It’s alright, ma … he’s back!
Back in December on this blog, I wrote a post called “Airing It Out” (http://citizenwausau.com/nealistic/2007/12/13/airing-it-out/). In it, I wrote about my weekly radio show (Roundtrip) on WNRB-LP (93.3 FM, Wausau). And in that post I wrote the following about a station I listened to faithfully in Milwaukee back in the late ’60s:
… perhaps my biggest influence was an “underground” radio station from UWM (can’t remember the call letters) that would play anything and everything of an alternative nature. There was a DJ (Bob Reitman) … his show was called “It’s alright Ma, it’s only music.” Here, I had my first taste of Dr. John (the night tripper), the Incredible String Band (who I later saw perform at Woodstock, but that’s another blog), Bob Dylan, the Mothers of Invention, and local acts like the Baroques, the Velvet Whip and the Shag. This show and this station opened up a crazy compendium of delights that “hit radio” could never offer … and I’ve never recovered from the onslaught.
So, this past weekend as I sat in my van below the el-train just off Wabash in downtown Chicago waiting for my 16-year-old son to emerge from Lollapalooza, I surfed the radio and found an interesting sort of underground program (highlighted by Patti Smith doing “Gloria”) and my jaw dropped as I heard the announcer say, “You’re listening to It’s Alright Ma, It’s Only Music on WUWM, Milwaukee.” Needless to say, this really blew my mind (apologies to Eric Burdon). The DJ was the self-same Bob Reitman. Since then, I’ve learned that Reitman has returned to WUWM with the show he hosted there more than 40 years ago.
And, oddly eerily coincidentally, his show airs Thursday nights from 7-9 just like mine does here (but unlike mine, his is also rebroadcast on Saturday nights). I’m thrilled by this time-warpish development, and to celebrate, my show tonight will feature music of the styles and artists that Reitman introduced me to with “It’s alright Ma …”
Join me tonight for a 2-hour trip down my memory lane.