My Morning Commute with the New MeTV-FM

I usually don't post about rival radio stations.  But, hey, I love music and you gotta give credit where credit is due.  To be honest, I don't much listen to terrestrial radio anymore. On my rather long commute, I usually listen to SiriusXM or my iPod.  However, there is a new radio station in town and it is awesome.

That radio station is MeTV-FM in Chicago (87.7).

This radio station is much like Vinyl Voyage Radio, actually.  Deep tracks.  Obscure and rarely heard hits from the 60s, 70s and early 80s.  Most terrestrial radio stations have limited playlists and often repeat the same songs ad nauseam.  I used to like Mumford and Sons---until I heard the same song every hour.  MeTV-FM is taking a different approach. Their playlist is huge and very deep. Songs that haven't played on the radio in decades are now getting airtime. And it is refreshing.

I decided to record my morning drive on April 6, 2015 to sample what MeTV-FM was offering that morning.  And they did not disappoint.  On the drive I listened to Marvin Gaye, the Beatles, John Denver and Christopher Cross, just to name a few.


Perhaps MeTV-FM is the first station in town to recognize that the competition is not other terrestrial radio stations, but internet radio--- mainly Pandora and Spotify. And they created their station to emulate the variety that internet stations offer.  And it is working.

So if you can't listen to Vinyl Voyage in the car (and you live in the Chicago area), give MeTV-FM a try.  You won't be disappointed.

From 6:30 to about 7:15, here are the songs played on MeTV-FM on April 6, 2014:

Supremes-"Come See About Me" 1964
Kenny Rankin-"Penny Lane" 1974
Smokey Robinson-"Cruisin'" 1979
John Travolta and Olivia Newton John-"You're the One That I Want"  1978
Bobby Vee-"Take Good Care of My Baby" 1961
Beau Brummels-"Laugh Laugh" 1965
Christopher Cross-"Sailing" 1979
Billy Joel-"Uptown Girl" 1983
John Denver-"Rocky Mountain High" 1975
Beatles-"You're Gonna Lose That Girl" 1965
Marvin Gaye-"Let's Get It On" 1973
Jackson Browne-"Doctor My Eyes" 1972
Cowsills-"Hair" 1969
JR. Walker and the All Stars-"What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" 1969

Next on AiV---Our oldest K-Tel Album: "20 Power Hits" from 1971

This is the oldest K-tel album in our collection, 20 Power Hits, Volume 1.  This album has some great songs by Sly and the Family Stone, Janis Joplin, the Byrds, Santana and Blood, Sweat and Tears. (And many, many more, of course!)

This album dates to 1971.  Although there is no date on this album, there are some clues as to when it was released.  First of all, K-Tel International had been known by two names: K-Tel and Imperial Products.  Both company names appear on this album. Later in 1971, the company switched to the exclusive use of "K-Tel."

Next, there is a very old K-Tel logo on the album along with a K-Tel exclusive numbering system.  All K-Tel albums begin with a "TU."

Plus, there is a ad for the K-Tel record selector.  This product began being advertised on tv in 1972, but was being sold earlier.  The first album in the picture is Tom Jones' album, Tom, which was released in 1970:

This album also features some of the most heavily edited songs to appear on any K-Tel album.  There is one song on the album---"Turn, Turn, Turn" by the Byrds---that has been whittled down to less than a minute.

The track listing for side A was printed in error, so a label had been applied to the back with the corrected track list.  However, they missed another mistake.  The first song on the second side is listed as "Smiling Faces," by Blood, Sweat and Tears.  The true name of the song is "Smiling Phases," a cover of an earlier tune by the band Traffic.  Oooops.

Despite all of this, 20 Power Hits is a solid K-Tel album.  At least 44 years old, this album has seen better days.  A major skip on the second side necessitated the use of some record sanding--which I normally don't do, by the way.  But that is an effective way to keep the needle from jumping.  Plus, this album has more than the usual noise, hiss and pops.  But that is what vinyl is all about.

So take a trip back to the late 60s and early 70s through the magic of K-Tel and Adventures in Vinyl.

New Adventures in Vinyl  episodes airs at (all times Central):

12:30 pm Saturday
4:00 pm Sunday
2:00 am Wednesday

Or, you can listen to the album right now:

Adventures in Vinyl---20 Power Hits (Volume 1), 1971 by Vinyl Voyage Radio on Mixcloud

Dick Biondi, WCFL and a "Found" Record

In 1963, Dick Biondi was the first DJ to play the Beatles.  The song was "Please Please Me" and the radio station was WLS-AM 890 in Chicago.  Fifty years later, Dick Biondi still spins records on WLS.  Although he has appeared on stations all over the country, Chicago has been his home for most of his career.  Now 81 years old, Dick Biondi is a Chicago tradition.  In fact, I have listened to Dick Biondi my entire life.

Avoiding the crazy "Black Friday" crowds, I decided to stop at my local thrift shop today in order to peruse the selection of vinyl.  And there, in a stack of discs, a young Dick Biondi smiled up at me.  He had thick hair back in 1968, large black-rimmed glasses and a suave smile.  Here was the "Wild I-Tralian," as he liked to call himself.

In 1968, Biondi was spinning records on WCFL AM 1000, the first true rival to WLS, where he had worked for several years.  The album I held in my hands was Big 10 Summer Gold, released by WCFL in 1968.  It was a promotional album, featuring a picture of Biondi and the other djs at the station. The album was billed as a sampling of the "WCFL Hall of Fame."

In the picture, all are wearing WCFL long-sleeved t-shirts, trying hard to look as cool as possible. Biondi was the only one actually pulling it off.

The album features some great music from the late 60s.  Tommy James and the Shondells, the Turtles, the Association, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Shirelles just to name a few.  The album is actually in really good shape, considering it is 45 years old and found in a storage bin at thrift store.  I forked over a dollar for it, brought it home and gave it a nice soapy bath.  As I write these words, "Five O'Clock World" by the Vogues plays on the turntable, an occasional pop and crackle a pleasant reminder of  the past.

A past that includes a Chicago icon.

Today, Biondi has the 11pm-2am shift on WLS-FM, 94.7.   Much too late for me, but I am feeling rather nostalgic for the voice that I can still hear in my head with his signature sign off: "Be good to your fellow human beings."

Thanks, Dick Biondi.

Vinyl Voyage Radio was created because of people like you.

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Dick Biondi was recently featured on NPR.  Click here to listen to the story.