Acting Up in 1983

In the fall of 1983, I was picking corn and playing the hits. I was a mild-mannered farm hand driving a Farmall M pulling a one row New Idea corn picker. During that time, I would daydream of Brooke Shields driving by and stopping to ask directions or Molly Ringwald needing an extra in one of her films and filmmaker John Hughes discovering me at Keegan Feed Mill in Richland Center. My mobile D.J. business took me all over Wisconsin. I was the dude that played for the Friday night dances (back when that was a thing). In the fall of 1983, the Aubrey Sound supplied the music at Kickapoo, Ithaca, Riverdale, De Soto, Reedsburg, Weston, Highland, and the UWC Richland campus. It often got wild at the campus as they served alcohol at their dances. That was when the legal drinking age in Wisconsin was 18. I was well liked there because the more they drank, the better I sounded. Some of the large hits that fall were Delirious-Prince, One Thing Leads to Another-Fixx, Modern Love-David Bowie, Love is a Battlefield-Pat Benatar, Safety Dance-Men Without Hats, Break My Stride-Mathew Wilder, and Telefone (Long Distance Love Affair)-Sheena Easton. If I showed up to spin records at a dance in 1983 and I did not bring a copy of Cum on Feel the Noize-Quiet Riot or the entire Def Leppard Pyromania album, I would have had to pack up and go home. There would have been a riot (and not a quiet one either). In my spare time, I was appearing in the UWC Richland production of You Can’t Take It with You. It was directed by Jean Birkett. My role was that of Anthony ‘Tony’ Kirby Jr. Jimmy Stewart played that part in the movie. What an amazing time of my life it was!

WRCO’s Those Were the Days will hit the airwaves with the hits of the fifties through the early nineties from six to midnight Saturday night. The regular features including trivia and lots of requests will highlight the show. It is always great to hear from listeners from the 608 and others scattered through the state and country. Thanks to all that came out last Sunday at Mastodon Records to honor the late great Ray Schroeder. He was the long-time big band music host on Saturday afternoons on WRCO. There were many old stories bandied about. They were mostly true! I hope to hear from you on Saturday night on WRCO FM 100.9, WRCO.com, and through the Civic Media app. I promise it could get wild just like in back in ’83. Be careful, though, if you plan to pour beer on the floor to create a slip n’ slide.

Phil