The times were a-changin’
it was plain to see
Time to get Bruce Ray & Terry
to join Rolly and me.
We became the Jury
with a brand-new sound
So we cut a few records
and toured more towns
Not only did I play for one of Winnipeg’s top bands, but I also worked at my favorite radio station. How cool was that?
That not-too-distant future showed in the form of my baby daughter Candis, and that’s when I realized that I had to do one or the other.
CKY had offered me a full-time position as their Music Director, and as it turned out, I was a hell of a lot better at radio than I was at guitar.
Before too long, I was off to CKSO in Sudbury, CFRA in Ottawa, and CFTR in Toronto, where I wrapped up the Canadian portion of my radio tour as their station manager.
I had no choice; I turned in my station car, put Canada in the rearview mirror of my beat-up old T-Bird, and headed south to Indianapolis.
Shortly after I arrived in Indy, we launched a new format in Dallas on KVIL that changed radio forever.
So after eight years, I left Fairbanks and, along with my brother Reg, we started a consulting company based in San Diego.
However, by this time, I was living in South Florida, where I was the in-house consultant at WRMF in West Palm Beach.
The main reason I’d moved to South Florida was to be close to my newborn daughter, Cami, which is another story for another time.
Anyway, one day, while visiting WRMF, a box set of CDs showed up, which caused my old band days to come rushing back.
What made this box set so special was that it contained seven cuts by The Jury.
However, not knowing if our tunes had stood the test of time and not wanting to be embarrassed, I’d listen to them in the car on my way home.
As I rolled north on I-95, I had no idea I was about to discover what Sir Paul meant when he said, “I’m more amazed now about the Beatles than I was when I was one.”
There we were on this frigid December evening, being led down the dimly lit hallway of CKY by Chuck Dann (Riley) and Daryl ‘B’.
As I looked around, I noticed that all the acoustic tiles were yellowed from the hundreds of cigarettes smoked here by those who came before us.
While we waited for Chuck and Daryl to set up, Terry and I were tuning our guitars when Bruce, our new singer, asked if we could help him with a song he was writing.
The song was called “Until You Do,” and he was hoping that if we finished it up, maybe we could tag it on at the end of our session.
The recording of our instrumentals went quickly, so we decided to have a go at the new tune and after laying it down a few times, we headed into the control room to hear what we had.
It was good enough that Chuck and Daryl suggested I bring the tape back tomorrow to play it for their boss, Jimmy Darin (Hilliard), because, as they said, if anybody knew what to do with it, it would be him.
As soon as Jim showed up in the studio, Daryl hit the play button, and “Until You Do” once again poured out of the speakers and it even sounded better.
When “Until “You Do” finished up, Jim asked me if I could bring the tape back at 6 when he got off the air. He wanted to play it for Hal Ross.
Hal Ross, he explained, was an executive of London Records who was coming by to take him to dinner, but I’ll make him listen to your tape first.
As I was almost flying down the stairs, I noticed Neil Young, guitar in hand, making his way up, and as we nodded at each other as we passed, I remember wondering, “What the hell was he doing here? Surely he won’t be recording vocals; he can’t sing, I know, I’ve heard him try.”
Geo’s Media Blog (Ridin’ The Rails) New 6/14/21
As you may be aware, I love ridin’ the rails, so whenever I do a bucket list adventure, it usually includes the train.
In fact, my next adventure will be in the middle of July when I take my 16-year-old Grandson Nathaniel up the west coast by train, college shopping. (pictured above)
I plan to arrive in Burbank a couple of days early and stay at the Marriot which is located right near both the airport and the Amtrak station. Nathaniel will join me the next day for some pool time and our traditional, “Dinner with Buppa” event.
The next morning we’ll board Amtrak and head to San Jose where we’ll hook up with my good friends, the Hilliards. Then we’ll lunch with some friends of Jim’s who are highly connected to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and West point. My job will be to stay quiet.
After lunch we hopefully will visit Stanford and Berkley before jumping back on the train for an overnighter to Seattle where we’ll spend a couple of days visiting the U’s of Washington and Seattle and maybe visiting with Delilah, Bruce Murdock, and Ivan Braiker.
Then with this year’s portion of college shopping done, we’ll get back on Amtrak and head back to Burbank, where Nathaniel will leave for his annual vacation to Cleveland with his Dad.
While I’m back in Burbank I’ll finally get to see my up with my good friends, Bob and Jan who because of the Pandemic I haven’t seen for a year and a half before jumping back on the train again.
This time, however, it will be with my Daughter Candis who, like me, has always been a train freak.
When she was a teenager she loved when we took the train from San Diego to Seattle so she wants to do it again and then turn right around and return to Burbank.
The neat thing about this adventure is, the last time Candis and I were on a train together was over 30 years ago when I took her from San Diego to New York for her freshman year at NYU (pictured with me below) and I get to cross off another thing on my bucket list.
GEO’S LIFE-LINERS
You and only you own your own personality.
Action trumps attitude.
The easiest way to become who you really want to be is by acting like you already are.
Creating something new usually means leaving something old behind.
The only worthwhile goal is to be able to live the way you want to.
Shortly after being born, we learned that we were gonna die, but I’m not sure anyone had a plan for that event?
One of the differences that I’ve noticed between yesterday and today, few people today are in any hurry to complete any mission.
The definition of maturity is the ability to resist temptation.
As I watched Helio display so much passion and excitement after winning his fourth Indy 500, I can only wonder why radio thinks there’s another way?
My dream president would be a Democrat who didn’t go any further left than Bill Clinton or a Republican who didn’t go further right than Ronald Reagen.
The best advice Jim Hilliard ever gave me may have been when he said, “Johns, if I shout out your name and you hear it, you’re out of luck, buddy ’cause I’ve already got all the money.”
Many people can open doors for you, but only you can get yourself a seat at the table.
Wow, the Winnipeg Jets flamed out rather quickly against the Montreal Canadiens, Eh?
Unless you inherit it, you ain’t gonna get it, you’re gonna need some ambition.
Your imagination is like a muscle; it needs to be exercised.
Remember when the media protected us from lies? So what do we do now that they’re lying too?
The more beautiful the woman, the plainer her cocktail dress needs to be.
I can’t figure out how an Indy driver can be expected to go from 230 mph down to 60 as he enters the pits. Obviously, a few of the drivers couldn’t figure it out either.
Regrets about yesterday and fear of tomorrow keep us from enjoying today.
Not sure how my kids feel about the fact that I never grew up, but I never saw the benefit.
Is it just me, or is this administration somewhat boring?
Worry never fixed anything.
People who claim to know usually don’t.
Has Uber gotten more expensive?
Sometimes you can evade your responsibilities but never the consequences of doing so.
I find it interesting that Lesbians refer to straight girls as breeders. Are they trying to elevate themselves?
Treat others as you wish them to be.
The good news about living in America is, you can make a lot of money. The bad news, you have to work your ass off for it.
COMMENTS
Doug Herman: George, we were all in Show Business. A hottie on your arm is a necessary part of the Show. (Wild Women)
Geo: True, Dat!
Billy Bob Harris: George, I love your priorities !!! (Wild Women)
Geo: I’ve seen a couple of your’s, Billy Bob, and I was impressed.
Jed Duval: George – As my former intermediate boss and supervisor at WIBC-AM, I quickly learned that any directive, recommendation, or suggestion that came from you was as important and urgent as anything that might emit from Mr; Hilliard (as Pat Chappell would correct me), “The Man in the Carpeted Office,” as Chuck Riley would call him. Jim worked through his key people, like you and Dick Yancey. As I learned from the masters (Hilliard, Johns, Yancey, Bobo, and the talented air staff/production people), looking back at my working around you and your people, I would say that people who do not like or respect you, George Johns, really don’t and never did matter in the whole scheme of things. (Wild Women)
Larry Macinnis: George, thank you for awakening me to the magic of Ron Chapman. For some reason, I was unaware of him. I don’t know why. Since reading your great remembrances of him, I have tracked down everything I can find of him on Youtube and elsewhere. I have worked for and with some of the all-time greats. I would have loved to have worked for and with Ron. Thanks again for opening my eyes – and ears – to him. (BenT)
Geo: Thank you for the read, Larry.
Bob Christy: I will never forget the meeting with Jim and Chuck Riley; they weren’t speaking at the time…the three of us were together in Jim’s office.
It went like this, “Bob, would you tell Chuck that he is not going to have 5 Neumann mics in the studio for the proposed 6 PM show.”
I’d turn to Chuck and repeat what Jim said.
“Bob, tell Hilliard, it is impossible to do that show without adequate equipment.”
We went around and around for at least a half-hour; this is how it ended.
“Bob, would you tell Jim to go fck himself.” I turned to Jim and said, “Chuck wants you to go fck yourself.”
Jim smiled, slid his chair back, “Bob, tell Chuck, the same to him.”
The meeting ended, the show proposed never aired; about a week later, Jim and Chuck were talking again. Thank God, the 24-year-old me never had to serve as interpreter again between two giants (The List)
Geo: As you know, Bob, I had plenty of those meetings over the 8 years I spent in Indy.
On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting is encouraged and appreciated.
