John Cafferty on WRCO’s Those Were the Days

RICHLAND CENTER, Wis (WRCO) – The following entertainment article was written with information taken from Phil Nee’s blog, highlighting an upcoming THOSE WERE THE DAYS program on WRCO FM featuring John Cafferty.

You can join the fun with Phil from ANYWHERE in the world this Saturday from 6p until midnight on WRCO FM 100.9, www.WRCO.com, and on the Civic Media App.

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Saturday night I will feature an interview with John Cafferty on WRCO’s Those Were the Days. He and the Beaver Brown band released great music in the 1980’s and after 37 years, they have put out a new album.

John is an everyday all-around good guy, and I know that will come across when you hear the interview. His is an amazing story that could be made into a movie. For a group from Rhode Island that went from a bar band to MTV favorites in a matter of months is amazing.

They provided the music soundtrack for the 1983 movie Eddie and the Cruisers. They also put out a great album in 1985 that contained the hits Tough All Over, C-I-T-Y, and Small Town Girl. Beaver Brown music was also used in other movies in the 1980’s. I was the featured DJ for the Ithaca homecoming dance in the fall of 1984 and the theme was Tender Years. That was a chart hit for Cafferty late that year. On the Dark Side hit number 7 and is considered an 80’s classic. It still plays in 80’s formats on a regular basis.

The first VHS movie that I ever rented was Eddie and the Cruisers. This film became more popular when it was released on home video and shown on HBO. When checking out a movie in 1984, if you did not have a VCR, you could rent one. You had to put down a $30.00 deposit to rent the player. Of course, you got the money back if you did not damage or keep the player, and hopefully you were kind and were able to rewind. The movie rental fee was only a couple of dollars. I remember walking into Super Valu in Richland Center and writing out a check from my big checking account (I am surprised I had $30 dollars in the account at the Farmers and Merchants bank). I took the movie and player to my girlfriends’ house (future wife-we were courting) and we watched the Cruisers, and a slasher classic called Don’t Look in the Basement. I was not able to afford my own VCR until 1986, and I got a CD player thrown in at American TV in Madison. The first digital album that I bought on the way home was Chicago’s Greatest Hits (Chicago IX). It sounded great. My blank VHS tapes quickly filled up with recordings of Green Acres and WKRP in Cincinnati.

Tune in Saturday night for more pop culture memories. Between six and midnight on Those Were the Days, I will turn back the clock to the fifties through the eighties. I hope you enjoyed the guest dj last weekend. Great job David! The 1976 countdown was fun. Last Saturday I was hanging with my granddaughters, and they were painting my nails. Normally I would not have let them but hearing them laugh hysterically was priceless. It will be great to get together again for radio fun Saturday night.

Phil

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