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, July 27, 2018
B-52s "Love Shack"
When you've been to as many weddings as I had at the ripe age of 17, you've earned the right to create a "Do Not Play" list for the DJ at your own wedding. Along with four of my close friends, I worked as a busboy at a banquet hall during most of my high school years. Each Saturday night, three weddings took place and we were subjected to countless plays of "Achy Breaky Heart", "Celebration", and "Love Shack" from each respective DJ. There were nights where the "The Electric Slide" played simultaneously at all three wedding receptions and led us busboys to take an extended trip outside to "take out the garbage". One particular night, all of us busboys had enough of "The Chicken Polka" and huddled together to make an oath: we all agreed to NEVER allow certain hackneyed wedding reception songs to play at our respective weddings. The majority of these songs are part of a list that's made the rounds on the internet this week. Several years later, my friend (and busboy alum) Pat claimed he hired his DJ immediately after he showed him and his future bride a list of songs on his "never ever ever play list".