Blogpost #36

Say, kids, what time is it? It's Howdy Doody Time! December 27, 1941 is Howdy's birthday, according to the Howdy Doody fan club. The truth is that Howdy originated as a voice on Bob Smith's radio show around 1947. He character was originally named Elmer, but his annoying habit of saying "Howddeee-dooodeee" gave him his famous nickname.

This week's show features rare children's records from the mid 50's, including the one above. The cover shows Howdy playing all the instruments in his one-man band. There's a copy of this record available at Reckless Records on Broadway in Chicago.

This week's show also features an abridged version of an interesting LP from 1972 that mixes clips from Howdy's radio show with sound bites from 1950's newsmakers. It's titled "The World: Original Cast starring Howdy Doody". For free audio downloads of Howdy's radio and TV shows from the 50's, visit the Internet Archive at archive.org.

Next week's show will usher in a new era for this program. The current format is dedicated to one topic per week, which I believe alienates a number of our listeners because they have no interest in the topic. Stating next week, this show launches a new format based on the notable historic events of the coming week. Instead of one topic for the entire show, there'll be dozens of topics to hold your interest.

We'll start each show by focusing on the birthdays and anniversaries for that Sunday, and we'll progress through the days of the week until we get to Saturday (or until I run out of time). For a sneak preview of the events I'll be using for the first show, visit CalendarHome.com for links to all the best online archives.

A final note for 2009: This blog was created for the purpose of keeping you informed about my upcoming shows as well as providing a forum for your feedback. Sadly, due to lack of response from my listeners, I have decided to retire this blog.

I thank you for all your support these past eight months, and I invite you to visit wluw.org every Sunday morning (or any time during the week) to read a brief description of my upcoming show. Click on the Sunday link if it's not Sunday, and look for the link to the page for A Time To Remember. It will be updated weekly.

Thanks for listening, and remember to call in next week with your comments about the show. Sunday morning at ten in Chicago is still A Time To Remember.

Blogpost #35

Welcome to Chicago, home of the Second City! This week marked the 50th anniversary of the theatre's first production, and hundreds of alumni flew in to reunite and reminisce. They were also here to support the alumni fund with a series of live benefit performances and panel discussions.

We're celebrating this historic occasion with a two-part show featuring Second City's greatest discoveries, captured live on tape at the beginning of their careers. You'll hear them performing the original sketches and blackouts they created and made famous.

The first hour airs December 13 and covers the years 1959 to 1979. It starts with Barbara Harris performing on opening night, December 16, 1959, and goes through to the 20th anniversary show in 1979. Listen for Oscar-winning actor Alan Arkin as a University of Illinois student in "Football 202". Other highlights: Joan Rivers kvetches about "Unwanted Guests"; Avery Schreiber takes Jack Burns for a "Cab Ride"; Robert Klein tries to get into "Ripley's Believe It Or Not"; John Belushi tries to bluff his way through an "Oral Exam"; John Candy rebels against his father Dan Ackroyd in a "Canadian Play"; Jim Belushi visits the "White Horse Tavern"; Bill Murray hosts a political discussion on "Issues and Alibis"; and Martin Short asks "Why Are Jews So Funny?"

The second hour airs December 20 and covers the years 1979 to 1999. Listen for a montage of clips from "SCTV", including Count Floyd's favorite scary movie, "Dr. Tongue's 3-D House of Stewardesses". Other highlights: George Wendt tries to board a flight on "Segregated Airlines"; Mike Myers closes off Canada to American visitors as a "Canadian Border Guard"; Bonnie Hunt sings to strangers on the phone as an "On-Hold Entertainer"; Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch argue as "Mother and Daughter"; and Chris Farley debuts his character "Matt Foley, Motivational Speaker".

All of the sketches are available uncensored on CD in Sheldon Patinkin's memoir of Second City, which includes full color photos and fond recollections from former cast members. It's available from Amazon, and used copies are going cheap.

December 27 marks the birthday of kiddie TV icon Howdy Doody, and I'll be hosting an hour-long tribute featuring some of his rarest recordings from my collection. Happy holidays!

Blogpost #34

Happy holidays, everyone! This week's show pays tribute to TV's longest-running cartoon special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas". Even though it was first broadcast on December 9, 1965, it has not become dated at all. Its enduring message of religious faith has given it a timeless quality that makes it required viewing for most every family, and the charming musical score by the late Vince Guaraldi has become one of the best-selling albums in jazz history.

On this week's show, you'll hear a slightly revised version of the TV soundtrack as released on a 1977 read-along record on the Charlie Brown label and distributed by Walt Disney's Buena Vista company. Since the LP runs 21 minutes in its entirety, the rest of the hour will be filled with rare outtakes from the 1965 recording sessions with Vince Guaraldi and his trio. Music critic Michelle Mercer's insightful review of the album is available on npr.org.

This past week, the Charlie Brown Christmas special became a center of controversy. A Tennessee Republican posted a comment on his Facebook page implying that President Obama hated the show's Christian message. His sole proof was the fact that Obama had scheduled his American troop deployment announcement on the same night as the special. If you want to read up on this story, start with this Associated Press page and follow the links.

Regardless of your personal views about Obama or the politician, there is an important underlying issue here: Don't you get a little upset when your favorite show gets preempted? Don't you feel helpless when it happens? Here at WLUW, we hear from you listeners every time a scheduled program is replaced by a Loyola Ramblers game. My question to you is: do we, as listeners, have the right to complain about it? Are we being ungrateful for the surplus of free programming? Or does the broadcast media give too much priority to news, sports and weather?

If you have an opinion on this, please comment below. In the meantime, join me next week for the first part of our two-part salute to Chicago's Second City narrated by Robert Klein. Thanks for listening!