Billy Vera & the Beaters "At This Moment"

Fans of the popular radio request show "Love Notes" might want to download the Radio.com app so they can tune into Boston's "The Cove" radio station. Why? The HD-3 station's imaging voice is none other than John Symons -- who hosted "Love Notes" in Columbus and Chicago. You'll hear old-school soft rock favorites such as "At This Moment" from Billy Vera and the Beaters -- as I did when I tuned into The Cove. Originally released in 1981, "At This Moment" caught fire years later when it aired on NBC's Family Ties. In fact, it went to #1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart in 1987 after failing to chart in 1981.

Elton John "Bennie & The Jets"

Credit a single mother of three who worked at a Michigan radio station for "Bennie & The Jets" becoming a big radio hit. Rosalie Trombley turned her gig as a switchboard operator at Detroit/Windsor's CKLW into the radio station's Music Director in the late-1960s. At the time, Trombley took note what people bought at local record stores and the titles of the station's most-requested songs. In particular, folks keep asking record stores about Elton John's "Bennie & The Jets" -- a song not yet released. Trombley phoned MCA, Elton's record label, and urged them to release the song. CKLW added the song to its playlist and it became Detroit's #1 song. MCA released the song in 1974 which led to a phone call from Elton himself to Trombley to thank her for her input and for expanding Elton's audience. The African-American community embraced "Benny & The Jets" and, a year later, Elton performed the catchy tune on Soul Train.

Ricky Martin "Livin' La Vida Loca"

Credited with sparking the "Latin Explosion", Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" even pushed its way onto Adult Contemporary radio stations -- which was quite the crazy feat considering soft rock radio stations rarely embraced uptempo songs at the time. Martin's brassy and sweaty dance song peaked at #18 on the Adult Contemporary Chart.

Delerium featuring Sarah McLachlan "Silence"

The door to the on-air studio opened late one evening at the soft rock radio station where I worked as a board operator and in walked Keith, the station's chief engineer. Keith was a character. He told great stories, had an infectious laugh, liked his whiskey, and was rumored to take naps in the transmitter room. Keith told me that at midnight he was taking the radio station off the air so they could performed scheduled transmitter maintenance. Before this happened, he said I needed to go on the air and give the station's call letters. Since I was simply a board operator, I had never gone on the air (a board operator does everything a DJ does -- except talk).

"Do you have headphones?" Keith asked.
"No, why?" I responded.
"You're gonna need them when you go on the air."
I quickly found a beaten-up set of headphones that looked like they lost a fight with a hungry German Shepherd.
"What do you want me to say?" I asked Keith.
"Just do the legal ID which is the call letters and Chicago and then say that we'll be off for a few hours," Keith nonchalantly responded.
I could almost feel my heart beating through the clunky headphones as I muttered through Keith's check-list of things to say. It was the first time I went on the air at Chicago's Windy 100, but it wouldn't be the last...

Starbuck "Moonlight Feels Right"

Withe copies of their debut album in hand, the boys from the band Starbuck hand-delivered Moonlight Feels Right to more than 400 radio stations across the US in the winter of 1975, but the majority of the stations didn't play any of their songs. One radio station from Birmingham, Alabama claimed the song (of the same name) sounded more like something that would be played in the Spring and they promised to do that. Discouraged, Starbuck returned to the studio to try a different sound when that same Birmingham radio station started spinning "Moonlight Feels Right". Other radio stations followed and the song became a hit...in the spring of 1976.

Heatwave "Always and Forever"

Another trip to Florida meant another chance to drive my dad's Buick LeSabre and cruise to The Dove. What's The Dove, you ask? It's home to Tampa Bay's Continuous Lite Favorites (favorites which only seem to span the years 1975-1989). This radio station features core artists like Lionel Richie, Madonna, Chicago, and Billy Joel and is consistently Tampa's most-popular radio station. The format is symbolic of the rise in Soft Adult Contemporary radio stations we saw in 2018.

Donna Summer "She Works Hard for the Money"

While doing an internship at a radio station in the mid-'90s, my boss (a woman) made one thing clear: she didn't mind working with me. However, she did mind working for a man who told her what she wanted. In other words, her male bosses at the radio station that targeted 25-54 females told her what women want. We easily can assume that the thoughts of her male bosses didn't gel with her own.

Michael Bolton "Only A Woman Like You"

In my new role as Morning Show Producer, I had to meet guests of the morning show in the lobby of the Prudential Plaza (where the radio station was located). One of the first celebrities to visit the morning show under my watch was Michael Bolton. Busy promoting his newest album Only A Woman Like You, Bolton visited crosstown Adult Contemporary rival WLIT-FM as well as my station, Windy 100 (WNND-FM). Women started to buzz as a leather-pants wearing Bolton made his way up the stairs with his entourage. I immediately ran up to him and introduced myself. Bolton was cordial and made small-talk about his hotel having a basketball court. He asked if I played basketball. Instead of telling him I avereaged 0.0 point per game as the starting forward of the St. Joseph Warriors when I was in 5th grade, I simply said that indeed I was a basketball player. Bolton said I was welcome to come shoot hoops at his hotel that day if I was interested. I declined. 

REO Speedwagon "In My Dreams"

Safely tucked away in my box of mementos is a Christmas card given to me in 1995 by the woman who was my first boss in radio when I worked (without pay) as an intern. That holiday she gave me a jar filled with Hershey Kisses and a card that read: "If you really want it, you CAN make it in this business.". At the time, I promised myself I wouldn't eat any of the Hershey Kisses until I landed my first radio gig.

About a year later, I walked into my house one spring afternoon and there was my Uncle Bob chatting with my mom. We exchanged greetings and then he mentioned that he was eating some of my candy. "No problem," I said. I assume Uncle Bob grabbed something from the drawer of snacks and candy that my mom kept filled. The drawer was quite popular with most of my friends who immediately went to it whenever they'd stop by my house. I quickly ran upstairs to my bedroom and noticed the jar of Hershey Kisses was open with a couple crumbled up wrappers sitting next to it. Yep, Uncle Bob mistakenly ate the candy I was saving for my first radio job. Oh, well. So much for that idea. In all fairness, we all had a good laugh over it... 

Simply Red "Something Got Me Started"

While working as an intern at a radio station, my first real conversation with the afternoon host still sticks with me nearly 30 years later. After staring me up and down, he politely asked: "Why the hell do you want to work in this business? My advice is to get out now." That happened in 1995 -- arguably during radio's better days. To this date, I bring that story up whenever young people ask me about working in radio. I make it a point to re-state how someone gave me that unsolicited "advice" when I was an 18 year-old intern. While I never want to discourage someone from chasing their dream, I also feel the need to describe why someone would share that advice to me.

America "A Horse With No Name"

After one Cleveland radio station pulled the Christmas song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" after listeners complained that its lyrics promote date rape, a Louisville radio station promises to play the song all day on Christmas. To each their own, I suppose. In the pre-#MeToo era of 1971, some radio stations banned America's "A Horse With No Name" for its alleged reference to heroin usage. Despite that, the song went to #1 on the Hot 100 and #3 on the Adult Contemporary Charts. 

Richard Marx "Don't Mean Nothing"

A hand-written sign hung over a coffee cup filled with pens, markers and highlighters in the on-air studio of my first radio job. The sign read "Please don't take the pens". Upon closer inspection of the sign, someone had changed it to read "Please don't take the penis". This was my first lesson that radio people are a classy bunch.

Prince "Raspberry Beret"

"Did you ever hear the story of the lady who sent brownies laced with acid to the radio station?" A colleague from our Classic Rock station posed that question to me recently. Although he didn't partake in the brownies, one of his fellow DJ's did -- causing him to "trip balls" for a few hours. His story lends credence to the Golden Rule among radio DJs: never EVER eat food from a listener.

While producing a radio dating show that aired during the mid-2000s, listeners would come into our studio each night and question three eligible singles who were on the phone -- while we all listened. One night, a congenial bachelorette came to the studio bearing gifts: homemade chocolate-covered strawberries. While her gesture seemed innocent enough, the two hosts and I looked at one another with concern. We all knew the Golden Rule, but how do we not insult this person bearing these delicious hand-made strawberries? The male host finally broke the ice and bit into one of the strawberries. Our guest, however, wasn't satisfied. "You have to one!" she said to the other host and me. Throwing caution to the wind, we both popped the sweet treats into our mouths fulling expecting to bite into a razor blade or perhaps rat poison. Instead of tripping balls, slicing our mouths open or vomiting profusely, we both survived. In fact, during the course of the dating show's two-year run, several contestants came bearing gifts of homemade cannoli, pot roast and candy. Again, we survived.

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.

Leo Sayer "More Than I Can Say"

When management changes the format of a radio station, your days of working on-air are toast. Generally, format changes are researched, planned out well in advance and are top secret among management. However, word usually leaks out. In my case, a tough-as-nails sales executive who wasn't the most pleasant person tipped me off an imminent format change and cautioned that my job soon would be gone. This selfless act provided me with enough time to get all my audio files, PR contacts and resume in order well before I was shown the door. To this date, I still thank this person whenever I see her.

Snow Patrol "Chasing Cars"

Snow on the ground usually meant a school closing or delay and, since it was the 1980s, we had to turn on the radio to learn of these cancellations. Since I grew up in a small Indiana town, our school district included two neighboring towns which helped to increase our odds for having a weather-related delay. The weather might be fine in one town, but icy or foggy in the next town. Any time there was snow, ice or fog, we'd nervously turn on our kitchen radio to WJOB-AM to learn whether our day would include watching cartoons in our pajamas or solving math equations while donning our Catholic school uniforms.

Located in nearby Hammond, Indiana, news/talk WJOB-AM featured a morning show hosted by a guy named John Baranowski. The show also included some lady who read horoscopes and a guy named Irv who gave commentaries (I recall my late grandmother complaining that she didn't listen to WJOB because she didn't want to hear Irv complain). The station epitomized local radio and played a big role in my fascination with the medium. This radio bug also caught my brother who, in turn, played radio. He launched and hosted his own version of WJOB known as WC-1 The Tower from the confines of his bedroom. Amid a fight between brothers, I quit my "job" as host of "Talk With Todd" at The Tower and ventured off to start my own radio station in my bedroom (after purchasing a double cassette player from Service Merchandise). This birthed WCLX-FM ("C103") which consistently lagged The Tower in the ratings (that my brother conveniently drew up).

WJOB's John Baranowski didn't seem to enjoy being the messenger for school closings (though I can't blame him); I recall him urging children not to call into the radio station to ask if they have to go to school. "Yes, you have school today," he would begrudgingly tell us young listeners when there was an inch of snow on the ground. In response, we would groan and then head to the shower in hopes to not miss the bus. WC-1 The Tower lasted a couple years whereas C-103 played on until the late-1990s when I got a real job working in radio.

Jack Wagner "All I Need"

Under the control board in the on-air studio sat a squirt bottle with a hand-written name on it: "Jack-Off". While it's easy to imagine what that bottle contained, it was actually a household cleaner purchased by one of the part-time DJs. This particular DJ fell under the "neat freak" category while the other DJ (named Jack) did not. Jack would aggressively scratch his head when working on-the-air which resulted in a collection of hair and dandruff on the control board. The owner of "Jack-Off" kept the bottle at work to sanitize the studio after Jack's shift. 

Cher "Believe"

My college roommate Doug asked me what I believed to be a loaded question. He said, "Todd, do you believe in life after love?" After my lengthy response, he was quiet. I took this silence as affirmative of my revealing something deep and profound. After a couple moments, he casually mentioned that those were the lyrics to "Believe" from Cher. (eye roll)

John Mayer "No Such Thing"

Q: Do radio stations take requests?

A: They take them, but 99% of the time they don't actually play them.

Q: Why not?

A: Most playlists are determined well in advance.

Q: What do you mean?

A: Radio stations "test" songs using auditorium testing (or other means) and develop a playlist of songs that score as "familiar" and "likable". From there, a station has a list of (usually 300) songs they deem "safe" that gets played.

Q: So why do DJs always say that they'll "try to get that song on"?

A: Because they're being nice.

Q: So there's no such thing as a request that actually gets played.

A: Not really although people tend to request songs that are current and would likely be played anyway. 

Q: I see.