Post by foulal on Mar 24, 2005 11:43:34 GMT -5
Introducing Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock on his Sunday night Underground Garage radio show, Little Steven referred to Wildwood NJ as the home of rock and roll. He talked breifly of the band playing the song in Wildwood in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the movie Blackboard Jungle.
This article was in the papers over the weekend:
LITTLE STEVEN TAKES HIS ROCK CRUSADE TO SATELLITE RADIO
Larry Mcshane – Associated Press
Little Steven Van Zandt has a problem with pop culture.
"We have room for all these reality show people to become icons; we ought to have room for Alan Freed," complains the singer/songwriter/"Sopranos" star. "Everybody in the world knows who Paris Hilton is, but they don't know who Alan Freed is.
"That's not cool, as far as I'm concerned."
Quick primer: Freed was the legendary Cleveland disc jockey and host of the first major rock concert, the "Moondog Coronation Ball," before 25,000 people on March 21, 1952. Van Zandt finds this considerably more compelling than the libidinous antics of the hotel chain heiress _ and so does his ever-growing legion of garage-rock fans.
Which explains why 53 years after Freed's event, Van Zandt is planning a musical blowout of his own.
He's bringing his "Underground Garage" radio format to a new home: Sirius Satellite Radio, where his 24-hour, seven-day-a-week commercial-free channel debuts on March 21. Under Van Zandt's direction, the new station promises to unite Chuck Berry with Joey Ramone with Jet.
"We don't care if it's 50 years old, or 50 minutes old," he said. "If it's good rock 'n' roll, we play it."
The launch also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the gritty movie classic "Blackboard Jungle," featuring the indelible rock standard "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets. All in all, pretty good timing for the latest venture from the perpetually busy Van Zandt.
Miami Steve Van Zandt, as he was known back then, emerged from the Jersey shore music scene in the mid-1970s, playing with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes before joining buddy Bruce Springsteen as guitarist with the E Street Band.
He's since become a rock renaissance man with a wide range of interests. He led an artists' boycott of South Africa in the '80s, launched a solo career, signed on as consigliere Silvio Dante on "The Sopranos" and became a disc jockey extraordinaire.
His own weekly syndicated radio show, which debuted in April 2002, is now heard by nearly 1 million listeners in 200 markets. It was that kind of juice that led to his invitation to join the world of satellite radio.
"I'm not totally surprised," Van Zandt said of his successful move to radio. "I know how strong this music is. I knew people hadn't heard it in a while, and I knew most people hadn't heard it all in one place. And I knew it would have an amazing effect on people, because it had an amazing effect on me."
Van Zandt can still get stoked telling a good story about some great music. "Rock Around the Clock," for instance? It was originally a B-side on a Comets' single. And it only wound up in "Blackboard Jungle" because actor Glenn Ford's son, Peter, was a big fan of the song and played it for director Richard Brooks.
It seems Van Zandt has become a rock 'n' roll historian, too.
"I don't mean to be an academic _ it's not something I'd choose to be, and I never will be," he said. "But it's part of what we do with the show."
Which doesn't mean Van Zandt is looking backward. He's hosting celebrations in Los Angeles and New York for his new radio venture, with music provided by the surviving Comets and current garage bands The Woggles, The Fleshtones and The Charms.
"I'm not really into nostalgia," he added. "This stuff has the same impact today as did back when. Music never gets old."
Did Springsteen ever play in Wildwood?
This article was in the papers over the weekend:
LITTLE STEVEN TAKES HIS ROCK CRUSADE TO SATELLITE RADIO
Larry Mcshane – Associated Press
Little Steven Van Zandt has a problem with pop culture.
"We have room for all these reality show people to become icons; we ought to have room for Alan Freed," complains the singer/songwriter/"Sopranos" star. "Everybody in the world knows who Paris Hilton is, but they don't know who Alan Freed is.
"That's not cool, as far as I'm concerned."
Quick primer: Freed was the legendary Cleveland disc jockey and host of the first major rock concert, the "Moondog Coronation Ball," before 25,000 people on March 21, 1952. Van Zandt finds this considerably more compelling than the libidinous antics of the hotel chain heiress _ and so does his ever-growing legion of garage-rock fans.
Which explains why 53 years after Freed's event, Van Zandt is planning a musical blowout of his own.
He's bringing his "Underground Garage" radio format to a new home: Sirius Satellite Radio, where his 24-hour, seven-day-a-week commercial-free channel debuts on March 21. Under Van Zandt's direction, the new station promises to unite Chuck Berry with Joey Ramone with Jet.
"We don't care if it's 50 years old, or 50 minutes old," he said. "If it's good rock 'n' roll, we play it."
The launch also coincides with the 50th anniversary of the gritty movie classic "Blackboard Jungle," featuring the indelible rock standard "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets. All in all, pretty good timing for the latest venture from the perpetually busy Van Zandt.
Miami Steve Van Zandt, as he was known back then, emerged from the Jersey shore music scene in the mid-1970s, playing with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes before joining buddy Bruce Springsteen as guitarist with the E Street Band.
He's since become a rock renaissance man with a wide range of interests. He led an artists' boycott of South Africa in the '80s, launched a solo career, signed on as consigliere Silvio Dante on "The Sopranos" and became a disc jockey extraordinaire.
His own weekly syndicated radio show, which debuted in April 2002, is now heard by nearly 1 million listeners in 200 markets. It was that kind of juice that led to his invitation to join the world of satellite radio.
"I'm not totally surprised," Van Zandt said of his successful move to radio. "I know how strong this music is. I knew people hadn't heard it in a while, and I knew most people hadn't heard it all in one place. And I knew it would have an amazing effect on people, because it had an amazing effect on me."
Van Zandt can still get stoked telling a good story about some great music. "Rock Around the Clock," for instance? It was originally a B-side on a Comets' single. And it only wound up in "Blackboard Jungle" because actor Glenn Ford's son, Peter, was a big fan of the song and played it for director Richard Brooks.
It seems Van Zandt has become a rock 'n' roll historian, too.
"I don't mean to be an academic _ it's not something I'd choose to be, and I never will be," he said. "But it's part of what we do with the show."
Which doesn't mean Van Zandt is looking backward. He's hosting celebrations in Los Angeles and New York for his new radio venture, with music provided by the surviving Comets and current garage bands The Woggles, The Fleshtones and The Charms.
"I'm not really into nostalgia," he added. "This stuff has the same impact today as did back when. Music never gets old."
Did Springsteen ever play in Wildwood?
