Alanis Morissette "You Learn"

When you're a morning show producer and the host of the show asks you to get a guest, you better deliver. In the case of Bill Leff, he had an idea for a recurring segment back when we worked together at WNND-FM in Chicago. At the time, our radio station was playing all-Christmas music and Bill wanted to do an on-air Advent Calendar where each day we would turn to a celebrity to reveal what was on the calendar. His pick for the celebrity: Ed Asner. It was 2003 and I had no idea who Ed Asner was, so I went to IMDB and learned he was on Mary Tyler Moore and discovered he was going to be in the upcoming Will Ferrell film Elf. That could help me book him on the show -- or so I believed.

Many unanswered phone calls later, I suggested to Bill that we turn to Plan B. Asner's people weren't interested in doing some silly radio bit. We discussed using a Harry Caray impersonator or Edie McClurg (the secretary from Ferris Bueller's Day Off) or even Chicagoan Bill Kurtis...none of which scratched Bill's itch. Then, one afternoon, I got a voicemail from Asner's secretary who requested I phone her and go into more detail about the bit. I called her and she actually answered. I quickly explained what we wanted to do and then faxed some sample scripts to her. Again, I didn't hear anything. A few days later, she called and said that Ed agreed to do it. WHAT?!? I called Bill and shared the news. He was equally shocked and excited.

We phoned Ed to tape all the segments and he had some trepidation. The script seem off, he told us. "It seems to me that people should be nicer the closer we get to Christmas," he explained. Our script didn't reflect that. "We can do that! You want to do that?" Leff reassured him. The script called for Asner to became progressively angrier with each passing day. Things like "a candy cane" turned into "a ratty-looking elf with an overbite" as each day passed. There was even a day when Asner snarled, "I don't feel like doing one today," and then hung up the phone. We all laughed and sat in amazement that he was playing along. When we aired them back, listeners were confused. Was it really Ed Asner? Why was he so angry? Was he pretending to be so upset? Some folks even kept track of all the items on the Advent Calendar believing it would lead to cash and prizes (it didn't, but we were flattered). For Leff, it was comedy gold. For me, I felt validated for delivering to Leff exactly who and what he wanted.

A-Ha "Take on Me"

When the year is 2004 and you're giving away concert tickets to see a band that peaked in 1985, you have to get creative. Case in point: the morning show I produced in 2004 had a pair tickets to see A-Ha and we tried to come up with a creative way to give them away to true fans of A-Ha. The result: the In A Day or Twooooooo Game. Basically, we got three contestants on the phone and played the infectious hook from "Take on Me" and then let each person sing the verse "In a day or two". At the time, American Idol was all the rage and singing contests on the radio always made for good content. Our expectations were low, yet each of these three contestants put their unique spin on the verse. This audio clip still sits on a cassette tape somewhere in my basement.

Billy Ocean "Love Zone"

Something I learned while working next door to John "Swany" Swanson (of WTMX-FM) is never to disturb him when he is in "the zone". "The zone" refers to the time when he's heavy into show prep or editing audio. Swany is executive producer of the successful Eric in the Morning Show (previously Eric & Kathy) on WTMX-FM. I once produced a couple of morning shows at the Mix's sister station and learned so much from Swany. He coined several phrases which I still quote:

• It's Show Business, not Show Friends.
• Always have a plan B.
• The minute you land a job, you should be looking for your next job.
• Are you f-ing kidding me? 

Regina Belle "If I Could"

When you're about to lose your job, your brain switches into survival mode. In my case, I knew the radio station where I worked for nearly a decade was about to flip formats and, soon, I would be unemployed. My supervisor (who also knew he was losing his job) suggested I apply for a job at a radio station in Georgia. This position required extensive on-air experience which I lacked; I had been working in an off-air position as a morning show producer. My supervisor didn't see this as a problem. Instead, he suggested I take action during the short amount of time I had before losing my current job.

His instructions were simple: the show I produced started at 5:30 A.M., so show up at 5:00 A.M. and tell the overnight guy "Oh, didn't Harrison tell you? The show's gonna start at five now.". When the overnight guy double-checked with our supervisor, he gave the all-clear which resulted in: The Todd Show. I didn't call it this, but rather the host of the morning show I produced named it as such. He listened on his way into work each morning and started our show discussing The Todd Show. Fully expecting to be fired within a day or two, I figured my show had about four shows. Instead, The Todd Show lasted for nearly three weeks. I survived the World Series and then the Bush - Kerry presidential election of 2004. For three weeks, I showed up extra-early to pour what little energy I had into 30 minutes of The Todd Show before finally getting axed in the beginning of November.

That job in Georgia? I never applied for it. With opportunities in Milwaukee and Chicago, I (host of The Todd Show) stayed put and that decision paid off.

Eric Carmen "Hungry Eyes"

Renowned chef Wolfgang Puck made his way down the long hallway that separated the two radio stations' studios. Upon Puck's passing our station, the host of the morning show I produced waved. Puck stopped, backed up and entered our studio. The three of us scrambled to say hello and also to let him know that he was at the wrong studio. He didn't seem to mind, but the Marketing Director of our sister station did. He kept making a face that said, "Don't talk to him!". Without thinking, I blurted out: "I love your canned soups! The minestrone is my favorite!!". A few moments later after Puck left, the show's co-host turned to me and let out a huge laugh.

"You meet one of the biggest celebrity chefs of all time and all you can say is...". Laughter took over and she gasped for air to replay my conversation with Puck. "All you can say is: 'I love your canned soup'?!?!?!"

"Was that bad?" I honestly questioned.

More laughter from the room.

To this day, I still buy cans of Wolfgang Puck's soup both as penance and because they're damn good!

Aretha Franklin "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)"

Getting fired actually helped open my ears to all kinds of vintage soul music. What? Yeah, it happened at the end of 2004 as WNND-FM in Chicago switched formats from an '80s & '90s hybrid to "Love-FM". Out went John Mellencamp, Duran Duran and Rod Stewart and in came songs from Stevie Wonder, Al Green, and Aretha Franklin. As my role of morning show producer was eliminated, I spent the next six months as the station's board operator until the new jocks joined Love-FM. While I already knew of Stevie, Al and Aretha, this transition exposed me to "deeper cuts" like "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" from the late-Aretha Franklin. The heartbreaking ballad was co-written and originally performed by Stevie Wonder.

Buckshot LeFonque "Some Cow Fonque"

Morning radio shows all use music beds to brand themselves. A music bed ultimately is vocal-less background music to talk over. I would bet that most mid-1990s morning producers spun the song "Some Cow Fonque" while the wacky morning host riffed on the day's topics. The funky hip-hop jazz tune comes from Buckshot LeFonque (pronounced "luh funk") which is the brainchild of Branson Marsalis. His 1994 song made it on the R&B charts and also became commonplace as a music bed on morning radio shows.

America - "You Can Do Magic"

In the fall of 2001, an Adult Contemporary radio station hired me to produce the morning show.  I remember agreeing to take the position and then going to Google and typing "what does a radio producer do".  Despite the fact that I worked nearly 45 hours each week, the position was considered part-time.  That meant my paycheck reflected working 35 hours and there were no benefits (no insurance, 401K, vacation time, etc.).  My budget reflected this as I paid over $300 each month for a COBRA from my previous job.  My grocery shopping bags were typically filled with generic versions of brand name food items.  I remember proclaiming to my roommates that once the radio station hired me full time, my days of buying Magic Twinkles cereal were over.  Instead, I would splurge and buy Lucky Charms.  In 2002, the station hired me on full-time, and I happily posed for a photo holding that coveted box of Lucky Charms.  

Edwin McCain - "I Could Not Ask For More"

I worked as a Morning Show Producer for an Adult Contemporary radio station in the early-2000s.  One such interview I scheduled for the morning show was a phone interview with Edwin McCain.  McCain had two huge hits to close out the 20th Century: "I'll Be" and "I Could Not Ask for More".  There's a special phone line in radio studios called the "hot line".  Only station personnel is supposed to use the hot line, but we also give that number to publicity people when we book interviews.  When the hot line rang that morning, a man with a thick country accent said, "Hello, I'm Edwin McCain.  I believe I have an interview with y'all."  I almost didn't put the call through believing it to be a prank.  But, low and behold, Edwin has quite the thick southern accent.

Jim Brickman & Martina McBride - "Valentine"

Shame on me for forgetting this song for Valentine's Day.  Then again, I've tried to bury the memory of Jim Brickman.  When I was a young 24 year-old morning show producer, the morning show host thought it would be funny to tell our musical guest (Jim Brickman) that I was a HUGE fan of his (known as a "Brick-head").  Convinced I was a big fan, Jim later gave me his business card and tole me that he would be in Chicago over the summer to shoot a music video for an upcoming song.  The video included a bunch of shirtless guys playing volleyball on North Avenue Beach.  He said I could be in the video. Hmmm.....