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I finally heard a station play Teena Marie

S

Signpost

With all due respect to licensed broadcasters, I find it sad that the ONE station I heard finally play a "Square Biz" by Teena Marie after she passed away was Big City FM - the illegal pirate operation at 101.3. Damn, it sounded good.
 
The Sunday night she passed away, I played Teena Marie on "The Lost 45s" on 103.3 WODS and announced her death with "Lovergirl"--her biggest hit. This Sunday I am playing her second Top 40 hit, "I Need Your Lovin'"--which she wrote...so you don't need to promote an illegal station to get Teena!
 
And, it was in the middle of our 'Blizzard!' That's live and local (and snowed in) radio!
 
That was at the WODS studios...driving home, none of the city streets had been touched--even Clarendon Street (a supposed 'snow emergency route') was completely untouched. Luckily, I made it home safely...but for a while, it did feel like a page from the Ingalls family on "Little House!"
 
Signpost said:
With all due respect to licensed broadcasters, I find it sad that the ONE station I heard finally play a "Square Biz" by Teena Marie after she passed away was Big City FM - the illegal pirate operation at 101.3. Damn, it sounded good.
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Just because an artist passes, radio stations are somehow obligated to play their music?
 
mistermicrophone said:
Just because an artist passes, radio stations are somehow obligated to play their music?
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They used to, although i didn't expect to hear Captain Beefheart on ZLX. I'm certain "Baker Street" got played on WROR though.
 
Signpost said:
They used to, although i didn't expect to hear Captain Beefheart on ZLX.
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You guys must not be tuning below 92 on the FM dial.

At least a few R&B shows on WMBR 88.1 paid tribute to Teena, and a number of shows on WMBR tributed Beefheart including an entire edition of their '60s/'70s show "Lost & Found" last Monday 1/3.
 
Signpost said:
mistermicrophone said:
Just because an artist passes, radio stations are somehow obligated to play their music?
Click to expand...

They used to, although i didn't expect to hear Captain Beefheart on ZLX. I'm certain "Baker Street" got played on WROR though.
Click to expand...

"Baker Street" is a staple of the Classic Hits format, so I'm sure your assumption is correct...maybe even "Right Down The Line" and "Stuck In The Middle With You". Songs by Teena Marie or Captain Beefheart are not commonplace on current formats in Boston.

So, to expand upon my original question to you, radio stations are obligated to break format to honor artists who passed? Sure, stations broke format when Michael Jackson dies last June, but as an artist, he was on an entirely different plateau; not to mention, he was recognized by 99.9% of the free world.
 
Re: Gerry Rafferty--Stealers Wheel had a second Top 40 hit, after the much-played "Stuck in the Middle with You." the very cool "Star." That will be played as a tribute to Gerry on "The Lost 45s" Sunday night (as well as Teena Marie's second Top 40 hit).

And yes, it is timely, topical and considerate to have a tune played on-air when an artist has affected the lives of listeners. To celebrate the life of the artist...not to be morbid or sad. Too many programmers think marking the passing of each artist will remind a listener of their mortality...instead, with each passing, I think we celebrate life more and live it fuller.
 
Barry Scott said:
Re: Gerry Rafferty--Stealers Wheel had a second Top 40 hit, after the much-played "Stuck in the Middle with You." the very cool "Star." That will be played as a tribute to Gerry on "The Lost 45s" Sunday night (as well as Teena Marie's second Top 40 hit).

And yes, it is timely, topical and considerate to have a tune played on-air when an artist has affected the lives of listeners. To celebrate the life of the artist...not to be morbid or sad. Too many programmers think marking the passing of each artist will remind a listener of their mortality...instead, with each passing, I think we celebrate life more and live it fuller.
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Barry, for the show you run, yes, a song or two out of character is in character!! Programmers reminding listeners of their mortality is not the issue. To the majority of the cume for Mix, KISS, WODS, etc, the interest in Teena Marie's music doesn't warrant deviating from the format. For WZLX, WROR, etc, mentioning Gerry Rafferty and playing some of his songs is different as his music is part of the fabric of the station.
 
<programmers reminding listeners of their mortality is not an issue>

Brings me to a memory forever etched in my head: When The Challenger exploded, this one PD (long gone and just a blip) told us not to mention it on the air, that it would bring our upbeat 'Classic Hits' station down.

Our News Director (back then there was one, Betsy Billard) had to be called in two hours later to report on it, after listener (and a GM) outcry. That was early WZLX, when I was a Promotions/Marketing Director ('85-'92). Hard to forget such a glaring example of ridiculousness.

OK, back to editing Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads! I put a preview up on my web site. This Rock & Roll Hall of Famer was a fantastic interview subject!
 
mistermicrophone said:
To the majority of the cume for Mix, KISS, WODS, etc, the interest in Teena Marie's music doesn't warrant deviating from the format.
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"Square Biz" and "Lovergirl" were pretty big hits on Kiss 108 when they were current, I don't expect Kiss to acknowledge their heritage that way, although WODS could have without it sounding odd. As a listener, having heard the news that Teena Marie has passed made me want to hear one of her songs again, and the only station I heard that fulfilled that wish was "Big City".

FWIW, in the past stations routinely broke format to acknowledge the passing of an artist. Kiss 108 played the Grateful Dead when Jerry Garcia passed.
 
Barry Scott said:
The Sunday night she passed away, I played Teena Marie on "The Lost 45s" on 103.3 WODS and announced her death with "Lovergirl"--her biggest hit. This Sunday I am playing her second Top 40 hit, "I Need Your Lovin'"--which she wrote...so you don't need to promote an illegal station to get Teena!

Click to expand...


Yes you did Barry, I'll confirm that you played 'Lovergirl' - I was listening to you while walking the dog......in Illinois. You can take me out of New England, but old habits die hard! Keep up the good work, you are a rare bright spot on an otherwise bland Boston radio dial.
 
WXKS has totally forgotten its heritage. It doesn't even deserve to be called Kiss.

Why about WJMN? no yeah no profanity and not rap enough
 
The Sunday night she passed away, I played Teena Marie on "The Lost 45s" on 103.3 WODS and announced her death with "Lovergirl"--her biggest hit. This Sunday I am playing her second Top 40 hit, "I Need Your Lovin'"--which she wrote...so you don't need to promote an illegal station to get Teena!

>Yes you did Barry, I'll confirm that you played 'Lovergirl' - I was listening to you while walking the dog......in Illinois. You can take me out of New England, but old habits die hard! Keep up the good work, you are a rare bright spot on an otherwise bland Boston radio dial.

Thanks for that compliment! Made my (snowy) day! Specialty shows are a dying breed on terrestrial radio; so glad to keep hosting and creating one of the last to survive.
 
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