Thursday, June 6, 2019

Ton Loc "Wild Thing"

I worked alongside Chicago radio personality Bill Leff who, before his radio career, once starred movies. Leff was one of the Cleveland Indians fans featured throughout the 1989 classic Major League. With his quick wit, spot-on impersonations and huge heart, Leff remains one of most favorite Chicago radio personalities. Today, he comprises half of the "Bill & Wendy Show" on WGN radio.

This year marked the 30th anniversary of Major League. It's streaming on Amazon Prime at the moment and you might notice one of the fictional baseball players in the movie used Leff's name ("Billy Leff"). Keen observers will notice the centerfield scoreboard contains an advertisement for WTMJ--which are call letters for a Milwaukee TV and radio station. Even though the movie was based in Cleveland, it was actually filmed at Old County Stadium in Milwaukee. Scheduling conflicts with the Indians and Browns caused producers to head north to film. While Major League came out around the same time as Ton Loc's "Wild Thing", the movie used a different version of the song.