Weird not having Dale on... I read another post that said he more of less went out with "Okay Gang..we...won't see you Monday" in a quiet, unceremonious voice(as if the security guards were standing right over him type feeling).Was anything else said? Wonder if a soundbyte will surface? Whatever.
Dale is a real pro, and has a long history with Boston radio. In fact not long ago they were pumping the fact it was "Home of Dale Dorman and his 40th year on the radio in Boston!". There was some mention of a large party in the Fall too, I guess not now. He grew more quiet and restrained in the last couple of years. In fact, in the morning they'd do 20 minutes of music and June Knight and you'd be hard pressed at first to realize he was even there. Weren't they like #1 Arbitron ratings in the last two years and then fell off precipitously(and underdog WZLX shot from the teens to #3 or 4 recently doing lots better whereas Oldies fell into the teens)? And I felt-having been an avid follower of Dale's, that he sometimes talked like a gun was at his head, almost scripted within the last two years. In the start I remember him having this hilarious banter with Paula Street about her visit to the town of "Athol" Mass, with him going "Wha? Say that again Paula? Without the lisp?..etc etc". That's Dale's quickness and wit he was known for. All that just kind of stopped in the last two years.
Also, remember Dale was out for the count with some undisclosed condition for a chunk of summer in July and August. They juggled Blake, Wright and others in the morning just saying "Dale is out and will be back when he's feeling better, which will be real soon"(which went on for about five weeks or so)
This morning it was, as noted JJ Wright and June Knight("Wright and Knight! Mornings!"?) and JJ signed off (and you could tell something was up and they grinned all the way through it) going "We'll see you tommorrow. I guess?" and trailed off with his trademarked chortle. June was talking through her teeth and acting very forced. Being "happy-while-pissed-off sound". No mention at all of Dale. Paula Street comes on and again, missing that usual handover from Dale.
The station is too repetitive and some former favorite standards are just not played anymore. One thing that rankled me, alot was during one of their "Top 500" countdowns, they played the song "Proud to Be An American" by Lee Greenwood. VERY shmaltzy in my own opinion, I got tired of it fast but I could see it's appeal. And next,oddly, was John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance". The weekender DJ, just CUT it off after maybe 5 or 6 seconds and said quietly "That was John Lennon at number 61" and didn't even mention the name of the song. It *seemed* so damn PC it was scary. I emailed them about it and was told it was a "mistake". Hmmmm. In fact, they did it twice because it was one of those count A-Z one way and then the other way Z-A back.
Just stuff I've noticed. It amazes me how even a legend can be just, persona non grata. No goodbyes, no nothin'.
Oh, they're promoting "11 weeks until Xmas music!". So do the calendar math. Oooooh boy.
