Another historic
aircheck of this pioneering rock n' roll station was unearthed
recently. This one, according to the box label, was recorded
August 3, 1962. The retro sounds of Wonderful WORM Radio give us
a vivid snapshot of that era of the twist, surf music, and love
ballades.
The aircheck
features, among others, the voices of legendary air
personalities Johnny Lizard and Al Fresco, two DJs remembered
for their camaraderie and shared sense of humor.
This
top-40 parody featuring the fictitious DJ "Johnny
Lizard" is not to be confused with any creative work
produced by Ken Levine, a Hollywood writer and jingle
fan.
Ken Levine occasionally used the name "Johnny Lizard"
when he was in college, a fact of which Ken
Deutsch was unaware, and Mr. Levine just wants to ensure
that people understand that Wonderful WORM is not
connected with him in any way.
Thanks to alert
listener Rusty Carr who found this audio tape buried under some
men's magazines in his parents' basement this past summer.
Here we see Johnny
Lizard with the distinctive haircut devised by his mother. To
his right is Shanda Lear, a woman whom he would hurriedly marry
several months later when certain facts were made public.
This is Johnny's
long-suffering girlfriend, Sunshine Mazewski who was less than
pleased when Johnny suddenly married Shanda. Here we see
Sunshine suiting up for a sport she invented called
"roller-wrestling," which never caught on in Pomona or anywhere
else.
Depicted above is
Johnny's good friend and fellow DJ on "The WORM," Al Fresco. Al
had a bigger than life personality, and speaking of "big," check
out those ears!
Lastly we meet Bee
Hines, the woman responsible for writing all the local
commercials heard on "The Mighty 14-50." She worked at the
station for 32 years until a she experienced a mishap involving
a purloined hula hoop and an androgynous marmot named "Augie."
Presenting this
glimpse into the past required the help of many individuals
including Mike Neff, Ted Tatman, Sheree Bernardi, Jackie
Aniolek, Dave Milberg, Marty Deutsch, Linda Deutsch, Morgan
Cunningham, Greg Clancy (TMStudios.com)
and Ken Justiss.
We hope you enjoy it.
