#10 Geo’s Media Blog (You Ain’t Seen Nuthin’ Yet) New for 11/16/20

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What a great day I had yesterday, an old friend of mine, Sterling Faux was celebrating his 50 years in radio and generously invited me via the phone along with another old friend, Doc Harris, to participate in the festivities on his radio show in Vancouver.(see Stirling with me above)

Over the years, a lot of people have asked me where the hell I come up with all the crazy stuff I write about? Well, the short stories are easy because I have a pretty good memory so when Sterling reminded me that I gave him his first radio job in Sudbury, it brought back many memories of my own beginnings.

My growing up in Winnipeg was pretty normal, but when my folks moved us to a suburb called Transcona, my life became anything but normal. Not only did I meet Candis and Curtis’s Mom when I moved there, but I also saw Elvis on TV which changed everything. Seeing Elvis inspired me to buy a guitar and start a band with my best friend, Rolly Blaquiere.

The next thing that happened was, we signed a record deal with London Records and released four records. Hey, I must have been on the top of the world, right? Wrong! I’d discovered the thing I was destined to do. Radio!
Today though nobody cares about the many radio successes, they just wanna hear about those records hanging on the wall. (see below)

We were called the Jury, and I will tell you this, there is nothing finer than being a rock star when you’re in your early 20s. Not only did we have records out, but we got to open for legends like Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash and play with fellow “Peggers,” Burton Cummings (Guess Who), Randy Bachman (BTO), and Neil Young. How cool was that?

While playing with the Jury, I also worked part-time at CKY radio where I met my mentor and best friend, Jim Hilliard. I loved the radio business; it was the first time I’d rather be at work than anywhere.
However, when my daughter Candis was born and even though we had the #1 Canadian record on the charts, I left the band. (see chart above)

What had happened was, CKY offered me the Music Director’s job, and being a new father and all, I figured that if I concentrated on the radio business, maybe I could make a go of it.
We were soon on a rocket ride, which began in Saskatoon at CKOM when they made me their new Program Director. Then it was off to CKSO in Sudbury, CFRA in Ottawa, and finally, CFTR in Toronto, where they made me their station manager. While at CFTR, I reunited with Doc and Sterling, and we created a brand new format aimed at women and later named Adult Contemporary Radio.

As exciting as all that was, a phone call from my old boss Jim Hilliard changed everything again.
Jim wanted me to be the National Program Director of a group he was running called Fairbanks Broadcasting and all I could say is, “Hello America, how are ya?”

Upon my arrival at Fairbanks, we launched the format on our new station in Dallas, KVIL where it quickly became one of the most successful radio stations in North America.
KVIL’s success led to me being able to start my own Consulting Company and realize another childhood dream, living in California.
With my brother Reg’s help, not only did we put our “Class Format” on in forty markets, but it also led to our being able to purchase an FM radio station in Portland, Oregon called K103 which I’m proud to say is still #1.

I’ve lived a fascinating life and I remember almost every moment of it which makes the writing of these stories so easy.
However, when it comes to the Life-Liners, I have no f**king idea where they come from. I’ve always assumed that I must have read or heard them somewhere so I decided to run a bunch of them through a plagiarism service. When the results came back the document read, “These quotes are from a blog entitled, “Geo’s Media Blog” and we recommend that you get permission from the author before using any of them.”

GEO’S LIFE-LINERS

When politicians start making noises about taxing the rich, they’re only talking about the upper-middle class. They’d never do anything that would hurt the rich, let alone the wealthy. Hey, those are the folks who make it possible for them to live in mansions and out of phony charities. I wonder how the Obamas like their new digs?

Speaking of taxes, I understand that San Fransisco just voted in a new law called “The overpaid executive tax.” This new law would tax anybody making over 100 times the lowest-paid employee. Hmmm, I wonder what the folks who play for the Warriors, the 49rs and the Giants think about all this? Those ballboys sure don’t make much.

What if nobody cared if Kap knelt or not?

Just because you have freedom of speech doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences.

Having an R or D in front of your name doesn’t make what you stand for any more or less palatable.

I wonder what the people who hoarded the toilet paper are doing with it now?

You’re either an example or a warning.

Radio only has two consumers, listeners, and clients. So what I can’t understand is how either benefit from long commercial sets?

No matter how dark it may seem to be, somebody always sees what you’re doing. The top five radio stations in any given market usually remain the same.

However, how they rank is determined more by the methodology used than the listenership.

What most business folks don’t get is that companies may come, and companies may go, but talent is forever.

The only people who ever say, “Money isn’t everything,” were born with it.

The new swear word in 2021 will probably be 2020. 2020 that! 2020 you! Are you 2020ing, me? Don’t 2020 me etc.

You’re not born with PMA; it’s a choice.

Few artists can handle criticism, constructive or otherwise, so unless you can go on for them, I’d tread softly.

I was banned from Facebook for three days for saying, “Hey, the Romans treated my ancestors real bad, but I don’t hate Italians.” Huh???

Can you imagine bringing your wife to work all the time as John Lennon did?

Have you ever noticed that most people who don’t want advice insist on giving it?

How do Corporations and wealthy people get away with funding politicians so-called charities and also paying them outstanding fees for speaking engagements? Isn’t that just a form of money laundering?

I can’t believe how many laws there are to protect women and minorities from old white guys like me. I’m feeling stronger every day.

So, if it’s true that Russia is hacking us, isn’t it reasonable to assume that we’ve been hacking them?

The big difference between truth and fiction; only fiction has to make any sense.

COMMENTS
Buzz Barnett: God Bless You, George Johns, fondly known as “RadioGeo”! You weave threads of culture and un-matched experiences with notorious Success into these fun-lovin’ free-form expressions, and I am deeply grateful. Just wanted You to know. Buzzy (Don’t Ever Stop Fiddlin’ Around)
Geo: Thanks for the read, Buzzy, and the kind comments. I miss our days together at WRMF in Palm Beach.

Jerry K: Loved working with Buzz. Little did a lot of folks know he was running the whole show in Pompano Beach.

Bruce Walker: Too bad you quit playing, George. I still practice regularly, write songs, and sing my heart out. Music is invaluable to me. It is a place to go and drown all your cares for a while. Extremely relaxing. (Don’t Ever Stop Fiddlin’ Around.)
Geo: I hear ya, Bruce; after I left the Jury for the radio biz, I couldn’t go to concerts, let alone play my guitar in fear of my wanting to crawl back up on the stage again.

Jed Duvall: George: One of the factors about the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic was that it had already claimed many victims in Europe, and when it hit in the late Spring/Summer of 1918 in the U.S., the world and the U.S. were still engaged in World War One. Woodrow Wilson never spoke of it, although it may have begun the deterioration of his health when he was stricken by something in April 1919, in Paris negotiating the Treaty of Versailles. The Republicans were disorganized and would remain so into the 1920s, which is how Warren Harding won the nomination. Remember, the only instantaneous communications were the telephone and the telegraph. Commercial radio didn’t begin until 1920, with KDKA in Pittsburgh and WWJ in Detroit. When you don’t know what really ails you, and everybody is still spitting in spittoons and on the ground, sanitary practices seem a little silly. (Don’t Ever Stop Fiddlin’ Around)

 

5 thoughts on “#10 Geo’s Media Blog (You Ain’t Seen Nuthin’ Yet) New for 11/16/20

  1. I love The Jury” picture! What makes me smile every time I see it, I’ve known you for almost forty years, and I’ve never seen you with as serious a look as a radio guy as you have as a member of The Jury 🙂 Maybe it’s all that hair!

  2. What a great comment about the San Francisco new tax….betcha everyone looks the other way. By the way your comment about hanging up playing once you got into radio really hit home. I worked in the record biz for 6 months to see if I could do it and stop music. At six months I felt it would work so I sold my amp and my bass so I would not be tempted to go back to playing. The actual experience of standing on a stage with your band mates and hitting a groove is one of the most powerful feelings I have ever had, stronger than any drug ….. it is addictive.

  3. Just to back up the comments of Jerry K regarding Buzz Barnett. The guy is a brilliant talent. I too had the best time playing radio with him. I understand that Buzzy may soon be moving back to beautiful Palm Beach County. He might even become one of my condo neighbors. The place is Doomed!

  4. Wow! That’s great story. I loved the AC format. Even wrote my big college term paper on the format. Got to work in it very briefly in the late 90s. And yes…I got turned on to it by the Class FM format in Wichita.

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