Phil Collins, Elton John, and Gloria Estefan dominated Adult Contemporary radio back in the 1980s and '90s, yet have disappeared from modern radio. Seemingly, the only time you ever hear them is at the grocery store or your local CVS. This blog remembers the music, the stories and the quirky characters from my days working in Adult Contemporary radio.
Friday, January 20, 2017
The Bellamy Brothers - "Let Your Love Flow"
I celebrated my 39th birthday in 2016 and, among other things, stopped into Carol's Pub in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. Carol's stood at the corner of Clark and Leland for four decades even as the neighborhood around it underwent numerous transformations. Throughout it all, Carol's remained true to its neighborhood dive bar status and lived up to its claim of the "last of honky tonks in Chicago". People young and old frequented the 4 a.m. bar. In fact, the majority of the clientele that April evening were grey haired folks who came for their weekly night of dancing. That night, I requested the 1976 country pop song "Let Your Love Flow" from The Bellamy Brothers, but the house band didn't know it. Sadly, I won't get a chance to request another song. By September 2016, Carol's Pub closed its doors with the ominous word that their liquor license had been revoked by the state. By the end of 2016, the building was for sale and Carol's Pub will likely be another Chicago institution to disappear.