The text is hard to read on the blog, but here are direct links to the images in the photo album:
Image 1 Image 2 Image 3
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Arizona State Press Article...
Dan G. asked that I post these scans of an article about KDKB from the Arizona State Press. I've also uploaded them to the KCAC Lives! photo album (link in the left sidebar). Thanks, Dan!
The text is hard to read on the blog, but here are direct links to the images in the photo album:
Image 1 Image 2 Image 3
The text is hard to read on the blog, but here are direct links to the images in the photo album:
Image 1 Image 2 Image 3
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24 comments:
Daniel, thanks so much for posting the article. long live Bill's spirit! Dan Griffin
Daniel, Dan
Excellent post, interesting reading.
For those of you that might have missed the source mentioned in an earlier posting by Dan Griffin, the source is ASU State Press 1975.
Anonymous Too
Wow! A couple of KCAC era culture heroes named Dan! Do you two know each other?! If not we've gotta fix that soon! Next KCAC Lives Reunion? How about it Daniel? Fall sound good to you for travel?
Daniel, you're so great! You always come to the rescue! I got Dan's scans yesterday and was going to call you today to ask you how to do it. I knew you had the chops to get that done after the beautiful job you did with posting all that info on Rebirth newspaper.
And Daniel, you linked us up to so much amazing info from that cherished time in our lives (for a collection of wonderful photos, clips, etc from Daniel and others, the Rebirth archives from several years ago can't be outdone!
And Dan Griffin! God Bless You (!) for hanging on to that article! You are probably the only person in AZ who has a copy of that...maybe even the planet!! What other treasures do you have hanging around?
You both have inspired be to do some renewed searching through my late 1960's and 1970's boxes in earnest. I sure wish I'd had the foresight to keep all the mementos I had on my living room walls. Come to think of it, somewhere in my stored stuff I do have an original Krazy Dog Krazy Boy poster and also a KCAC Radio poster.
Liz Boyle has some really awesome treasures as well (besides being a Valley treasure herself!) Not to mention a mental diary of music trivia that is up there with the best of 'em. My memento mind is working overtime. Yeah, a Joni Mitchell ticket from Montreal very early 1970's) Rolling Stones (tickets from Bill Compton) and Joplin ticket stubs, Hendrix at ASU Activity Center of all places (anyone out there at that one?!) Sonny and Cher at some club on the west side before they hit it mega big and appeared at the STATE FAIR! (o: Who knew what was to come for the furry vested ones? What do you all have?
Of course we all first heard Joni and the rest of the icons of our age from Bill Compton-those and so many of our not so well known musical heroes. It's hard to fathom what the Valley would have missed if it weren't for Bill, Hank, Marty, Toad, Russ et al. And it's so sad to know that our kids won't ever know the pleasure of turning on the car radio to free form music, insightful news and commentary, live music, interviews, comedy, even fun commercials!
People couldn't get enough of all the great memories Marty Manning brought in that cardboard box of treasures to the KCAC Lives Reunion at Alwun House. Marty just just left it on the table for all of us to browse through. So very cool.
We are so lucky that Tom Wright and Marty are devoting so much love and energy into the KCAC tapes they are restoring. The work is truly tedious, as well as being fun, no doubt. I love it when I get a surprise call from Tom about some new tidbit he's found.
So what's everyone out there got? If we start anew now, maybe we could finish posting everyone's stuff by, say, 'in the year 2525' (did they know something we don't know?) Man what an odd 60's song that one was, Zager and Evans (?) called "one of the most horrible songs ever recorded" LOL
What a wonderful reflection - and a long unseen picture of Bill...smiling!
Very cool:)
Does anybody know when the State Press article was published? I'd guess 1973 or 1974. Bill mentions Zappa's "Dynamo Hum" which I think came out in 1973.
FYI - work on the Crawford Collection of 20+ KCAC tapes is resuming now that I've ditched Windows Vista and removed some buggy software. Still a few glitches to work out but I think some real progress will be made very soon.
Tom
Tom,
The work you have been doing on the tapes is a huge job. Jeff Crawford is SO generous to have given them to you so you and Marty can rescue the tapes for posterity sake. Can't say it enough...you guys are all tremendous.
I don't remember if Jeff Crawford and his wife came to the KCAC Lives gathering we had a couple of years ago, do you? We have to be sure to get them in the loop for the next one if they weren't!
Hi Tom, the State Press article is from 2-11-1976..I have some old reel to reel tapes with some old KDKB airplay around 1976-1977. The KDKB 1976 aircheck on the blog is one of my old tapes.. I'll see if I can dig up some more of those old tapes and get them to a MP3 format... Dan
2525 was called one of the most horrible songs ever recorded? By who, one person in the entire world? And what were his/her qualifications? That was before my times, but seems to me it was one of the more popular songs of the times.
And why would anyone even say that about the song, the lyrics, the music?
Elaine
According to Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell, authors of The Worst Rock and Roll Records of All Time (1991), who place the song at number six on their list of the 50 worst rock-and-roll singles, "science fiction and rock and roll don't mix any better than Zsa Zsa Gabor and reality". Others differ, calling the one-hit wonder "prophetic"
Oddly, the song appeared on the list of songs deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel following the September 11, 2001 attacks. It would seem the only connection to the terrorist attacks is the song's apocalyptic tone. The subject matter is completely different although one could say that the unnecessarily widespread dissemination of a dangerous technology--jet aircraft flight knowledge--led to the attacks, and the song's lyrics warn of overusage and overdependence on technology.
The overriding theme, of a world doomed by its passive acquiescence to and overdependence on its own overdone technologies, struck a resonant chord in millions of people around the world in the 1960s. The song is based on a nightmarish vision of the future as man's technological inventions gradually dehumanize him. The song includes a sly colloquial reference to the Second Coming (In the year 7510, if God's a' coming, He ought to make it by then.) which echoed the zeitgeist of the Jesus Movement.
The song also references examples of technologies that were not fully developed but were known to the public in 1969, such as robots, as well as future technology that would come into existence long after being prophesied in the song, the science of test tube babies and genetic selection by parents of their future children. Such a concept had been explored in a few science fiction novels but had not yet been mentioned in the mainstream media until "In The Year 2525" was released in 1969.
The song opens with the words "In the year 2525, If man is still alive, If woman can survive, They may find...". Subsequent verses pick up the story at 1010-year intervals from 2525 to 6565. Disturbing predictions are given for each selected year. In the year 3535, for example, all of a person's actions, words and thoughts will be preprogrammed into a daily pill. Then the pattern as well as the music changes and verses for the years 7510, 8510 and 9595 follow.
The song has no chorus. Amid ominous-sounding orchestral music, the final dated chronological verse reads In the year 9595, I'm kinda wonderin' if Man is gonna be alive. He's taken everything this old Earth can give, and he ain't put back nothing, whoa-whoa...
Thus making specific an underlying environmental message of the song. The summary verse concludes: Now it's been 10,000 years, Man has cried a billion tears, For what, he never knew. Now man's reign is through. But through eternal night, The twinkling of starlight. So very far away, Maybe it's only yesterday.), before the song effectively "starts over" with the first verse again and then fades out. Thus leaving open the possibility that "we went through this before," and life is now at the start of another cycle.
It is not common for a recording artist to have a number one hit single and then never have another chart single for the rest of their career. "In the Year 2525" gave Zager and Evans this dubious status twice. They were, and remain, the only act to do this in both the U.S. and UK singles charts.
Their followup single on RCA-Victor, "Mr. Turnkey" (a song about a rapist who nails his own wrist to the wall as punishment for his crime), failed to chart.
Just an old guy from the 60's...
Source: Wikipedia
Thanks old guy from the 60's
So, 2 people out of the millions of people who heard the '2525' song rated it as one of the most horrible songs ever recorded. And they didn't give a reason?
But you posted way more information than necessary, you could have just given the URL link to the site.
Actually, if I had know your source was Wikipedia, I wouldn't have read it as Wikipedia is full of so much misinformation that it's not a trust worthy source.
But thanks anyway old guy from the 60's, I appreciate your time and response.
Elaine
You are welcome. I remember that song very well. I like it alot myself, but it is full of doom and gloom so some people really hated it. I thought it might interest you about the history of the song. It was remarkable for its content, and would be today too. It seemed weird then but is prophetic for the world now.
I don't recall many other rock and roll songs that tool on subjects that deep, at least in the way these guys did it. Many folk music songwriters from the 1960's seem to have had some sense of prophecy, looking back. I am almost sixty now, my memory sucks about today, but I think of lots of trivial stuff from when I was young like yourself.
I kept journals and find gems in them occasionally about those days. My 26 year old son now likes to read them, and he told me about this website, I guess he reads it alot, which I find interesting since the history is not part of his past. Maybe the 1960's really were special. I like to think so.
I didn't know KCAC since I wasn't here, I was in fighting in Vietnam most of those years.. From the things I've read here it sounds like I missed something great and with meaning.
Tim Stafford
Tucson
Tom
"...almost sixty now...?" That's still young. You shouldn't have referred to yourself as "old guy from the 60's." And thanks for your service in the military, I personally appreciate it, and I'm sure the other KCAC readers do also.
Interesting comments you had on the '2525' song, I also think it was an excellent song.
That's a great idea keeping a journal, for yourself and for your son. They should teach everyone in grade school to keep a journal.
I think every decade was special, and the '60s no more special than other (hope this doesn't start a debate with the KCAC folks from the 60's). (:
Like your son, I enjoy a lot of what I read on this site, some of it I don't, but mostly I do. For example, RFP posting last week's playlist from House of Mercy. That posting just took up a lot of space, it's not like we could go somewhere and listen to the music on the playlist. RFP should have put that playlist on their own site and just gave a link to it for KCAC readers that might be interested.
But I'm being critical again, and I shouldn't.
Tom, thanks again for your above music background tidbits, and your military service, your son should be very proud of you.
Elaine
Hello again, everyone,
Thanks for the kind words, Mariah, and I'll second your praise for those who've given much to the community. This is a great little thread here, eh? Lots of really interesting reading, and I'm thanking all who posted, it's been a treat to read. A special note to Tim... I was in Vietnam in '66, prior to my time with Rebirth and the stations, and I'd like to say "Welcome home, brother, I'm glad you made it back. And thank you." Thanks to all the other vets who might be reading this, too. Man, I'm just full of gratitude tonight, eh? Well, it's true, we all have a whole lot to be profoundly grateful for. Blessings on all...
:~)
Daniel
I'm glad you made it back (from service) also (and all the other vets that might be reading this), I've been reading your blog and see you were in the Marines.
Have you (or Tom Stafford) been following the breaking story of Army Sgt. Richard G. Desautels? One boy that didn't make it back (Korea, not Vietnam). But not a topic for this blog.
Elaine
Hi, Elaine,
Good day to you! Thanks. I hadn't heard about Desautels, but did a web search and learned a little. There are still quite a number of our troops who are unaccounted for, and we shouldn't forget our POWs/MIAs. Thanks for the reminder.
:~)
Daniel,
You and people like Tim deserve such tremendous thanks for your courage there, and back here, when you returned and were not largely treated with the respect and appreciation you deserved.
For years I worked with Indo-Chinese refugees, 16 to 20 year olds from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Without exception these kids told me about wonderful things you brave soldiers did for them and their families in that time of turmoil, often at your own peril.
I have no doubt that you, Tim and so many others who served touched the lives of many during the war. My students often expressed to me their regret that they were never able to tell you soldiers thank you. On their behalf I tell you now of their deeply heartfelt gratitude.
Oh, good grief, Mariah, that brought tears to my eyes. We used to take our radio jeeps... other ones too, I guess, but I drove a radio jeep... down to the river not far from the local village to wash them. The kids from the village would cluster around begging to do the work for a pittance, and of course we were glad to oblige. We'd pick four or five and they'd swarm the jeep, which would be half-submerged in the dirty brown river water, laughing and shouting at each other... they always did a real good job, and we always paid 'em a little extra and often gave 'em some C-rations or something on the side. I noticed one kid, about five years old, who always kind of hung back, and he was always really quiet. Soon learned he was a deaf-mute. Made it a point to pick him along with a few others to wash my jeep if he was around. Got to know him a little, met his family (his grandparents - his parents had been killed in the war), found out they'd been told his hearing loss was correctable, but of course there was no way to get that done given the circumstances of their existence. I talked to the Battalion Medical Officer, and he got the kid authorization from the Red Cross for an exam and set him up with one. Indeed the problem was a bone structure thing, easily correctable with some relatively minor surgery. The doc began working on arrangements to get that done, and the family was excited about it. Especially the boy. He idolized me, of course, and in the midst of all that insanity it was nice to feel like I was doing something good. Then Cú (his name) was killed in an air strike in a village not far away. He'd gone there to visit his aunt and uncle and tell them the good news about his coming surgery and they were all killed. Napalm. His grandparents wouldn't ever talk to me again after that. I was wrecked over it, but it was 'Nam and war and "shit happens." Could be me next, it don't matter. The ways we coped. I was more scarred by it than I realized at the time, though; I 'forgot' about it for years, the decades later it surfaced again in some clinical PTSD therapy sessions at the VA hospital in Tucson. That was the eighties, I successfully stuffed that whole memory for over twenty years. It was one of many profound and totally out of the ordinary experiences just about everyone had while they were there. It was not a good place to raise a kid. It was not a good place to be human, for that matter. Not in the circumstances they lived in. In trying to do something good I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, either. Many of my fellow Marines, and I'm sure it's just as true in the other branches as well, really cared about the people of the country. Sure, there were always a few nutcases, but at that early time in the war we were a largely idealistic and optimistic generation. Having been told we were there to help the poor South Vietnamese people, who were being overrun by communist hordes from the north, we were just acting according to our simple fifties ethics... "Sure we'll help ya! What do you need?" Seriously, heartfelt compassion was showered on the Vietnamese people by many who wore our uniforms. I know many American Heroes who tried in whatever way they could to bring sanity and human compassion to the besieged people who lived there. You've probably all seen videos or read stories about many instances of this - the reality of seeing Americans, black, white, brown, red, yellow, enlisted and officers, young and old (old was over twenty), really caring about the local people, interacting with them in their daily lives and trying to help make life just a little better in the midst of random chaos and devastation was sort of a patriotic epiphany. It left an indelible imprint in my mind that Americans are, by and large, good people, and though often clumsy, we're just as often deft and always mean well. Well, that's my story, anyway, and I'm stickin' to it... saw it with my own eyes when it really counted.
You have eloquently told an unfathomably painful story, Daniel.
In Vietnam, from out of the unspoken mutual despair you and this child shared, somehow you found the selfless strength to walk into this child's isolated world and bring him hope. It is a profound testament to the too often hidden humanity rooted in us all.
I received a tremendous gift and learned so much from working with refugee students. Some of them like Quan, Dien and Loc Bao kept in touch with me for years as they grew far into adulthood. That leads me to a conclusion about the reaction of Cu's grandparents.
Within different cultures and traditions people grieve in different ways Shock and pain often find expression through anger and exclusion. When there is a language barrier it is even more difficult to share pain.
I suspect that Cu's grandparents found it too painful to be reminded of the hope that was suddenly snuffed out. Though Cu's grandparents didn't express it to you then, the love and compassion you brought into their grandson's life was surely the memory of you that sprang forth for them for the rest of their lives.
You are an eloquent writer whose spirit shines through you. I can't find words to say how much your story meant to me, and how deeply it touched me.
Your public sharing of this memory is courageous in itself. Perhaps it will open hearts everywhere and serve as a reminder of what really matters.
Daniel,
Thank you for what you said to me. What you wrote got straight to my heart. Heavy stuff and so beautifully put. All who were there went thru things few are willing or able to express. What Mariah said about the boy's grandparents, try to take it to heart. I think she's right. Hang in there, man.
Take care.
Tim Stafford
Thanks, you two. And everyone else, of course, whose support may be unspoken but still echoes in the spirit world. Music gets us by, doesn't it? It's the language that has touched me and healed me all of my life. And I know it's true for all of us. We should probably get back on topic. Rock on.
:~)
Greetings,
Didn't know where else to post this but I thought you folks might be interested in knowing that there is a video on YouTube about Bill compton on the AMEHOF YouTube channel. You can use this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8E0v-s0vgk
to view that particular video or this link: http://www.youtube.com/AMEHOF to view the AMEHOF channel.
We are working on getting more individual pages of all AMEHOF inductees with their videos and info as soon as we can.
Enjoy,
Noel
Thank heavens that is all over, I strongly agree, get back on topic. Man, this blog seriously needs some rules! (1) No political rants, (2) no religious rants, (3) no personal stories that have nothing to do with "remember the pioneering Phoenix album-rock station, KCAC, the early KDKB, and the people behind both." There's nothing wrong with these Vietnam stories, but shouldn't you be putting them into emails to each other instead of posting them on this blog? Or maybe post them on some other blog, or your own blog? Or maybe just call each other on the telephone and actually have a real conversation? To paraphrase an earlier post from Vagabonvet, ..."Some of us are monstrously selfish. Therefore, we need guidelines, rules,..."
The Arizona State Press post about Bill Compton was interesting, the posts about which cities are ''strong music cities" is interesting, the posting of a link to the Big Sur photos was interesting, Vagabonvet's hitchhiking story, the recent AMEHOF posting about online tribute videos were interesting. But in my opinio, stories like "For years I worked with Indo-Chinese refugees..." "little kids being napalmed..." don't belong on this site. I get the feeling that some of you posters are just frustrated writers, looking for an outlet for your creative talents. I think if you are going to post on this blog that you need to stay focused. I also could post a lot of personal stories (back when I was flying OV-10's in Laos and Cambodia), but this ain't the site folks, this ain't the site.
And as some other poster said, If you don’t establish some rules for this blog, this site will end up with just a few of you old guards writing long-winded stories and essays to each other about your personal lives, politics, religions, etc. The original idea of a site for remember the KCAC/KDKB music days will be long forgotten.
Yes, I know what will happen now as I write this. Tom will jump in and accuse me of sniping, Mariah will delete my blog, and Liz and a few others will chime in with a few "One World with no steenken' rules," And on it goes.
Randy Cheeseman
Randy, I'm surprised you are still posting. I've noticed that new posters usually get beat up so badly by the old guard (to use your term) that they quite posting.
Speaking of rules, how about a rule to eliminate postings like that tribute to George Carlin? I don't mean this as a slam or any disrespect to the poster, but was that really a tribute to George Carlin, or just an opportunity for the poster to write about them-self. With expressions like "I first heard George Carlin's comedy on KCAC...," "...At the first George Carlin show I attended...," "I got the same feeling as when decades ago I found out that John Lennon had been brutally murdered..," the editorial 'we' in "...We insisted that it wasn't true.." "...many of us will cry our hearts out like we did for John Lennon...," "...as we wipe away the tears..." etc.; I have to wonder what the intent of the posting really was.
I sincerely hope the poster doesn't take this too personal, but if you are going to write a tribute to a man in this forum, write a tribute about the man; not just something about yourself. And I know it was such a simple typo, but spell the man's name correctly (in the title). It's George, not Ceorge.
And why the plug for RFP in this tribute?
Steve "Little Red" Lowe
Also, if you're going to mention a famous person like Howard Cosell...please do your homework enough to spell his last name correctly...only one "s" in his name. "I'm just telling it like it is." (:
Steven "Little Red" Lowe
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