TJB on the radio

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mikeargo

mikeargo

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It's been decades since Herb Alpert & the TJB could be heard regularly on any radio band, anywhere (I remember back in 1968-69 it seemed like you couldn't go half an hour without "This Guy's in Love With You" playing on the radio). The only local (central Texas area) station that gives the TJB any airplay at all is PBS-affiliate KNCT, 91.3FM out of Killeen, with exactly one tune in their "simply beautiful music" rotation, "Lollipops & Roses." A few months ago I e-mailed the station, urging them to get more TJB songs into the programming. I don't know if I succeeded, but last night I heard "This Guy's" coming out of my radio again for the first time in years, so that's twice as many TJB tunes in the mix now. Maybe they'll pick up even more when the reissues start appearing.

I was wondering if anybody else ever hears the vintage TJB stuff on radio anywhere out there?

Mike A
 
Westwood One's satellite "Adult Standards" format plays the big TJB hits fairly regularly....but I'd love to hear "Flamingo" or "Zazuiera".

---Michael Hagerty
 
I lived in Texas myself about fifteen years back, and I remember hearing "This Guy's ..." a small handful of times on the radio while living there, but I don't remember hearing any other TJB tunes, and I haven't heard ANYTHING by the TJB on the radio since I moved back north.

Same goes for Herb's solo stuff; I never hear any of it on the radio anymore. I hear it all the time in public (i.e. in stores/malls, hotels, restaurants, etc.) especially "Route 101" (that one seems to pop up everywhere for me) but never on the radio.

The closest thing to a Herb or TJB record I hear on the radio anymore is the "Rise" sample on the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Hypnotize." Sad, huh?

Jeff F.
 
We have a local computer-controlled AM station that plays a mix of 50s-to70s. They play "Lonely Bull" and "This Guy" quite frequently.
 
The FM radio station 99.1 WMYX from Milwaukee, Wisconsin has been playing continuous Christmas music since November 24. Occasionally I'll hear a selection or two from HA & TJB's Christmas Album. They usually play "Winter Wonderland" or "Jingle Bell Rock". I wish they would play more tracks from the CD instead of the same 10 songs.

:bigsanta:
 
Some nostalgia stations (like CKWW, from Canada, which we're in the fringe reception area for) play more TJB and A&M in general. Occasionally on an oldies station, I'd hear "This Guy's..." mainly because it was a #1 Billboard hit. I did hear "Tijuana Taxi" a couple of times on the old Kiss-FM (WKSG, 102.7FM) back in the 80s. Lately, forget it--too "corporate" around here.

I am sure XM Radio plays the TJB--most likely on the 60s channel, and "Sunny". But those are stations I don't listen to very often. (I seem to be addicted to the 50s channel, and "Frank's Place". :D )
 
In addition to the two TJB tunes I've heard, KNCT does play some other great A&M stuff, including some Brasil '66 selections ("Night and Day," "The Look of Love," and maybe one or two more from the first 3-4 A&M albums) and quite a bit more Carpenters. Though the emphasis is what we used to call "easy listening," they do have some classic Sinatra, Bennett, etc. in rotation. And they have a great big-band lineup on Sundays for seven hours. (You can listen online at knct.org, so I gather the programming is mostly computer-controlled.)

I sure miss that A&M-only online radio programming from a couple years back...who was it here at the Corner who was running it?...that had to shut down for some reason or other.

Mike A.
 
That all A&M internet thing is now just a private Live365 station. (IOW, you have to sign up and pay as a Live365 listener before you can hear it.) It was free for awhile, then they started wanting more and more fees for it...and I had four active stations at one point. The only way I could ever offer it again would be to get donations to pay toward a licensing company and a Shoutcast server, and it's not cheap. For the few who could listen to it, it's probably not worth it.
 
Thanks, Rudy, for the clarification. I still miss your station. It was the only music I could listen to while I work (legal editing); everything else is too distracting except concert music (or "classical" if you prefer), so nowadays I work in silence and just run an A&M program in my head!

Tony Currie, if you're out there, are you still broadcasting your lounge music show? Our shortwave set has been in the shop for a while but I should have it out of hock soon.

Mike A.
 
I don't recall exactly how much I had, but I remember when I took all the A&M programming off for a few weeks and put on all Holiday songs, I had a running time of over 25 hours of programming! Thing is, back then, there were only two options: your show ran in a continuous loop (which means if you had programming every 6, 8, 12 or 24 hours, listeners would hear the same things at the same time every day), or random (which was anyone's guess as to how they sequenced it). It was fun, too, especially with Steve Sidoruk's collection of A&M-related radio and TV jingles mixed into it. :) He still operates the station, took it over for me since he still had Live365 access.
 
mikeargo said:
Thanks, Rudy, for the clarification. I still miss your station. It was the only music I could listen to while I work (legal editing); everything else is too distracting except concert music (or "classical" if you prefer), so nowadays I work in silence and just run an A&M program in my head!

Tony Currie, if you're out there, are you still broadcasting your lounge music show? Our shortwave set has been in the shop for a while but I should have it out of hock soon.

Mike A.
Click to expand...

Well, THE LIVELY LOUNGE is having a short rest, but there's a special edition of it on January 2nd at 0105UTC (That's New Year's Day at 8.05pm Eastern).

But of more interest (I guess!) is THE ALPERT COLLECTION which airs on December 23rd at 0105UTC (That's Wednesday December 22nd at 8.05pm Eastern) and will be a nonstop mix of Herb's music from 1963 - 2004.

You can hear the shows on 5,105kHz shortwave or at www.radiosix.com
 
Tony, both those shows sound great, especially the upcoming Herb Alpert mix on the 22d. Now that's what I want to hear on the radio! Thanks for your part in keeping this great material alive.

Mike A
 
TonyCurrie said:
You can hear the shows on 5,105kHz shortwave or at www.radiosix.com
Click to expand...

Question for anyone in the eastern half of the U.S.: how's the reception of this station? It seems I'd have to find a shortwave radio with digital tuning, to make sure I'm on the right frequency, and hope I can pick it up here in Michigan.

I'll still tune in via the internet, though...just that the shortwave thing intrigues me a bit. :)
 
I tried tuning in one time on one of the Sunday evening shows. I think it was back in the warmer weather period. Unfortunately I'd picked the WRONG week as the show was airing every OTHER week.

I keep forgetting to check, but the time I DID tune into the station, the reception was so-so at best. I'll have to give it another listen.

Harry
 
I just wonder if a good portable would pick it up, or if we'd be better off not bothering if better equipment is needed (such as a roof antenna).
 
I was using a portable Sony worldband receiver - digital tuning. With the sun setting much earlier now than when I tried it, I might get better reception - or it could be worse. Don't know, I'll have to try it out.

Harry
 
From what I remember, the signals "bounce" through the atmosphere much better after sundown. So yes, I bet you would get better reception in the evening.

My uncle used to have a Grundig tubed AM/FM/shortwave radio. Neat feature was the greenish-blue "magic eye" tuning device. I bet even that old radio would pick up the station. :)
 
Rudy, your talk of the Grundig brings back memories of my Father`s Zenith Trans Oceanic 12 band short wave radio. When I was in high school, I listened to that radio for countles hours. Ah, the good old days...
 
I've had XM's "Sunny" station on here at the store pretty much nonstop for the past few days since it's all-Christmas, all the time. They play a nice variety, but I was lamenting never hearing any of the TJB. (Figured maybe they just didn't have the album... I even considering emailing them with an offer to copy my CD for them.)

But then today I heard "My Favorite Things!" A double bonus for me since that's my favorite track off the Christmas Album.

The Sunny channel is nice, but they really need somewhere to play more upbeat pop like the TJB and Mendes and Bacharach. None of them really fit into the Sunny (easy-listening) mode, or any other mode for that matter I guess.
 
Harry said:
Those Grundig "magic-eye" radios were quite the object of desire for a future radio geek like myself. Two different family friends had them, and I was always fascinated by them.
Click to expand...

That photo you pointed too--it's very similar to what my uncle's looked like. His had the same "piano key" band seletors, and the magic eye was on the left. It had a nice warm sound to it also. :)
 
Mike Blakesley said:
The Sunny channel is nice, but they really need somewhere to play more upbeat pop like the TJB and Mendes and Bacharach. None of them really fit into the Sunny (easy-listening) mode, or any other mode for that matter I guess.
Click to expand...

I haven't tuned in much--I've been playing either Frank's Place or 50s on 5, and they are throwing in an occasional Christmas tune.

Strange--I think it was on Frank's Place that I heard "Watch What Happens" by Brasil '66. Certainly an odd choice, being just an album track!
 
Just for the record: I’m currently using a Sangean ATS818 shortwave radio. I used to be a Sony man, but found the Sangean to have nicer sound and a little better look and feel to it (IMHO). I still use my Sony portable loop antenna with it; works great.
 
We recorded "THE ALPERT COLLECTION" last night and I hope it goes down well with the gang here. I've tried to avoid the predictable, so there are no Fleas, Taxis, Rise or Eyes. But it's an entertaining 54 minutes and I hope it will appeal equally to fans and to those who know little or nothing about Herb.
 
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