Show Biz: Friday 02/27/09

*** R.I.P. Johnny "Red" Kerr and "Stormin'" Norm Van Lier. Both passed away within the last two days.

I had the chance to work with Van Lier at the Morris Napa store many years ago. He was making an appearance, and I was hosting a remote broadcast from the event.

I got to sit next to Van Lier for two hours, interview him during our on-air segments, and converse with him off the air.

It was a lot of fun, and it was great to see how enthusiastic he was to just be out and about, meeting fans, talking hoops and just having a good time.

He kept trying to persuade me to play more Led Zeppelin on WJDK. He loved his rock 'n' roll.

Eerie how both Van Lier and Kerr were in the news a bit the last few weeks. Kerr was honored at halftime of a Bulls game earlier this month -- something that should have been done a long time ago, and reeked of "let's do this before he passes away" -- but Van Lier was strangely absent.

Seems he was never invited, for whatever reason, and he was deeply hurt by the snub.

Less than three weeks later, Van Lier -- who had been suffering with some unreported bad health the last few months -- passes away, and Kerr, who had prostate cancer, went just a few hours later.

I'm not a Bulls fan, but I certainly recognize what these two men meant to the city and to a large fan base over the years. They'll be missed. A lot.


*** For the birthdays today we recognized Neal Schon, guitarist with Journey. Tying in with Flashback Friday, the tune of choice was "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'".




*** The 80's Escape today took us back to 1984 for Shalamar's "Dancing In The Sheets".

Gotta love the video as the singer is going for a strange Lionel Richie meets Michael Jackson meets Zorro look.

Show Biz: Thursday 02/26/09

*** We told you this morning that none other than Jerry Seinfeld is returning to NBC. "The Sein" is helping create and produce a reality show in which celebrities lend their marital advice -- for comedic effect we're assuming -- to real-life couples.

It would have to be for comedic effect, since the last people that should be offering genuine marital advice are celebrities.

It doesn't seem as though Seinfeld will appear onscreen in this new project, but then again, it's still in the very early stages of development.




*** One of the musicians celebrating a birthday today is Corrine Bailey Rae, who turns 30.

We played her most popular song -- only popular song? -- quite a bit back in 2006, and we brought it back for you today.




*** Another artist adding a year to his age is Michael Bolton. Today's choice was "That's What Love Is All About".

What makes this clip extra special is the appearance of American Idol judge Randy Jackson on bass. Yo-yo-yo, dawg.

Show Biz: Wednesday 02/25/09

*** During birthdays this morning, after wowing listeners yet again with my Battlestar Galactica impressions, we turned our attention to the fact that today is the birth date of George Harrison.

For the birthday segment, we played "What Is Life".




*** For the 80's Escape, we highlighted George's work with The Traveling Wilburys, by playing one of their hits from 1988 -- that features George on the opening lyric -- "Handle With Care"

Unfortunately, I can't find the actual video for you, but this is pretty good also.

It's Tom Petty's version from a recent "Soundstage" taping

Separated At Birth?

After watching some of President Obama's speech last night -- and, for the specifics of this post, I'm talking about the moments before the speech as Cabinet members were being introduced -- it struck me that Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel bears a striking resemblence to Morris High School Principal, Kelly Hussey.

No?

Kelly is on the left, with Rahm on the right.

Show Biz: Tuesday 02/24/09

*** Rupert Holmes is having a birthday today. He sang one of the most recognizeable songs of the 70's, "Escape".

Never heard of it? Of course you have. It's better known as the Pina Colada song. Holmes had to be convinced to include the name of the drink in the title, and it was a good choice, as that's how the song is widely known.

Here's a version complete with lyrics so you can sing along.




*** The 80's Escape today was plain and simple. I was done fooling around, and was determined to get serious.

The one and only option - "Blame It On The Rain" by Milli Vanilli.

Show Biz: Monday 02/23/09

*** When it's Howard Jones' birthday, you don't mess around, or take it lightly. You attack it, and milk it for all it's worth.

Always liked Howard, and for our two musical segments this morning, I threw a few changeups to bring you a couple of minor hits for HoJo.

During the birthday segment, it was Howard's 1989 hit "Everlasting Love" that was played.




*** The 80's Escape took us to Howard's 1985 top 40 hit, "Life In One Day."

And The Oscars Went To...

Here are the winners of 81st annual Academy Awards from last night:

Best Picture
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actor
Sean Penn, Milk

Best Supporting Actor
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best Actress
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Animated Feature Film
WALL-E

Original Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, Milk

Adapted Screenplay
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Departures (Japan)

Original Score
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Original Song
"Jai Ho," A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; Slumdog Millionaire

Achievement in Art Direction
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Achievement in Cinematography
Slumdog Millionaire

Achievement in Costume Design
The Duchess

Best Documentary Feature
Man on Wire

Best Documentary Short Subject
Smile Pinki

Achievement in Film Editing
Slumdog Millionaire

Achievement in Makeup
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Achievement in Sound Editing
The Dark Knight

Achievement in Sound Mixing
Slumdog Millionaire

Achievement in Visual Effects
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Animated Short Film
La Maison en Petits Cubes

Best Live Action Short Film
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
Jerry Lewis

Show Biz: Friday 02/20/09

*** Congratulations to the guys at Coal City Elementary School, the winners of today's Feed Your Office promotion.

Four from the school will be enjoying lunch at Heroes West in Joliet.

If you haven't entered yet, send us a fax on company letterhead to 941-9000. The next drawing is Friday, February 27th.


*** J. Geils turns 63 today. It seems we've had The J. Geils Band on quite a bit lately, so today we brought you a different song of their then the two that first come to mind.




*** For the 80's Escape, we brought out some U2, who in March will be appearing on David Letterman for an entire week.

They'll also be showing up for the first time ever on Good Morning America on March 6th.

Their new album hits stores on March 3rd.

From Rattle and Hum, here's "All I Want Is You"

Hawks Win! But...

Chalk up another win for the Blackhawks, a 4-0 shutout at Florida last night.

Now, as good as it is to see the 'Hawks continue this very strong season -- with yet another road win, no less -- the problem with last night's shutout at Florida is that Panthers fans were deprived of the chance to hear any goal calls of their play-by-play announcer.

Check out this montage of the pop-culture infused calls of Randy Moller, and you'll hear what they're missing.

Show Biz: Thursday 02/19/09

*** Seal turns 42 today. We featured his song, "Waiting For You" during the birthday segment.

I couldn't find the actual video for this song, so -- and this seems relevant with Wednesday's American Idol results show in our rear view mirror -- I did stumble upon this performance of the song from last year's Idol finale.




*** Falco scored a number one hit with "(Rock Me) Amadeus" on this date in 1986, which gave us a perfect reason to play that song for the 80's Escape.

Although one should never have to come up with a reason to play Falco.

Idol Thoughts

After one night of "semi-finals", I feel fairly safe in making the following prediction about this season of American Idol: There is no conceivable way that a woman wins this year.

None.

In fact, I'd be surprised if a woman makes the final five.

I know, there are still two more weeks of this round -- where 12 sing on one night, and nine of those 12 are eliminated the next night -- but I think I've seen enough.

I've felt all along that the winner of Idol will be the blind guy. And since nobody reading this knows his name either, "TBG" is how we'll refer to him, and that will suffice for now.

After last night, I'm pretty confident that Danny Gokey (above) will be in the top 3, and could easily win the whole thing. Heck, I might vote for him just for the fact that last night he (thankfully) refused to mug for the camera by doing that annoying thing where contestants hold up the number of fingers that correspond with their phone number.

That's worth a few votes, Danny. Keep it up.

I think Anoop gets pretty far as well.

Also, watch out for this guy. Adam Lambert is his name, and he has a voice that will not only shatter your windows, but it will proceed to levitate the broken shards of glass and whip them at your face.

He's a real threat.

So, there you have it. Very unofficial predictions for this stinkin' show. I hate American Idol, but watch just about every week.

It's one of the few shows that we can all watch together as a family, which is saying something.

The show, like it or loathe it, has changed the music scene, and then some.

Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Jordin Sparks, Clay Aiken, David Cook are all enjoying big success.

Jennifer Hudson is an Oscar winner.

My daughter owns a David Archuleta CD.

And, I have a CD of tunes by William Hung.

Maybe the show isn't that bad after all.

The Rabbit (Ears) Died...

...or at least they should have. Yesterday was supposed to be the day that the switch to digital television would be made, making analog television obsolete.

However, the switch date has been pushed back to sometime in June because there are too many people that aren't ready for the conversion.

Problem is, many networks had budgeted for the switch to be made on February 17th as was originally planned, and now to keep transmitting an analog signal, when they weren't expecting to, is going to cost a lot of money. So, some -- but not all -- stations are going ahead with the transition anyway.

The fact is, the date should have remained February 17th, with no extension into June.

Look, we've been hearing about this switch since the spring of 2007! It's been known for almost two years that this day was coming, and back when the announcements were first made, February 17th was the date appearing in the story.

My point is, it wasn't like this day snuck up on us.

People have had plenty of time to get their act together and make the switch from analog to digital.

Coupons were available to help defray the cost of getting a conversion box, but apparently too many people still haven't made the switch yet.

Well, tough. It they couldn't afford it, or a family member couldn't have purchased them one for Christmas or whatever, then maybe they should just turn the TV off anyway, and listen to the radio -- preferably to 95.7 FM -- read a book, or get some exercise.

Seriously. Not to sound like a heartless jerk here, but I find it hard to believe that in nearly two years time so many viewers out there have been unable to equip themselves with what is needed to continue to watch television after this switch is made.

If they haven't converted by now, then they obviously don't put a lot of importance in TV in the first place.

Show Biz: Wednesday 02/18/09

*** Dennis DeYoung turns 62 today. The native of the Chicago 'burbs fronted Styx for many years.

His style, and preferred direction for the band in the early 80's led to the departure of Tommy Shaw.

DeYoung had a hit with "Desert Moon" in 1984, which was our song choice today.

We once had a salesman here who knew Dennis DeYoung, or claimed to at least. Not sure why I'm bringing it up because the salesman no longer works here -- this goes back about ten years, and about 478 salespeople -- and Dennis DeYoung, although still performing on various stages throughout the country these days, hasn't really been relevant for a couple of decades, but there ya go.




*** Juice Newton is also celebrating a birthday today. The country crossover star turns 58.

The obvious choice for the 80's Escape today was "Queen Of Hearts".

Sometimes we like obvious.

Show Biz: Tuesday 02/17/09

*** Billy Joe Armstrong, the singer from Green Day, has a birthday today.

Their song from a couple of years ago that appeared in heavy rotation on WJDK should be the anthem for Cub fans this year, "Wake Me Up When September Ends."

I see no reason the Cubs won't win the NL Central by about 43 games this year. Of course, it's October that matters, so when September ends, Cub fans can wake up just in time for their annual nightmare.




*** The 80's Escape today paved the way for a Billy Joel song from 1987, "This Is The Time."

The 'Dark Side' Of Dentist Visits

Thought this was pretty inspired...

You've all seen by now this clip of a kid named David, an 8-year old boy, still drugged up from his trip to the dentist chair, that was filmed by his father.

It's been viewed over ten million times on Youtube.




Well, the beauty of clips like these that have a life of their own on the internet is that within a few days there are countless parodies that pop up as well.

Some of them are really well done -- take a few minutes later and dig up some remixes of Bill O'Reilly or Christian Bale's famous rants.

Here is a spoof of the "David After Dentist" video starring none other than Darth Vader...



These are just a few of the videos you can enjoy at the morning show's Youtube channel.

If you have suggestions for videos to add, let me know here.

Math Problems

Our oldest daughter is in the third grade now, and during the school year, my wife and I have been helping with her math homework.

It's fun to work those muscles again after not doing third grade math in about 30 years.

Helping her isn't difficult, but it does take some time to adapt my teaching style to suit the way it will help her the most in her class. I have ways I'd solve the homework problems, but I need to tailor how I assist her so that it benefits her in third grade.

In case you're wondering, here are some of the types of things she's working on these days...

* Adding two digit numbers

* Rounding to the nearest hundred

* Three digit subtraction

* Multiplication

She does very well with her math work, and hopefully I'm helping with that a bit.

Also part of our conversation this morning -- after Jay joined the discussion -- was about some of our adventures with math in school.

I zipped through math without a problem, no pun intended. As a sixth grader, I, along with two kids from a different elementary school, would take a bus in the afternoon to the junior high to take a 7th grade class. Pretty heady stuff.

Also in sixth grade, I was a master at "Around The World". It was a flash card game. The teacher would grab the flash cards, usually multiplication, and have two kids that sat next to each other stand up. He'd show the flash car and whoever got the answer right would move on to the next kid.

And so on, and son on. If you made it "around the world" without losing, the teacher would take that person to Burger King for lunch.

Let's just say that my love of Whoppers may have been born in the sixth grade. Thank you, Mr. Rubini.

(I won another Burger King challenge in sixth grade by having the best time in the "Who can recite all of the helping verbs the fastest" contest. I still remember them all, too: is, be, been, am, are, was, were, has, have, had, do, does, did, may, can, might, could, must, shall, will, should, would. Good times.)

Then I got to calculus class in high school. I was as lost as Joaquin Phoenix. I had to drop the class. No regrets. I can't really claim to know the last time I had to use Newton's method for a given differentiable function.

I can back-time to the top of each hour like no one else, though.

On my show Monday, newsman Jay related his story of advanced math skill as well, although with a much darker edge. As a junior high math whiz at a catholic school, Jay got to go to high school for a part of the day to take a higher level math class.

As if being an 8th grader going to a high school class wasn't enough of a tense ordeal for a 14-year old, Jay had on his school uniform, and was taking the math class at a public high school.

Probably didn't stand out too much, huh?

Jay and I didn't turn our math prowess into careers in science or physics, the most important math I have to do each day is determine if there's enough time remaining on the song that's playing to run down to the bathroom and back, but at least we're having a good time on the show each morning.

That about sums it up.

Show Biz: Monday 02/16/09

*** With Duran Duran's Andy Taylor celebrating a 48th birthday today -- his own, no less -- we were contractually obligated to play some Duran Duran during the birthday segment.

Well, it's not technically in our contract, but when you get a chance to play Hungry Like The Wolf, you take it.




*** James Ingram had a birthday today, too. This gave us the chance to bring out, yet again, some Michael McDonald.

(Side note: Anyone else get a kick out of the Michael McDonald reference on 30 Rock this week? The audio of that clip will make it onto a show one of these mornings.)

James and Michael teamed up a couple of decades ago to give us the classic "Yah Mo B There"

Show Biz: Friday 02/13/09

*** Peter Gabriel turns 59 today. Despite what I wrote a few days ago on Phil Collins' birthday -- my preference for (the early days of) Genesis with Phil at the mic -- I do like Peter Gabriel as well.

His solo work has been unique, and quite enjoyable. And, I have grown comfortable with the music from Genesis when he was the vocalist -- more for the musicianship, but still.

Besides, how can you not like a guy that was willing to dress up in some of the most bizarre stage costumes known to man.

If your only association with Peter Gabriel is "In Your Eyes", then maybe you should check out some of his work with Genesis.

Try "Watcher Of The Skies", the epic "Supper's Ready", (this is the shortened version), and the fun to sing along with, "I Know What I Like".

For the birthday tie-in, we rolled with the song that quite possibly featured the most famous music video in history, "Sledgehammer".




*** For the 80's Escape, the choice was "Big Time". There's no denying that it's a fun song, and I do like it, but every time I hear it, part of my sports soul takes a shot.

This was a hit for Peter in 1987, the same year Edmonton defeated my Flyers 4 games to 3 in the Stanley Cup Finals. The song they chose to run their series' highlights over..."Big Time."

So, my angst is aimed at Jari Kurri, Mark Messier, The Great One, and the rest of those wacky canucks, not Peter.

He Got The Beat

A few weeks ago we played the audio clip of Barack Obama's inauguration that featured him breaking into Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up", that mysteriously was absent from all other coverage except our own.

A Barack-roll, if you will.

Still more previously unseen footage is emerging from that historic day.

Witness the beat-boxing skills of President Obama...

Hockey Fright

Knowing what we know -- at least in the movies -- about Friday the 13th, and dudes in hockey masks, I can only hope that the Blackhawks are careful tonight when they play at St. Louis.

The Blues goalie could go on a rampage and take out the whole team!

He'll have a stick, two knives on the bottom of his feet, and the pent up anger of a bunch of dudes shooting pucks at him all night.

Sure signs of trouble for the Hawks if you're watching tonight...

* If one of them is skating alone in the dark with a flashlight, calling to see if anyone else is around.

* If one of them starts to take a shower with their eyes closed, and the door unlocked.

* If two of the Hawks run off to an abandoned cabin and start to make love, you know that at least one of them is a goner.

So, good luck, Hawks. Watch out for the dude in the hockey mask.

I'll make sure to watch the game with the lights on.

Show Biz: Thursday 02/12/09

*** Michael McDonald turns 56 today. We've documented on the show several times how much Jay's wife, Devon, despises McDonald, so, naturally, we played a song sung by him for the birthday tie-in.

I like Michael McDonald, and the song I chose today is a staple on my iPod, as, for me, it's a song that I never get tired of hearing. I just love the groove of the song, and it always puts me in a good mood.

The song is "It Keeps You Running", by The Doobie Brothers.

Maybe I played it in hopes of swaying Devon, at least a little bit, over to the pro-Michael side, even though I doubt that's going to happen.

Couldn't find an adequate video of that song, but I thought this was amusing.




*** Chynna Phillips turns 40 today. She is one of the few celebrity women that really rocked the short hair.

For the 80's Escape, we rolled out some Wilson Phillips.

This song was -- we hope -- recorded in 1989, although it was a hit in 1990. "Release Me"

Show Biz: Wednesday 02/11/09

*** Sheryl Crow had a birthday today. She turns 47, unbelievably. I've always liked her, and not just because she's easy on the eyes.

She writes very accessible, catchy rock songs, and has the perfect voice for them, being able to be both sweet and intimate, or throaty and tough depending on the song.

My wife and I saw her in concert about 10 years or so ago, and thought the show was great. Well, it was almost great for me. She had cut her hair, and it just didn't work for me.

But, she still has a very nice voice, and the catchy rock song thing still applies.

We played something for the birthday tie-in that you wouldn't normally hear on 95.7 FM (you're welcome), "Good Is Good".




*** Sergio Mendes is 68, everybody. I can't hear his name anymore and not think of the Seinfeld episode entitled "The Old Man."

That's the one where Kramer and Newman try to sell some old records that belong to an old man Jerry is working with through volunteer work.

They take the records to "Blecker Bob's" record store, and the owner of the store criticizes the records that Kramer and Newman have brought in because, in his mind, they're "junk."

One of those albums is a Sergio Mendes record.

Kramer defends Mendes' popularity by saying, "Sergio Mendes can't even walk down the street in South America."

Just one of the many Seinfeld references that you'll hear from Jay and I -- huge fans -- on each day's show.

We played a 1984 hit from Sergio on the 80's Escape, "Alibis".

The clip below is from the classic show from a generation ago, Solid Gold. By the way, Sergio is playing keyboards.

Pet Pics

After Jay's dog, Slater, grabbed a little bit of the spotlight with this picture that we posted a few weeks ago, a listener suggested that it would be kind of cool for members of our audience to send in photos of their pets to be posted here as well.

I'm nothing if not a pleaser.

After gathering photos at our email address over the last week or two, we've selected a few for you to enjoy below.

First up, Reggie the cat, and Angel the dog, from the listeners that spawned this idea, Cheryl and Don.




Here's Bella, the pet dog of listeners Julie and Tom. The last dog my family had, Lollie, was also a Jack Russell Terrier.




Meet Princess, a family pet of the Tyler's in Dwight. Somebody get this dog a magazine.




Not to be outdone, say hello to Shadow, probably sad that the snow has now melted.




Bandit belongs to listeners Rich and Janet from Morris.




Katie from Morris is the proud owner of Maxie the cat, striking a pose.




Finally, we present Caesar, who belongs to John and Cindy from Minooka. Yes, Caesar is taking a cat nap.



Thanks to everyone for sending in the pics.

Show Biz: Monday 02/09/09

*** The birthday segment today gave us a chance to bend the rules a smidge. Instead of going with a song from an artist celebrating a birthday, we went with a grammy winning song from Sunday night.

John Mayer won the Grammy for best solo rock vocal performance for his song, "Gravity".

This video is from a David Letterman appearance almost two years ago. Seems a little too long ago for anything off of the album to still be Grammy eligible in 2009, but, whatever.




*** Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but the song we used for the 80's Escape today was actually on an album from 1979.

Dennis "D.T." Thomas, a member of Kool and the Gang turned 58 today.

We played "Too Hot", which I believe was on the U.S. charts -- where it peaked at #5 -- in 1980, so there.

The Grammys

The 51st annual Grammy Awards aired last night on CBS.

I only watched the first hour or so, but enjoyed most of the performances.

I'm always intrigued by those moments when different artists get on stage and perform each others songs.

Imagine the thrill for the Jonas Brothers last night to have Stevie Wonder singing their hit, "Burnin' Up."

You could tell how much Justin Timberlake enjoyed sharing the stage with Al Green at the beginning of the show when they crooned "Let's Stay Together," which also featured Keith Urban on guitar.

Dave Grohl got to play drums with Paul McCartney belting out "I Saw Her Standing There."

Here are some of the winners...

Record of the Year
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, "Please Read The Letter"

Song of the Year (award to songwriter)
"Viva La Vida," Coldplay/artist and songwriters

Album of the Year
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Raising Sand

Best New Artist
Adele

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
"Chasing Pavements," Adele

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
"Say," John Mayer

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals:
"Viva La Vida," Coldplay

Best Pop Vocal Album
Rockferry, Duffy

Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, "Rich Woman"

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance
"Gravity," John Mayer

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
"Sex On Fire," Kings Of Leon

Best Rock Song
"Girls In Their Summer Clothes," Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)

Best Rock Album
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, Coldplay

Best Alternative Music Album
In Rainbows, Radiohead

This Guy Has An Eye For Cuisine

Our most touching story of the week was the one we told you today about Andre Thomas, a death row inmate in Texas, who satisfied some hunger pangs recently by plucking out his eye, and eating it.

Hey, the guy must know a delicacy when he, um, sees one, because that was the second time he had done it.

Back in 2004, he plucked out an eye for the first time, and proceeded to eat it, and just a couple of months ago, he plucked out his other eye, and ate that one, too.

Thomas is in jail for killing three people -- including an infant -- five years ago.

There is no execution date set, yet.

As Jay opined this morning, this gives new meaning to "watching what you eat."

My question was how do you properly season an eyeball? I picture it being something like eating a hard boiled egg.

If that's the case, some horseradish and a few sprinkles of salt are in order. Not too much, though. It might overpower the taste of the eyeball.

Of course, when you're eating your second eyeball, it's kind of hard to measure the amount of seasoning you're using. You know, not being able to see and all.

Food for thought. Or something like that.

Show Biz: Friday 02/06/09

*** A monumental day today as it's Rick Astley's birthday.

The 80's pop star who gained renewed popularity this decade thanks to the internet phenom known as "Rickrolling" garnered both of our musical hot spots today.

For the birthday segment, we chose "Together Forever".

I can't find an actual music video clip that I can embed, so click here to see it.


*** For the 80's Escape, it was Astley again with "She Wants To Dance With Me."




*** Congratulations to Verona-Mazon United Methodist Church, winners of this week's lunch for four at Heroes West Sports Grill in Joliet.

We'll have another drawing next week.

Show Biz: Thursday 02/05/09

*** One of the singers of Three Dog Night, Cory Wells, had a birthday today.

Wells, who still tours with the current version of the band, sang lead vocals on the hit we played today during the birthday segment, "Mama Told Me Not To Come"




*** For some reason, I had it in my head that Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" came out in 1990, and that for the 80's Escape today -- with it being Bobby's 40th birthday today -- I'd have to come up with some runaround way of making it an 80's song.

I usually do this by claiming that the song was "written in 1989", or "recorded at the end of '89", or "didn't become a hit until early 1990".

But, the song actually came out in '88, so crisis averted.

Forgive me for not being completely up to date on all things Bobby Brown. Between all of the brushes with the law, and marital problems with Bobby and Whitney, the music gets lost in the shuffle.

Lost in the iPod shuffle, I suppose.

Not my iPod, though.

What Happens After Hearing Our Show

This youngster has a strange reaction after listening to a 3 1/2 hour installment of the Mike Williams Morning Show.

Show Biz: Wednesday 02/04/09

*** Natalie Imbruglia -- one of the most fun names to say on the air: "Imbroooooolia" -- is having a birthday today.

I usually like to go with a non-obvious choice when offering up the tie-in song, but an album cut from Natalie just wouldn't have seemed right.

Plus, I don't have any of her albums.

Here's "Torn"




*** The 80's Escape featured Terence Trent D'Arby. I thought this guy would have had more success.

"Wishing Well" was one of my favorite songs from 1988. Oh well. I thought Glass Tiger had a long career ahead of them, too.

Our song choice today was "Sign Your Name", a hit for Terence in 1988.

Show Biz: Tuesday 02/03/09

*** For the birthday tie-in, I had to reach over to the WCSJ archives to bring you a 1971 gem.

On Melanie's 62nd birthday, we played you the timeless classic, "Brand New Key".



*** Lol Tolhurst, keyboardist for The Cure has a birthday today. That's his real first name -- I wasn't indicating I was laughing out loud.

For the 80's Escape, we played their 1989 hit, "Lovesong"

Show Biz: Monday 02/02/09

*** Happy Groundhog Day everyone. Six more weeks of winter according to Punxsutawney Phil, who saw his shadow this morning. Or didn't see his shadow. I don't know, and frankly, I don't care.

The more I look back on this "holiday", the more dumb it seems to me.

At least we got a great movie out of it.




Although, this fictitious trailer depicting Groundhog Day as a psychotic thriller is much more interesting...





*** Ross Valory of Journey turns 60 today. He's been with the band for just about all of the last couple of decades.

American Idol fans will be interested to know that Valory wasn't in the band in 1986, and the bass player was replaced by none other than Randy Jackson on Journey's 1987 tour.

Yo yo yo, dawg. I hope his bass playing was better than just aiiiight.

In honor of Ross, we played a song you've probably heard a few times, but honestly, has no memorable bass lines, "Open Arms"




*** The 80's Escape today featured a minor hit for Toto in 1983, "I Won't Hold You Back"

Super Bowl (B)Ads

I'm having a hard time remembering any decent Super Bowl ads from last night.

That's partly due to their (lack of) quality, and the fact that I was in the midst of a card game during most the the Steelers win, so I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the commercials.

It doesn't seem like I missed that much, though.

Here's one of the ones Bud Light spots that I remember, and liked...