I have not made any New Year’s resolutions since January 1, 1987, when I vowed I wouldn’t do that anymore.
That also was the year we (my fellow DJ and I) hosted a Live New Year’s Party at WMOR Radio in Morehead, Kentucky. We didn’t do a live remote from a bar or ballroom, but instead (for budgetary concerns) we had about 25 people in the hallway outside the booth, mostly friends from high school home on Christmas break. I’m not entirely sure, but I believe there was alcohol involved.
This is what happens when you turn over a radio station to two 19-year olds.
Anyway, we did a countdown of the top 50 songs of the year with a big “Auld Lang Syne” singalong at the end in the booth. We planned out the evening perfectly, with the #1 song being played right after the midnight sing.
About ten before midnight, our friends came in the booth from the hallway and we sang. We celebrated for a few minutes more, then told our friends they had to leave. FCC regulations and all, we explained. And Jim (the boss) might be listening. After they left, we congratulated ourselves for timing everything out so perfectly.
For a little while…
About quarter after twelve, it occurred to us that we hadn’t played any commercials during the evening. This is a somewhat important part of the radio business, I’m told.
We played thirty of them in a row, hosed down the bathrooms and left.
