WEW playlist flashback: 8/31/96

The music I played on WEW 770 AM from 6 to 10 a.m. 20 years ago today:

   1.  Three Little Words-Nat King Cole
   2.  The Trolley Song-The Pied Pipers
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   3.  Dream A Little Dream Of Me-Dean Martin
   4.  I'll Buy That Dream-Helen Forrest & Dick Haymes
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   5.  What A Wonderful World-Louis Armstrong
(Two former co-workers used to break into the first verse of this at unexpected intervals.  Hearing the tune that way brought home how difficult it is to sing with Armstrong's sincerity.)
   6.  I'm In The Mood For Love-Erroll Garner
   7.  Here's That Rainy Day-Tony Bennett
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   8.  Samantha-Sammy Nestico
   9.  Jessica-Dave Evans
(I was determined to find a place for this on the air, as it's one of the most beautiful guitar instrumentals I've ever heard.  Of all the tunes I brought in from home for WEW, this is possibly my favorite.  It sounds as though it should be played by an out-of-the-way brook in a park...)
 10.  Frangenti-Nashville Mandolin Ensemble
(...and it segues seamlessly with this tempo and instrumentation.)
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 11.  Maybe You'll Be There-Gordon Jenkins and his orchestra
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 12.  My Foolish Heart-Charlie Watts Quintet with Bernard Fowler
(If you like this, you might also enjoy this combo's version of "Bewitched.")
 13.  Love Walked In-Diane Schuur
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 14.  Sentimental Journey-Les Brown and his orchestra with Doris Day
(Almost any version of this is a safe choice for this format.)
 15.  Because You're Mine-Kitty Kallen
 16.  How Deep Is The Ocean?-Michele Shaheen
(Shaheen was one of the most obscure artists in the station's CD library.  Considering her vocal talents, her work should have a wider audience.)
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 17.  So Near And Yet So Far-Mary Cleere Haran
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 18.  Save The Last Dance For Me-The Drifters
 19.  For All We Know-Dexter Gordon
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 20.  Jingle Jangle Jingle-Kay Kyser and his orchestra
 21.  Speak Low-Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians
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 22.  Moonlight In Vermont-Billy Butterfield and his orchestra with Margaret Whiting
(As with "Sentimental Journey," just about any version of this is a safe choice for this format.)
 23.  I'll Be Seeing You-Johnny Mathis
(As with "Sentimental Journey" and "Moonlight In Vermont...")
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 24.  All The Way-Keely Smith
 25.  Them There Eyes-Anita O'Day
 26.  Chicago-Count Basie & Tony Bennett
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 27.  Stop Me Leading Me On-Joey DeFrancesco
 28.  Moondance-Michael Feinstein
 29.  Ray's Rockhouse (Live)-The Manhattan Transfer
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 30.  Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea-Stan Kenton
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 31.  Release Me-Engelbert Humperdinck (*)
 32.  Melody Of Love-Billy Vaughn and his orchestra
 33.  Chiquita-Richard Clayderman
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 34.  Body And Soul-Coleman Hawkins and his orchestra
(As with "Sentimental Journey," "Moonlight In Vermont," and "I'll Be Seeing You...")
 35.  Moon River-Vince Guaraldi Trio
(As with "Sentimental Journey," "Moonlight In Vermont," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "Body And Soul...")
 36.  They Can't Take That Away From Me-John Pizzarelli
 37.  Blue Light, Red Light-Harry Connick, Jr.
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 38.  In My Life-The Beatles
(It was a pleasure to pair a song about appreciating life...)
 39.  The House You Live In-Gordon Lightfoot
(...with a song about how to live.)
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 40.  Jitterbug Waltz-Renee Rosnes Trio with string orchestra
(For an especially elegant jitterbug...)
 41.  Romance A La Mode-Fats Waller
 42.  Ebb Tide-Frank Sinatra
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 43.  You Came A Long Way From St. Louis-Ray McKinley
(One of the catchiest tunes from the '40s I ever played on WEW and a cool way to kick off a dance set.)
 44.  Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha-Sam Cooke
(The more I hear this, the more I'm convinced that it would segue with Jimmy Cliff's "You Can Get It If You Really Want.")
 45.  Blue Tango-Leroy Anderson
 46.  Begin The Beguine-Les Brown
 47.  Summer Samba-Walter Wanderley
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 48.  Rose Room-Ray Anthony
 49.  Skyliner-Doc Severinsen & The Tonight Show Band
 50.  And The Angels Sing-Barry Manilow
 51.  The Gypsy In My Soul-Melissa Manchester
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 52.  The Very Thought Of You-Natalie Cole
 53.  (CLOSING THEME) Closing Time-Tom Waits
(For me, "Closing Time" was especially appropriate on this day in 1996.  It was my last day on WEW before going full-time at my other job.  I thoroughly enjoyed choosing music for my on-air shifts, so in retrospect, I wish I'd stayed around.  Nevertheless, I'm thankful for the time I had at WEW and all other radio stations where I've worked.)
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(*) indicates a listener's request.
--- indicates a short break for a slogan and time check or a longer break for back announcing the music.

"Time for your not applicable traffic report..."

One of the most inexplicable quirks of radio listening: Why do we listen to radio traffic reports when we aren't on or heading toward any of the roads mentioned?  After all, I don't expect to hear, "Drew's car should be OK heading into work.  In fact, after two more left turns, he should be in the parking lot within four minutes," or "The usual route Drew takes to the grocery store isn't backed up at the moment, so it should be smooth sailing."

"Mild congratulations to you..."

When you're assigned to share a music stand with someone, it helps if you get along.  One way of keeping the peace, as I discovered in one orchestra, is to compliment your fellow players.  I don't remember who started it, but I had a routine with another bassist, in which we'd compliment each other for the most routine accomplishments.  Examples:  "You placed that music on the stand commendably."  "You turned that page exceptionally well."  "Good job of not playing during that measure of rests." "Excellent work there, in..."

...Hang on.  The phone is ringing.

"Good job of combining words into sentences in order to complete a blog post?"

Now, that was a considerate phone call.

An overlooked cover tune XVIII

Sometimes, hearing a well-known song in an acoustic setting makes its lyrics resonate more effectively.  I've always liked The Alan Parsons Project's "Eye In The Sky," but Jonatha Brooke's vocals-and-guitar rendition turns the lyrics into more of an effective warning.  The Parsons version is pleasant, although the vocals sound somewhat detached from the subject matter.  In Brooke's cover, I'm more convinced that the protagonist actually can read a person's mind.  Sometimes, a voice and a guitar are all you need to bring good lyrics to life.

Mangled syntax: An on-air hazard

If you're on the air often enough, you'll eventually make a split-the-difference mistake.  For instance, you'll intend to close your show by saying, "This has been..." or "My name is..."  Instead, here's what will happen.  Out of common decency, I've changed the announcer's name:

Yesterday, while listening to radio stations from several different states, I heard an announcer end his show by saying, "My name has been John Smith."  After a pause, he clarified, "Actually, my name still is John Smith."

The announcer's syntax error reminded me of an on-air weather report I did years ago.  I intended to say, "Things are still pretty soaked out there due to last night's heavy rain."  Instead, I inadvertently began, "Things are still pretty soaked out there due to those..."

"Those?"  I thought.  "Why did I say, 'those?'  Where do I go from here?"

I completed the sentence, "...droplets of rain that fell last night."

That might have been the only time I used the phrase, "droplets of rain," on the air.  I wish I'd referred to the rain as "those showers" or "those buckets of rain."  "Droplets" came to mind first, even though the word understated how heavily it had rained.

Such is the risk of ad-libbing on the air.

Online radio sampler highlights XLV

Seven of the better tunes I've heard over the last three days:

KFJC (Los Altos Hills, CA)

• I Do It For Your Love (Live)-Toots Thielemans (Thielemans plays the harmonica from up in the clouds on this track, or so it seems.  It would segue with Stevie Wonder's harmonica instrumental, "Easy Goin' Evening."  Also recommended: "Bluesette," which KFJC also played today.)

KUTX (Austin, TX)

• Casual Party-Band Of Horses (One of 2016's best tunes for driving; I hear elements of Wilco on this track, released in June, and it could segue with Franz Ferdinand's "Do You Want To.")

WKNC (Raleigh, NC)

• Everyday Is A New Start-Sun Glitters (I'd categorize this as a progressive new age instrumental.  The song's title is appropriate, as it's easy to imagine a listener waking up to this.)

WKZE (Red Hook, NY)

• Sleeping In A Car-The Staves (Beguiling vocal harmonies from three sisters on this tune, released in May.  Also recommended: "In The Long Run" and "Tongue Behind My Teeth.")
• Will It Go Round In Circles-Billy Preston (One of the more memorable hits of the '70s, thanks to its unique lyrics, an ear-catching hook, and cool harmonica punctuation.)

WNUR (Chicago, IL)

• Ema's Mood (Live)-Steve Cohn Quintet (An intriguing concert performance from 1982.  Cohn anchors the tune on piano, and there's impressive interplay between David Shrader on tenor sax and Warren Gale on trumpet.)

WXTJ (Charlottesville, VA)

• I Am A Town-Mary Chapin Carpenter (Sensitively written and sung lyrics about a struggling city.)

An overlooked cover tune XVII

Although the Seals & Crofts version of "Summer Breeze" will always be the definitive one for me, The Isley Brothers deserve credit for their well-done cover of it.  Their version slows down the tempo, starts with the chorus, reduces the number of verses, and adds a wailing guitar part late in the tune.  The thoughtful nature of the tune comes through in their reworking, which should have been a hit.