“Jukebox Saturday Night: ’70s at 7,” hosted by Mike Saffran, on “Oldies 98.9”/WKLX-FM (98.9), Rochester, N.Y. Originally aired 7–8 p.m. Jan. 28, 1995.
Special note: How it all began … Although I had filled in as the host of “Jukebox Saturday Night” a handful of times prior to Jan. 28, 1995, this night’s show (beginning, from 7 to 8 p.m., with “’70s at 7”) was the start of my more than five-year run as host of the Saturday-night all-request call-in show on WKLX-FM and, following an April 1998 call-sign change, WBBF-FM (thus, it all was on the same station, but with different call letters). On this particular night, Nick Evans (“Nick at Night”), who was my immediate predecessor as regular host, broadcast the show live, from 8 p.m. to midnight, from the Garage Door (a local bar); so, technically, I didn’t take over as host of the whole shebang until the following week (but because I hosted this night’s “’70s at 7,” I considered it to be my first night). Also, I always regarded both “’70s at 7” and “Backseat Memories” — the latter of which aired from, variously, either 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. until midnight — as unique segments within the broader show, “Jukebox Saturday Night” (known later, on WBBF, as the “Saturday Night All-Request Rock ’n’ Roll Jukebox” — or, always, by the shorter, “The Jukebox”).
This segment (a one-hour show “scoped” down to a 04:40 aircheck) has a decidedly different “feel” from “The Jukebox” 1998–2000 “rewinds” I have been sharing up to now. I sound a bit different (even to myself!). Not only was I getting my “sea legs,” so to speak, as the new host, but the technology used was different (a significant factor), too. In 1995, we were still recording incoming phone calls/requests onto analog tape on an Otari reel-to-reel tape deck! So, “phoners” were edited the old-fashioned way: By physically cutting tape with a razor blade, and then taping pieces of audiotape back togethers (using splicing tape)! Thus, because editing was more tedious, I tended to often use only short segments of phone calls (instead of longer conversations that might require more extensive editing). The result of tight segments/fewer edits: There is much less host-caller interaction (or full-blown conversations) compared with after the later switch to VoxPro for digitally-editing phone calls. (Aside: One of my favorite things about hosting a request show was the interaction with listeners on phone calls; however, even I concede that with the ability to more easily edit phone calls after the switch to VoxPro, ironically some of my conversations with callers occasionally ran a bit too long. Conversely, some of the tight segments, heard here, were decent in maintaining the show’s “forward momentum” — as a program director might say — albeit if they somewhat lack the “fun factor” that comes from greater interaction.)
A few other differences (from later airchecks previously shared):
• Popular ’70s-era TV-show theme songs were used as “’70s at 7” music beds
• No coin-into-slot SFX before requests (something introduced later into my tenure as host)
• Different jingle package (including the weather jingle open/close)
• Weather from “NewsSource 13” (WOKR-TV)
Callers aired and other show highlights:
00:23 Unidentified male (“How Long”)
01:08 Tracy (“I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing [In Perfect Harmony]”)
01:49 Unidentified male (“Afternoon Delight”)
02:14 First of a few references to “Jukebox Saturday Night,” with “Nick at Night” (Nick Evans), live at the Garage Door (Irondequoit bar)
02:33 Super Bowl XXIX (Jan. 29, 1995) reference
02:40: I love the “It’s always fun, fun, fun …” jingle used after the weather forecast! (Like many of the WKLX jingles of the time, it was created to resemble a hit song — in this case, the Beach Boys’ “Fun, Fun, Fun” :-)
02:58 Rachel (“I Love Music [Part 1]”)
03:30 Unidentified male (“Taxi”)
04:25 Unidentified male (“Ring My Bell”)
