Pop Music History on WHRB (a shameless plug?)

[Eric Aiese <aiese@fas.harvard.edu>]

Some of you will see this as a shameless plug, but I suspect that enough
of you will appreciate it to offset any annoyance.

We're running a major marathon here, now through Friday night, spinning
all of the 900+ songs to hit #1 in the rock era, with interviews and more.
The press didn't give us much coverage, and I'd hate for this to be
wasted.  Hope you can tune in.

Eric Aiese

-----------------------------------------


WHRB TO PRESENT POP MUSIC HISTORY
72-hour Marathon Featuring #1 Hits Begins Today

CAMBRIDGE, MA, May 7 -- WHRB (95.3 FM, www.whrb.org), Harvard Radio will
air a 72-hour marathon to document the history of American pop music in
the rock and roll era, beginning tonight at 10:00pm EST.  The Number One
Orgy features a chronology of more than 900 hits, every song to reach the
top of the weekly U.S. pop charts since 1955.  The special also includes
exclusive commentary from dozens of the artists and music industry figures
behind the hits. The program begins on Tuesday, May 7 at 10:00pm EST and
runs continuously through Friday, May 10.

"As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of rock and roll, this is an
ideal chance to commemorate the amazing, diverse history of pop music,^
says the special's producer Eric Aiese, a senior at the college.  ^Pop
music has been a wonderful bond across the country.  People never forget
the first time they saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show or Michael
Jackson dance the Moonwalk.^

Dozens of artists and other music industry insiders talk to WHRB in new
interviews telling their stories and memories behind the hits.  Guests
include Gregory Abbott, Frankie Avalon, Sid Bernstein, Eric Burdon (The
Animals, War), Gene Chandler, Chubby Checker, Ron Dante (The Archies),
Richard Fairbrass (Right Said Fred), Abdul ^Duke^ Fakir (The Four Tops),
Doug Fieger (The Knack), Bobby Hatfield (The Righteous Brothers), Colin
Hay (Men at Work), Jake Hooker, Brian Hyland, KC, William King (The
Commodores), Meat Loaf, Ray Manzarek (The Doors), Marilyn McCoo and Billy
Davis Jr. (The Fifth Dimension), Bobby McFerrin, Melanie, Alannah Myles,
Peter Noone (Herman's Hermits), Helen Reddy, Michael Sembello, Bobbie
Smith (The Spinners), Edwin Starr, Bonnie Tyler, Al Wilson, Billy Wilson
(Motown Alumni Association), Edgar Winter, Sheb Wooley, and many others to
be announced.

^The Number One Orgy offers a unique insight into the history and
development of American pop music, as well as the phenomenon of the No. 1
single,^ explains Mona Lewandoski, president of the station.

WHRB is managed and operated by undergraduates at Harvard College,
covering the entire metro Boston area at 95.3 FM and webcasts to the world
at www.whrb.org.  For WHRB's trademark Orgy seasons in January and May,
the station drops regular formatting for a month of marathon programs,
each dedicated to particular artist, composer, or theme.  This spring^s
Orgy season, which began May 1, features tributes to Franz Joseph Haydn,
Glenn Gould, Anton Webern, Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Christian, Richard
Rodgers, and Medeski, Martin & Wood, among many others.  Full program
listings are available at www.whrb.org.