“The All-Request Rock ’n’ Roll Jukebox,” hosted by Mike Saffran, on “99 BBF”/WBBF-FM (98.9), Rochester, N.Y. Originally aired 7 p.m.–Midnight July 3, 1999.
Callers aired and other show highlights:
00:21 First of a couple references to anticipated possible Emergency Alert System (EAS) automated messages about thunderstorm watches or warnings; the alerts were set to automatically interrupt programming (which sounded terrible on the air — but, unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it)
00:53 Tim/Driving to a graduation party in Buffalo (“Sweet Pea” and “Spirit In The Sky”)
02:27 J.R. (with Jack)/Working at J&J Newsstand (Greece) (“Kodachrome”)
03:12 Robert/Hamlin (“Summer Breeze”)
04:09 Unidentified male asking about the weather
04:49 “Sister station” WBEE-FM DJ “Big Daddy” Dave Beck stops by to explain why for the first time in five years of us hosting Saturday night shows opposite one another he didn’t make a pot of coffee at the start of the evening (forcing me to make my own coffee!). His excuse: He was getting acclimated to the newly renovated WBEE studio. (Note: I’m sure this bit was unplanned; rather, as I was talking live on-air about him and the lack of coffee, it’s likely I saw him through the studio window and waved him in!)
05:29 Reference to growing my beard back (after a month without it)
05:40 Jane (with her sister)/Rochester (“Sugar, Sugar”)
06:09 Subtle reference to the 1979 Jefferson Starship song “Jane,” which includes the lyrics: “Jane, you’re playing a game” (but from the young caller’s reaction — or lack thereof — I kind of suspect it flew right over her head!)
06:34 Ben/Working at Pizza Hut, Monroe Avenue (Brighton) (“We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”)
07:15 “Man, I’m gonna kill myself out in that hallway … what a mess out there!” (Note: In order to check the outside temperature — which I typically did once an hour before reading the weather forecast — I needed to walk over to an equipment rack in the hallway outside the WBBF and WBEE studios. My guess is this was in reference to the two studios being renovated; and, thus, that there probably were boxes of new equipment and/or other building material sitting in the hallway)
07:46 Bethany/Rochester (“War”)
08:13 Dave (with sons and daughter)/Irondequoit (“Life Is A Rock” and “Crocodile Rock”)
09:00 Irondequoit Independence Day parade earlier today; July Fourth fireworks scheduled, for some strange reason, for Monday (the day after the holiday); and VW bus references
09:34 Live promo for “Fourth of July Blowout,” featuring the All-Star Band: Joey T and the Bubblegum Machine (hosted by 99BBF’s Mike Vickers), Sunday, at Four Points by Sheraton (first of a couple live reads)
10:29 Stacy/Irondequoit (“Family Affair”)
11:10 “Let’s get rid of that feedback … get enough of that from my headphones from time to time!” (Yes, like many jocks, I listened with my headphones often way too loud — to the point of sometimes getting feedback! ;-)
11:22 Scott/Fairport (“Sunshine”)
12:03 Another reference to checking in on “sister station” WBEE-FM DJ “Big Daddy” Dave Beck, who was dealing with new equipment in the renovated WBEE studio; plus, a mention of my “twin brother,” WBEE DJ Mike St. John, who worked there earlier the same day! ;-) (And 99BBF will soon be getting its studio renovated, too!)
12:48 Matt (“Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” — dedicated to all the moms with gorgeous single daughters)
13:21 Barbara/Henrietta (“Donna”) — lamenting leaving her phone out in the rain (a few weeks ago, I left my garage-door opener out in the rain; “Boy, I thought the MG was gonna be stuck in the garage!”)
13:38 Caller (to host): “You are so young!” :-)
15:23 “Kid Fest Summer Blast” reference
15:47 Fletch (“Shake Me, Wake Me [When It’s Over]”)
16:18 Jerry/Rochester (“Give Me One More Chance”)
17:47 Shoutout to Jen and Eastridge HS (Irondequoit) Class of ’99
18:01 Mary/Driving someplace near Conesus Lake (“The Lion Sleeps Tonight”) — and Conesus Lake “Ring of Fire” reference
18:35 Bethany (“I Got You [I Feel Good]”) — followed by customized “Mike Saffran ‘Name Shout’ Jingle” (Note: Unlike my supposition, three weeks earlier, that a sweeper might have been played accidentally after a phoner, I believe this — although it was rare to air a jingle immediately after a phone call — likely was intentional, knowing the requested song had a cold-start, it was getting later in the show, and simply because I didn’t have a lot to say after this particular phone call, so I thought I’d slightly change it up!
18:59 Doug (“Dead Man’s Curve”)
20:08 Unidentified male (“Wake Up Little Susie”) (Note: I’m a little surprised I didn’t query the caller about his accent; but, my guess is either: a.) I thought he might be putting me on (and I didn’t want to encourage him); or b.) If it was a real accent, it would be too cliché to say anything about it. Another strong possibility, of course, is that I did ask him about it, but I edited it out of the phoner — because it wasn’t very compelling)
20:26 “Playing more great oldies than Time Warner has cable!”
20:35 Richard/Greece (“Wild Weekend”)
21:57 Carly/Rochester (“He’s A Rebel”)
22:26 Unidentified male (“Rama Lama Ding Dong” — dedicated to Ivan Green Primary School, Irondequoit, graduates)
23:05 J.R./Potter (“Mr. Bass Man”)
23:19 Unknown female/Seneca Lake (“Leader Of The Pack”) (Note: Though I don’t know for sure, it’s possible that airing two phone calls, for separate requests, back-to-back was a mistake — and that the second request — “Leader Of The Pack” — was the intended one … and the cued-up song. On the other hand, however, it’s possible I intentionally aired the two short phone calls in quick succession)
24:02 John/Brockport (driving from Irondequoit to Medina) (“Bad Blood”)
24:48 “The computer here tells me, actually, when the last time a song played: Sept. 12, 1998 … it was a Saturday night, so it did play during a ‘Jukebox’! :-)
25:05 “Sister station” WBEE-FM DJ “Big Daddy” Dave Beck pays yet another short studio visit! :-)
25:27 Joanne/Irondequoit (“Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” — dedication to Nick)
All content (radio aircheck, audio podcast – all components, and show notes): © Michael J. Saffran
