“WLUV / WWOD”

c. 2020 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(4-20)

Memories.

The human mind has unlimited abilities to perceive, ponder, and process information. Yet it can also be a maze of odd connections. Links that make little sense to the outside world. A song may evoke the recollection of a person. A painting might bring forward the remembrance of a place or a time. An aroma may tingle with meaning from a banquet or party. These triggers of information vary with each person and each set of experiences. While having lasting value that does not fade over time.

For example, old vinyl LPs in a friend’s collection reminded her of living in England, during the 1960’s. Working as a guest student. She acquired early recordings by British groups and some American artists. But for myself, these same platters would arouse different echoes. I recalled staying with her two decades later, over the summer. For each of us, the memory-cue those relics provided was powerful. Even as they were different in nature.

This phenomenon came to mind recently, when listening to ‘Cult Radio A Go-Go’ via my Roku streaming device. On Saturday evenings, Terry & Tiffany DuFoe, creators of the music channel, present a live broadcast from the west coast. Their roster of guests has been undeniably impressive. Everyone from Marion Ross, star of the ‘Happy Days’ television show, to Davie Allan, the legendary guitarist, known for music featured in ‘chopper’ films of the 1960’s.

Occasionally, the program features old tapes of radio broadcasts from the early days of Terry’s career. Airchecks captured mainly on audio cassettes that may yield their golden contents in a joyful wave of sound, or sometimes, warble and waffle into a tangled mess.

These episodes of time-travel provide listeners with a snapshot of DuFoe’s work at WLUV, a station in Loves Park, Illinois. Serving the Rockford area. At a time during the 1970’s and 80’s that he was developing his skills in the industry.

Terry and his daughter Tiffany present each episode with cheerful asides about the station. But as I listen, a personal mood takes hold. One separated by a distance of many miles and a variation of regional culture. My memory colors these broadcasts, reworking them into something else. Something unique and fondly familiar in my own life.

WWOD, Lynchburg, Virginia.

My family moved to this central city in the commonwealth during the summer of 1970. Because we were ‘yankees’ from Ohio, first impressions made us become outsiders. Yet we soon felt at home in our neighborhood. The people were friendly and kind, if a bit old-fashioned.

I was a radio fan with a few different devices in my collection. At night, I often listened to stations located at distant points on the continental map. But during daylight hours I enjoyed popular music on WLLL, oldies on WGOL, or Country tunes on WWOD.

Terry’s loving tributes to Elvis Presley activate my own recollections of ‘The King’ during his maturation as an icon of popular music. In his white jumpsuit, sparkling and sweating out performances across the nation. In particular, when hearing these archival bits from WLUV, I flash on buying the vinyl 45 “Take Good Care of Her” at a W. T. Grant store in our Fort Hill Village shopping plaza. The song was written by Ed Warren and Arthur Kent:

“I suppose I ought to say congratulations

For you won the only girl I ever loved

But I hurt too much to face the situation

Just take good care of her

Take good care of her

Just to be around her was my greatest pleasure

She was everything my future held in store

So remember when you take my only treasure

Just take good care of her

Take good care of her

I must accept it, she loves you more than me

So with my broken heart, I’ll bow out gracefully

Please don’t send me any wedding invitation

For I couldn’t bear to see her there with you

If she’s happy, that will be my consolation

Just take good care of her

Take good care of her.”

When listening to the DuFoe shows, I remember trying to make an apartment for myself, first in our basement and then in our garage. A point of honor in 1974, when I was 13 and feeling like a full-fledged adult. I tuned into music broadcasts in Lynchburg with my Philco console radio, from the 1930’s. It was a trash-day artifact, left at the curb. Rescued by my father, and refurbished from his collection of electrical parts.

The tapes of Elvis tributes transport me backward, to that gentle era.

Though Illinois and Virginia may be separated by many miles of geographical space, each one becomes the same as I listen. And though Terry and I have never met, he seems like an older brother. One who carries the same love of showmanship, the same love of music, the same love of entertainment. Indeed, the same love of cultural history.

WWOD as I remember it disappeared several years ago. Photos of the building being demolished linger on the Internet. The call sign is now licensed to an alternative station in Woodstock, Vermont. Yet with each CRAGG episode culled from the DuFoe archives, whispers of central Virginia in the 70’s are alive again. Just for a moment, I can hear my father’s voice. With the melodic tones of Elvis Presley also in the air.

And I feel at home.

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