Pinetop Perkins & Michael Parrish

For some excellent boogie woogie to put some hustle in your step and lift your spirit, ease on over to the Old Blue Bus and listen to Pinetop's Boogie Woogie.

Jean Shepherd's Christmas Story -- read by Shep, Christmas day 1967

The film, A Christmas Story, is based on the stories contained in Jean Shepherd's In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. Shepherd played the voice role of Ralph Parker, little Ralphy grown up.

Shepherd was a storyteller who held forth nightly on WOR, New York City, for many years, talking non-stop for 45 minutes (without commercials!) with fiction and fact about his Hammond, Indiana childhood, his life in Army Signal Corps and anything that happened to come to his thought. On Saturday night his show originated from the Limelight Restaurant near Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village.

Thanks to WOR being one of the 50,000 watt, clear channel stations, Shepherd was listened to by kids and grownups all up and down the East coast.

I remember one night after I moved to NYC, I turned to WOR to listen to Shepherd and he wasn't there. I called the station to ask why he wasn't on and was coldly informed that he no longer worked there. I never found out why but I suspect it had to do with frequent commercial interruptions. In the earlier days Shep could talk for the entire show gliding smoothly from topic to topic without commercial breaks. That changed in the 70s and the interruptions fitted neither Shepherd's stream of consciousness style nor that of his listeners.

I've heard it said that Shepherd just outgrew the medium. Sad loss for the medium.

Jean Shepherd died on October 16, 1999.














Here's Shep reading from In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash on his radio show, broadcast Christmas day 1967 on WOR, New York. Christmas story

For more of Jean Shepherd's show mp3s, go to Shepherd Archives.

I'm dreaming...

Every year I promise myself not to get caught up in the frantic rush of Christmas and each year I find myself ensnared. Not unpleasantly, you understand. I've actually grown to enjoy it. ("Grown to" is an interesting phrase. I first "grew out of" and now I've "grown to".) It has become fun. When you have an eleven year old boy, how can it not be? I still grouse and complain about the commercialism and all that, but I do love Christmas. In my heart I love it. I just try not to let on.



It just occurred to me that I haven't heard Bing Crosby sing White Christmas this year. But wait. Here's a link to Elvis singing it.




When I was a kid, I dreamt a lot about a white Christmas. I don't recall that we ever had one, but it didn't matter. The dreaming was enough. Just imagining what I would do if the snow came. I was always trying to find some definitive evidence that Santa Claus existed. Reason told me it was impossible for an overweight guy in a sleigh pulled by tiny, flying reindeer to cover so much territory in one night. Still, I had no real proof that he didn't exist. A little snow on Christmas Eve would be all I needed. It would be impossible for him to get in and out of our house without leaving sleigh tracks, footprints, reindeer droppings. Some trace.

Now that I live in New York I do see a white Christmas now and then, but I've never think to check for footprints in the snow. Hmmm.

And so it was that tonight's theme became Christmas trees and lights. From Wales, Virginia, North Carolina and Louisiana.

April Winchell's funny spot

On the West coast lives a pretty lady who also happens to be a very funny and creative in a lot of ways lady. April Winchell is her name and her blog is one of the funniest around.

I was just there and what with Christmas coming and all, I thought how cool it would be to have on hand The Night Before Christmas to play for my son on---well, er um, the night before Xmas. Please don't strike dear Lord.

And who better to read it--I would but I always fall asleep--but Jay Leno. You too can have a copy for your very own. And, numerous other holiday delights as well. Visit April and check it out. Careful you don't split a side.

Oh, by the way. If you want to find out more about Ms. Winchell go to IMDB.