|
|
 |
 |
is nationally renowned for his weekly two-hour radio festival of mad music and crazy comedy heard on radio stations coast to coast. It's a free-wheeling unpredictable mix of music and comedy. The Doctor plays new funny songs sent in by amateur and professional singers and comedians. |
|
Here's what's on the latest Dr. Demento Show:
Show date: Feb 4, 2012 Click here to listen.
QUESTIONS 1205: A highly questionable show this week - the second half is all songs that ask questions! (And sometimes answer them). In the first half, great old songs and nifty new songs (including three by Flat 29, the superb British comedy trio). |
|
What's coming up next?
Click here to hear about it.
|
*NEW* Dr. Demento's Blog *NEW*
2012-02-02 16:32:25
From: Dr. Demento
A little more about Johnny Otis
Johnny Otis, a Greek-American, grew up in an African-American neighborhood in Berkeley and always felt most at home in black communities. A drummer, singer and bandleader, his recording career began in the mid-1940s; his first hit was a big band version of "Harlem Nocturne." His biggest record hit, "Willie and the Hand Jive," came in 1958, but that was just one of hundreds of great records over a nearly 50-year span. His records ranged from an album based on highly explicit African-American folk humor, released under the name of "Snatch and the Poontangs" (we have a track from that on the show) to gospel music; in the 1980s and 90s he pastored churches in both Northern and Southern California. There's a nice biography of Johnny called "Midnight at the Barrelhouse" by George Lipsitz. Johnny also wrote two books himself, ran an organic farm, marketed his own brand of apple juice, was chief of staff for a U.S. Congressman…that man knew no limits! I just realized that on the show I forgot to mention his paintings.
On Saturday's show: songs that ask questions, from "Who Put the Benzedrine In Mrs. Murphy's Ovaltine" to "What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body?" A tip of my top hat to Johnny Heering for suggesting that topic.
Be the first to comment!
2012-01-30 10:12:04
From: Dr. Demento
That Was The Month That Was
It's been a busy January. I made another visit to my alma mater, Reed College. Had a great time, and people seemed to enjoy my talks about the Beatles, protest songs, and Dr D's Greatest Hits (with video of Fish Heads, Zappa, Lehrer, Weird Al, and lots more). You can see my rendition of "Shaving Cream" on YouTube (the link is in a reply to my previous post, thanks M. Lestatkatt!) However, the video is missing the verse I sang as an encore, which went something like
I studied so hard at Reed College
I just did not know when to quit
I learned so darn much at Reed College
My brain nearly turned into…
a finely tuned organ of dazzing intellect, superbly prepared for grad school
and all life had to offer. I love Reed, wonderful to be here, thank you for coming
and you’ll always look keen!
Which pretty much sums up how I feel about the place where I made my radio debut (on the 10-watt campus FM station, which like our own show has now migrated to cyberspace).
The Beatles talk was about the music they listened to when they were growing up, and how it influenced them. They heard and treasured all the American rock 'n roll hits of the 1950s, of course, but they also knew, and often covered in their early days, such pop standards as "September In the Rain," "Falling In Love Again," "The Shiek of Araby" and even Fats Waller's "Your Feet's Too Big." Working with George Martin further expanded their horizons. What made their music special was the unique blend of their voices, evident even in their earliest scraps of tape, and their songwriting which took longer to develop. I'm amazed at how much today's college students appreciate 50-year-old music – that was not the case when I was a student!
The protest song talk was subtitled "What Occupy needs is a hit song." Occupy gatherings often have singing, and you can find quite a bit of it on YouTube, but the movement doesn't yet have a theme song, like "We Shall Overcome" for the civil rights movement. It doesn't have (so far, anyway) a Woody Guthrie, a young Pete Seeger or a young Dylan. If the Occupy movement had that, it might actually change the course of this country. Just a thought.
I got home and launched into the next show, which went online January 28. It wasn't finished until the morning of the 27th! We used to have a three-week "lead time" for the network show in the 1980s, when it had to be pressed on LP records and snail-mailed to the affiliate stations.
Along with the first Top Ten of 2012, with some great new songs, that show features an all-too-brief tribute to the three R&B stars we lost in the preceding few days: Etta James, Johnny Otis and Jimmy Castor. Johnny Otis' passing hit me especially hard: he was a colleague of mine at KPPC-FM in Pasadena, where the Dr. Demento Show began in 1970-71. When Sue and I were married, Johnny and his band played at our wedding reception. People danced so hard that two of our friends had to go to the emergency room!
Replies: 5
Last Reply: 2012-02-02 19:04:08
2012-01-12 13:25:13
From: Dr. Demento
Correction - re Reed College appearances
I've been informed that Reed is charging $5 admission for the general public (i.e. people who aren't Reed students, faculty or staff).
Everything else remains the same.
Replies: 2
Last Reply: 2012-01-24 20:28:13
For more, see all blog entries.
For older news stories, see the news archive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
MEET THE DR IN PERSON - If you would like Dr. Demento to appear at your next event Click Here.
| |
|
|
| |
|
Webmasters click here if you would like to link to DrDemento.com.
| |
|
|
|
