"Alice's Restaurant" Turkey Day noon Boston dial overkill:

[Eli Polonsky]

Scanning the dial on Thanksgiving at noontime while driving through Cambridge, Allston and Brighton, I heard the following stations all playing Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant" at about the same time:

91.9 WUMB Boston (with recent pre-recorded interview with Arlo talking about the song)
92.5 WXRV Haverhill
93.7 WMKK Lawrence (slightly pitched up, Arlo the chipmunk)
94.1 WHJY Providence, RI
100.3 WHEB Portsmouth, NH
100.7 WZLX Boston
102.1 WSAK Hampton, NH (//105.3 WSHK Kittery, ME)
104.1 WBCN Boston
105.7 WROR Boston

WUMB and WXRV were playing Arlo's 1990's "updated" version. The rest were playing the original 1967 version.

95.9 WATD Marshfield played it shortly after 1 PM.

I did not notice hearing it at all while quickly scanning the AM band.

The "Lost & Found" 60's/70's show on 88.1 WMBR Cambridge (my old show) was doing a Thanksgiving themed show (food songs, etc...) but would not play Alice's because there was no point in duplicating all those other stations.

I called the host, my former colleague Leigh Cochran (who also "retired" from the all-volunteer station a few years ago but always returns to host Thanksgiving and other occasional major holidays) and told her that I heard it on ten other signals, so why should she bother anyway...

 

[Garrett]

Sounds like it was a planned kinda thing.
Otherwise,what is it about that song? Does it have some kind of importance to Thanksgiving?

> Scanning the dial on Thanksgiving at noontime while driving
> through Cambridge, Allston and Brighton, I heard the
> following stations all playing Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's
> Restaurant" at about the same time:
>
> 91.9 WUMB Boston (with recent pre-recorded interview with
> Arlo talking about the song)
> 92.5 WXRV Haverhill
> 93.7 WMKK Lawrence (slightly pitched up, Arlo the chipmunk)
> 94.1 WHJY Providence, RI
> 100.3 WHEB Portsmouth, NH
> 100.7 WZLX Boston
> 102.1 WSAK Hampton, NH (//105.3 WSHK Kittery, ME)
> 104.1 WBCN Boston
> 105.7 WROR Boston
>
> WUMB and WXRV were playing Arlo's 1990's "updated" version.
> The rest were playing the original 1967 version.
>
> 95.9 WATD Marshfield played it shortly after 1 PM.
>
> I did not notice hearing it at all while quickly scanning
> the AM band.
>
> The "Lost & Found" 60's/70's show on 88.1 WMBR Cambridge (my
> old show) was doing a Thanksgiving themed show (food songs,
> etc...) but would not play Alice's because there was no
> point in duplicating all those other stations.
>
> I called the host, my former colleague Leigh Cochran (who
> also "retired" from the all-volunteer station a few years
> ago but always returns to host Thanksgiving and other
> occasional major holidays) and told her that I heard it on
> ten other signals, so why should she bother anyway...
>

 

[Eli Polonsky]

> Sounds like it was a planned kinda thing.
> Otherwise,what is it about that song? Does it have some kind
> of importance to Thanksgiving?

Yes, it's a Thanksgiving song of sorts, a comical, tongue-in-cheek period piece rambling hippie-era musical story about events that (allegedly) happened on Thanksgiving of 1965. It has been traditionally played on Thanksgiving starting with progressive and "underground" album rock stations in 1968, through AOR stations in the 70's and 80's, to today's Classic Rock, Classic Hits and AAA stations, and also Public Radio stations that play folk music.

The song is an 18 minute long narrative over an acoustic musical bed with a singalong chorus, recorded live in concert in 1967. Instead of attempting to summarize it, you're best off reading the lyrics here for the whole story in the song:

<u>http://www.arlo.net/lyrics/alices.shtml</u>


> > Scanning the dial on Thanksgiving at noontime while driving
> > through Cambridge, Allston and Brighton, I heard the
> > following stations all playing Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's
> > Restaurant" at about the same time:
> >
> > 91.9 WUMB Boston (with recent pre-recorded interview with
> > Arlo talking about the song)
> > 92.5 WXRV Haverhill
> > 93.7 WMKK Lawrence (slightly pitched up, Arlo the chipmunk)
> > 94.1 WHJY Providence, RI
> > 100.3 WHEB Portsmouth, NH
> > 100.7 WZLX Boston
> > 102.1 WSAK Hampton, NH (//105.3 WSHK Kittery, ME)
> > 104.1 WBCN Boston
> > 105.7 WROR Boston
> >
> > WUMB and WXRV were playing Arlo's 1990's "updated" version.
> > The rest were playing the original 1967 version.
> >
> > 95.9 WATD Marshfield played it shortly after 1 PM.
> >
> > I did not notice hearing it at all while quickly scanning
> > the AM band.
> >
> > The "Lost & Found" 60's/70's show on 88.1 WMBR Cambridge (my
> > old show) was doing a Thanksgiving themed show (food songs,
> > etc...) but would not play Alice's because there was no
> > point in duplicating all those other stations.
> >
> > I called the host, my former colleague Leigh Cochran (who
> > also "retired" from the all-volunteer station a few years
> > ago but always returns to host Thanksgiving and other
> > occasional major holidays) and told her that I heard it on
> > ten other signals, so why should she bother anyway...
> >
>

 

[Neggy]

ZLX played it at 9 AM I think

I heard the song no less than 4 times during the day on terrestrial radio, the 1960's version and I was happy to hear it. I heard an updated version on XM sometime in the late afternoon/early evening that I had never heard before.

It's a TRADITION damn it! Besides let Arlo get some airplay and a royalty check.

It sure beats this Christmas BS I am forced to listen to everywhere I go.
BAH HUMBUG.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

> ZLX played it at 9 AM I think

And again late in the afternoon. I only mentioned the ones I heard at noon, but some of those stations also played it at a few other times of the day.

> I heard the song no less than 4 times during the day on
> terrestrial radio, the 1960's version and I was happy to
> hear it. I heard an updated version on XM sometime in the
> late afternoon/early evening that I had never heard before.

That was most likely the version that WUMB and WXRV played.

> It's a TRADITION damn it! Besides let Arlo get some airplay
> and a royalty check.
>
> It sure beats this Christmas BS I am forced to listen to
> everywhere I go.
> BAH HUMBUG.

I sure agree with that! I haven't listened to WODS at all since they flipped!

 

[WLYNWAZNgm]

I heard the updated version on the River the other day. Had never heard that version before.

Tradition - absolutely!
But if I hear that Little Drummer Boy song ONE MORE TIME - I'm gonna go postal...

 

[Eli Polonsky]

> But if I hear that Little Drummer Boy song ONE MORE TIME -
> I'm gonna go postal...

I like the Jimi Hendrix version.

 

[Jacko]

> 91.9 WUMB Boston (with recent pre-recorded interview with
> Arlo talking about the song)
> 92.5 WXRV Haverhill
> 93.7 WMKK Lawrence (slightly pitched up, Arlo the chipmunk)
> 94.1 WHJY Providence, RI
> 100.3 WHEB Portsmouth, NH
> 100.7 WZLX Boston
> 102.1 WSAK Hampton, NH (//105.3 WSHK Kittery, ME)
> 104.1 WBCN Boston
> 105.7 WROR Boston

95.5 WBRU/Providence also played it at noon. In addition, 101.5 WWBB/Providence played the song at 3pm. I think that WBOS would have played it at some point too, but they were running the House of Blues re-runs all day.

And why the heck was WZLX playing the song every 3 hours?

Jacko<P ID="signature">______________
I live for my dream,
And a pocket full of gold.
</P>

 

[Eli Polonsky]

> > 91.9 WUMB Boston (with recent pre-recorded interview with
> > Arlo talking about the song)
> > 92.5 WXRV Haverhill
> > 93.7 WMKK Lawrence (slightly pitched up, Arlo the chipmunk)
> > 94.1 WHJY Providence, RI
> > 100.3 WHEB Portsmouth, NH
> > 100.7 WZLX Boston
> > 102.1 WSAK Hampton, NH (//105.3 WSHK Kittery, ME)
> > 104.1 WBCN Boston
> > 105.7 WROR Boston
>
> 95.5 WBRU/Providence also played it at noon.

I was too close to adjacent 95.3 WHRB Cambridge to get them.

> 101.5 WWBB/Providence played the song at 3pm.

I was too close to adjacent 101.7 WFNX to get them at that time.