Spanning over 15 years of
rock & roll
radio, the many volumes in the
Cruisin'
series spotlight major-market DJs spinning discs, cueing reverb-friendly commercial spots, and conveying all the latest by way of the occasional news flash -- not to mention all the hip and wigged out banter they intone in between songs. For this 1962 installment, Dallas radio man
Russ "Weird Beard" Knight
is at the mic, guiding his fans through another seven-to-midnight shift.
Knight
's show is the probably the most slick and kaleidoscopic of the
bunch, as evidenced by a dramatic narrative flow punctuated by an E.S.P. skills promo, a Gillette ad, Southern segregation news headlines, a space-race fantasy short, and a Chrysler car commercial. This is not to forget the fine music included as well: along with such well-worn classics as
Gene Chandler
's
"Duke of Earl,"
Dion
"The Wanderer,"
and
Little Eva
"Locomotion,"
there's almost-forgotten classics like
Johnny Dee & the Starliters
'
"Peppermint Twist,"
the
Sensations
"Let Me In,"
Shelley Fabares
"Johnny Angel."
And in case you still feel less than nostalgic after all this, the vocoder-enhanced singing of the station ID should do the trick. ~ Stephen Cook