Geo’s Media Blog (Happy Happy Birthday Baby) 10/04/21

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To play or not to play, that was the question that was kinda going through my mind as I sat there on my 26th birthday awaiting the arrival of my son Curtis.
Even though I was only a radio rookie, I loved working part-time at CKY, and so far it wasn’t interfering with my playing for The Jury. However, I had a feeling that before long, it probably would.

Anyway, the whole adventure began in Transcona at my 26th birthday dinner with my expectant wife, Lana, and my parents.
Suddenly, Lana’s water broke so off we go to St Boniface Hospital.

Upon arrival, I was relegated to the waiting room because in those days expectant fathers weren’t welcome in the birthing rooms. (I have no idea why they wanna go in there now?)As I sat there waiting and waiting for the birth of my son, Curtis, the more excited I got. (I was told that it was a boy because of the way Lana was carrying)


All I was thinking about was all the fun things he and I were going to do together.
Hell, the only question I had about any of this was how old should he be when I take him to his first Blue Bomber game?

After what already seemed like forever, one of the nurses finally suggested that there was no need for me to hang around because it looked like it was going to be a long night.
12166344_10154267379724307_1879729255_nThankfully, my good friend Jim Coghill who worked at CKY with me, (pictured above) lived nearby.
We spent the evening toasting my son’s birth which was going to be a hell of a birthday present for me.

I of course continued to check in every half hour and when they finally, said that I should return, I hurried back.
Unfortunately, it was a false alarm, so I decided to take a nap in the waiting room.

 A few hours later, I awoke to the sound of my name being called.
Still half asleep and wiping the cobwebs out of my eyes, I notice a nurse standing there holding what looked like a wee alien.

The unfortunate thing was covered in goop and also appeared to have a misshapen head. (They had to use forceps)
Still trying to clear my head, I heard her say, “Congratulations, Mr. Johns, you’re the proud father of a new baby….”

Now, this is where it gets really weird because it didn’t sound at all like she said, baby boy or baby son.
Suddenly, I realized that she hadn’t said either of those, she said, baby girl. Huh! A daughter, what the hell do you do with them?

Happy Birthday, Candis, I love you. xoxoxo.
(Pictured on top celebrating our birthdays together in Burbank California.

GEO’S LIFE-LINES

Wives are the most expensive women on earth.

Imagine how great America would be if there were no Lobbyists.

I think the only way the Democrats have a shot at the White House is if Elizabeth Warren is their candidate. America is ready for a female president, and if she now claims that she’s a lesbian instead of an Indian, she’s a shoo-in.

You’re at your happiest when you’re grateful.

Have you ever noticed that the only people who want to talk to you on the phone now are the people who are trying to sell you something?

Do druggies ever notice that the people who sell them the drugs don’t do drugs?

In the beginning, the radio station is always bigger than the act.

COMMENTS

Barry Obrien: George….I have always thought that was a good idea. After all, the government isn’t collecting any taxes on all the income from jobs paid under the table in cash.   And think of all the billions of dollars of drug money income that goes untaxed!   When someone buys a Rolls Royce with drug money, a universal sales tax would generate tax revenue.    And with vehicles, it’s a never-ending source of income!   If you buy a new car for $50 grand, a 25% tax would give the government $12,500 in taxes.   If they kept the same policy they have now for allowing you to save sales tax by crediting you the amount they give you for your trade-in, that would be good.   Because when the car sells again, they’ll collect tax another time.  And every time the car sells. Real estate could be tricky, though. Who wants to pay an extra 25% for a home? They could do a similar credit as they do for vehicles, but first-time buyers would really get hit.   We both know it’ll never happen.  Too many lobbyists would be up in arms. But in theory, it’s a great idea. (To Tax Ir Not To Tax)

Geo: Thanks for the read, Barry, I think the big sales tax idea the only way the playing field gets leveled. Not only would the rich and poor be paying taxes, but even Hookers and drug dealers would too. There’d be no sense in anybody hiding money.

Ken Sebastion Singer: Wow George, thanks for the memories of CKOM. What an amazing story. I remember that the station wouldn’t financially back the cost of a new music service or station imaging package. So at a jock meeting, we decided we would do some “record hops” and turned over our fees to make initial payments on the new services.  Management, feeling a bit embarrassed, finally agreed to buy the tools we needed.  What an awesome team you assembled George. Never forget those times my friend. (We Gotta Get Outta This Place)

Geo: I have a ton of memories about those times, Ken, like you referring to Ron Andrews as “Fat Cat” on your show and his retaliation of putting your home phone number on his early morning show the next day. I learned a lot at CKOM, Ken, unfortunately, though, most of it was stuff that I’d never tolerate again. So proud of you Man!

Bob Christy: I’m not an advocate of the “Way Radio Used to Be”. Our memories of the past are better than the reality. In the late ’80s, I bought a 68 Mustang GT. When it was restored, it looked and sounded great, the truth was it didn’t drive worth a damn, the brakes were lousy, it didn’t corner, and there was no ventilation. The seats were terrible. I liked it but it wasn’t a good ride. The reality is a V6 Camry is faster than any of the old muscle cars. Look it up.
What radio had then, what we did with it was terrific for the time, and we pushed the business forward. We tossed out the old rules and wrote new ones. I don’t hear any of that energy or progress today. There are things from the past that are valid today. Attention to detail is one. Production quality and technique is another. There are many more, we can discuss later.

Our California canyon house is almost a hundred years old, when it was built, it had kerosene lighting and no central heat or AC. I wouldn’t want to live like that today. What our house does have is style and a certain “feel” to it. To my mind, those are the qualities that radio today is missing. It’s the same with the new Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers, they have the style and look of their predecessors, but are much better cars in every respect. (Writing The Wrongs)

Ken LeMann: I’m sure, if Bart McClendon really cared about radio, he would feel the same as you regarding squandered opportunities such as yours with Rick Moranis. One of my buddies at KNUS in Dallas was the overnight kid, Fred Kennedy (Olson). Although he was always the center of attention off the air, nobody seemed to hear how talented he was on the air. Even you guys at KVIL missed your chance by choosing the talented Cat Simon from our staff instead. When KNUS dissolved and the on-air talent scattered to various parts of the country, Fred teamed up with our afternoon guy, Randy Hames, and became the new Hudson and Harrigan in Houston for the next 3 decades. I can only assume they made a fortune. (Send In The Troubled Ladies)

Geo: I must have smartened up when I hired you for WRMF in Palm Beach, Kenny.

Geo’s Media Blog is an inside look at Radio, Music, Movies, and Life. For a sneak peek at some upcoming Blogs, or to see some that you may have missed, go to GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting is appreciated.

 

Geo’s Media Blog. (Hey, Who Dat?) New for 9/30/19

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Not long after hearing Hal Ross of London Records say, “Hell I’ll release that” after hearing our tape, the postman dropped off a box of “Until You Do”. I was packing up for an out of town gig and because we had to drive right by CKY on our way out of town, we dropped off a few our records for Jimmy Darin and the rest of the KY Good Guys.

As we reached the outskirts of Winnipeg, all of a sudden, Jimmy Darin says, “Ladies and gentleman, a CKY exclusive Until You Do by The Jury.” We almost blew the speakers out in the car we had it turned up so loud as we sang along.
There is no way to describe the feeling you get when you hear your record on the radio for the first time other than to say that it was better than sex. I would venture a guess that even the biggest stars in the world can still tell you what they were doing, and exactly where they were when they first heard theirs.

I used to sit in my room for hours practicing on my guitar and dreaming about this moment. However, I thought that once you were a recording artist; you became a member of an exclusive club and your only problems now, were figuring out what to buy next. Unfortunately, dreams and reality have very little in common.Ral-DonnerMy first hint about how it all really worked, showed up when I was doing a short tour with Ral Donner, Troy Shondel, and Ernie Maresca. I, of course, I wasn’t listening.
We were all sitting around Ral’s hotel room having a beer after having played our last show that night in Regina. Ral was telling us about how excited he was about getting to see Bobby Darin at the Copa when he got home and what I didn’t realize was that Ral knew he wasn’t in Bobby Darin’s league just as Bobby knew he wasn’t in Sinatra’s.

Only after releasing our own records did I come to realize that all recording artists were not created equal and after thinking about it for quite a few years, I may have finally figured out how it all works.
Imagine if you will, a pyramid-like structure that is seven stories high.On the top floor is all the legends, Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, The Stones, Michael Jackson, Elton John, The Eagles, Neil Young, etc.

One level down is the “Hall of Famers,” Rod Stewart, Johnny Cash, Dion, Roy Orbison, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Beach Boys, the Everlys, Chicago, The Moody Blues, and Bobby Darin just to name a few.

Hanging out on level five are The Guess Who, BTO, Freddy Cannon, Tommy Roe, Bobby Vee, Bruno Mars, Ral Donner, Del Shannon, Maroon 5, and a bunch of others who have all scored several top 10 hits.

On level four is where you’ll find the other Winnipeg groups who have released a few records but haven’t gone national yet. The Devrons, The Galaxies, The Jury, The Eternals The Quid, The Shondells, Sugar & Spice, The 5th, Brother, and many many others.

Level three contains the hopefuls; you know, the acts who deserve to be signed but for whatever reason, aren’t.

Level two is the place where the folks who have just learned to play Louie Louie or whatever the entry-level tune is today that gets you thinking about starting a band.

On the very first level, you have all your dreamers. These are the kids who are thinking about buying a guitar so they could become a rock & roll star as I did when I saw Elvis on TV.

The reality of the situation is that you better be doing music for the love of it because the money doesn’t start to show up until at least the fifth level.After releasing “Until You Do,” we knew that it would be a while before the checks would start showing up, but surely Dick Clark would be calling to ask us to appear on American Bandstand soon? While waiting for big things to happen we went back into the studio and cut iur second release, “I Tried To Tell Her,” hoping that it would move us a little closer to stardom.

Unfortunately, the only thing rising faster than our records on the charts were our expenses, and oh yeah, where the f**k was the call from Dick Clark? When, “I Tried To Tell Her” slipped off the charts, back into the studio we went and recorded “Back In My World,” but nothing changed so we decided to give it one last big push. Not only did we book Kay-Bank studios in Minneapolis, but we also changed record companies hoping a smaller label might have more time to promote us.

Out of the Kay-Bank session came “Please Forget Her” which went on to become the #1 Canadian record in Canada backed with, “Who Dat?” which ended up becoming a cult favorite and was recently listed in a publication as being 50 years ahead of its time. When I saw it listed on E-Bay for $125.00 recently, I wondered what the hell I did with the box of them I used to have? Would you like the Canadian or American version sir? (click on the link at the bottom of the page to hear it)

Johnny-CashI knew that my band days were numbered when the butterflies stopped showing up before every performance but I still got very excited when we got to open for legends like Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash. (shown above).

While watching the Ken Burns Country Music documentary last week on PBS, I was very interested in a segment they did about the Carter Family. It reminded me of a couple of things, the movie “I Walk The Line” which portrayed June Carter as a rather saintly person, and after opening for Johnny Cash one night, standing backstage with the Statler Brothers. We were watching Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family and the Statlers were bitching and moaning about how June had appointed herself as the leader of the band after recently moving into Johnny’s suite. I guess they didn’t appreciate a backup singer telling them how they should sing and frequently used the “C” word to not so affectionately describe her.

GEO’S LIFE-LINES

Artists see things that we don’t see until they paint us a picture.

So you’re saying that a man named Barach Hussein Obama is not a Muslim, but folks with Muslim names like Kareem Abdul Jabar and Mohamad Ali are?

Your wins and successes may blur together, but your defeats and failures will always remain crystal clear.

How come getting the job done is no longer the #1 job?

Why is it that least funny person off-air, is the one who always tells jokes on-air?

Those who recognize beauty are beautiful.

One can only aim too low.

The Netflix documetory about Clive Davis, “The Soundtrack Of Our Lives,” is excellent.

COMMENTS

Paul Cavenaugh: George,  I can’t even begin to correct you on so many levels this week.  Especially the part about Trump being a great “President.”  History will prove that statement incorrect in the future. Corruption has become so rampant, America is now on a par with the 3rd world. Ken LeMann, in my opinion, was one of the best radio talents ever on the air.  He is so right about what radio has become.  The ‘bottom rung’ of the show-biz ladder!  It’s the same corrupt government that allowed that to happen too. (Consolidation)

Geo: I only said that Trump might turn out to be a great president to see if you were awake, Paul. 🙂 Only time will tell. Kind of like Slick Willy was a great president but a terrible human being. George Bush Senior talked a good game about making his time in the White House kinder and gentler and then immediately started the war that we’re still fighting. However, it will be history, not our opinions, that will straighten that all out.

Russ Dodge: Joe Pyne was one of the original shock radio personalities. I remember him telling callers to go gargle with razor blades. When he was on TV, there was a teenage band on the show called The Bantams. He would regularly insult them, and they generally ignored the insults or didn’t realize that they were being insulted.

Sharon Henwood: CFTR was the most fun I ever had while getting paid! I went on to a pretty satisfying career with lots of opportunity and growth – heck the Olympics was a world stage – but none of that work held a candle to TR for the great gang of characters and talent you assembled in T.O. I remember being excited that we could think of something, like a crazy spot or promo and have it on the air less than an hour later. No committees, no approval chain, no other opinions; that’s a luxury in most places. So many fun stories from a few months at TR, I can imagine how many you must have from your whole career in radio. Thanks for telling them. (Don’t Choke The Chicken, Shoot It.)

Geo: Those days at TR were magical, Sharon, and I still have all the memories.

Steve Eberhart: Ask any government employee, and they can usually tell you the exact date of their retirement. (You Win God)

Geo: Yep, talk about wishing your life away, Steve. Well, at least they’ll have what seems like a long one, their clock moves real slow.

Geo’s Media Blog is an inside look at Radio, Music, Movies, and Life. For a sneak peek at some upcoming Blogs, or to see some that you may have missed, go to GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting is appreciated.