Month: September 2023

One of my all-time favorite singer-songwriters is Clint Black.  Besides being into his music for almost 35 years and seeing him in concert several times, I’ve met Clint a few times back in the 90’s.  He was always friendly and damn funny with a very dry sense of humor.

On the humor side, Clint made two appearances on the Larry Sanders, the second one being on the series finale of Garry Shandling’s great show.

Clint Black aiming to so the ‘Bette Midler’ singing bit for the last episode of “The Larry Sanders Show.”

When Jimmy Buffett passed away earlier this month, I was interested to see Clint’s reaction to his good friend’s leaving this world.  He posted warm memories of their relationship, touring with Jimmy one summer as guest harmonica player and also co-writing a great song together, “Happiness Alone.”  It’s one of the best wistful and wishful toned tunes I’ve ever heard.

Years ago, a very good friend of mine did promotions work for Clint Black. She fondly shared memories with me of those days doing business with Clint and his management team. 

In the summer of 2020 when COVID shut down most large crowd gatherings, Clint and I got into some interesting exchanges on Twitter for a couple of weeks.  He wanted to keep working and get his band on the road for a tour but the worries about that bastard virus made that impossible.  Clint was venting his frustration and I offered some ideas on how to adapt and play live but do it safely at drive-in movie theaters and other locales.  He volleyed back to me that there weren’t enough venues for him to mount a road run that could make a profit.  I felt bad for Clint and his band along with all the other touring acts who were shut down back then.

Here’s me with Clint Black in Nashville back in 1994. The guy has always been fun to be around.

Clint Black was recently honored with the Academy of Country Music’s Poet’s Award. It’s a lifetime achievement and Clint’s acceptance speech showed why he was given this honor.  It was wry, funny and had just the right touch of warmth and humility.  Check it out here.

Finally, with the fall season here it seems right to post up Clint’s re-working of his mid-90’s song “A Change in the Air.”  He recorded this newer version a year ago with his wife Lisa and their lovely daughter Lily Pearl.   Mother and daughter have often joined Clint on tour do some part time stage sharing with him.

Speaking of the Black family, I was at the very show back in the fall of 2000 when Clint first made it public that Lisa was pregnant with Lily.  That was twenty-three years ago and also the last time I saw him in concert. I need to catch another Clint Black gig, ASAP.  To quote some of the past songs penned by the man from Katy, Texas; I’m ‘Killing time’, ‘Untangling my Mind’ waiting to see him again, it’ll change my ‘State of Mind’ and make me a ‘Better Man’. Hurry back to Chicago Clint, there’s “No time to kill.”

NEXT BLOG- Some more random thoughts.

ALWAYS UP FOR SOME CLOSE BONDING IN THE US*99 MORNING SHOW OFFICE.

Recently, Big John Howell signed off for good from his afternoon talk show on WLS AM 890.  Whenever I hear John’s name I smile broadly and remember the loads of great times we had years ago as brothers in sound.  Though we haven’t seen each other in person for some time, he’ll always be a dear friend to me and I hope I am to him as well.

We first met back in 1987 when John and some pals came down from Grand Rapids Michigan to watch through the lobby viewing window as Larry Lujack did his afternoon show at WLS. I was Lujack’s producer at the time and John brought Lar a hairbrush with Elvis Presley’s likeness on it.  I came out to the hall to pick it up and Larry talked to the group on the air.  Lar loved that hairbrush and used it!

Less than a year later John and I would meet again as I was producing the morning radio show at WCKG FM. John was the new hire to replace John Fisher and his co-host would be Rochester, New York radio star Stephanie Miller.  I was to be the show runner for the Miller and Howell show and that’s when John and I bonded like super-glued Legos both on and off the air.

JOHN HANDLING THE MORNING SHOW CONTROLS AND ME EDITING TAPE DURING OUR DAYS AT WCKG. ON THIS DAY, WE HAD AN UGLY SHIRT CONTEST AND I THINK WE TIED.

John Howell and I shared very similar sensibilities in radio presentation, attitude and dedication.  This was so important because like any other job, just because you work with someone, it doesn’t mean you click and ‘get each other.’  John and I got each other and I dare say we still do.

My book “Raised on the Radio” (to be released next year) will share plenty of stories of Howell & me, so I don’t want to spoil too much right now.  But I will give you a taste of what’s coming.  By the way, John will try to downplay my stories by putting his own spin on the past. However, with my keen and eidetic memory you can trust only me for the real and unvarnished truth to our history together.

BROTHERS IN SOUND AT A RADIO FUNCTION ON THE LOOK-OUT FOR SOME FREE BEERS AND FREE EATS.

Some of what you’ll read in “Raised on the Radio” include things like:

How I was responsible for John meeting and marrying his first wife Cindy and me being one of John’s groomsmen at their fantastic wedding. I think both sides have forgiven me for that.  I mean they both still talk to me.

Our many adventures at concerts like the Rolling Stones and yes, the Rod Stewart debacle.

Hanging out at Cubs and Sox games in box seats and luxury skybox suites.

Listener parties on night time cruises, the Navy Pier Ballroom and many bars and night clubs.

Carousing with women. (This before John met and married Cindy and me, I’m still looking for the right woman who can stand my presence enough to marry me)

The post-morning show breakfasts at Le Bordeaux which vacillated between omelets and pancakes and other times, vodka and beer slamming.  There were also power lunches at Redamaks back when they had an eatery on Lincon Avenue.

The morning show remote broadcasts including a weeklong stone groove in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Then there’s us being canned from WCKG which would eventually lead to our reuniting at country music juggernaut WUSN US*99 when I signed on there in June of 1993.

Some of the US*99 fun included Bears trips to Tampa Bay with listeners, lots of ratings success, the rise of Garth Brooks and other country stars, the 9/11 evacuation and more memorable times both on and off the air.

The best thing besides working with John as I did, was that he showed me how to get the most fun out of a job that was a f—ing blast at all times.  Thanks for that Big John!

HANGING OUT IN TAMPA BAY WITH SOME BUCS’ CHEERLEADERS. GOOD CLEAN FUN AS ALWAYS.

So, John Howell is off the air.  No word on if he’s actually going to retire or not but I think we’ll hear from him again. Howell still has a lot to say. The funny thing is back at WCKG when we were a struggling morning show trying to find its groove, John often fretted to me that his time in Chicago would not last long. I told him to not worry and take things one day and one show at a time.  The guy lasted from the spring of 1988 until the late summer of 2023.  Through classic rock, country music, oldies and talk radio, thirty-five years is a damn fine run!  Well done pal, well done.

NEXT BLOG: Not sure yet. I’ll let you know…

Some random thoughts from my head to your eyes.

Cubs Craze- While I’ve always been more of a White Sox supporter than a Cubs fan, watching David Ross’ club this year has been lots of fun.  I realized I’m just a fan of baseball and like seeing the game played well.  That’s happening way more on the north side of Chicago than down on the south side.  Sox fans, maybe next year.

CODY BELLINGER’S HOT BAT AND GLOVE IS ONE OF THE REASONS THE CUBS ARE CONTENDERS THIS YEAR.

HBO No.  Last month in an effort to trim down my cable bill I put a deep six to subscribing to HBO.  This is the first time I haven’t had that set of channels on my TV in 36 years.  Guess what?  I really don’t miss it!  I mean how many times can you watch “Knocked Up” or “Doc Hollywood” in your lifetime?  I will miss the monthly “Real Sports” show but can always re-up to HBO if I get the right deal from Comcast.

MISSING HBO CHANNELS? NOT SO FAR.

Stone Groove– I really like the new Rolling Stones single “Angry.”  It’s their first original recording in 18 years and their new 12 song album “Hackney Diamonds” comes out next month.  While I believe the concept of full album releases is outdated, “Angry” has a great guitar riff and Mick Jagger and the backing vocals bring this cut alive. It’s probably the band’s best single since tracks from the “Voo Doo Lounge” album which came out almost 30 years ago.  By the way, the video featuring “Euphoria” hottie Sydney Sweeney is fun to watch.  (Though I do wish she was wearing a seatbelt)

HOTTIE ACTRESS SYDNEY SWEENEY RIDES THRU L.A. IN THE BAND’S NEW VIDEO.

A hungry heart but an upset stomach- It’s a good thing Chicago concert fans got to see Bruce Springsteen rock Wrigley Field last month because the Boss has now pulled off the road due to illness.  In a surprisingly open statement, Bruce announced he’s battling a peptic ulcer and needs to follow doctor’s orders to take a few weeks off from playing live.  Earlier this year I remember reading that Springsteen was following a fitness regimen where he only ate one meal a day.  I’m no doctor but I wonder if that strange food plan contributed to his ulcer issue. 

SPRINGSTEEN TURNS 74 THIS MONTH AND IS RECUPERATING FROM A PEPTIC ULCER. HOPE HE’S BACK ON THE ROAD SOON.

Morons, your bus is leaving!  I don’t want to dedicate a whole blog to these goofs but I’ve had enough seeing TV and online updates on the following twits:

Britney Spears cutting loose and slutty since news of a coming divorce came out. The more skin Britney reveals the more desperate she looks.  (P.S. on B.S. – I’ve NEVER found her to be attractive. She tries WAY too hard to look hot)

Kevin Costner’s soon to be ex-wife whining that she could not raise her kids on $161,000 dollars a month.  Bravo to Costner and his lawyers who got a judge to knock his monthly support down to a more sensible $63,000 a month.  Maybe next time the monthly draw can be bumped down to $6,300 a month.

Kanye West has taken to parading his new wife around in tight, bizarre clothes that make her look like a shiny mannequin.  I never thought Kanye would stoop to the point where ex-wife Kim Kardashian looks like the sane and normal one. However, that has happened.

Next blog– A tribute to Big John Howell.

Jimmy Buffett has been a fun part of so many lives for what seems like forever.  And now, he’s passed on to that tropical paradise where the cheeseburgers are cooked to perfection, the margaritas flow and nobody blows out a flip flop. 

While I remember liking his major hit “Margaritaville” when it was on the 1977 music charts and radio, it wasn’t until a few years later that I got into more of Jimmy’s music.  A co-worker during my summer job at the Elmhurst Park District mentioned going to a Buffett concert and what a wild party it was.  A few years later I experienced that wild party myself. 

I saw the Parrot-head leader in concert several times.  Twice when working at Q-101 where major Buffett fan Robert Murphy (and my boss at the time) hosted pre-party and skybox events for listeners.  The only negative encounter was at a Poplar Creek concert where I had to step around puddles of vomit left by some doubled over college boys who downed a few too many boat drinks.

Seeing Jimmy Buffett in concert was always the best party ever!

While working at Q-101, I got Jimmy on the phone for a visit when he was in town to sing the 7^th inning stretch at a Cubs game.  The way we rounded him up was kind of tricky. Robert Murphy spotted a naked Buffett (save for his flip flops) at a downtown Chicago gym and called me with the scoop.  I quickly rang that gym and had Jimmy paged.  Sure enough, the guy came to the phone and agreed to do a phoner with us the next morning.  Jimmy laughed at how he was tracked down.  Not that we were stalkers, but that was a funny way to score a show guest.

Music wise, my all-time favorite Buffett song will always be “Son of a Son of Sailor.”  Maybe it’s because I was the ‘son of a sailor’ myself.  There’s no way to count how many times I’ve sung that tune to a karaoke track on my home computer.  Some day I’ll have to warble it at a karaoke bar.

Besides his own self-created songs, Buffett did great covers of Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Crosby Stills and Nash’s “Southern Cros” which were concert staples of his.  Another favorite of mine was one he co-wrote with Clint Black titled “Happiness Alone.”  Clint was a friend of Jimmy’s and I’m sure he’s grateful for getting to collaborate on that track back in the early 90’s.

Jimmy also wrote and recorded songs for movies and plays.  The best being “I Don’t Know’ (Spicoli’s Theme) from the great “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” soundtrack.

For many decades, seeing a Buffett concert was a summertime ritual for hundreds of thousands of Parrot-heads.  In later years, I sometimes wondered what life would be like for them if Jimmy wasn’t on the road performing.  Sadly, due to his recent health issues, that summer happened this year.   And there will be no more Buffett show summers to look forward to. 

A friend of mine noted Mr. Margaritaville was a good example of a life coach.  No doubt on that!  I always admired how self-actualized the guy was.  You talk about someone who ran his own show and did all he wanted, that was Jimmy Buffett.

As another pal noted- ‘So very few lived that way, and yet so many want to’.  Lessons well learned from Jimmy Buffett.