Strums of ’71

Back in March of 1971, I was an elementary student that was bussed to Loyd, Wisconsin. Having graduated the year before from Neptune Kindergarten (it only took me a few years. hà ha), I was ready for first grade with my teacher Mrs. Peckham. The old Willow Valley farm was thawing out and Speckled Pete (our rooster), and his old hen girl friends were emerging from their coop. Dad was working on getting ready to plow the fields with his 3 bottom John Deere plow pulled by his mighty Farmall M tractor. In the early morning, there was thin ice over the mud puddles. I could skate in my Pro Keds shoes and occasionally break through the ice. That left me with muddy shoes and wet socks the rest of the day at school. As is the case today, I am not the sharpest tool in the drawer! It was around this time when I caught a bad fever for the Osmonds. They were becoming all the rage, and I was not even yet aware that they had a sister, Marie. There were many favorite songs on the bus radio in 1971 including, Temptation Eyes-Grass Roots, Proud Mary-Ike and Tina, For All We Know-Carpenters, Mama’s Pearl-Jackson Five, Have You Ever Seen the Rain-CCR, Sweet Mary-Wadsworth Mansion, What Is Life-George Harrison, and Knock Three Times-Dawn (a bus favorite).

It will be great to relive the spring memories from all of those years ago on my Those Were the Days radio show. I will feature comments from artists that had records on the charts. It is amazing that a young farm boy with high water pants would someday talk to Donny Osmond a few times. He is one of the nicest famous people ever! Hear classics from ’71 and from all of the decades that we play on WRCO FM 100.9, WRCO.com and the Civicmedia app Saturday night between six and midnight. After high school sports took some of our time the previous two weeks, we will have a six-hour blast of hits this weekend! Perhaps you will win a great prize during our trivia games.

Phil