Vinyl Voyage Radio

On this episode of Mix tape Memories, we are placing in the deck a 60 minute tape creatively entitled "Tape 1." When I was in Junior High, I sat for hours in front of the radio waiting for songs to come on and quickly hitting the "record" button to get the songs I wanted.  I think nearly everyone who grew up in that era knows what I am talking about, right? This was the first of many tapes I made that way. I even kept a notebook, listing every song for each tape. Sometimes, I was even able to capture clips of DJs, too. On this tape, you'll hear Brant Miller, who was a DJ on WLS in Chicago. Today, he is a weatherman. This episode of Mix Tape Memories premieres TONIGHT at 8pm, Central and repeats next Wednesday at 1pm. Visit Mixcloud for the episodes on-demand. Each episode is placed on Mixcloud a week after they air.

I've been on a Steve Perry kick lately. Man, I miss him. What a voice. Back in junior high, Journey's album, Escape changed my life. Well, that may be just a little exaggeration. However, it did set in motion my taste in music during junior high. I remember walking the dog, my boombox blasting Journey for all to hear. The title track of the album had a particular resonance to this 13 year old in 1981. And it is the Vinyl Voyage Song of the Week. This album was so big, it even served as a basis for an arcade game. A very weird arcade game, I must say. A game into which I push countless quarters back in the day.  Check out this below: Check out my vinyl copy of Escape being played below. "Escape," the Vinyl Voyage Song of the Week, can be heard at 10 am  and 10 pm (Central) on August 30, 2017.  Plus, throughout the week.

This month on Adventures in Vinyl :   The Rock Album from 1980. This is an interesting K-Tel album.  The music spans about 7 years, so this album isn't a snapshot of a particular time, but more of a look at a genre.  The songs on this album are staples on classic rock stations to this day. The album features some pretty well-known hits from E.L.O. and Cheap Trick, Blue Oyster Cult and Boston, Styx and Journey...just to name a few. So join us on Adventures in Vinyl this April to take a musical time trip back to 1980 via the magic of K-Tel. Adventures in Vinyl :  The only radio station dedicated to the glory of the K-Tel record compilation. Adventures in Vinyl can be heard on Vinyl Voyage Radio at the following times (all times central): Saturday, 12 pm Sunday, 4 pm Tuesday, 1 pm Wednesday, 2 am Thursday, 10 am

Greg Kihn is following me on Twitter. Yes, that Greg Kihn.   And at this moment, certain melodies are crackling through your head.  Mine, too.  "Our love's in jeopardy.  Baby. "  And how about this one:   "They don't write 'em like that anymore ." It must be because I post a lot on Twitter about music.  And, of course, here on Vinyl Voyage we have a day dedicated to the 80s and the Greg Kihn Band appears several times.  But still, seeing that name there in the notification got me a little nostalgic.  Remember the "Jeopardy" video?  I distinctly remember seeing it for the first time.  I turned fifteen in 1983 and it freaked me out a little.  The wedding.  The bride turns into a skeleton.  The guests turn into zombies.  And then a creature from hell breaks through the floor and Greg Kihn kills it with some guitar-shaped piece of wood. Now that's a video. I checked out a little about Greg Kihn....

You have voted and it's official:  K-Tel's Pure Rock is next on this month's Adventures in Vinyl . Pure Rock was released with little fanfare in 1981.  This is an interesting album and very different from K-Tel's earlier compilations.  Unlike other K-Tel albums, there are no tv or radio commercials associated with this record.  One of the hallmarks of K-Tel in the 70s was was their ubiquitous presence on tv.  In addition, the album is not overly edited.  There are only 14 songs on the album as opposed to the usual 20 or so on most K-Tel albums in the 1970s.  This was a change that K-Tel began implementing in the 1980s--less songs, but higher quality. And finally, this album has very little to do with 1981.  The more popular K-Tel albums capitalized on hit songs ("20 Original Hits! 20 Original songs!") and contained songs from the year in which the album was released.  On Pure Rock , only one song dates from 1981---Pat Benatar, "Hit Me W...

Today, the Vinyl Voyage went live for a period of time, playing tracks from 1979-1982.  Those were the years of junior high for me.  Probably the worst years of my life; who ever liked junior high, anyway?  Even so, this period of time provided the foundation to my musical tastes and as my allowance increased, so did my record-buying. For about an hour and a half today, I spun tracks from that period of time in my life.  Currently, many of these songs can now be heard on the Vinyl Voyage: Cars---Gary Numan Loverboy---Turn Me Loose Billy Squier---My Kinda Lover Stevie Nicks---Edge of Seventeen Rush---Limelight Journey---Escape Pat Benatar---Fire and Ice Quarterflash---Harden My Heart Shooting Star---Flesh and Blood Styx---Babe Pete Townshend---Let My Love Open the Door John Cougar---Ain't Even Done With the Night John Lennon---Watching the Wheels Pretenders---Brass in Pocket Sniff 'n' the Tears---Driver's Seat Journey---Still They Ride I had a lit...

This is Benny Mardones I know nothing about Benny Mardones. Nothing. I don't know any albums. I don't know if he still makes music. I don't know if he ever was a member of a band. Until recently, I had no idea what he looks like. And I don't know any of his songs. Except, that is, for one. That song is "Into the Night." It originally came out in 1980 but was rereleased in 1989. Both times it made the charts; one of the few times a single song had made the charts for the same recording. It happened with the Righteous Brothers and their song "Unchained Melody" and also Chubby Checkers made the charts twice with "The Twist." So this is quite a feat for Mr. Mardones. I first heard "Into the Night" sometime in the early 80s. And the thing that I remember about hearing the song for the first time was that I thought it was Steve Perry. At that time, I was a huge Journey fan (and, frankly, still like the band an awful lot. Old Jour...