Release Me by Englebert Humperdinck - Oldie of the Day

 

This is a live version and my first post of October.

Remembering Chip Ordway for His Kindness

 

Today, by reading the New York Radio and TV Board on Facebook, I found out that radio and railroad enthusiast Chip Ordway passed away.  I had a brief but kind online encounter with Chip in 2018.

First, I must turn back the clock to 1996 when I was an avid listener to the late Bill Brown on WCBS-FM.  He had a feature called the Brown Bag, where listeners would suggest a theme set for Bill to play during the noon hour. If your set list was picked, you would win a WCBS-FM tote bag. I knew that May 24th, Bob Dylan’s birthday, was coming up. I asked Bill to play a set list of Bob Dylan covers on May 24 that were top 40 hits. I requested

• It Ain’t Me Babe - The Turtles
• Mr. Tambourine Man - Byrds
• The Mighty Quinn - Manfred Mann
• Don’t Think Twice - The Wonder Who
• Blowin’ in the Wind - Peter. Paul and Mary

On May 24th I was on vacation and was ready to record the Brown Bag hoping that Bill would play my set.  I was very disappointed that it was not played.  A few weeks later, I received the tote, figuring that they played it on another date.

Nothing happened for 22 years, but in May 2018, I received a Facebook message from Chip stating that heard my name on the Bill Brown aircheck.  I assume Chip knew my name from radio message boards.  He sent me an mp3 file of the theme set that I missed.

I was forever grateful for his kindness.

Obituary of Chip Ordway from News10 Albany

For National Coffee Day - One More Cup of Coffee, a Dylan Song Covered by Roger McGuinn and Calexico

 

Since today is National Coffee Day, Corny O'Connell on WFUV asked listeners on his "Question of the Day" feature to suggest songs that are about coffee.  The following songs were selected:

• Hozier "Too Sweet"
• Roy Ayers, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Wayne Garfield "Coffy Is the Color"
• k.d. lang "Black Coffee"
• The Ink Spots "Java Jive"
• Cowboy Junkies "Anniversary Song"

He did not select One More Cup of Coffee by Bob Dylan.  I featured it in my journal entries on National Coffee Day in 2022 and 2024.  In 2021, I featured a cover of that song by Tom Jones.  Today, I am featuring a cover by Roger McGuinn and Calexico that was heard in the movie "I'm Not There."

The Agony is Over as the Mets Lost to the Miami Marlins 4-0 and Miss the Playoffs

 

Today, as in 2007 and 2008, the Mets lost game 162 to the Marlins and were eliminated from the playoffs.  In today's game, the hitting was not there, but the slide began in June after the Mets had the best record in MLB at 45-24.  The pitching fell apart at that point as injuries began to affect the staff.  I wonder if pitchers should throw 100 MPH fastballs.  The human arm just wasn't designed to throw an object at that speed consistently.  So many pitchers have undergone Tommy John surgery, which means that they cannot pitch for a complete year.  46 players pitched in at least one game this season.  David Stearns liked to bring up a pitcher from the minors for one game and then send him down to pad the pitching staff.  A pitcher would pitch well for 3 innings or so and be rewarded with a demotion.

Throughout the season, the Mets did not hit well with runners in scoring position.  They just can't lose series to losing teams like the Marlins and Nationals.

Looking forward to next season:

• Pete Alonso has an opt-out clause in his contract.  Will he return?
• Lindor, Soto, and  Nimmo will return.
• I will blame David Stearns since he made poor trades at the deadline and bad roster moves that didn't motivate players.
• Will injured pitchers, including Griffub Canning, Kodai Sengai, Max Krnick, and AJ Minter return.
• What role will Nolan McClean, Johah Tong, and Brandon Sproat play?  Will they be sene to the minors for more seasoning?

We shall see what we shall see.

How Many Roads: Bob Dylan and His Changing Times, 1961-64 at NYU

 

The Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa started a traveling exhibition featuring Bob Dylan's early career in New York City.  It was held at NYU in Greenwich Village, where Dylan performed in the early 1960s before he became famous.  There were photos, videos, and artifacts demonstrating:

• Dylan and other folk singers at the March on Washington in August 1963
• Dylan's early concerts in NYC
• Robert Shelton's articles in the New York Times
• Dylan singing "Only a Pawn in Their Game."
• Dylan refused to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show when the producers would not let him  sing Talkin' John Birch Society Blues.

This exhibit will close on October 15, so my readers in NYC should see it before then.  I assume it will shown in other cities.

I learned that there was supposed to be an album featuring his performances at Town Hall and Carnegie Hall in 1963.  The cover is below.

Pitcher Bobby Shantz Turns 100 Years Old Today

 

Bobby Shantz pitched from 1949-64 for the following teams:

• Philadelphia/Kansas City Athletics
• New York Yankees
• St. Louis Cardinals
• Pittsburgh Pirates
• Houston Cost .45s
• Philadelphia Phillies
• Chicago Cubs

Career Statistics from Baseball-Reference

A search in SABR's Baseball Index  yielded 126 articles about Bobby

Bobby is the second-oldest living baseball player.  Bill Greason at 101 years and 23 days (as of 9/26/25) is the oldest living player according to the Baseball Almanac.

For One-Hit Wonder Day - Hey Baby by Bruce Chanel

 

I didn't know today was One-Hit Wonder Day until Corny O'Connell mentioned it on WFUV this morning. It was established in 1990 by music journalist Steve Rosen to encourage people to discover and appreciate those musical gems.  Since I am Bruce, I chose to feature Hey Baby by Bruce Chanel.  There are likely hundreds of one-hit wonders in my favorite era (1955-79).

To qualify as a one-hit wonder, an artist must have only one top-40 hit.  The Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix are one-hit wonders, but are better known for their albums.