07/04/2024
Our program this month is a rare "air check" (a recorded radio broadcast) by Washington, D.C. radio personality Dick Lillard, known locally to many listeners as the host of the popular program "Nostalgia," (1973-77) where he played postwar rhythm & blues and early rock 'n' roll while chatting with callers on the air (without a screener, by the way!).
In 1969, while working at WOL-AM 1450 in Washington, Dick produced the music documentary you will hear on this podcast, entitled "A Revolution of Music."
Splicing segments together on reel tape and playing sounds from near forgotten 78 rpm discs, Dick presents almost every major rhythm & blues hit from 1949 to 1956, the year that rock 'n' roll exploded onto the scene.
The essential point of the program is that rock 'n' roll evolved over many years from the sounds of jump blues, R & B and boogie-woogie styles. While acknowledging the role that Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and DJ/promoter Alan Freed all played in the development of rock 'n' roll, it all started many years earlier with the then obscure sounds you will hear on this podcast.
When this program was produced in 1969 during the heyday of soul music, these recordings were virtually unknown to the general public, as Dick reminds us. Today, you can easily hear these sounds on websites as well as streaming services like Amazon, Sirius XM or Spotify. So, when you listen to the commentary, please be mindful that this pioneering effort was produced 55 years ago, long before the advent of the Internet and digital music.
Thanks to Dick Lillard for sharing and Catch The Grooves of this historic program.
