I got a good laugh out of Karl Dockstader on CKTB's so-called "Secret Hour" Sunday morning recalling what he called "the lost art of taping songs off the radio."

Is there anyone here who didn't do this? 

The trick was trying to skip the jingle and hope that somehow that annoying disc jockey didn't try to do an intro right to the first line, or you'd miss the opening of the song. And then there was the backsell, before the record faded and he'd probably ruin that, too.

But for all the trouble, there was that satisfaction of once in a while getting the near perfect recording with most or all of the song intact.

Once again, computers and the Internet mostly ended the practice for good. But it was fun while it lasted. 

Perhaps the greatest irony to me, though, is the realization that those who love those vintage Top 40 days missed the best part - the jingles, the jocks and the sound of the radio station itself, something that - unlike those tunes - is irreplaceable and lost forever. 

That's why sites like Dale Patterson's Rock Radio Scrapbook are so important. The folks who contribute there know the important stuff wasn't the song - but the guy or gal introducing it!