(Legendary Detroit Broadcaster JP McCarthy of WJR.)
I spent the afternoon in a brand spanking new Hertz Chevy Impala. It is supposed to be a flex-fuel vehicle, at least the plate on the trunk lid says so, though I don’t know what that means. The hyper-vigilant cop from Ogemaw was on revenue patrol at the official use only cross-over at mile marker 232 near West Branch on I-75, but I minded my speed.
It was actually a splendid drive under clear skies and low humidity. It is quite pleasant to roar along in new Detroit iron- though I did not understand the radio. There were buttons under the electronic display, and between checking my Crackberry and Droid smartphone on the more placid stretches of highway, I had too many things to process. So, I just stabbed at one at random and got WJR, an AM clear-channel station my Dad used to listen to, one of the original three-letter stations that still claims “to broadcast from the Golden Tower of the Fisher Building in Detroit’s New Center.”
I have not listened to AM radio in years, and now only listen to radio of any kind on the web on my computer. But back in the day, WJR was the most influential radio station in Detroit, with a 50,000-watt signal that could be heard in much of the Eastern United States and Canada.
I made a point of going to the New Center area in May when I was in the Motor City. It is a little threadbare but still impressive- the Fisher Building was an Albert Khan masterpiece, and the looming gray bulk of the former GM World Headquarters and the Fisher Theater are still impressive world-class period pieces of architecture.
Anyway, my memory of WJR was of a Disc Jockey named J P McCarthy. McCarthy not only hosted the Morning Music Hall from 6:15 to 9, but also the Afternoon Music Hall from 3:15 to 6. Eventually, McCarthy’s duties were relegated to morning drive, and a noontime interview program called “Focus”. It wasn’t long before McCarthy’s morning show was #1 in Detroit, a perch that he held for about 30 years until his death, a feat unmatched in Detroit radio.
McCarthy’s morning show included a mix of music, news, and sports, but his greatest fame was as an interviewer. One morning during the 1992 presidential election he interviewed President George H. W. Bush and candidates Bill Clinton and Ross Perot all within one hour.
Dick Vitale was the basketball coach at the University of Detroit and won some modest fame there before becoming a broadcast icon. McCarthy was the first to christen Vitale “Dicky Vee.”
The music component of the show was phased out, but I will never forget Bobby Darren’s “Mac the Knife” and Louis Armstrong’s “Hello Dolly” playing in the morning as Dad got ready to head downtown to the American Motors headquarters.
McCarthy pioneered talk radio. The music was dropped so he would have more time to concentrate on the news of the day or any topic that would interest him. He was everybody’s pal. His curiosity ranged between business, current events, history, entertainment, and other topics, and he could discuss any of these subjects with equal ease.
McCarthy also was known for the stock phrases he would intersperse into his radio show. He opened every show at 5:30 a.m. with the greeting to listeners, “Good mornin’ world!” and his phrases “They’re playing golf somewhere,” “It’s not the money, it’s the amount,” “It’s brass monkey weather,” and “Remember my name in Sheboygan — just don’t tell ’em where I am,” were only a few that endeared him to his listeners.
So imagine my surprise- not that it should have, since McCarthy died in 1995 at the (what I now consider young) age of 62- when the voice booming out of the dashboard was that of Rush Limbaugh.
I listened to his account of the President’s press conference assault on capitalism for nearly the whole trip Up North with grim fascination. Fenton, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City, Pinconning, West Branch and the speed trap, Grayling, Gaylord and finally in to the little Village by the bay.
I could not believe what I was hearing. Washington is mad, I know that, and our elected idiots have placed us on the path to ruin. But the account from Rush on the press conference was mind boggling. Apparently the President is offering a bit of class jujutsu, having mentioned six times eliminating a tax loophole for corporate jets, a loophole inserted after 9/11 to prop up the general aviation industry devastated by the terror attacks.
It’s a potent image, those plutocrats in their jets, but as best I can determine, the item is so small that the White House could not even provide an estimate of the revenue that would be raised. Some guess it might amount to $3 billion over 10 years. The target deficit is 4 trillion. The rhetoric does not amount to jack-squat except a call to class warfare.
The billionaires and millionaires should pay their fair share, according to Rush’s view of the press conference. The fine print of what the Administration desires is higher taxes for the top two percent of American workers- which is to say, $250,000, not a million.
I don’t mind doing my share, but first I want to know where my private jet is. It would sure save some time getting Up North. I shut down WJR and Rush in the driveway of the little house on the bluff. I wished JP was still around to help make sense of all this.
I mean, Rush has a point. It was Ben Franklin’s observation that a pure democracy amounted to two wolves and a sheep discussing what might be for lunch. But the rhetoric is pretty harsh- I understand it is show business, not sober political analysis.
But talk radio these days is pretty amazing. Rush is no JP. I liked JP.
(Rush Limbaugh with cigar on the course.)
Copyright 2011 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com