Congratulations to the 2022 Inductees to the Radio Hall of Fame

 Here is the list of this year's inductees:

• Marv Dyson – General Manager of 106.3 WJPC-FM and 1390 WGCI/107.5 WGCI-FM Chicago
• Lon Helton – Host of Country Countdown USA and publisher of Country Aircheck
• Ellen K – Morning host at KOST Los Angeles and former co-host at 102.7 KIIS-FM from 1990 to 2015.
• Broadway Bill Lee – Afternoon host at WCBS-FM New York. Formerly at WTIC-FM Hartford, KFRC San Francisco, WLOL Minneapolis, KPKE Denver and WQHT and WKTU New York.
• Walt ‘Baby’ Love – Host of Gospel Traxx. Formerly worked at stations including KYOK and KILT Houston, CKLW Windsor, WVON Chicago, WBLS, WNBC and WOR-FM/WXLO New York, and KFI, KGFJ/KKBT, KHJ, KMPC, and KUTE Los Angeles.
• Carol Miller – Evening host at WAXQ New York and SiriusXM. Formerly of WNEW-FM, WQIV and WPLJ New York and WMMR Philadelphia.
• Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo – Host and namesake of SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio. Formerly of WFAN New York as 1/2 of “Mike and the Mad Dog”.
• Jeff Smulyan – Founder and CEO of Emmis Communications
• Suzyn Waldman – New York Yankees radio broadcaster. Was the first voice heard on WFAN New York.

I had the pleasure of meeting Carol Miller and Broadway Bill Lee at two of the oldies meet and greet luncheons at Ben's Deli in Manhattan,

Hot Fun in the Summertime by Sly and the Family Stone - appropriate oldie for this heatwave

 

The temperature has hit 90 degrees plus for several days in a row.  Hot fun in the summertime for me means going outside early in the morning and staying indoors for the rest of the day.  The weather forecast says this heatwave will break on Tuesday.

Keep Cool!

Random Thoughts of the Day

 

This hot weather makes people very lazy.  I really don't feel like doing anything.  Hopefully, this heat wave will end soon.

I am anxious about my forthcoming trip to Tulsa.  I have seen so many horror stories on the TV news about flight delays and cancellations.  There was an encouraging report on the Today Show this morning that the situation is improving.  The problems are worse on holiday weekends.

I am tired of reading about people dreaming up trades for Juan Soto who declined a contract for $440 Million over 15 years.  How greedy can one get?  Any team would have to give up several good prospects and then attempt to sign him for about $500 million.

According to the statistics I get from Google, most of the hits to this journal are from France.  Since I don't know anyone in France, I assume they are from robots.

Singalong with Bob Dylan - a Unique Concert Video

 

From Glasgow, Scotland, 6/24/2004. Full quote at 07:08 "I must say you're the best singing audience that we've ever heard. We must have played that song a thousand times and nobody can sing with it"

I don't think there will be any singalongs at the Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour

Isis, a Bob Dylan Fanzine will Cease Publication

 For several years I subscribed to Isis described as a magazine run by Dylan fans for Dylan fans.  Some of the articles were scholarly while others were popular in nature.  I  always enjoyed reading it.

Today I received an email from publisher Derek Barker stating the next issue will be the last. He states "events of the past two years – COVID, Brexit, and soaring costs worsened by Putin’s war – have combined to make running any subscription-based venture an absolute nightmare."  He thought about issuing it in an online format but still felt that the costs would be extraordinarily high.

I thank Derek and his wife Tracy for their efforts over the years in publishing this excellent fanzine.  I believe it outlived many other similar publications.  I also thank the many contributing authors.

ISIS Magazine Ltd is continuing to trade as usual (books, CDs, vinyl, back issues, etc.)

I wish Derek and Tracy well in their future endeavors.  I realize this was a difficult decision to make.

Former WCBS-FM Radio Personality Don K. Reed Has Passed Away

 Several people announced the passing of Don K. Reed on Facebook.  Since several people made this announcement, I must sadly believe it is true.  He is best known for hosting the Doo Wop on Sunday nights from 7 PM-Midnight.  He certainly kept alive this genre of music that was very popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  He left WCBS-FM when it flipped to the dreaded Jack format in 2005.  When WCBS-FM was relaunched in July 2007 Don came back to host the radio greats show on the last Sunday of every month.  He also appeared on internet oldies radio stations and hosted concerts.  I wrote an article titled Spotlight on Don K. Reed in this journal in February 2009.

Yours truly with Don K. Reed at the Long Island Radio Day in 2010

I'd also like to comment on announcing passings on social media.  Announcing the passing should state the source of information.  Citing a family remember or a publication would be appropriate.  I am not accusing anyone of malicious intent, but please be careful.

Alan Berman with Don at the Long Island Radio Day in 2010

Bob Dylan's Never Ending Tour Resumes in Europe This Fall

 

This 81-year-old just keeps on going.  Only the COVID-19 pandemic put a significant pause on the Never-Ending-Tour.  There is a break between July 6 and September 25, but at his age, Bob should slow things down.

09/25/22 Oslo, Norway - Spektrum

09/27/22 Stockholm, Sweden - Scandinavium

09/29/22 Gothenburg, Sweden - Avicii Arena

09/30/22 Copenhagen, Denmark - Royal Arena

10/11/22 Paris, France - Grand Rex

10/12/22 Paris, France - Grand Rex

10/13/22 Paris, France - Grand Rex

10/15/22 Brussels, Belgium - Forest National

10/16/22 Amsterdam, The Netherlands - AFAS Live

10/17/22 Amsterdam, The Netherlands - AFAS Live

10/19/22 London, England - The London Palladium

10/20/22 London, England - The London Palladium

10/23/22 London, England - The London Palladium

10/24/22 London, England - The London Palladium

10/26/22 Cardiff, Wales - Motorpoint Arena details

10/27/22 Hull, England - Bonus Arena details

10/28/22 Nottingham, England - Motorpoint Arena

10/30/22 Glasgow, Scotland - SEC Armadillo

10/31/22 Glasgow, Scotland - SEC Armadillo

Happy 80th Birthday to Roger McGuinn

 

Roger Mcguinn has appeared many times over the years in Bruce's Journal.  I thought that since this is a milestone birthday for him, I should salute him again.  He still gives concerts.  I never featured Eight Miles High in my posts about Roger, so I'll do so here.

Happy birthday Roger!

Dirty Blvd. by Lou Reed

 

After I viewed the Lou Reed exhibit at the NYPL Performing Arts Library, I thought I should read more about him.  I am now reading the following biography:

DeCurtis, A. (2018). Lou Reed.

It details Lou Reed's personal and professional lives.  Just for the heck of it I thought I would post Dirty Blvd.

Another Boring Sunday Afternoon at Citi Field as the Mets Lose to the Marlins 2-0

The game started out as a pitchers' duel between Taijuan Walker and Sandy Alcantara.  Pitchers' duels are boring as nothing happens.  Walker allowed only 3 hits in 7 innings while striking out 7.  Likewise, Alcantara allowed no runs on 6 hits in 7 innings.  So there was a scoreless tie at the end of nine innings with the free runner at second base appearing in the tenth inning.  Pinch-runner Billy Hamilton scored the first run or the Marlins on a throwing error by catcher Tomas Nido.  Luke Williams added an RBI single for the Marlins, who won for the eighth time in 11 games and earned a split of the four-game series.

It seems that the Mets are having difficulty getting hits with runners in scoring position.  The Mets' lead in the National League East over the Atlanta Braves has shrunk to 1 1/2 games.  On June 1 the lead was 10 1/2 games.  The Mets now go to Atlanta where they will play a three-game series against the Braves.

Game recap

 

Random Thoughts of The Day

• The archives of Lesley Gore are now accessible at the Performing Arts Library of NYPL.  A recent article in the New York Times describes it.
• I am getting a little anxious about my trip to Tulsa to see the Bod Dylan Center.  I have seen several TV News reports about flight cancellations and delays.  I will have to fly to Dallas and then take a second flight to Tulsa.  I allowed over two hours to make the connections.  I did buy trip cancellation insurance.
• I congratulate Keith Hernandez on his #17 retired by the Mets today.  If you look at his statistics reported in Baseball-Reference you will concur that he belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.  In the video seen below David Wright, Dwight Gooden, and more congratulate Keith Hernandez on Mets jersey retirement.

 

Gas Prices are Still Very High, but Traffic is Very Heavy

 

The above video from NBC News was done in March, shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.  Since that time gas prices have risen above $5.00/gallon on average and then dipped a little.  I observe no decline in traffic when I drive on the highways of Queens.  Back in the 1970s during the Arab oil embargo, the supply went down causing people to wait a long time to get gas.  The gas lines came back in 2012 after Storm Sandy prevented oil to be delivered to NYC.  At those two points in time, there was a visible decrease in the number of cars on the road.

I guess the big oil companies are making great profits.

HALLELUJAH: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song

 

I didn't know much about Leonard Cohen until I saw an exhibit about him at the Jewish Museum in April 2019.  After that, I bought a few of his CDs for my collection.  I saw an advertisement for a new film, HALLELUJAH: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song, playing at the Walter Reed Theater at Lincoln Center.  I wanted to see it, so I traveled to Manhattan for the first time in about 2 1/2 years to see a movie.

The film was biographical in nature but focused on the song, Hallelujah.  Critic Roger Ebert described the documentary as unfocused, but it succeeded in showing how that song was interpreted by several other artists. I realize that a recording artist can have an impact even without chart success.  Leonard Cohen never had a single on the Billboard Top 100.  His biggest "hit" album, Songs of Leonard Cohen peaked at #63.

Mets 4 Texas Rangers 1

 

If it is Sunday afternoon and the Mets are home, Bruce and Lee will be at Citi Field.  The pitching matchup was Carlos Carrasco against Jon Gray.  The game featured home runs by Starling Marte and Eduardo Escobar of the Mets while Jonah Heim hit a dinger for the only run by the Rangers.  Carrasco pitched for 5 2/3 innings while relievers Joely Rodriguez, Adam Ottavino, and Eduardo Escobar held the lead for the Mets.

For two games in a row, we were sitting behind a group that seemed to have little or no interest in the game.  Why pay good money for tickets if you are not a good baseball fan.

Remembering the Resort Hotels in the Catskills

 

Cousin Brucie just spoke about the planning of a museum to honor the legacy of the resort hotels in the Catskills.  He speaks at 4:40 of the 8-minute video seen above.  It is a shame that all the resort hotels in that region are closed.  There were major hotels such as The Concord, Grossinger's, Kutcher's,  and the Nevele.  There must have been hundreds of smaller resorts and bungalow colonies up there.

Here are some of my memories of the Catskills:

• Back in the late 1950s, my parents took us to different hotels in the region.
• From 1961-65 I went to Camp Wel-Met located in Barryville and Narrowsburg
• In January 1968 I went on a singles weekend with my CCNY fraternity at the Concord.
• In 1980 I went to a singles weekend at the Homowack run by the "Richnicks"
• In 1992 I went with Karen and Lee to the Nevele.  This resort was owned by the Slutskys not related to me.  Over the years I must have been asked umpteen times if I was related to the Nevele Slutskys.

The Catskills Resort Museum is now in the planning stage.  I hope they can raise enough money to open in the near future to preserve the history of this cultural phenomenon.

Treat Me Nice by Elvis Presley - I call this the Phil Pepe Song

 

Treat Me Right was an Elvis Presley hit that peaked at #18 on the Billboard Chart in 1957.  If you listen carefully it sounds like one of the background singers is saying, Phil Pepe who was an excellent sports journalist who reported sports on the Harry Harrison morning show on WCBS-FM for years.