The Death of New York Rock Radio

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WRXP-FM (101.9) Becomes All News WEMP-FM

Commercial FM album rock radio is dead. Period.

That slow death began when WPLJ-FM flipped to CHR in 1983. It has been in a steady decline since then. The WRXP-FM flip to all news in August confirms that no station programmer can succeed in New York in the capturing of a dedicated rock listening audience large enough to satisfy the bosses.  These behemoth, chain radio station owners care about three things and they are: ad dollars, ratings and demographics.

The remaining rock commercial stations in the tri-state area: WAXQ-FM (NYC Classic Rock) , WBAB-FM (Long Island Rock) and WDHA-FM (Dover, NJ Rock) play the same rotation of old songs, with few new artists mixed in, so how is that going to attract new listeners? Satellite radio (narrowcasting), ipods and streams have hastened that death.

But the real underlying reason is, is that kids are not being introduced to rock n’ roll for the most part, except through the few parents who know how important it is to explore music with their children. Otherwise they will listen to the junk that all their friends listen to. Rock n’ roll has lost a generation of listeners that I fear cannot be recovered. The few young people who do listen to rock, are the exception.

Hush – Deep Purple with Playboy’s Hugh Hefner

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Playboy After Dark –  Featuring the Original Deep Purple

Hugh Hefner’s swinging, late 1960’s TV show, Playboy After Dark had a wide variety of musicians, comedians and interesting people appear as  guests. This clip recorded in late 1968,  is one of the earliest television performances and one of the last to show the original Deep Purple performing their breakthrough song Hush.

This line-up is known as Deep Purple Mark I.  By the time this segment aired November 14, 1969, original vocalist Rod Evans and bass player Nick Simper, both founding members of the band, had been out of the band since July 1969 and were replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover.  The new incarnation of Deep Purple would go on to have worldwide commercial success and set a standard for other hard rock and heavy metal bands to follow. Continue reading →

The “New” Led Zeppelin

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The Name Game Continues

While New Zealand may have outlawed some names, the USA, with the exception of what a judge may find to be a frivolous name, (Your Majesty; Copyright; Superman) still allows people to name themselves or their offspring pretty much whatever they want.

So when George Blackburn, 64, of Bethalto, IL recently got divorced, he wanted a fresh start and legally renamed himself Led Zeppelin II. According to an article in the St. Louis Post Dispatch the newly named Zeppelin said: Continue reading →

Vintage Photos – Stealing Home

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Or Jackie Robinson Makes Stealing Home Look Easy

One of the most famous film highlights of a baseball game is from September 28, Game 1 of the 1955 World Series where the Brooklyn Dodgers star Jackie Robinson stole home against the New York Yankees. The photograph above captures the bang-bang action. The play was incredibly close and you could look at the film 100 times and still not be sure of the outcome. Robinson was called safe by umpire Bill Summers. To this day, Yankees catcher Yogi Berra vehemently Continue reading →

Reaching A New Low in Identity Theft

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Woman Steals Identity of 8-Year-Old Girl Killed in an Auto Accident 30 Years Ago

This story out of Delray Beach, Florida confirms that identity thieves are the scum of the earth.

Juliet Sherry-Ann Smith Mahabir the “alleged” identity thief, was caught when the Florida Division of Insurance Fraud received a tip that Mahabir had “fraudulently obtained” a U.S. Passport.

Yes, besides being an identity thief, Mahabir is apparently an illegal alien.

I can only imagine what the deceased girl’s family whose identity Mahabir stole must be feeling.

After reading this – I have only two questions:

1- Why was she released on such low bail?

2- She is an illegal alien – shouldn’t she be deported?

Classic Hollywood #7

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Fred Allen, Mary Martin and Jack Benny – 1940

I believe Jack Benny was one of the funniest comedians of all time. Benny could elicit more laughs with a look, gesture or single utterance than other comedians could with an entire monologue.  He became a star in vaudeville and was one of the few entertainers who made the transition to radio, film and eventually television successfully. Although Jack Benny has been dead for over 37 years, he is still fondly remembered by millions of fans.

Radio comedian Fred Allen is almost completely forgotten today. His sharp, acerbic wit Continue reading →

New York City, Traffic Enforcement Agents And Some Rain

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In Honor of Labor Day – A Photographic Essay in Hard Work

Date – July 2011

Time – Morning Rush Hour

Weather – On and Off Light Drizzle

Lots of traffic coming off the FDR Drive and many vehicles moving northbound on York Avenue. The NYC traffic enforcement agents are usually directing traffic here.

61st Street and York Avenue

 

Yet on that same corner – 61st Street and York Ave. It’s dry under here.

Shooting the breeze.

One block away on 61st Street and First Ave.

and finally – 60th Street and First Avenue…under the Queensboro Bridge.

‘Nuff said.

Happy Labor Day.

Death By A Fly Bite

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115 Years Ago, A Boy Mysteriously Dies and a Fly is to Blame

In 1896 you could die at a moment’s notice. There were no antibiotics.  Doctors and scientists were slowly discovering how diseases were spread. Then, as now, the medical and scientific community gets stymied.

For instance, imagine  hundreds of people sharing a glass or cup to drink from a public place where healthy and sick people alike could spread their germs. Yes, people actually did that. And in the U.S. thousands every year got sick or died from that practice. The impetus to invent a disposable cup – to stop spreading disease via communal drinking apparatus led to the Dixie Cup which came on the market in 1907.

But in 1896, before West Nile Virus or Ebola Virus was discovered, something strange and horrible occurred Continue reading →

Ghost Video At Smith Building In Corpus Christi, Texas

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Why Are Ghost Videos Always Poor Quality?

If you are going to record paranormal activity you should remember three things:

1- Have good video equipment, preferably with a good lighting system.

2- Don’t run away if you encounter something strange.

3- Don’t scream.

It always seems that  people who claim to have video proof of ghosts, always have poor evidence. Continue reading →

Old New York in Photos #9 – Coney Island Ring The Bell

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Hit Bell, Win Prize

Coney Island July 5, 1946.

Before the mall-ification of New York, Coney Island had lots of things to do besides the rides. One was this common amusement which was found at lots of carnivals and amusement parks. To test your strength you would swing a large mallet, hitting a levered board with a weight attached to a pole. Hitting it as hard as you could would drive the weight up the pole. If you hit it hard enough, the weight would go the top, anywhere from 10-15 feet from the ground and strike a bell. Doing so would entitle you to a prize.

It was a great way to impress a date, Continue reading →