Dan's Old School - WFDU

02/03/2024

SPOTLIGHT ON R&B AND BLUES ON THIS WEEK’S “DAN’S OLD SCHOOL” WITH PERFORMERS FROM CARR’S BEACH IN 1960, THE APOLLO IN 1964, THE MADISON WISCONSIN BLUES FESTIVAL IN 1999 AND THE WWRL “SOUL 16” IN JANUARY 1968!

A veritable smorgasbord of great American music on “Dan’s Old School” this week.

The Carr’s Beach show focuses on Marv Johnson, Bobby Peterson, Earl Bostic, and Don Gardner and Dee Dee Ford.

The Madison Blues Fest serves up Ray Charles, Robert Cray, Susan Tedeschi, Buddy Guy, and Shemekia Copeland,

Brook Benton headlines the Apollo show celebrating Tommy Smalls’ 12th Anniversary on WWRL with help from Wilbert Harrison, Little Anthony, Nappy Brown, Eugene Church, Valerie Carr, and Shirley and Lee.

And the WWRL Soul 16 survey is heavy on the Motown, and strong on the other top R&B hits in 1968.

This three hour treat debuts Sunday March 3rd from 3 to 6 Eastern at WFDU FM 89.1 with a repeat Thursday from 4 to 7pm Eastern at WFDU.FM HD1 and streaming everywhere on Tune In and iHeart Radio plus it will live in the HD1 Show Archive for two weeks.

Brush up your R&B chops on this week’s “Dan’s Old School”!

23/02/2024

NOW’S THE TIME TO GO TO WFDU.FM WITH YOUR CREDIT CARD AND DONATE TO THE 2024 WFDU FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN TO KEEP BLUES, R&B, OLD SCHOOL ROCK ‘N ROLL, SOUL AND BLUESY JAZZ ON THE AIR!

We need your support to keep “Dan’s Old School” and all the great shows on WFDU going for another year – February is the heart of our effort, and we’re asking you for your help once again! In exchange if you donate $100 or more you can get an FDU T-Shirt, for $150 an FDU crew-neck sweat shirt, for $200 an Alexa Echo Pop with setup instructions, for $300 the Big Magilla – all of the above premiums plus a ticket to the March 16, 2024, 7pm-10pm "Meet & Greet" with all the WFDU DJs on the FDU Metro Campus, light food and refreshments included.

And on this week’s “Dan’s Old School” we’ll give you a taste of all the styles of music we feature on our shows, including two weeks at the New York Apollo Theater from November of 1962, with Ike and Tina, Jerry Butler, the Majors, King Curtis, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Eugene Pitt and the Jive Five, the Ikettes, and Sam Cooke, including several cuts from his 1963 concert at Miami’s Harlem Square Club, a Soul Stirrers selection with Sam, and his very first secular recording!

We also get into pop rock ‘n roll in Wilkes-Barre PA with Jimmy Clanton, Dion and the Belmonts, the Kalin Twins, and a guest appearance from Paul Evans. And we fit in two sets of hit selections, from WVON in Chicago in 1966, and WLAV in Grand Rapids in 1967.

This show makes its first appearance Sunday February 25 from 3 to 6pm on WFDU FM 89.1 (simultaneously streaming on iHeart Radio and all the decent online venues) with a rerun Thursday 4 to 7pm Eastern on WFDU.FM HD1 (which you can get on the Alexa Echo as well as the streaming channels) and in the HD1 Show Archive at WFDU.FM for two weeks. Enjoy, and give what you can!!! Thanks – Dan Aron

17/02/2024

THE CLOVERS WITH “YOUR CASH AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT TRASH” AT THE APOLLO KICKS OFF WEEK 3 OF THE 2024 WFDU FUNDRAISING DRIVE!

And your cash is not trash to us at “Dan’s Old School”! We have a lineup for this week’s show star-studded from top to bottom

From the Washington Coliseum in 1973, the Clovers, Bo Diddley. Mary Wells, the Vibrations, and the Jewels; from Pawtucket Rhode Isand in 1966, Otis Redding, Garnett Mimms, Percy Sledge, Mitty Collier, James Carr Patti Labekke and the Bluebelles, and the Ovations; from the Westchester County Center in 1961, the Blues Pioneer Little Walter Jacobs and the Memphis Blues legend Bobby “Blue Bland”; Baltimore Soul in 1968 with Sam and Dave, the Impressions, Dells, Al Wilson and the Intruders; plus sidetrips to WLEE in Richmond for some great 1969 pop and the Festival Express in Calgary plus the Academy of Music in New York for a couple of live performances by The Band.

Please, above all, remember to go to WFDU.FM, click on donate, and give as much as you can to keep “Dan’s Old School” and WFDU on the air. This show debuts Sunday February 18th on WFDU FM 89.1 3 to 6pm Eastern (also streaming at WFDU.FM HD1 and iHeart and TuneIn Radio) with a rerun Thursday the 22nd from 4 to 7pm Eastern on the web, and in the HD1 Show Archive at WFDU.FM for two weeks!

26/01/2024

26/01/2024

1969 SUMMER OF STARS IN ASBURY PARK, 1965 KRLA HOLLYWOOD BOWL CONCERT, R&B AT THE MOSQUE IN NEWARK IN 63, AND A SPECIAL SALUTE TO BLUES PIONEER ELMORE JAMES ON “DAN’S OLD SCHOOL” THIS WEEK!

Sunday, from 3 to 6pm Eastern, tune in to WFDU 89.1 FM or WFDU.FM HD1 for all the above, with a range of music from Dan’s lifetime that epitomizes what blues, R&B, Soul, rock ‘n roll, and bluesy jazz have done for the wide range of music that can look to the blues as its source!

We begin at Asbury’s Convention Hall in 1969 with Dionne Warwick, Janis Joplin, James Cotton, Frankie Valli, the Temptations, Joe Cocker, and Steppenwolf, all of whom were very much stars at that time.

Then up the Parkway and back six years to the Mosque Theater on Broad Street in Newark for an amazing R&B show headed by Jackie Wilson supported by Little Stevie Wonder, BB King, Solomon Burke, Gladys Knight, Ben E. King, Mitty Collier, Barbara Lynn, the Tams and Gorgeous George.

That amazing package is followed by the Hollywood Bowl Show in ’65 with the Byrds, Loving Spoonful, Rascals, and a bunch of pop acts. A turn East and nine years earlier for a birthday celebration in honor of Elmore James at Silvio’s in Chicago. The king of the slide guitar has contributions from Howlin’ Wolf and Little Wolf (Jessie Saunders) but it’s truly Elmore’s slot. He was to pass on just seven years later.

We wrap it up with a few goodies from Chicago’s WLS hit list in 1969, which was the year that started this journey in Asbury Park.

Sunday, 3-6pm Eastern on WFDU FM 89.1, with a repeat Thursday 4-7pm Thursday at WFDU.FM HD1 streaming everywhere on iHeart Radio, and in the Show Archive at WFDU.FM for two weeks.

18/01/2024

A SPECIAL FOCUS ON NEW ORLEANS, PLUS A NYC HIT LIST, AND SHOWS IN NOLA, DC, AND AT THE APOLLO ON “DANS OLD SCHOOL” THIS SUNDAY, 3-6PM ON WFDU FM 89.1!

I make no secret about how much I love the food, the people, and the music of New Orleans! I first landed there in the summer of 1958, and have been back at least a half dozen times since. The highlight was Jazzfest in 1995, but every visit has been a culinary and auditory pleasure. Just hanging out on a Sunday afternoon with the art and music in Jackson Square is fun, and the oysters at the Acme are as good as they come (if you can squeeze your way in these days). So we sample Cousin Joe Pleasant, whom I saw and heard on Bourbon Street in 1958 and later at the Cookery in New York, Huey “Piano” Smith, Professor Longhair, the Nevilles, the Meters, Dr. John, James Booker, and Lee Dorsey, whose output produced by Allen Toussaint epitomizes a certain era of Big Easy R&B.

We also visit the Apollo in ’62 for JB, Hank Ballard, the Valentinos, Solomon Burke, Freddie King, Little Eva, and Chris Montez, and the Howard in DC in ’65 for Dee Clark, the Ikettes, Maxine Brown, and Little Anthony.

And we wrap it up with some of my personal NOLA favorites from Roy Montrell, TV Slim, Dr. John, and Huey and the Clowns.

All this Sunday afternoon from 3 to 6pm Eastern on WFDU FM 89.1 with a rerun on Thursday from 4 to 7pm Eastern at WFDU.FM HD1 and living for 2 weeks in the HD1 Show Archive.

“Dan’s Old School” will have you smiling this week!

12/01/2024

WE RUN THE GAMUT ON THIS WEEK’S “DAN’S OLD SCHOOL” DEBUTING ON WFDU FM 89.1 SUNDAY 3-6PM EASTERN! A BIG BARREL OF BLUES, R&B, SOUL, ROCK ‘N ROLL, AND BLUESY JAZZ INCLUDING:

Wilson Pickett at Tramps in NYC in 1994, Aretha Franklin in Knoxville in 1968, Booker T and the MG’s with CCR at Madison Square Garden in 1970, blues pioneers Jimmy Reed and Big Mama Thornton at the Vulcan Gas Company in Austin in 1969, the Vaughan Brothers, Stevie Ray and Jimmie (with the Fabulous Thunderbirds) at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh in 1986, and a generous sampling of R&B hits of the 60’s and 70’s, plus some of the hits from WNDR in Syracuse in 1972 and KHJ in LA in 1969 – and some out of left field.

This is basically a three hour potpourri of great American music, so tune in Sunday 3-6 Eastern on WFDU FM 89.1 (also streaming at WFDU.FM HD1) and streaming only on Thursday from 3-6pm/

This one’s a keeper!!

03/01/2024

“DAN’S OLD SCHOOL” IS BACK ON WFDU-FM 89.1 WITH NEW SHOWS, STARTING JANUARY 7TH FROM 3 TO 6PM!!

New shows, but mostly old music (it is retro radio) but a bunch of cuts we haven’t played before, and a smattering of the music we’ve heard in the last year here in our new home, Austin Texas. From folks like Gary Clark Jr., David Grissom, Marcia Ball, Carolyn Wonderland, and Ray Wylie Hubbard.

The show begins with music from one of the greatest musical nights of my life, July 5th 1958 at the Newport Jazz Festival. It was a program devoted to the blues, and you’ll hear from Big Joe Turner, Chuck Berry, Big Maybelle and our first in-person witnessing of the great Ray Charles, plus a couple of songs from Mahalia Jackson’s Sunday morning/after midnight Saturday concert. Sublime!

There are some samplings of 60’s and 70’s R&B, Soul, and Pop Rock including some from a Pat St. John’s show in 1971 on WKNR in Detroit, some ska and reggae from Desmond Dekker and Eddy Grant, and a tribute to some of the blues pioneers who continued recording and playing past Y2K into the 21st Century, BB King, John Lee Ho**er, Matt Guitar Murphy, Chuck, and Bo Diddley.

It’s great to be back weekly on FDU, so tune in and enjoy the grooves Sundays from 3 to 6pm on WFDU FM 89.1 with a rerun on WFDU.FM HD1 on the web Thursdays from 4-7. The blues, R&B, soul, bluesy jazz, and rock ‘n roll are alive and well at “Dan’s Old School”!!

12/04/2023

ANOTHER NEW ENTRY THIS WEEK IN THE “DAN’S OLD SCHOOL” SYLLABUS, CHATTANOOGA IN 1960, THE FILLMORE EAST IN 1970, AND WHBQ MEMPHIS IN 1957!

“Dan’s Old School” on WFDU debuting Thursday April 13th at 95.1 FM from 3-6am Eastern and Thursday afternoon at WFDU.FM on the HD1 channel will highlight two more collections of great American performers. First, at the Chattanooga Memorial Auditorium in 1960 an “Extravaganza” of talent headed by BB King and Roy Hamilton, emceed by Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, and including Little Willie John, the Flamingos, Shirley and Lee, Buster Brown, the little known Sam Hawkins, and probably the most butt-kicking band of the era, the Upsetters.

Then a fabulous show at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East in January of 1970 with Ike, Tina, the Ikettes, Mongo Santamaria, and Fats Domino. How did I miss that one?!

Finally, a sampling of the hits in October of 1957 on WHBQ Memphis, a general market station that included in its playlist a broad range of music, which was certainly appropriate for that market, including a Joe Turner cut I’d never heard and one of the few Little Richard records he made with the Upsetters behind him (even though they were in all his 50’s movie, club, and concert appearances).

Remember, the Thursday shows will be streaming at all the decent venues, and this edition of “Dan’s Old School” will be available in the HD1 Show Archive for two weeks after the morning show.

29/03/2023

PLANNING A NEW "DAN'S OLD SCHOOL" FOR THURSDAY APRIL 13TH. CHECK BACK FOR DETAILS AS WE GET CLOSER!

15/03/2023

In the HD1 Show Archive beginning 3/16/23

HD1 Recent Archives

22/02/2023

New show tomorrow Feb. 23rd. More info to follow.

25/01/2023

A NEW EDITION OF “DAN’S OLD SCHOOL" THIS WEEK!
SPOTLIGHT ON THE APOLLO THEATER IN THE 60’S AND MANY OF THE PERFORMERS I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO SEE THERE!

Most of the world is aware of New York’s 125th Street Apollo Theater, the Carnegie Hall of Harlem and home to most of the great black entertainers of the 20th Century.

It was less than a mile from from where I lived, so it wasn’t a stretch to get there. Even if I was driving from another location, it was relatively easy to find street parking in the 60’s. My trips there were fairly frequent, mainly because the acts were so good. And among those you’ll hear (mostly live performances) and that I actually saw at the Apollo are Martha and the Vandellas, Joe Tex, Jimmy Reed, James Brown, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, and Dionne Warwick (I also include a Drinkard Singers gospel cut with Dionne on lead that’ll blow you away).

One of the highlights of going to the Apollo were the Wednesday Amateur Night at the Apollo competitions that were broadcast live for years on WMCA, and were the source of many who later became stars. I couldn’t find any transcriptions of those radio shows anywhere, nor photos of Port Rico and Sandman Sims, two of the early “executioners” who escorted the losers off stage. But it was great fun to be in the audience!

Thursday, January 26th on WFDU FM 89.1 3-6am Eastern (and in the HD1 Show Archive right after) with a repeat on the web at WFDU.FM HD1 fro 4 to 7 Eastern.
Come along for the trip! And don’t forget to donate to WFDU during the February fund drive!