Blast from Your Past - Book 1, Excerpt 5: DJ Ken Chase aka Mike Korgan

[LR note 04/29/15: With heavy heart we report the ascent of Jack Ely to Rock & Roll Heaven, Monday, April 27, 2015. He was lead singer of The Kingsmen, whose song, "Louie Louie" became a legendary party song. BFYP DJ Ken Chase produced the record in 1963. His 1950s story is below. Party on, Jack!]

Every April 11^th is “International ‘Louie Louie’ Day”! There are no raucous parties (that I know of) happening (unless at your place, and you didn't call me!), or even a link on the Brownielocks site that lists it as a special commemoration day.

But at BFYP it deserves distinct recognition because Ken Chase (aka Mike Korgan), one of our pioneering Rock & Roll DJs, produced the iconic song by The Kingsmen in April 1963. “Louie Louie” rose to the top of the charts and by November, and for all time, became the “ultimate party song.”

Granted, 1963 is out of the purview of BFYP Book 1 (1954-1959), but Mike’s tenure at the mic began well before “Louie Louie’s” bouncy beat hit the airwaves.

Rock on in Excerpt #5 from Book 1, Blast from Your Past! Rock & Roll Radio DJs: the First Five Years 1954-1959. Enjoy the moments … again!(TM)

Rock the Party Bus April 11, 2015 with "Louie Louie"!

Well, we’re ten days into the month and I’m just now posting the 50 Years Ago this Month trivia. My how time flies when you’re havin’ fun – in Vegas, Baby! 

1965 news? April 19 WINS/NY gave up … 

Car Radios Blaring Louder than Ever

Sixty years ago, radio was thought to be gasping its last breath as the "boob tube" took over the airwaves ... and then along came Rock & Roll!

March 10, 1965, The Temptations’ #1 hit “My Girl” popped out of your car radio as my groovy new nephew, Steven, popped out singin’ a louder tune for my brother & his wife. 

Like our kids, radio grew, matured, & dared to find its way in a reinvented world. 50 years later it’s still #1 says RAMP … "In-Dash Radio Doohickey Still Rules"!

It’s Wolfman Jack month!

Well, it’s really ROCK-tober … okay, if you’re not into cutesy month designations, you can’t deny it IS October … the month when leaves loosen and cascade softly from their tree limbs, creating a stark bareness at month’s end, perfect for spooky Halloween.

 

Of course, at BFYP we’re excited because October truly was Wolfman Jack’s favorite time of the year. He howled his way through numerous Halloween events and loved every second of them. As The Guess Who urged us (1974), “Clap for the Wolfman!”

Little known Wolfman Jack facts:

On the path to his radio career, Robert Weston Smith devised the Wolfman persona while chasing his nephews around the house at bedtime (much to the chagrin of his sister and her husband).

 

Before there was Wolfman Jack, “Bob” sold Collier’s Encyclopedias and Fuller Brushes door-to-door! Did your family living in Alexandria, Virginia, buy from him in the late 1950s?

Bob kept Wolfman Jack’s appearance under wraps through his early days, after a run-in with the Ku Klux Klan about his integrated dance club, in Shreveport, Louisiana, early 1960s.

Wolfwoman, Lou, created Wolfman Jack’s original look, but they hired a Hollywood makeup guy to polish it for his first California gig as Wolfman, appearing with Little Richard in Santa Ana (late 1960s). “Getting out of the radio booth and onto a stage was a big leap. It was fantastic fun, but it also scared the hell out of me. That’s why I needed all my makeup, disguise, and outlandish trappings.” (Have Mercy! [1995]) 

Halloween is like Bob Smith bouncing around as Wolfman Jack. We get the opportunity to have loads of fun, without the pressure of being ourselves – if only for a day.

Be Safe ~ Have Fun ~ HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

(from your Wicked Witch of the West!)

Coming soon – Blast from Your Past, Book 2 in the series, with lots of great Wolfman Jack tales! While you wait, check out Book 1, Rock& Roll Radio DJs: the First Five Years 1954-1959, at Amazon. 

Blast from Your Past – Book 1, Excerpt 2: DJ Dr. Don Rose

Dr. Don Rose – Excerpt #2 from Blast from YourPast! Book 1 - Rock & Roll Radio DJs: the First Five Years 1954-1959 

BFYP-FM is helpin’ you rise ‘n’ shine! We see the big ol’ sun peeking over the hill, playing hide an’ seek with fluffy clouds … it’s so bea-u-ti-ful. But wait, wait … ‘Hey, hey you! Get offa my cloud!’

“This is your old fuddy-duddy buddy, Dr. Don at the yawn of a new day!” (A DDR oft-repeated wake-up greeting.)

Dr. Don Rose (a.k.a. Donald Rosenberg)

Best known at KFRC/San Francisco, California

1934 ~ 2005 (Interview with son, Jay Rosenberg.)

While Jeff Prescott’s dad, Norm [coming up in another excerpt], carved out his platter-spinning niche in Boston, another kid in Philly cocked his head quizzically at his dad’s voice coaxing him awake.

“My earliest memory was of listening to him from a clock radio next to my bed,” said Jay Rosenberg, “and wondering how he got inside the box. My mom kind of explained how it worked. But I don’t think I got it.”

Jay recalls this fond memory of his dad, Donald Rosenberg. Before all was said and done, Donald became endeared to thousands of fans on both sides of the country as “Dr. Don Rose.”

Don Rose’s radio star was already on the rise before Jay, the second youngest of five Rosenberg siblings, marveled at his dad’s voice bouncing out from the radio.

Feeling the Beat – Is it Getting Fainter?

Classic, Oldies Rock & Roll take hits as stations disappear from your radio dial and we lose key pioneer artists. (Rushed? Skip the diatribe to scroll below for lists of terrestrial and Internet Oldies and Classic Rock radio!)

I vividly remember when The Beatles essentially took over the Earth without firing a shot. Do you? We chanted, “Long live Rock & Roll!” and “It’s gotta be Rock & Roll music if ya wanna dance with me!”! 1964 was pure magic in music.

Well, it may not die, but it’s definitely headed for an old folks’ home …

In the early Sixties one or two radio stations persisted in a Big Band format to placate the “old folks.”  I listened to my dance instructor mother, Florence, lament the loss of variety to enjoy strains of Swing and Strings.

We teens cared not. The powerhouse stations picked up on the popular wave of Rock & Roll and the world would never be the same.

Our once youthful exuberance and lack of fear is no match for Father Time, though. Rock & Roll, however mighty, is apparently not invincible.

At the time, my offhand attitude about the trend irritated and frustrated my mother. “Really, mom, no one listens to that anymore!” No one – meaning no one my age.

New Web Home - Throwin' a Party!

Hello! Thank you for visiting BlastFromYourPast.net. We have a new home which is always exciting. It's party time at Blast from Your Past! (Isn't it always? Heehee.)

However, it also takes time to settle in ... sigh ... please bear with me as I establish our fresh new site on a different system and hopefully make it better than ever!

The following information also pertains to:

     – PenchantForPenning.com
     – 39AndHoldingClub.com
     – WomenWritersWorldwide.com

No, you are not in the wrong place. Yes, things, they are a-changin’. One thing that is constant, is change, right?

And EVERYTHING is ch-ch-ch-changing for me this year, including the moving and upgrading of my websites.

I am undertaking a monumental job – rebuilding ALL of my websites – at the same time. Call me crazy (and many do), but when my last webhost company’s servers crashed for five days, I had to take matters into my own non-techie hands. 

If you were looking for something specific, want to check my schedule for an appearance, or excited to chat about early Rock & Roll Radio DJs, feel free to contact me via email or phone (in California), 858-292-5288. (And note - the email address is not yet re-set for LinDee@BlastFromYourPast.net. In the meantime, use the address linked here.)

Otherwise, look for this site to be rebuilt (new, fun, fresh!) asap. Have suggestions? Tell me! I hope you’ll return and enjoy our achievements in change.

Rock On!