Detailing over 30 years of audio and video obsession
Vintage Radio
Before iPods, even before CDs, lots of kids like me would record live radio right to our cassette players, hoping to somehow grab our favorite song in the process. The “Vintage Radio” recordings here on Playback Shack are much like that. Of course, whenever it’s necessary, I’m trimming and fading out the music to stay compliant with copyright laws. What we have left are classic moments with classic hosts and jocks – time capsules of what radio was really like “back in the day” for Generation X.
Vintage Radio: WINZ I-95 FM | PlaybackShack.com
Jun 5th
My Mom, Dad, brother, and myself were on vacation in Miami during New Year’s Eve 1984/New Year’s Day 1985. The station I loved most in that town was I-95 FM. As you’ll hear in this audio, DJ Willie B. was playing all the music I was into: Michael Jackson, Prince, Paul Hardcastle, Ashford and Simpson, Hall and Oates, Van Halen, and more.
There are definitely some amusing moments that were captured. There’s a promo for tickets to the Miami Dolphins vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC Championship, lots of people calling in with their holiday well wishes (like Murray Levine, aka “Murray from Margate”), a simulcast with KKQB FM 93 in Houston, TX, and my personal favorite, Willie B. interacting with I-95′s morning personality at the time, “Cox.” Listen real closely as Willie boldly goes for the obvious play on words at one point!
This is radio as it was. According to Willie, the #1 song that day was “When Doves Cry” by Prince. As a side note, if you’re into video games, you’ll hear how close the radio stations of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City were to the the real deal. Too funny!
There is a Facebook page dedicated to I-95, and I was able to grab a couple of great photos from there. Here’s Willie B. himself, on the right:
And here is an awesome photo of Cox on the radio to the right of… the HOFF!:
VIVA LA 80s!
In The Groove – Live On Air! from September 1996 | PlaybackShack.com
Jun 2nd
Starring “Mr. DJ” Michael T. Foy, Erik Johnson, Charlie Gracie Jr. and studio guest “Pete,” it’s another episode of In The Groove – Live On Air! This episode aired in mid-September of 1996, on the exact date of Tupac Shakur’s death, as we acknowledge, debate about, and discuss. Before the program got into the heaviness of that event, the main topic of the show was nutrition and eating right. Listen to everyone in the studio talk about what they eat or don’t eat for breakfast, and listen closely as Erik tiptoes around my (Mike) poor eating habits at the time.
Executive Producer and co-creator of Teen Videos, In The Groove, Kid Power, Groovin’ Kids, and The Message of Our Lady of Fatima Betty Fyke dials in to the studio to catch up and announce In The Groove’s imminent return to Philadelphia television, then on WTGI Channel 61. We were still holding our tapings on location at Bronko’s (Bronko Bill’s) in Northeast Philadelphia.Try to find the nightclub now and you’ll be out of luck. It was formerly at the corner of Grant and Bluegrass Roads, across from Nifty Fifty’s. I’m pretty sure there’s an outlet store or something there now.
During her call, Betty also dishes lots of dirt on her son Jeff Fyke’s 23rd birthday celebration. It gets pretty humorous as Betty describes how the gathering ended up at a nightclub and how she witnessed a “procession of bodies!”
Don’t forget – milk will give you the least dental problems…
In The Groove - Live On Air! from September 1996 | PlaybackShack.com [45:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadIn The Groove – Live On Air! from 1996 | PlaybackShack.com
May 16th
This episode of In The Groove – Live On Air! features quite a full cast. In studio were Erik Johnson, Charlie Gracie Jr., and Andrew Beauchamp (DJ Andy B), along with other guests Tiffany, Justin, and Pete. Of course, “Mr. DJ” Michael T. Foy was on set and moving the show along through music and conversation. The main topic for this episode was how to deal with difficult or mean people, and everyone in the studio seemed to weigh in with their own personal take on the issue. Even Rachael Fyke (now Rachael Sweeney) called to chime in while out at the infamous Riverdeck nightclub of Manayunk in Philadelphia. This was recorded in the summer of 1996 at the WTTM studios in Fairless Hills, PA.
In The Groove - Live On Air! from 1996 | PlaybackShack.com [39:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
