Solid Gold Saturday Mornings

03/10/2025

Born in 1952, I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to Mike O’Donnell!

Now most of you may be wondering who this man is, and I’ll be glad to explain. Mike O’Donnell is a musician, composer and songwriter who worked alongside Junior Campbell (from the group Marmalade) to create the soundtrack for the television series, “Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends” from 1984 to 2003. Every character song and “ditty” you hear during that time was composed by him and Campbell.

Mike was in several bands throughout the sixties, most notably with a band named “Gold,” who had hits such as “Stay With Me My Love” and “Paradise.” He even worked at Apple Studios for a period of time, eventually managing Ringo Starr’s Tittenhurst Park in the eighties.

“Thomas & Friends” producer Britt Allcroft soon hired Mike to compose the first series of the show and, thanks to being signed to the same publisher, sparked a collaborative partnership with Junior Campbell. The duo worked on the show for 29 years before departing in 2003.

Happy Birthday, Mike! ♥️

03/08/2025

Good morning, Retro Radio!

Time now to vote for this week’s WABC Pick Hit! Your options are as follows:

1. Love’s Theme - Love Unlimited Orchestra
2. T.S.O.P. - MFSB
3. Jet - Paul McCartney & Wings

Leave a comment down below, call in at (201)-692-2012 or email me along with your requests at [email protected].

Listen LIVE at 8 am EST for the countdown at wfdu.fm, 89.1 on your dial, the WFDU app or any radio streaming service.

May the best song win!

03/07/2025

Good Morning, Retro Radio!

I’m all set for another edition of Solid Gold Saturday Mornings, and this time I’m adding some much needed Girl Power to your weekend soundtrack!

This week’s Top 8 @ 8 Countdown is brought to you by the “All Americans” at 77 WABC as we go back to the year 1974.

Listen LIVE from 6 am to 10 am EST on wfdu.fm, 89.1 on your dial, the WFDU app or any radio streaming service.

As always, check back on this page tomorrow morning at 6 am for your chance yo vote for this week’s WABC pick hit.

See you tomorrow!

03/06/2025

Remembering Mary Christine Brockert, better known by her stage name Teena Marie, songwriter, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie and later acquired the nickname Lady Tee, given to her by her collaborator and friend, Rick James. She was known for her distinctive soulful vocals, which caused many listeners to believe she was African-American. Her success in R&B and soul music, and loyalty to these genres would earn her the title Ivory Queen of Soul. She played rhythm guitar, keyboards, and congas, and wrote, produced, sang, and arranged virtually all of her songs since her 1980 release, Irons in the Fire, which she later said was her favorite album. R.I.P

03/06/2025

March is Women’s History Month, so periodically you might see me sharing some of the most incredible and pioneering women in music history. And I’d like to start off with Sylvia Robinson! She is more than just a talented singer from her 1973 solo hit “Pillow Talk.” She is, rightfully so, “The Mother Of Hip-Hop.” Check out her achievements below from the National R&B Music Society:

Remembering Sylvia Robinson on the day of her birth, singer, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson had two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with "Love Is Strange" in 1957 and her solo record "Pillow Talk" in 1973. She later became known for her work as founder and CEO of the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records. Robinson is credited as the driving force behind two landmark singles in the hip hop genre; "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, and "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five; which caused her to be dubbed "The Mother of Hip–Hop". Robinson received a Pioneer Award for her career in singing and being the founder of Sugarhill Records at the 11th Annual Rhythm and Blues Awards Gala in 2000. R.I.P.

03/05/2025

Born in 1962 in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland - I’d like to wish a very Happy Birthday to Craig and Charlie Reid. Better known as The Proclaimers!

These two rose to prominence with their 1987 hit “Letters To America,” which went to Number 3 in the UK. One year later, they would release their most iconic hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” which went Number 1 in three countries and Number 3 in the USA.

Fun fact, their biggest selling album where the song came from, “Sunshine on Leith,” also contains the ballad of the same name. It is used as the club anthem to Edinburgh’s Hibernian Football Club and is played before every match at their home ground, Easter Road.

Happy Birthday to The Proclaimers!

(C) Dig! YouTube Channel

Official video forThe Proclaimers - "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" from the album 'Sunshine on Leith'LyricsWhen I wake up, well, I know I'm gonna beI'm gonna be ...

03/05/2025

in 1996 - The Beatles released their second Anthology single, “Real Love.”

This came from one of three demos tapes by John Lennon initially recorded by him around 1979-1980. The other two were “Free As A Bird” (their first Anthology single) and “Now And Then.” This song would reach #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year.

I remember when I first heard this song, I played it over and over again because of how emotional it made me. It’s coming from the perspective of someone who has passed (John) telling the person they are speaking to (The Beatles) that everything is going to be ok, and that the love you feel will always be real.

03/04/2025

in the year 2000, the Sony Playstation 2 was released!

A little something different from my usual music history facts, but still something that holds a great deal of memories. This iconic gaming console was first released in Japan on this day, and it wouldn’t be until October of that year that it would find its way to North America.

Now, me personally, I didn’t get into Sony consoles until the release of the Playstation 3; however I would always remember watching my older sister play game series such as Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.

Did you have one? What was your favorite game to play on the Playstation 2? Let me know in the comments below!

03/03/2025

Rest in peace, Joey. The music and memories of you and Badfinger will live on forever.

I wanted to speak about something in relation to his passing. Firstly, he was the last surviving member of Badfinger, and now that he has passed it feels like a connection has been severed. I know we have their music and maybe even interview clips as well to remember them, but there is something about an entire band passing away overtime that really puts things into perspective.

Of course, I fully understand that every artist and group featured on WFDU was before my time. But I could only imagine what this feels like to our audience. It’s almost like, years later, when Green Day is gone or Pentatonix or anybody from my generation. It’s a piece of your life that is no longer available to you. Which is why, to the best of my ability, I try to see as many concert as I can that feature these legends because you never know when their time will come.

We are saddened to hear of the passing of Joey Molland, legendary guitarist and member of Badfinger.

The Liverpool-born star was signed with Badfinger by Apple Records, and Joey went onto lend his musical talents to ‘All Things Must Pass’ by George Harrison and ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon, as well as performing at George's Concert for Bangladesh in 1971.

Rest in peace, Joey 🕊️

03/01/2025

Good Morning, Retro Radio!

It’s time now to vote for this week’s AT40 pick hit!

1. Sultans of Swing - Dire Straits
2. Soul Man - Blues Brothers
3. What A Fool Believes - Doobie Brothers

Cast your vote by calling (201)-692-2012 or email [email protected] along with your requests.

Listen LIVE at 8 am EST for the countdown on wfdu.fm, iheart.com, 89.1 on your dial or on our WFDU app.

May the best song win!

02/28/2025

Good Morning, Retro Radio!

It is the first March show of the year! Spring is fast approaching, the February Fund Drive is over and we can finally returned to our regularly scheduled programming!

I'm gonna switch things up this month and feature our Top 8 @ 8 countdown. This week, in honor of George Harrison's birthday, we're going back to the year 1979 because that's when he released one of his underrated and one of my favorite albums - the self-titled "George Harrison" album.

For those who are longtime listeners, you'll know that around 7:30 I usually do our "Triple Crown" which features the Top 3 songs from the UK, Canada and USA from a specific year. This month, I want to fill the time with more Solid Gold hits and your requests.

As always, check back tomorrow morning at 8 am EST for your chance to vote for this week's AT40 Pick Hit.

Listen LIVE from 6 am - 10 am EST on wfdu.fm, iheart.com, 89.1 on your dial, or on our WFDU app.

See you tomorrow!

02/25/2025

in 1943, “The Quiet Beatle” was born. We wish a Happy Heavenly Birthday and a “Hare Krishna” to George Harrison who would have been 82 years old today.

What I loved about George’s Beatle songs is that they were always standouts. In the beginning, it was George singing songs that were given to him by John and Paul. As The Beatles moved into the late 60’s however, George would push harder to write his own songs and we were blessed with some of his most iconic songs like “Something,” “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” “Within You, Without You,” and “Here Comes The Sun.”

It wasn’t until I got into solo discography that I truly saw how talented he was as a guitarist and songwriter. My favorite albums of his has to be “All Things Must Pass” (1970), the self-titled “George Harrison” album (1979), and his incredible “Cloud Nine” album (1987). He may have been the “quiet Beatle,” but he definitely made some of the biggest noise in music history.

Happy Birthday, George, and Hare Krishna! ♥️

02/24/2025

This past week or so we lost the incredible voices of Gwen McCrae and now Roberta Flack.

Roberta was a virtuoso on the piano and a beautiful singer known, of course, for “Killing Me Softly With His Song” which won a Grammy in 1974. Her other iconic Number 1 hits include “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (Grammy, 1973) and “Feel Like Making Love.” She had been diagnosed with ALS in 2022 which made it “impossible to sing,” but thankfully we have her voice for generations to hear on solid gold discs. Rest in Power to an icon. ♥️

www.rnbmusicsociety.com
Sad news...
Soul/R&B/Pop singer and artist Roberta Flack has died at age 88.

Our heartfelt condolences and prayers goes out to her family, friends, peers and all whom mourns her passing.

May she forever Rest In Paradise.
___________________________________________________________________

Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer who topped the Billboard charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Where Is the Love", "Feel Like Makin' Love", and "The Closer I Get to You".

Flack influenced the subgenre of contemporary R&B called quiet storm, and interpreted songs by songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and members of the Beatles.

Roberta Flack was the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in two consecutive years: "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" won in 1973 and "Killing Me Softly with His Song" won in 1974.

02/22/2025

Good Morning, Retro Radio!

We’re celebrating some of the most influential and iconic black artists of all time! As part of the celebrations, here is an iconic performance from Sister Rosetta Tharpe from 1964!

(c) Reelin’ In The Years Archives YouTube Channel

Reelin’ In The Years Productions has available for licensing over 20,000 hours of music footage spanning 90 years. Additionally, we have more than 5,000 of h...

02/21/2025

Hello Retro Radio!

This week show is the last February show, which means the last Fund Drive show of the year. Listen LIVE at wfdu.fm, iheart.com, 89.1 on your dial or our WFDU app.

In the spirit of this historic month, I will also be playing some of the most iconic, influential, and groundbreaking Black artists of all time. And with your donation, we can keep these trailblazers on the air for another year!

As always, even though this is the last February show for Solid Gold Saturday Mornings, please continue to pledge your support to the radio station that keeps your favorite music on the air all year round. Go to wfdu.fm/donate.

Remember, funding for WFDU FM is made possible by contributions from listeners like you! WFDU is a 501(c)(3) non-profit which means your donation is tax deductible. All donations received go directly into the operating budget of WFDU. Thank you!

02/17/2025

The fact that CHUBBY CHECKER isn’t officially in the Hall of Fame is wild to think about! He certainly gets my vote.

Who do YOU think should be in the Rock Hall? (Listed or not listed)

02/17/2025

Motown Records where legendary artists like The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and The Jackson 5 created timeless melodies that not only defined an era but also broke down racial barriers in music. Founded by Berry Gordy in 1959, Motown became the soundtrack of change, blending Soul, Pop, and R&B in a way that resonated across cultural lines. From the iconic halls of Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit, the label nurtured talent that would go on to shape the sound of a generation, with artists whose influence can still be felt today. The Supremes became the epitome of female empowerment, while Stevie Wonder’s groundbreaking albums redefined musical genius. The Jackson 5’s infectious energy propelled young Michael Jackson into superstardom. With every chart-topping single and record-breaking performance, Motown not only revolutionized the music industry but also became a symbol of resilience and creativity, leaving an indelible mark on the world of entertainment and beyond.✊🏿Salute!❤️🖤💚
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