Jan 15
I’m basically happy with the way Savage Lost turned out, but it’s far from a perfect work. It could desperately use an index. It could use more pictures. (My publisher said we had to keep it under 25 to avoid a higher cost.) I would love to expand the Central Florida coverage, and include Pensacola …
Nov 13
Leon Russell came from Tulsa, Oklahoma, but one of his early endeavors featured two Florida legends — in their first-ever record release. I remember, as a 9-year-old, hearing “Batman And Robin” by the Spotlights on the radio. It reached #12 on WQAM and #13 on WFUN in my hometown of Miami, during the third week …
Feb 13
JEMKL? What in the world is a JEMKL? This cryptic Florida record label has baffled collectors for several decades now. In addition to its “initially” baffling name, its musical selections — here, there, and everywhere in between — have proven just as baffling. But where there are questions, often there are also answers. …
Dec 12
If you asked me to name my all-time favorite South Florida garage band records, I’d probably rattle off some familiar names – Evil, the Montells, et al. These bands earned their place in the Miami band hierarchy, and the collectability of their music bears this out. But that answer is just too easy and …
Sep 28
Jaco Pastorius was a big Little Beaver fan. Watching the young guitarist/singer perform around South Florida had a deep, profound influence on the future superstar bass player. We know Jaco enjoyed playing Betty Wright’s “Clean Up Woman” (which featured Little Beaver’s guitar licks) with both Tommy Strand & The Upper Hand and Wayne Cochran’s CC …
Aug 27
“Gettin’ together is better than ever.” – Richie Cordell 150 or so players from South Florida bands of the ‘60s and ‘70s plan to get together in Boca Raton, on September 10, 2012. The event is the third While We Still Can Reunion… and there’s a good reason why its organizer gave it that name. …
Aug 22
It’s not every day that a living legend walks through your door. If you don’t care about Florida soul music, then the name Willie Clarke probably means nothing to you. But if you love the sound of southern soul, full of energy, emotion, and of course, “that driving beat”, then you understand what I mean. …
Aug 06
Here’s another golden flashback from Dan Chandler’s WQAM archives! It may have seemed that the powerhouse station had an infinite supply of oldies, but in reality the selection was being tightly controlled by the time 1969 rolled around. The torn sheet that you see here makes it clear that only certain oldies could be played …
May 24
What is an Albany, New York group doing on a blog about Florida bands? Well, for one thing, I love the Bougalieu’s record – both versions of it. Love it a lot! But more importantly, this is a band that relocated to South Florida for a time, ‘til it was clear that the end of …
May 06
If ever there was any doubt as to whether the rivalry between radio stations WQAM and WFUN was for real, the following memo should put those questions to rest. The rivalry wasn’t just real – it was intense – and grew to monumental proportions after WFUN’s Morton “Doc” Downey’s dirty tricks on WQAM program director …