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February 14, 2020 11:08 am  #1


Cousin Brucie Reflects On An Extraordinary Radio Career

This is simply an amazing interview with Cousin Brucie of Sirius XM (and WABC) fame, a piece written by another music legend, Toronto’s own Larry LeBlanc. It’s very long (it took a while to read the whole thing) but his recollections of his career and the current state of radio are certainly worth the time.
 
Among other things the 84-year-old (he’s already 84!) reflects on in the piece:
 
-Who inspired him
 
-Who programs his shows
 
-How he got started
 
-Where the infamous “Cousin” nickname came from
 
-How important it is to play the original version of an oldie and why he lets the wrong one play – but only for so long
 
-His old DX listeners
 
-The records he wrote and released
 
- Why a Chuck Berry record is always his first played song
 
- How WABC execs. rejected the first Beatles record in a music meeting
 
-The danger when he co-hosted the Beatles playing their first big concert at Shea Stadium
 
-The day Bob Hope & Jackie Gleason crashed his show
 
-And the importance of getting the music mix right.
 
“I played what the audience wants to hear, and I play an eclectic mix and I just do it from my gut. If it doesn’t fit, I won’t play it. But that’s very rare...Once in a while, I’ll say, “Oh my God. Look at what I just played. I played A and then I played this one. That’s weird.” Years ago, a programmer would have been going crazy.”

A fascinating man with a fascinating career. You can read the article here.
 
Thanks to FYIMusicNews.ca for the link.

 

February 14, 2020 1:48 pm  #2


Re: Cousin Brucie Reflects On An Extraordinary Radio Career

Excellent article. Especially the piece on how Ed Sullivan learned about the Beatles from Walter Cronkite's teenage daughter. That was funny.