In November of 1988, I was the big strapping mid-morning to afternoon disc jockey playing all the soft rock, crossover country hits on WRCO. We were still playing mostly vinyl records at that time. You always had to be aware that if you did have to go visit the bathroom during a song, the record could stick. While playing commercials during network broadcasts of the Packers, Brewers, or Badgers, you had to be ready between five minutes before the hour until 5 minutes after the hour. That is when the announcers would take 10 seconds for station identification. While it never happened to me, co-workers were caught off guard with one even running from the bathroom while pulling up their drawers and awkwardly falling. They did not quite make it to play the WRCO I.D., and I am not sure if their toilet business was completed either. We still had a nighttime Top 40 request show weeknights and Those Were the Days played the oldies on Saturday night. Each weekend I would load my boxes of records in my Pontiac J-2000 and slowly climb over the stone quarry hill with my 1.8-liter engine. I nearly had to get out and push a few times.
This week on the program, I will be playing tunes that were too new to play on Saturday nights back then. The 1988 November survey saw the Beach Boys top the charts for the first time in 22 years with Kokomo which was a song used in the movie Cocktail. Phil Collins version of Groovy Kind of Love was near the top and a remake of the Locomotion by Kylie Minogue was riding the radio waves. Chicago was still relevant with the song Look Away, and Gun's N' Roses Welcome to the Jungle and Love Bites from Def Leppard were staples on the charts and on the jukebox in the Orbit Lounge at Center Lanes bowling alley.
Saturday night between six and midnight we will kick back and relax and unwind from a busy week and celebrate the end of the election cycle. Listen for Lady Belle's cow bell which signals trivia games and you can call in or text your song ideas and comments. I love my Saturday nights!
Phil
Adam Hess has been involved in radio broadcasting since 1990, with many of those years spent on the air at WRCO FM in Richland Center. Currently, Adam hosts the Weekend Wake-up and Prime Mover Saturdays on WRCO FM, jumps in and helps out with news duties, handles Social Media duties for WRCO and WRCE, and is the Director of Technology at a Southwest Wisconsin School District. Reach him at [email protected].