On November 26. 2019 all of us at WMGK got up very early for John DeBella’s annual turkey drop. John was at the Kimmel Center in center city, while the rest of us were station at 12 different Acme locations through the Delaware Valley. I was stationed at the Clifton Heights, PA store.
Our mission was the same as all the other years. Collect as many turkeys and/ or cash as we can from listeners while standing out in front of the store doing are best to stay warm. The listeners warmed us up by opening their hearts and pocketbooks.
Once again, this year the giving and generous spirit was out in full force. The final tally will not be known until the Monday after Thanksgiving because we are still encouraging people who couldn’t come up to donate online.
On November 22, 2019, the 54th annual induction of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia took place at the Hilton Hotel on City Avenue in Philadelphia. It was a night of laughter and holding back the tears.
I had the pleasure to be Co-MC for the predinner interviews and, as such, talked to several of the honorees prior to the induction. Of course, they were all excited for the night’s activities. It is very much like going to the Oscar or Emmy Awards. Those who I interviewed told me that they had friends and relatives attending that came from all over the country to witness their induction.
On Monday evening November 18, 2019 a gentle giant signed off. My friend, Gene Arnold, may not be known by many of you who are reading this, but please read on.
One of the very first on air people I met when I started at WIFI was Gene Arnold. He was already into Album Rock, so he was most encouraging.
Gene went on to do much for the new music Rock community. Below I have a couple of links that can give you a better understanding of just how much he did in his career. He did it all. He was a performer, writer, producer and had one the very best voices in radio.
The “Grumpy Old Rock Star Tour” found its way to the Scottish Rite Cathedral on October 11, 2019. Rick was anything but grumpy. And the sold-out crowd loved every second of it.
When I spoke to him (see Podcasts) he told me that his show was a combination of piano playing and silly stories. He was more than well equipped to do both.
Many people do not know just how funny this man, who is very serious about his music, can be. Those who were in the audience last night who didn’t know prior to the show quickly found out. From the time Rick walked on stage (almost on time) he had the audience totally captivated with his unusual show.
Back in the late 60’s when I was on the air at WDAS FM there were two rumors that kept popping up. The biggest one was that Paul McCartney was dead. The other was that Ginger Baker was dead. Fortunately, Paul is still alive after all these years, but unfortunately Ginger Baker died on October 6, 2019.
After my first encounter with the dynamic redhead, I was convinced that Ginger Baker was too feisty to ever die! His battles with fellow member of Cream, Jack Bruce, were legendary. Now 2/3 of Cream are gone.
In my book “Confessions of a Teenage Disc Jockey” I gave a full account of the night that I was able to convince both Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker to come to the WDAS FM studios for an interview. Eric was more than willing, but Ginger had to take a little more convincing. Perhaps the fact that Jack Bruce was coming helped. I didn’t know at the time that the two were consistently at odds, so it was a bit of luck that I was unable to even find Bruce to convince him.
It was the perfect night for a cookout and ZZ TOP and Cheap Trick did the cooking. Either band could have been the headliner, but apparently Cheap Trick lost the coin toss and went on first. Why not? The last time ZZ Top was at the BB&T Center just over a year ago as part of WMGK’s Heavy Hitters Concert, they opened for John Fogerty.
Before either act took the stage there was an unannounced act. A young blues singer named Marquise Knox and his band played their brand of Blues/Rock. It was an interesting mixture of the old and the new. Later Marquise was invited to play with Cheap Trick. It is always good that established acts are so willing to help new ones. That is how the music gets carried on.
I had a chance to talk with Marquise after his performance. He informed me that they have a new album coming out in 2020. He is lucky to even be alive or be able to perform. Last year he was stabbed in the neck after a performance in his home base of St. Louis. He is actually from Bowling Green, MO, an hour and a half from St. Louis. More information is available on his website http://www.Marquiseknoxblues.com.
Just as I was getting ready to write a review of last night’s Z Z Top and Cheap Trick concert, word came of the death of Ric Ocasek. This on the heals of Eddie Money’s death was a real double whammy. They say that these deaths come in threes. Let’s certainly hope not. We have lost enough talent already.
It was a day not to forget. When the first Cars album came out there was the usual hype from their record company. The promo guy from Electra Records was certain that they had a huge hit on their hands. OK, that has been said of many groups before that never made an impact.
After putting the debut Cars album on the turntable, you could tell from the very first few notes that this group was different. In an age of Progressive Rock getting more and more complex, the first cut “Good Times Roll” was unique. So, what else does the group have to offer?
On a Friday the thirteenth that also featured the rare occurrence of a full moon on that date, it was announced that Eddie Money died of esophageal Cancer. Eddie probably would have seen some humor in that.
The first time I met Eddie many years ago when he was first starting out, it was very evident that he found humor in most things. He was so upbeat. He laughed about how he also most became a New York City cop.
His grandfather and brother were policemen in New York City. So, it really wasn’t a big surprise that under his real name of Eddie Mahoney, he went to the police academy. He told me that while he passed the course, he never actually was on the force. NYPD’s loss was our gain.
As the name would indicate, August 24, 2019 was a night of some heavy hitting. Two of the biggest names in Rock music were part of the WMGK Heavy Hitters Concert. The Phillies should have as many hits.
With the long list of hits from both acts, you could flip a coin to pick the headliner. The Doobies did go on first and they were both right on time and right on the mark.
Like so many classic rock bands, the lineup has changed over the years, but the heart and soul of the band remains. Patrick Simmons, and Tom Johnston have been working together on and off since the early 70’s. John McFee has also become a solid fixture.
Just before dawn on June 6, 2019 one of music’s most talented and colorful musicians, Malcom John Rebennack, died of a heart attack. His friends from the Crescent City knew him as Mac. The rest of the world knew him as Dr. John.
Before it was fashionable to create an alter ego, Dr John became the night tripper. He wore the garb of the Creoles of New Orleans and spread his magic dust known as Gris-Gris. The character was loosely based on a real person named Dr John who was sort of Voodoo medicine man and healer.
Dr. John was one of the best interviews that I ever did. He was funny and developed his own hip way of talking. In addition, he had a wealth of stories to tell and didn’t mind relating any and all of them. I could have listened to him for hours. It seemed like there was no one that he didn’t play with or know personally.
Unlike last year’s Philadelphia Bar Association’s race that was held in a downpour, the sun was bright and the skies were clear. It appeared to have drawn a record group who seemed to be full of spirit for a very good cause.
The race which benefits the Support Center for Child Advocates is held every year on the third Sunday in May. For the past several years T. Morgan has served as the Grand Marshall for the event. He was at the finish line helping with the prizes and posing for pictures. Below see the pictures of those who won prizes. Hopefully we got all the names right. Please let us know if there was a mistake and we will be happy to correct it.
You can see pictures for the previous few years by going to the News & Events section. We hope this will encourage some of you to take part next year.
The only sad part of the day was that it was the last time that the man who started the event 40 years ago, is stepping down as the race director. Manny Pokotilow has worked very hard to make this annual race a huge success. It will be very hard to fill his shoes. We all want to thank him for his service over those forty years.
Hear T. Morgan talk about this event on a podcast by clicking here!
At their monthly luncheon held on May 15, 2019 The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia at the Bala Golf Club, there was a tribute to one of Philadelphia’s most popular and successful stations since 1975. The highlight was a panel of present and past on air talent.
Sadly, the event was scheduled to be televised, but owning to technical issues, it was not. Audio of the entire panel will be available in a couple weeks on the BP website. Those on the T. Morgan mailing list will receive a notice when it becomes available.
The MC for the event was T. Morgan who is celebrating 28 years at WMGK this month. The panel consisted of current afternoon DJ Andre Gardner, Mike Bowe who did afternoons for many on the station, Harvey of Harvey in the morning, Sue Serio former night jock, and Bob Craig former program director.
Twenty one years ago a tradition of having a Rock ‘n’ Roll Lunch was started. The 2019 version took place on Wednesday March 20th at the Bala Golf Club. A large roster of acts had those attending the luncheon dancing and clapping their hands.
Among the many that performed were: Danny & the Juniors, Rich Ritchie of The Rip chords, Kenny Jeremiah of The Soul Survivors. Rich Jordon of The Jordon Brothers, Eddie Collins music director for The Drifters, Billy Carlucci lead singer for Billy and The Essentials and the headliners Jimmy Clanton The grand finale was to have the entire cast of performers on the stage at the same time all singing together.
The old time rockers showed they still had their stuff. “Rock and Roll is here to Stay” by Danny & The Juniors had everyone singing along. The sold out crowd further showed their appreciation with several standing ovations.
