Now is as good a time as any to shed a little light on the title of this blog. We'll shine that light back down the dark, and silent tunnel of the past, and bring to life some memories of the greatest radio station in the world..89 WLS in Chigago.
I can still hear the music in my heart. Beatles,Stones, James Brown, The Supremes,Wilson Pickett, Tommy James,and the Shondells,The Dave Clark Five, Jerry and the Pacemakers,Herman's Hermits, Barry McGuire, Petulia Clark....Ohh!! I can just hear it!
Sings.."EIGHTY NINE...WLS...YAY! ROCK! BEATLES!! That was one of the jingles they would play, then ofcourse you would hear PAPERBACK WRITER, or CAN'T BUY ME LOVE, or NOWHERE MAN. I remember the Oldstyle beer comercials calling La Cross Wisconsin "God's country"
And to my sister, and I it was. For our hearts were still back in the place of our childhood memories,Praraie Du Chien Wisconsin.Forced to move by divorce, we found ourselves in the cultural twilight zone Of rural Tennessee in 1965.We were alone Isolated. "outsiders" Wls was our lifeline.
Living in a tarpaper shack,on a gravel road, miles from town, We were years from our first black, and white tv. That little five tube radio was our only link to the outside world. Civilization. And clear channel powerhouse WLS was there every night. Bringing music,news,pop culture,the pulse of the second largest city in the world into that little house.
Barry McGwire was growling about the "EVE OF DESTRUCTION" Jerry, and the Pacemakers were taking the"Ferry ACROSS THE MERSEY". We were "DOWN IN THE BOONDOCKS" with Billy Jo Royal, and the Beatles were saying "WE CAN WORK IT OUT." All of them bringing color, joy, and assurance that the world was still there.
Wow. I can't believe how different Barry McGwire looks.
ReplyDeleteThat was quite the era for music.
I take it part 2 will explain how the D got added?
Wow. Barry McGwire looks so different.
ReplyDeleteThat was a great era for music.
But where did the D come from?
Ms. Betty
Excellent post! I know exactly how you felt. I moved to North Carolina in my 20s...talk about culture shock! My problem was that I couldnt get any of the good Chicago stations...except one. It was a CBS station and I listened to it every night on the way home from work at around 11:00pm. I think it did news all day...but at night it played "CBS RADIO MYSTERY THEATER" Radio plays...excellent...often CREEPY stories. That was all I had and eventually that show went belly up. Anyway...this is my way of letting you know that I can understand what it was like to have WLS as your companion...especially at that time in your life. By the way...I had forgotten about the Batman club.LOL It was way cool seeing that button again. Have a great evening and thanks for the post my friend!
ReplyDeletePH