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South and Central Jersey Radio of the 70's

The Murray-Go-Round

A few years after my 11-7 Great Adventure, I too acquired a Hal Murray ("Hey, that's me!") presskit/resume from a station in Springfield, Mass. The audition tape was a 120-minute cassette crammed full on both sides with material dating back to Pittsburgh twenty years earlier. Folded around the tape was a 12- or 16-page illustrated booklet with photos and press clippings. It was one Hal of a presentation.

Hal had a couple of old jock jingles he used. His show opener sounded like an old ColorRadio station jingle with the call letters clipped off at the end: "Haaal Murreeeee....(pause)....Here is the Murray-Go-Round, Hay Murray (stinger)." The pause was where he'd jump on the mic and exclaim, "Hey, that's me!" But one evening Seymour came to me with an idea for a prank. I recorded him (this is the owner, mind you) shouting the Yiddish phrase "ALTA CACA" --- which means...er, um...."poopy head" --- and inserted it into that pause. Then I carefully peeled off the label of Hal's jingle cart, pasted it onto the cart with the "new" version," put the new one back in the studio and the original in my desk.

The next morning I waited with tape recorder at the ready for the station to sign on. And when it did, we heard...
jingle: "Haaaaal Murreeeeee......ALTA CACA!"
Hal: "Uh, buh, whaaa?"
jingle: "Here is the Murray-Go_Round, Hal Murray."
Hal: "Well, I'll be a...did you hear....I think there were some rats in the woodpile here overnight...." Hal continues to make comments and puns until the cart recues, then he plays it again!
He totally lost it and cracked up giggling. Later that morning I goaded him into playing it again, then returned the original. He was not only a good sport, I think he was flattered we'd go to those lengths to prank him.

"There's no time like the pleasant."
 
Artfulbadger said:
Then I worked at WCFR in Vermont (Hi Bill Salati! I have photos of you too somewhere, at a CFR broom hockey match),
Click to expand...

Hi Diana!! Been a lonnnngg time since I played broom hockey! I'll pop in on you next time I'm in the U.K.
 
Oh PLEASE no. I remember Ms. Gorme as a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and while being interviewed (this was in the late 70's or early 80's) she said that, "Rock music is just so awful." Huh? Even Carson looked stunned. Where was HER head? Rock had been around for 25 years or so by then. SHE was stuck in that MOR period and just seemed to ignore that MOST music by then was being made and sold to younger people! I know WNEW was still around (1130 that is) so there were still outlets for her music, but jeez...she turned ME off just like that. I never cared for her voice anyway. Her husband...well HE was a class act... I DO feel badly they both lost their son years back. I don't dislike Eydie, I just found her comments to be just a tad too...1956.. Ya dig?
BE BIG! Jay
 
bigjay said:
Oh PLEASE no. I remember Ms. Gorme as a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and while being interviewed (this was in the late 70's or early 80's) she said that, "Rock music is just so awful." Huh? Even Carson looked stunned. Where was HER head? Rock had been around for 25 years or so by then. SHE was stuck in that MOR period and just seemed to ignore that MOST music by then was being made and sold to younger people! I know WNEW was still around (1130 that is) so there were still outlets for her music, but jeez...she turned ME off just like that. I never cared for her voice anyway. Her husband...well HE was a class act... I DO feel badly they both lost their son years back. I don't dislike Eydie, I just found her comments to be just a tad too...1956.. Ya dig?
BE BIG! Jay
Click to expand...

Apparently, a few years later, Ms. Gormé changed her tune: she and her husband recorded a cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6_hn8q0faA
 
I'm happy to say that I'll be guesting - live in-studio no less - on "Around the County Live With Jim Quinn" on WSNJ - 1240 AM - Wed., 12/21, from 2 to 3 PM. Jim is not only a long-time broadcaster but also served as the Mayor of Millville for many years. I'll be appearing with my colleague of many years ago, Tom Valentine. It should be a lot of fun.
 
Thanks Jim. However, the reason I never sent you an air check for Hanukah is because there wasn't any (air check that is - There was, I'm happy to say, a Hanukah). I unexpectedly spent the previous night in the hospital so I had the to skip the show.
 
Listening to "American Top 40" from this week in 1980, and who does Casey give a shout-out to but "WWBZ, Vineland, NJ"! The station is now WNJC.
 
Dang! (As in "Dang Me" by Roger Miller - the early 60s country/pop crossover) ... How did I miss this thread until just this weekend? I spent hours reading all the way through it -- a stroll down memory lane. Then was out of time.

Came back to note names mentioned that brought back memories from the first half of my 50 years in radio so I could post this.

People I've worked with (many of whom were also friends) -- Chuck Flamini - Chuck Kramer (Charlie Kramer, CBK) - Ed Johnson - Harvey Holiday - Larry Keene - Ellen Hudson - Andy Volvo - Gary Lane (Levine, not Levin) - Jim Knight (James G. Knight) - Ed Davis - Don Williams - Bill Huf - Fred Sharkey - Mike Harvey - Mike Venditti - Jim Rodio - Jerry Beebe - Jack Chase (Jackson T. Chase)(John Cooney) - Tom Williams.

Red Karr (Norm Karlock) and I never worked at the same station, but became friends and called each other with song requests since we each were working different formats on crosstown stations on different shifts.

People I never actually worked with, but knew or directly knew of - Tom McNally - Jim Earle - Bob Weems - Kevin Fennessy - Paul Dustin-Richards - Russ Edwards - Tom Valentine.

Also, saw mentions of WLDB - Leroy and Dorothy Bremmer. I not only worked for them very early in my radio career, but they actually became good friends. When Leroy died, Dorothy was always calling me to help her out (even though I was at other stations - where they always told me to go ahead and do it) -- right up until she sold what was left of the station.

In going back through the thread quickly, I know I missed some of the names that jumped out at me earlier - but those are a nice sampling.

I'm not too sure about nostalgia radio, but a nostalgia board thread - awesome!
 
I often wonder what Andy's up to now too. After listening to him on WMID when I worked part-time at WMVB and WDVL, I had the pleasure of working with, and for, Andy at 'MID twice: first from August '79 to April or May '80, when I did 6-10PM (and later, afternoons); then again for about three months in the spring of '81, just before I went to WSNI in Philly. I always admired his on-air work. His personality was just as great off-air too.
 
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