The Way It Was #8

I've honestly tried to update vernonwithav.com twice a week but that has taken on the look of work! Twice a week is work. Once a week is fun. So you may have noticed I've settled into putting up new stuff every Monday. Since I'm already doing The Way It Was -and- Vernon Classics every week, I guess I've tricked myself into doing two updates a week after all! Dumb deejay.

Just for grins, my friends at http://www.muzicradio.com/ are going to let me do a 'guest show' next month. I'm not sure exactly when it will run - they're pretty brave since I haven't done a radio show since 1979, but hey, I'm doing it for free.

My friend, Dick Summer, is putting out a new album, Night Connections and you can hear it over on the Vernon Classics page. You can visit Dick for more information at: http://www.dicksummer.com/

I'm attaching a newspaper profile from my WNBC days. I can't remember what paper it came from and I've lost track of Stan Friedman, who wrote it - but I'm sure he has a couple of Pulitzers by now. Stan says all the things I'm too modest to say! Just click it and then you can magnify it to read. That worked on both of my computers - and if "I" can do it - you should be able to as well.
NOTE: Oops! Stan messed up in the story. It is Ziggy Koslowski who did the Polish Joke of the Day...not izzy. I got emails from Ziggy and Harry Gershen pointing that out. Meanwhile, I've been asked to translate Ziggy's Polish Joke. I don't speak Polish but as I under stand it...the guy says "My wife is an angel." and his friend says, "I didn't even know she was dead." Hey, I didn't write Ziggy's stuff. Maybe it is funnier in Polish.
Over on the Vernon Classics page, in addition to a sample from Dick's new album - I've put in a sound clip (and some notes) from my first day at WNBC.
Check it out.

Vernon Classics #8

My friend, Dick Summer, and I worked together at WNBC and I've always admired his writing so at the top of the ol' music player, you'll find "The Quiet Man's Woman" from his new album, Night Connections. By the way, Imus and I always maintained that Dick got away with a lot more 'stuff' that we did because he did it under the cover of darkness!
This week I've got a short clip from the first hour of my first day on WNBC. That was November 4th, 1974, the day before an election and I want to thank Keith Teicher for sending me the air check.
There are a couple things I'd like to point out. Our Program Director, John Lund, arrived at WNBC a short time before me - Don Imus had already been there a couple of years - and I completed the WGAR imported trio from Cleveland. John hadn't had a chance to change all of the jingles so we were still playing some duds. The format wasn't quite 'set' yet. You may notice we even did some record segues!
The really, really big thing I remember about that day is that the NABET engineers couldn't play any of my pre-recorded stuff from Cleveland because it didn't carry NABET labels! So I was sitting there with boxes and boxes of taped bits that I couldn't use! Talk about watching your career go up in smoke! All because the tapes didn't have those little stickers on them. So that was my mental condition on my first day and you'll notice on the air check - there are absolutely no prerecorded elements. Eventually, I found an understanding engineer who put his job on the line by putting NABET labels on all my stuff - for a price.

Vernon Classics #7

I went a step further with my Rockin Robin Interpretation then the rest of the guys did with American Pie. I recorded my interpretation - and played it on the air. Often!

My ol' buddy, Imus in the Morning, was already at WNBC by this time and reviewed my Rockin Robin work for Billboard Magazine's Claude Hall and his Vox Jox June 21st, 1972 column. Don called my work "a bunch of crap." However, I still stand by the words of response I gave to Claude, "My brochure says things that must be said!"

Listen and I'm sure you'll agree.

Vernon Classics #6

This clip is from Bill and I working together on a day where our timing was awesome. Notice that there are frequently three elements happening at the same time - blending and working. Our goal was to get 65 minutes squeezed into every hour. We never made that goal but this was probably part of a 63 minute hour.

Also on this day, I was totally in the groove and put aside all the prepared stuff. You'll notice I suggested listeners call Dan Ingram, Ted Brown and some of the other 'legends' so they could listen and take notes. I frequently did that on days when we were hotter than a two dollar pistol, as they say. Well, I think they say that. SOMEWHERE they must say that.

You may get the idea that I didn't like the CB contest - and you would be right.

If you don't remember, Andrea True was a porn movie star in the 70's and, this is the truth, she was dating an NBC VP. Somewhere I have a tape of porn star Marlyn Chambers saying "Vernon gives good radio" - that we liked to throw in every once in a while. Good taste is timeless.