American actor, musician and artist Martin Mull once said, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture”. I agree. I am not going to write about the music I play on my podcast Mid Century Memories but I am going to give you a good idea of what you will hear when you tune in.
There was no television in any of the twelve or so houses my family lived in until I was almost thirteen. As such, the only form of electronic entertainment I had was a radio. There, I would curl up close to the speaker and listen to Fibber McGee and Molly, Amos and Andy, and The Great Gildersleeve. That’s also where I fell in love with music.
Some of the names I became familiar with were the Mills Brothers, Julie London, Doris Day, Frank Sinatra and the full roster of the time. I thought it would be a good idea when we created Lifestyles 55 Digital radio (a group of retired broadcasters) to play some of the music I grew up with. And so, Mid Century Memories it became. Each podcast is filled with familiar songsters and popular instrumentals from the early 1950s to the mid 1960s. As I often say during the shows, “not a lot of rock, nor a lot of talk, just great music”.
At about the same time, I started interviewing folks I had met during my involvement in show business. These include Colin Blunstone from the Zombies, Jim McCarty from the Yardbirds and Peter Noone from Herman’s Hermits. I intend to add more soon. I call that show Radio Redux.
We now have more and easier access to every genre of music than ever before. Whether we are in a car or at home, we can listen to any music we want coming from anywhere in the world. That includes the music on Lifestyles 55 Digital.
Listen to Jim at Lifestyle 55 Radio. Mid Century Memories can be heard Monday to Friday at 12 noon. Radio Redux is on the air at noon on Saturday and Sunday.
