I hate the TV ~ Violent Femmes;



34. Television Man ~ Talking Heads (also covered by Man or Astroman);



35. Kicking Television ~ Wilco;



36. Turned Off TV Blues ~ Ten Years After;



37. Johnny Carson ~ The Beach Boys;



38. The Anemics ~ Elwy Yost

39. The Replacements ~ Saw your video

40. Boob Tube ~ Eva Everything;

Oh cancer up yours!

This is sad. Poly Styrene, one of the quirkiest and most beloved figures of the original 1976-78 London punk scene has died of cancer at 53.

As singer and lyricist for the legendary X Ray Spexs, Poly was a striking presence as much for the playful and insightful lyrics as for the uninhibited wailing yelp she sang them with. She also set a visual style of her own combining a trash punk aesthetic, with a Raggety Anne sensibility, and a love of the gaudiest dayglo colours imaginable. This gave her a look that was far removed from the angry goth bondage look sported by most of her contemporaries. Awkward and geeky and certainly not a conventional beauty with braces, and sometimes a little chubby she could also appeal to girls who might be a little intimidated by Siouxsie The Ice Queen, Debbie Harry and Annabella Lwin The Pinups or Gaye Advert, Joan Jett and Chrissie Hynde The Biker Chicks. Poly, whose real name was Marianne Joan Elliott-Said, was a mulatto of mixed Scots/English and Somali parents and she would so also become the first non-white figure in the punk scene.

X RAY SPEX ~ IDENTITY;



X Ray Spexs put out one classic single in "Oh Bondage Up Yours", and apeared on the "Live at the Roxy" album, before releasing the brilliant "Germ Free Adolescents". In their book about the early days of punk, "The Boy looked at Johnny", writers Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill called Poly the one true poetess of punk.

X RAY SPEX ~ THE WORLD DAYGLO;



Unfortunately in spite of being a positive role model for many, Poly was also a fragile figure who was began to crack under the pressure first firing her female sax player, Laura Logi. Then she began reporting seeing hallucinations which she claimed were alien UFOs who were communicating with her. She was hospitalized and misdiagnosed with schizophrenia then later as bi-polar. When released she later joined the Hare Krishnas. By then X Ray Spexs had obviously broken up. She would resurface in years to come and occasionally even record an ep or two. But was essentially in retirement until the legacy of X Ray Spexs was rediscovered and the band made a couple of reunion gigs in 2007 and 2008 minus guitarist Jak Airport who died of cancer in 2004. She announced her own solo album, produced by Youth from Killing Joke, to be released this year. Unfortunately she also announced in February that she had breast cancer which had spread to her spine. Actually I had a sort-of close encounter with Poly a few months back when I posted a response on Twitter to a statement made by Sammy Hagar in a vain attempt to appear interesting that he had made claiming to have seen a UFO. I pointed out that Poly had already done that years ago. Within a day or so she had added me on Twitter. That was pretty cool.

X RAY SPEX ~ GERM FREE ADOLESCENTS;



I am also going to take a moment to pay belated tribute to Mick Karn, (born Andonis Michaelides in Cyprus) bassist for early New Wave band Japan and later Dali's Car. Japan were actually contemporaries of the first wave of punks in the mid seventies with a look and sound like a European version of the New York Dolls that seemed dangerously out of step with the leather clad punk hordes but they kept slogging along and developing a more smooth Roxy Music meets Chic style that would become highly influential to the later New Romantics and Goths although Japan would always hold themselves aloof. As a bassist Karn, who was originally a bassoon player, developed a totally unique style involving extremely fluid runs on a fretless bass that was miles away from everyone else at the time, and since for that matter. He also played sax. Japan developed a rabid cult fan base and scored a few mid size hits before breaking up in 1982. After that Karn was briefly in an abortive project called Dali's Car with former Bauhaus singer Peter Murphy who recorded one album before also breaking up. Karn continued to do occasional solo work and there were announced plans to reform Dali's Car with in the summer of 2010 with Murphy when Karn suddenly announced that he also had cancer. He died in January of 2011 aged 52.

JAPAN ~ "LIFE IN TOKYO";



JAPAN ~ "CANTONESE BOY";

The top 40 greatest rock and roll songs about radio

1. Mexican Radio ~ Wall of Voodoo

Who else could be number one really? An instantly memorable song, even if they never did anything else, and as far as most people are concerned they didn't, this would still earn them kudos. Also a great video BTW, clearly the reason videos were invented in the first place. To bad the only copy I could find is a second generation copy. Fucking copyright Nazis.



2. Border Radio ~ The Blasters

One of the all time great opening riffs courtesy of brother Dave Alvin, one of the great all time vocals courtesy of brother Phil. Great piano too. No real video though.



3. Transmission ~ Joy Division

Only Joy Division could make a depressing song about the radio, but nobody ever made depression sound so inviting either. Bernard Albrecht is a sadly underrated guitarist, especially by Bernard Albrecht. And Stephen Morris is a drum pounding bastard.



4. Do you remember rock and roll radio ~ The Ramones

They may have led the leather jacketed punk hordes but hey were old romantics at heart. That Phil Spector collaboration wasn't all that crazy after all, although he clearly was. Later covered by Kiss. But they suck.



5. This is Radio Clash ~ The Clash

The exact moment when they left three chord bashing punk behind. But not too far behind.



6. Top Twenty ~ The Undertones

Granted the relationship between this song and radio is actually pretty slight, title notwithstanding, but what the Hell.



7. Radio Free Europe ~ REM

The master of mumblings finest moment. No I don't know what he's on about any more than you do, but there's a good chance he doesn't either.



8. Rock and Roll ~ The Velvet Underground

Turns out that Lou Reed was another old softy after all. Who knew? Actually after Sunday Morning that should have been pretty obvious.



9. Road Runner ~ The Modern Lovers

Also an even greater driving song, for those who like to multitask.



10. The Spirit of Radio ~ Rush

I don't even like Rush, actually I actively dislike them, but you have to give credit where it's due. Their tribute to the old CFNY is refreshingly unpretentious and has their best guitar riff by far.



11. Moondog ~ The Treniers

Originally done as a tribute/suck up to legendary DJ Alan Freed done circa 1956 by the R&B Doo Wop twins. But he didn't care for the song so it got forgotten. So no video.

12. The Radio Boogie ~ L.C. Smith & His Southern Playboys

Another early track; this time a hillbilly boogie number from 1954 from this otherwise obscure guy. It's since been covered by various bluegrass and rockabilly bands giving it a second life.



13. Do you remember Rock and Roll Radio ~ The Ramones

The Boys take another shot at breaking onto the airwaves with a radio anthem. Cleaner production this time. Radio ignores them again. Hey they even made a video, what more did you people want?



14. Radio Radio ~ Elvis Costello

The Ramones might not have been able to bludgeon their way onto the air but Elvis somehow managed it.



15. The left of the dial ~ The Replacements

However the Replacements couldn't buy a hit and had to rely on campus/community radio stations in Canada and the USA which are normally found on the left hand side of the FM dial. This was their tribute.



16. Listen to the radio ~ Tom Robinson Band

Normally known for his radical gay anthem (which pretty much doomed him in America of course) but this is yet another romantic ballad to the radio. Later resulted in a hit cover version in Canada by The Pukka Orchestra.



17. The 59 Sound ~ The Gaslight Anthem

The New Jersey Boys do their tribute to radio and Springsteen.



18. Sound System ~ Operation Ivy

The California boys do their tribute to radio and ska/punk.



19. Capital Radio One ~ The Clash

"You know what guys? We'll never get on the radio like this". Not in America anyway.



20. Blacks/Radio ~ The Psychedelic Furs

Only on the original UK version of the first album as some twits at the record company thought that Americans would find it offensive. Which is a little odd since nobody can make out most of the lyrics anyway.



21. On my radio ~ The Selector

One of the most beloved and versatile and also the most unstable of the 1980's Ska bands. Taken from their one and only album. They later reformed and covered their own song for this video.




22. Radio waves ~ Orchestral Maneuvers in the dark

Taken from their experimental Dazzle Ships album, before they got really lush and poppy.



23. Blasting Radio ~ The Desperate Bicycles

Another hopelessly obscure track; this time from one of the early UK post punk bands who put out one album and disappeared without a trace. No video of course.

24. R.A.D.I.O. ~ The Candidates

A now defunct band from Kitchener Ontario with a rousing radio anthem. That was of course completely ignored, so no video.

25. Rue Morgue Radio ~ Creepshow

It's the most blatant example of product placement/sucking up since...umm...The Treniers (see number 11) but that doesn't mean it's not a catchy song.



26. Gasoline Radio ~ Real Gone

Another defunct independent band from Toronto with a radio anthem you will never hear.

27. Radio ~ ~ System of a down

It's really stoopid but it's catchy.



28. Who listens to the radio ~ The Sports

A post punk band from down under who showed up in 1978 sounding like Thin Lizzy or The Boomtown Rats, had a couple of near hits and then vanished, at least in this hemisphere.




29. Clap for The Wolfman ~ The Guess Who

Yet another tribute to radio's past, although when this was done in the 1970's it was still possible to not sound bitter about it (see below). Later redone by Winnipeg rockabillies The Rowdymen.



30. The Last DJ ~ Tom Petty

This time it's not a wistful tribute to radio like those of Lou Reed, Tom Robinson or the Blasters, but a bitter rant about a lost age innocence. Which frankly has been gone for a long time.



31. Love her by radio ~ Billy Jones

Dating back to 1927 for this first radio ballad, at least the first one anyone can remember. Jones was also a member of a radio vaudeville troupe called the Happiness Boys who had a bunch of hits at the time. No video though. Too bad.

32. Turn the radio on ~ Lulu Belle and Scotty

From the 1930's, an old time country duo who also did the original version of "I told lately that I love you". No video again.

33. Cool disk jockey ~ Boyd Bennett

A 1950's rockabilly best known for his hit "My boy flattop" does his radio tribute/ suck up. (See numbers 11, 12 and 33) With similar results. Did this sort of thing ever work? No video of course.

34. Don Williams ~ Listen to the radio

A gentle ballad to the radio by the laid back country crooner



35. Rockabilly on the radio ~ Jack Smith

Latter day tribute to a radio that no longer exists.

36. The Radio Stars ~ Radio Stars
A Britsh post punk group on Stiff Records sing a song about themselves. It doesn't become a hit. Too small of a target audience?

37. Radios in motion ~ XTC

One of the first and best loved of the British post punk bands follows up the roll they were on with their "This is pop" single.



38. Black stations white stations ~ Martha and the Muffins

In which the very white Canadians Martha and the Muffins get all funky and make a point about about segregation on radio at a time when MTV played almost no black music at all. Great video as well, wonder why MTV didn't like it.



39. Radio Ga Ga ~ Queen

The very idea of Queen mocking radio for being trivial is, well, trivial. But it it's at least not bombastic (by Queen standards) and even catchy. Bonus points for the video swiped from Fritz Lang.



40. Turn up the radio ~ Autograph

A radio anthem from a 1980's hair metal band? What could possibly go wrong. Actually it's better than it really needed to be.



Honorable mention;

The radio still sucks ~ The Ataris

Yes I know it's only 30 seconds long. I didn't even bother to look for video for this one.

Honorable mentions (instrumentals);
1. Radio 4 ~ Public Image Ltd.
2. Whatever happened to radio valve road ~ Martha and the Muffins
3. Time Zones ~ Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark

Dishonorable mentions;
1. We built this city ~ Starship

Widely considered to be one of the worst songs EVER. And one of the worst videos as well so kudos Starship; you have clearly earned your mark in Rock and Roll history.

Some figures from the early years of Rock and Roll pass on

Bobby Robinson ~ 94 ~ Record producer and owner of the first black owned rock and roll labels Fire, Red Robin, Enjoy and Fury Records. Produced Elmore James, Big Boy Crudup, Gladys Knight, Buster Brown, Tarheel Slim, Lee Dorsey, The Shirelles unlike many figures from the early years of Rock and R & B such as Barry Gordy, Sam Phillips or the Chess Brothers Robinson kept touch with changing trends and later produced Kool Mo Dee and Grandmaster Flash.

Randy Wood ~ Founder of Dot Records; 1950's & 60's label for rock, pop, jazz and country artists like Roy Head, Jimmy Gilmer & The Fireballs, Tiny Hill & The Hilltoppers, Jimmy Rodgers, Louis Prima, Pat Boone, The Surfaris, The Chantays, Gary Usher, Mac Wiseman, Nervous Norvus, Roy Clark, Sanford Clark, Mac Curtis, Lonnie Donnegan, Jimmy Dorsey, Jack Kerouac, Count Basie, The Mills Bros, Robin Luke, The Four Lads ~94

Bobby Poe ~ 77 ~ A 1950's rockabilly singer who had a couple of minor hits like "Rock and Roll record girl" and an early version of "The Fool" which are much sought after by collectors. However he had a bigger impact when he discovered a talented black singer and pianist named Big Al Dowling to his band the Poe Kats making them one of the first bi-racial bands. Poe encouraged Dowling's obvious talents even sharing singing duties, a remarkably generous gesture for a band leader. Dowling would go on to a respected solo career with Stax Records. The Poe Kats would then go on to back up Wanda Jackson on some of her early singles. As tastes changed Poe would go on to a successful career as a music publisher and record label scout in Nashville.

Bobby Poe & The PoeCats (with Big Al Dowling) ~ :Rock and Roll record girl";



Jet Harris ~ 71 ~ Bassist with The Shadows. Easily the most important British group in the late 1950's and early 60's both as an instrumental group with numerous hit singles such as "Apache" and as backing band for the equally successful singer Cliff Richard. The Shadows have been cited as a major influence on literally every figure in British rock and roll from the Beatles and Stones to Dr.Feelgood and the Jam and their importance simply can not be over estimated. They would also be a major influence internationally on the surf and instrumental scene through such groups as The Ventures.

The Shadows ~ "Apache";




George Louvin ~ 83 ~ Along with his brother Ira, one half The Louvin Brothers, a popular country singing duo of the 1950's and early 60's. George was the shorter guitar playing one while Ira was taller mandolin playing tenor. One of such singing brother duos such as the Delmore Brothers, Stanley Brothers, Lilly Brothers, Whitstine Brothers and Bailey Brothers who provided a link between the older sounds of bluegrass and the newer more modern honky tonk and rockabilly and would reach it's peak with the Everly Brothers. The Louvins would score several hits into the the 60's ranging from secular and gospel and including the concept album "Satan is real" which is now a valuable collector's item. Changing tastes and the drinking problems of brother Ira and his combative personality led to The Louvin's breakup followed by Ira's death in a car crash in 1965. The quieter George kept a lower profile after that but would still occasionally record and appear at the Opry ell into his 70's.

The Louvin Brothers ~ "I don't believe you've met my baby";




Johnny Preston ~ 77 ~ A country and rockabilly singer who was discovered by J.P. Richardson (AKA The Big Bopper) who wrote and produced the song "Running Bear" which would become a massive hit in 1959, almost surpassing The Bopper's own hit "Chantilly Lace". The Bopper and his friend George Jones also provided the back up war whoops on the single. Unfortunately The Bopper then died in the same plane crash as Buddy Holly and Richie Valens and while Preston would go on to have more hits none would come close to the same success.

Johnny Preston ~ "Billy Boy";



Mack Self ~ 81 ~ 1950's rockabilly singer who recorded for Sun Records without scoring any real hits although is records would later become popular with rockabilly collectors and he had a career after the rockabilly revival in the 1970's. He also recorded a number of country records.



Ferlin Husky ~ 85 ~ A country singer from the 1960's who had a huge crossover hit in the mid 1950's with "The wings of a dove" a rousing gospel ballad with a catchy finger snapping chorus. Husky would score country hits into the 1960's but his rather older straight laced image, sporting conservative string ties and jackets with short hair and pencil mustache were dangerously out of step with the changing tastes of rock and roll and he retreated back to Nashville and the Opry where he continued to perform into his 70's.

Ferlin Husky ~ "The wings of a dove";



Billy Grammer ~ Honky Tonk singer who recorded the original versions of "Detroit City" (by Mel Tillis) and "Gotta travel on" which became a crossover hit in 1959, later covered by Buddy Holly, Boxcar Willie, Kingston Trio, Chet Atkins, Seekers, Skeets MacDonald, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Lennon Sisters among others. ~ 85

Billy Grammer ~ "Gotta travel on";



Jerry Mayo ~ Trumpet player for Freddie and the Bellboys, one of the earliest non rockabilly white rock groups from the 1950's. Had a hit with a version of "Hound dog" and "Giddy up a Ding Dong", appeared in Alan Freed tours and movies. Freddie Bell died in 2008 ~ 76

Freddie Bell and the Bellboys ~ "We're gonna teach you to rock";




Carl Gardner ~ Vocalist w/ The Coasters, the greatest of all R&B vocal groups between the Doo Wop and Motowm eras with hits like "Charlie Brown", "Yakkety Yak", "Poison Ivy", "Along came Jones", "Searchin'", "I'm a hog for you" later covered by the likes of The Hollies, Monkees, Dr. Feelgood, Deja Voodoo, The Sadies, Leon Russell, Bad Company, Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Commander Cody, The Count Bishops and more ~ 83

The Coasters and Del Shannon ~ Searchin';




Gladys Horton ~ 65 ~ Lead singer with the Marvelettes, one of the early Motown girl groups who had a number of hits in the 1960's starting with "Please Mr. Postman" and following it up with a string of others including the much covered "I'll keep on holding on". Unfortunately for them while Horton was a better singer than Diana Ross she lacked Ross' sense of style, not to mention her all consuming ambition and when Motown boss Barry Gordy decided to focus all his efforts on promoting Ross and the Supremes the Marvelettes were pushed aside and faded away eventually breaking up.

The Marvelettes ~ "Don't mess with Bill";



Nicholas Ashford ~ R&B singer and songwiter with his wife Valerie Simpson for Motown in the 1960's to the 1980's with hits for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Marvelettes, Fifth Dimension, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Shirelles, Rufus, Chaka Kahn, Brothers Johnson, Teddy Pendergrass and even Ronnie Milsap as well as scoring hits as a singing duo ~ 70

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell ~ "Ain't no mountain high enough";



Kathy Kirby ~ British 1960's pop singer and blonde sex symbol with hit version of "Secret Love" (real name Kathleen O'Rourke) ~ 72

Kathy Kirby ~ "Secret Love";




John Walker ~ Bassist and singer with 1960's melodramatic pop group The Walker Brothers, who were not actually brothers and none of whom, were actually named Walker. Originally from the Los Angeles rock scene, they moved to London and recorded a series of increasingly melodramatic singles the biggest of which was "The sun ain't gonna shine anymore". B that time John had been largely supplanted as lead singer by the deeper voiced crooner Scott Walker.

The Walker Brothers ~ "The sun ain't gonna shine anymore";



Jerry Ragovoy ~ 80 ~ R&B Songwriter under the name Norman Meade; "Time is on my side" (by the Rolling Stones), "Take another piece of my heart","Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" and "Cry Baby" (all by Janis Joplin)

The Rolling Stones ~ "Time is on my side";



Hume Paton ~ Lead guitar for the underrated 1960's Scottish Mod group The Poets. No big hits but "That's the way it's gonna be" has turned up on many Nuggets comps and in the film "Factory Girl". Drummer Alan Weir died in 2010.

The Poets ~ "That's the way it's gonna be";




Mark Tulin ~ 62 ~ Bassist with the 1960's psychedelic garage band The Electric Prunes whose double shot 1967 hits "I had too much to dream last night" and "Get me to the world on time" became acknowledged classics of the era when they were included in the "Nuggets" collection and covered by Stiv Bators on his solo album. However the Prunes had trouble adjusting to changing tastes in rock like Folk Rock, Prog Rock, Southern Rock, Power Trios and their attempt at an early rock opera with a strange album of classical/rock fusion was a disaster. The band broke up thereafter but a generation later Tulin would get a second career when Prunes fan Billy Corrigan would invite him join a later version of The Smashing Pumpkins.

The Electric Prunes ~ "I Had too much to dream last night";



Robert Rozelle ~ Bassist with the Classic Los Angeles 1960's garage psychedelic garage band Love who had a few classic singles with "My little red book" and "7 and 7 is" and an album considered one of the all time greats in "Forever changes". Unfortunately the usual problems got in the way; drugs, conflicts, mental instability and the refusal of band leader Arthur Lee to tour led to the band's lost momentum and inevitable breakup.

Love ~ "My little red book";




Steve Serrato ~ 65 ~Drummer with Question mark and the Mysterions, the all Hispanic group from Michigan who's hit "96 Tears" became one of the instantly recognized classics of the era, later covered by The Music Machine and The Stranglers among many others.

Question Mark & The Mysterions ~ "96 Tears";



Rob Grill and Rick Coonce ~ Singer (Grill) and Drummer w/ 1960's garage band The Grass Roots who did the classic hit "Let's live for today". There were a few minor followups as well. Grill died in July at 67, Coonce died months earlier.

The Grass Roots ~ "Let's live for today";




Pinetop Perkins ~ Blues pianist and one of the last of the great Chicago bluesmen of the classic postwar era. Besides recording solo for Chess and Cobra Records he also played with the likes of Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Sonnyboy Williamson and BB King. He was still active at the time of his death and in fact in 2010 he became the oldest person to win a Grammy award.

Muddy Waters with Pinetop Perkins ~ Long distance phone call;



Eddie Kirkland ~ 88 ~ Blues and R & B guitarist who started out playing with Otis Redding and John Lee Hooker before going on a solo career and playing with Foghat which would not slow down until he died this year at the age of 88 on the road while on his way home from yet another gig. Known as the "Gypsy of the Blues" for his non stop touring.

Eddie Kirkland with Foghat;



Cato Walker ~ 61 ~ Saxophonist with Lou Rawls, The Bar-Kays and B.B. King. Later ran the record label, Strick 9.

Lloyd Knibb ~ Drummer with The Skatalites, widely noted as the founders of Jamaican Ska in the 1960's ~ 80

The Skatalites ~ "Ringo";



Don Kirshner ~ 75 ~ Although not a musician The Man With the Golden Ear was a Songwriter, Producer and promoter who wrote jingles for and with Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond and Connie Francis and Co-founded the Aldon music publishing company. In gthe 60's he branched out into television where he created The Monkees and after being fired in a dispute with his Frankenstein monster he then came up with the Archies. In the 70's he produced and hosted TV's, Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.

Huey P. Meaux ~ AKA "The Crazy Cajun", 1960's Louisiana record producer for Freddy Fender (Til the last teardrop falls"), The Sir Douglass Quintet (She's about a mover", Gene Summers ~ 82

David Honeyboy Edwards ~ Last of the old delta blues singers from the 1930's. Played with Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Son House, Tommy Johnson, Big Joe Williams, Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, Otis Spann, Walter Shakey Horton, also recorded two albums with the original Peter Green version of Fleetwood Mac through the folk blues revival of the 1960's until this year. He was just in town last year in fact. ~ 96

Honeyboy Edwards ~ "Lay my burden down";



Charles Kaman ~ Inventor who founded Ovation Instruments that became the Ovation Guitar Company which introduced one of the first production solid body electric guitars. He later founded Kaman Aircraft Company ~ 92

DeLois Barrett Campbell ~ American gospel singer w/The Barrett Sisters starting in the 1930's but did not start recording until the 1960's. Did versions of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful", "I'll Fly Away" and sang with Roberta Martin on "I Hear God", later appeared in the documentary "Say Amen somebody ~ 85

The Barrett Sisters (w/Roberta Marin on piano) ~ "From out of nowhere";



Gene McDaniels ~ American 1960's R&B singer and songwriter w/hits "Tower of Strength", "A Hundred Pounds of Clay" by himself and "Feel Like Makin' Love" by Roberta Flack ~ 76


Jean Dinning ~ 86 ~ Singer with 1950's pop vocal group The Dinning Sisters, a typical Andrews Sisters type pre-rock and roll schmaltz group. Her biggest hit however would come when she co-wrote her younger brother Mark Dinning's, hit "Teen Angel" a classic example of early rock and roll schmaltz and a massive hit. The song's ultra morbid theme about a guy dragging his love from a fiery car wreck was one of a trend that would include the likes of "The leader of the pack" and "DOA" from Bloodrock..

Dinning Sisters ~ "Clancy";



Mark Dinning ~ "Teen Angel";



Carl Bunch ~ Drummer with Buddy Holly & The Cricketts and later for Hank Williams jr and Roy Orbison ~ 71

John Pickett ~ Singer with vocal group The Picks who sang backups with Buddy Holly on most of his hits like "Oh Boy" ~ 77

Terry Clements ~ Drummer w/ Gordon Lightfoot on many of his hits including "The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" ~ 64

Loy Clingman ~ Arizona Rockabilly Singer later ran VIV Records ~ 88

Suze Rotolo ~ 67 ~ 1960's political activist and author, girlfriend of Bob Dylan, became famous as the cover model on "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" walking arm in arm with Dylan. Later became a writer

A few country music pickers from the 50's and earlier;

Buddy Charleton ~ Bassist and pedal steel player w/ Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn ~ 82

Buddy Jones ~ Drummer w/Patsy Cline, Faron Young, Leon Young, Red Sovine ~ 83

Buster Magness ~ Steel guitar player w/ western swing band of Johnny Lee Wills ~ 87

Doc Williams ~ 1930's and 40's Old time country singer who scored hits in the 1940's with Chickie Williams, founder of Wheeling Records ~ 94

Hazel Dickens ~ 1960's folk and bluegrass singer/guitarist/bassist with Alice Gerrard (nee Foster). Recorded for Folkways Records as one of the first female duos. Union activist and IWW supporter who later appeared in pro-union films like "Harlan County USA" and "Matewan" ~ 75

Hazel Dickens ~ (bio pic);



A few Doo Wop singers;

Grady Chapman ~ 81 ~ Singer with 1950's Doo Wop group The Robins who would later evolve into The Coasters albeit without Chapman.

Carl Rainge ~ 74 ~ Singer with The Spaniels who's classic "Goodnight sweetheart goodnight" would later be used as a closing theme by Sha Na Na on their 1970's TV show.

The Spaniels ~ "Good night Sweetheart";



Bobby Phillips ~ Singer with Doo Wop group The Cadillacs who's classic hit was "Speedo"

The Cadillacs ~ "Speedo";



Monte Owens ~ Singer with Doo Wop groups The Mello Moods and The Solitaires

The Mello Moods ~ "Tonight tonight";



Oscar Lawson ~ Singer with Texas Chicano Doo Wop group The Royal Jesters, known for their smooth sound. Their hit "Lonely Guy" was later covered by Big Sandy on his Doo Wop album ~ 74

The Royal Jesters ~ "Love me";



A few jazzbos and avant garde figures from the 50's, 60's and earlier;

Bob Flanigan ~ American singer and bassist/trombonist with 1950's pre-rock pop and jazz vocal group The Four Freshmen with numerous hits like in the mid 1950's and highly influential on later white doo-wop groups like The Crewcuts, The Diamonds and the Four Seasons as well as Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys and the Byrds. Unlike most other vocal groups the Freshmen were also excellent musicians. ~ 84

Ross Barbour ~ Singer with The Four Freshmen ~ 82

The Four Freshmen ~ "Ain't seen nothing like you";



Margaret Whiting ~ Big Band jazz and pop singer from the 1940's and 50's both solo and with her sister Barbara with hits like "One for my baby", "Ain't we got fun", "It might as well be spring". As rock and roll took over she became co-host of a TV sitcom with her sister.

Margaret Whiting ~ "It's just the gypsy in my soul";



Joe Morello ~ Jazz drummer w/Dave Brubeck, Stan Kenton, Art Pepper, Hank Garland ~ 82

Allen Smith ~ Big Band jazz trumpet player w/The Hellcats Navy Band in World War 2, also later with Benny Goodman, Sammy Davis, Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. ~ 85

Frank Foster ~ American jazz saxophonist and flautist with Count Basie ~ 82

Jiri Traxer ~ Czech/Canadian jazz pianist and composers from the 1930's on, considered one of the founders of jazz and swing in eastern Europe. Stayed in Czechoslovakia during the war but fled to the west in 1951 and moved to Canada. ~ 99

Jiri Traxler ~ Various piano pieces;



Sir George Shearing ~ The great blind British jazz pianist and band leader who had a number of hit albums in the UK and USA from the 1950's on. Ranging from solo work to quintets and as a duo, also recorded with Steffane Grapelli and Mel Torme. Retired in 2004 after a fall in his home, Knighted in 2007 ~ 91

Eric Delaney ~ British jazz drummer w/ Sir George Shearing ~ 87

Sir George Shearing ~ "Move";



Conrad Schnitzler ~ Keyboard player with highly influential German electronic pioneers Tangerine Dream starting in 1969. Later w/Kluster, Eruption, Berlin Express ~ 74

Tangerine Dream ~ "Cyclone";



Milton Babbit ~ 96 ~ While not normally thought of as a rock and roll figure Babbitt was trail blazer in the development of the Moog. Milton Babbit was a avant garde composer of piano and electronic works starting in the late 1940's. His piano works were considered so advanced and difficult that it would take over 40 years before they would be recognized and awarded. However it is his electronic work that would have the most impact as he was one of the designers of the original Moog Synthesizer and among the first to treat it as a serious instrument, composing works for it. At the time the Moog was a massive computer that took up an entire room and required a bewildering array of vacuum tubes, patch cords, tape reels and punch cards, but twenty years later the Moog would be discovered by progressive rock groups like Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, Yes and even the Monkees. Much later smaller and more compact and practical synths would evolve.

Milton Babbit ~ "Occasional variations";



Reinhold Marxhausen ~ American sound artist and sculpter inventor, teacher, author and painter from the 1960's on ~ 89

Reinhold Marxhausen ~ "Throne Dome" sound sculpture ;