Carpenters on XM Radio

[Mike Blakesley]

I've been listening to the 70s channel on XM for a few days, and have heard alot of Carpenters. Mostly the major hits, but at this moment they're playing the full-length version of "Calling Occupants." There's proof that XM really gets deep into the catalog!

 

[Chris May]

Hey Mike...

I just signed up for XM-Radio online and sure enough...."Yesterday Once More" is playing! Thanks....

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Now they're playing "Yesterday Once More." Over the past few days I've heard "Rainy Days," "Hurting Each Other," "Sing," "Top of the World," "A Kind of Hush," and "Goodbye to Love."

Amazingly, I haven't heard "Close To You" or "We've Only Just Begun." (Yet.)

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

What exactly is XM radio?

 

[andywithaz]

XM is XM Satellite radio.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

www.xmradio.com

 

[Michael Hagerty]

I've been an XM listener for 2 and a half years now. It's terrific. A friend, Bruce Kelly, programs the 80s channel. He tells me that there are over one million tracks and growing in the XM library.

A special treat is "It"...where they play literally every hit, chronologically, beginning on the 40s channel, and moving to the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. "It" takes five or six weeks to play, and is absolutely astonishing in its scope. I haven't heard anything, but I'd bet on their doing "It" again around Memorial Day or the Fourth of July.'

As for matters closer to our hearts...I've heard every major Carpenters hit at one time or another on XM. The only place they fall short is the rest of early A&M...not nearly enough Alpert or Sergio or Bacharach, though as Herb and Sergio's work is re-isssued on CD, that may change.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[Mark-T]

Is your friend Bruce Kelly the guy that used to be on the air in LA radio in the 70s/80s, maybe earlier or later (the brain isnt functioning well)?
Was he "Machine Gun" Kelly?

 

[Michael Hagerty]

Nope. Two different guys. "Machine Gun" Kelly is still using that name (and/or the initials "M.G." Kelly), hosting the syndicated shows "American Hit List" and "The Amazing 80s". He was at KHJ in Los Angeles from 1974-1978, and KTNQ (Ten-Q) from 1978-1979. He left radio to pursue a then-budding acting career (he was the DJ in "A Star Is Born"...the one Kris Kristofferson throws a case of booze at...through the studio window...and a shady priest in the Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry flick "The Enforcer"). Since the 80s, he's done a few day-to-day radio jobs (including a couple of years at KOOL here in Phoenix in the 90s), but has focused mainly on the syndicated weekend shows. www.mgkelly.com

Machine Gun Kelly is most often confused with "Shotgun Tom" Kelly...who replaced the Real Don Steele at K-Earth in Los Angeles when Steele died in 1997. But again, a different guy. www.shotguntomkelly.com

Bruce Kelly has spent most of his career in Washington, D.C. and Phoenix...at WPGC in the early 80s...then a long run here at KZZP, Y95 and Power 92...then back to D.C in the mid-90s...back to KZZP in the late 90s...and finally, to XM in 2001. I'd post a link to Bruce's page at XM, but for some reason, the connection is very slow today. Just go to www.xmradio.com, click on "decades" and click on 80s.

---Michael Hagerty

 

[Rudy]

I've been an XM listener for 2 and a half years now. It's terrific. A friend, Bruce Kelly, programs the 80s channel. He tells me that there are over one million tracks and growing in the XM library.

I'd believe it. I rarely tune in XM8 (80s), but I have spent a lot of time on XM5 (50s on 5) and really haven't heard much of this music before...the depth is indeed amazing. The weekly shows are incredible also--Rockabilly Road Trip is a regular visit for me, and I also enjoy Pink & Black Days, Night Prowl, and Harlem (which is early pre-rock R&B). The 50s is even more interesting since the dawn of rock & roll comes midway through the decade, so a lot of the pop standards and instrumental songs are mixed in as well.

The DJs, especially, are a treat: they are industry veterans (like Bruce Kelly) who know this music inside and out, and you can tell that they are genuinely excited to be doing this, playing music they like, and that they *want* to play.

All I can say is, if anyone's wondering where all the fun in radio listening went, it ended up at XM. There definitely is something for everyone. And the free trial is worth signing up for. They only need a valid e-mail address...so if you have more than one, well, enjoy it!

A special treat is "It"...where they play literally every hit, chronologically, beginning on the 40s channel, and moving to the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. "It" takes five or six weeks to play, and is absolutely astonishing in its scope. I haven't heard anything, but I'd bet on their doing "It" again around Memorial Day or the Fourth of July.'

I think you can still catch "It" on either the 60s or 70s right now--it was on 50s late last week. So it'll make its way (no pun intended ) to the 80s I would guess within the next few days. I think they ran it for the New Year.

As for matters closer to our hearts...I've heard every major Carpenters hit at one time or another on XM. The only place they fall short is the rest of early A&M...not nearly enough Alpert or Sergio or Bacharach, though as Herb and Sergio's work is re-isssued on CD, that may change.

I've heard a couple of unusual Brasil '66 choices, and on XM6 one day, heard Herb's "This Guy's In Love With You". I do hear Carpenters occasionally when I hit XM7.