Radio City With Jon Grayson & Rob Ross: Episode Seventy Six
THIS one is a “very special episode” – it was exactly five years to the day Rob first appeared on Jon’s old CBS Radio show, “Overnight America With Jon Grayson” and not only a great radio partnership began but an even better friendship blossomed.
So hear the actual story of why and how Rob wound up on “Overnight America…”; the boys talk about local “incidents” that have far reaching effects; more on the ups-and-downs of working with “publicists”; Rob talks about the new Chris Bell biography by Rich Tupica, “In Our Heads” and a great deal more.
This is one of the most enjoyable shows Jon and Rob have done and you can tell, as soon as you start listening. So do just that – listen and celebrate with them!
Radio City With Jon Grayson & Rob Ross: Episode Seventy Six
The podcast will be on the site as well as for subscription via iTunes and other podcast aggregators. Subscribe and let people know about Radio City, as well as Popdose’s other great podcasts David Medsker’s Dizzy Heights and In:Sound with Michael Parr and Zack Stiegler.
Radio City With Jon Grayson & Rob Ross: Episode Seventy Five
Although you could consider this to be a more “subdued” installment, since Donald Trump was just slightly “quieter” last week, there’s a whole lotta love that Jon and Rob deliver in show #75. Amongst this week’s topics, a somewhat crestfallen Rob opines on the Madison Hotel in Memphis, as it’s being rebranded as Hu Hotel (Rob is now traumatized); New York’s mayor, Bill DeBlasio lets slip in an article that he has no idea what his staff does/is up to…; for music, the two new tracks from The Cynz and the interview with Django Haskins currently up on Popdose; the boys take sports franchises to task as well as politicians who are in way over their heads and the assholes who run Facebook; the overhype of the Demi Lovato story, “In Our Heads” and even more than that…
Nothing slows our intrepid reporters/personalities down – and you should be thanking them every day. Even better – you should be tuning in and turning others on to each week’s Radio City…!
Radio City With Jon Grayson & Rob Ross: Episode Seventy Five
The podcast will be on the site as well as for subscription via iTunes and other podcast aggregators. Subscribe and let people know about Radio City, as well as Popdose’s other great podcasts David Medsker’s Dizzy Heights and In:Sound with Michael Parr and Zack Stiegler.
Radio City With Jon Grayson & Rob Ross: Episode Seventy One
This special 4th Of July edition finds Rob and Jon making America even greater with their presence and observations and you will be both entertained and fed a lot of food for thought. Prepare to sit back with a cool drink and an open mind as they deliver on numerous topics, ranging from the shooting at the newspaper in Maryland; the primary elections in New York City; the winners of the John Tavares and Lebron James sweepstakes; the death of Jackson family patriarch, Joe Jackson; a salute to our nation, plus “In Our Heads” and so much more…
It’s a more-than-good one; take the time and let yourself join in on the inner circle. Time to tune in and smile…
Radio City With Jon Grayson & Rob Ross: Episode Seventy One
The podcast will be on the site as well as for subscription via iTunes and other podcast aggregators. Subscribe and let people know about Radio City, as well as Popdose’s other great podcasts David Medsker’s Dizzy Heights and In:Sound with Michael Parr and Zack Stiegler.
It’s the Fourth of July as I write this but you won’t be reading it until at least tomorrow. So I’ll just say that I hope it was a great day for you and your family and friends. These are troubled times in this country and it’s nice to have one day a year to remember how it all began for us and the principles that informed the country’s founding fathers.
This week we’re traveling out west to Los Angeles, California, specifically to the Watts section of the city. It was there in 1964 that Wallace and Walter Scott, identical twin brothers, got together with Gordy Harmon, Marcus Hutson, and Nicholas Caldwell to form the Whispers. Among their fans was Sly Stone who suggested that the group relocate to the San Francisco area. It wasn’t long before they were knocking audiences out with their powerful live show.
It was the Vietnam era and Walter Scott was among those who were drafted. He spent 18 months in the service before being discharged in 1969. That year, the Whispers released their first single on the local Dore label. “The Time Will Come” was a successful debut, reaching #19 on the R&B chart. Before long, the Whispers joined producer Ron Carson at his Soul Clock label. There they had their breakthrough single, “Seems Like I Got to Do Wrong,” in 1970. It was a Top 10 R&B hit and reached the Top 50 on the pop chart.
The Whispers continued to work with Carson although they left his label for the larger Janus Records, which was based in New York. Much of their recording in the mid-’70s was done in Philadelphia, working with Gamble & Huff producers and songwriters like Norman Harris, Bunny Sigler, and Earl Young, with backing tracks provided by MFSB. They scored a non-stop string of hits during this era with songs like “I Only Meant to Wet My Feet,” “Somebody Loves You,” “A Mother for My Children,” “Bingo,” and “In Love Forever.” In 1977, the Whispers returned to the Top 10 with their cover of the Bread hit “Make it With You” and in the late 1970s they scored with hits like “(Olivia) Lost and Turned Out,” and “A Song for Donny.”
The 1980s began with a bang for the Whispers as they rose all the way to the top of the R&B chart with their cover of the Sonny & Cher classic “The Beat Goes On.” The record also found Top 20 success on the pop chart. More big hits followed including “Lady,” “It’s a Love Thing,” “In the Raw,” “Tonight,” and “Keep on Lovin’ Me,” all of which reached the Top 10. But their biggest hit came with the 1987 smash “Rock Steady” which topped the R&B chart and was a #7 hit on the pop chart. Many of the ’80s hits were for the SOLAR (Sound of Los Angeles Records) label.
In the 1990s, the Whispers continued their string of hits with Top 10 successes like “Innocent,” “My Heart Your Heart,” and “Is it Good to You.”
Unlike many of their contemporaries, the Whispers had very few lineup changes over the years. In 1973, Gordy Harmon was injured in an automobile accident and he was replaced by Leaveil Degree who had been a member of the Friends of Distinction. Marcus Hutson died in 1992 and the Whispers decided not to replace him, continuing as a quartet. Nicholas Caldwell died in 2016 leaving the Scott Brothers and Degree to carry on the Whispers name.
Started this show late last Saturday after spending the entire day driving back home from Wisconsin. I only had a handful of song ideas. And then BOOM. The show was basically finished before I went to bed.
That has never happened before.
Today’s word class is the preposition! There are TONS of songs that start with them, and I’ve included 25 examples here. And I’m going to do something a little different. I’ve tried keeping my set lists secret, but I was asked to list the bands played, and that seemed harmless, so here we go.
Making their DH debut: Billy Squier, Fleetwood Mac, Green Day, INXS (wait, WHAT?!), Joseph Arthur, The Outfield, Propellerheads, Tin Machine, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Veruca Salt, and The War on Drugs.
Coming back for another tour of duty: Blur, The Boomtown Rats, Cheap Trick, Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, The Divine Comedy, Kirsty MacColl, R.E.M., Robbie Williams, Roxy Music, Simple Minds, Sugarbomb, The Tubes, and Underworld.
Popdose is very pleased and proud to premiere exclusively “Snakes In The Seaweed”, the newest track from the upcoming album by Django Haskins, Shadowlawn. The venerable North Carolina-based singer/songwriter/guitarist is unveiling his first solo album in 17 years! Mr. Haskins, as many of you are aware, fronts the acclaimed The Old Ceremony and shares the spotlight in Au Pair with The Jayhawks’ Gary Louris; he’s also been a member of the touring company for the Big Star 3rd performances.
Shadowlawn began as a series of experimental recordings in his newly built studio, and eventually evolved into a kind of late-summer song cycle full of meditations on death, love, fear, wanderlust, and exploration of interior worlds. “Snakes In The Seaweed” features backing vocals from another Popdose favorite, Skylar Gudasz and is a bit more “rock” than the rest of the album (which gives the overall feel of the album a very nice balance).
If you haven’t been introduced to the very fine work of Mr. Haskins before, it’s about time. Sit back and enjoy “Snakes In The Seaweed” – and let your appetites be whetted for Shadowlawn.
Shadowlawn will be released on Thursday, August 2nd, 2018.
