the old days: Jess Cain

[raccoonradio]

I was recently sent an aircheck of Jess Cain on WHDH from 1967 and it was interesting to hear how things were back then. The show was very laid back and
he played stuff like the Ed Sullivan Orchestra and Chorus (!) doing an Irish
song; he interviewed a "leprechaun" (sounded like he was doing both voices),
and he played "Penny Lane". But not the Beatles original--it was an "elevator
music" cover of the song by Paul "Love is Blue" Mariat. (Not bad, too) I guess
the Beatles version was too hard rock for him, eh?

No uptempo jingles all the time...no constant reminders of the call letters...
brief commercial breaks and then right back into a song...laid back morning show.

Traffic with Kevin O'Keefe and he mentioned "the end of 93"--as I understand
it, I-93 suddenly stopped a couple miles north of Boston but eventually they linked it to the Central artery...a connection was built but held up for a long time but when it finally opened--early 70s?--along came all that wonderful
traffic...jams. In the news, Sen. McCarthy said he felt sure that Bobby Kennedy
would be running for president and RFK was asked same question; he replied
"I wouldn't be running if I didn't think I had a chance to win". (the newscaster quoted RFK, it wasn't an actuality from RFK)

Who would have thought he would fall to an assasin's bullet a bit over a year later. Now, I was
5 when this aircheck was recorded so I don't remember what life was like too much.

Oh, and a commercial for L&M. Yup, ciggie ads still legal! Well, some on this board may be able to remember those days very well but some weren't even born
yet (and to some I'm an old-timer...at 43! Yes I remember life before ATMs,
cellphones, microwave ovens, CDs...)

Anyway, interesting to hear a soundcheck from the old days like that (and it was very good quality--sounded like it could have been recent!) I have some other
old-days tapes (not many though) like one from '48, Bob and Ray on WHDH.
And how many cookies did Andrew eat? Andrew ate 8,000. (Same broadcast
had an ad for a harness track or some such thing on the corner of Lake and Forest Streets in Peabody. Long gone now)<P ID="signature">______________
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[raccoonradio]

Article: Elect Jess Cain to Radio HOF

http://www.bostonirish.com/pubnotes.html

"You are a Real Bostonian if you can recall the names of Sidney Flack, Hap Smiley, or Pressgate Fenway. They were the comic creations of the great Jess Cain, the man who virtually invented the genre of local morning radio on the old WHDH, 850 on the AM dial, and a man who helped several generations of Boston radio listeners to wake up and greet each new day with a smile.

"Cain lives in retirement now, with his artist wife Jean in a brownstone at the base of Beacon Hill. Still active in theater and show business activities, and a wonderful storyteller, he has been nominated for membership in the Chicago-based Radio Hall of Fame."

(and as someone here--parklane, I believe--mentioned, he didn't make it on this year's ballot. )

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[parklane]

Re: Article: Elect Jess Cain to Radio HOF

Yes, unfortunately Jess did not make the Radio Hall of Fame this year. By-passed for Gene Shepard (sp?)

All the more reason for a long needed Boston Radio Museum and Hall of Fame.

I remember Jess from the late 50's on [ I was a radio junkie even then and I was not even ten]when he came in from Notre Dame ( Jess was a classmate of newscaster Jack Hynes who I think encouraged the Philadelphian to come to Boston) and Jess was teamed with Ray Dory and the in studio band, "The Park Squares". The band stayed until the mid 60's. Also, when Jess came to Boston the "Real" WHDH 850 AM was located on the top floor of the Paine Building on Arlington and St. James Avenue across from the "Statler" aka Park Plaza Hotel. Later WHDH-TV Channel 5 was located there as well.

If Jerry Williams was the Dean of Talk Radio, Jess was at least the Dean of the Department of the College of Morning Radio.

=============================

> http://www.bostonirish.com/pubnotes.html
>
> "You are a Real Bostonian if you can recall the names of
> Sidney Flack, Hap Smiley, or Pressgate Fenway. They were the
> comic creations of the great Jess Cain, the man who
> virtually invented the genre of local morning radio on the
> old WHDH, 850 on the AM dial, and a man who helped several
> generations of Boston radio listeners to wake up and greet
> each new day with a smile.
>
> "Cain lives in retirement now, with his artist wife Jean in
> a brownstone at the base of Beacon Hill. Still active in
> theater and show business activities, and a wonderful
> storyteller, he has been nominated for membership in the
> Chicago-based Radio Hall of Fame."
>
> (and as someone here--parklane, I believe--mentioned, he
> didn't make it on this year's ballot. )
>

 

[raccoonradio]

Re: Article: Elect Jess Cain to Radio HOF

> Yes, unfortunately Jess did not make the Radio Hall of Fame
> this year. By-passed for Gene Shepard (sp?)

Yes, Jean Shepherd--not be confused with Jean _Shepard_, a female country
music singer.
> If Jerry Williams was the Dean of Talk Radio, Jess was at
> least the Dean of the Department of the College of Morning
> Radio.
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