Ralph Storytime
Trivia Time … You may remember Ralph Story as the guy who did those really cool television shows highlighting the history of Los Angeles, including “Ralph Story’s Los Angeles,” and two editions of “Things That Aren’t Here Any More” that seem to show up every Pledge Drive on KCET Channel 28. He got his start in radio, however, working in various rolls for CBS, and he brought his radio expertise and experience to television.
Here’s some Ralph Story trivia, provided by David Schwartz, co-author of “The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows” series of books.
August 19th was Ralph Story’s birthday … Did you know he was the morning man on KNX radio (1070 AM) in the 1950’s … when he left to take over as host of television game show “The $64,000 Challenge,” he was replaced on KNX morning drive by Bob Crane, who would later become a TV star on hogan’s Heroes.
… It was 60 years ago when his legendary TV series, “Ralph Story’s Los Angeles” made it’s debut on KNXT Channel 2 (now KCBS-TV). The show ran for 6 years, and many of the episodes are available to see at the UCLA Television Archive.
On a personal note, Ralph is genuinely one of the nicest guys I have ever met. He passed away at the age of 86 on September 26, 2006.
Lyrical Apology
Misheard lyrics can sometimes be funny, odd, or even embarrassing. One of the all-time greats is when people thought Jimmy Hendrix sang “excuse me while I kiss this guy” instead of “the sky.” Or the childhood song of “mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey” which is actually sung “mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy”
When I was an intern at Magic 106 (now Power 106), I fielded an angry call from a listener asking why we’d play a song celebrating sexual assault, as she heard a word different than “break” when REO Speedwagon sang “one lonely night is all it takes to completely break you.”
That totally changes the meaning of the song!
I bring this up in order to make a public apology to Twenty-One Pilots, an alternative duo often played by Alt 98.7 and KROQ (1067 FM). In the past I often made fun of them due primarily to my own misheard lyric on one song, which in my mind made the singer a whining complainer.
On the album Blurryface from 2015, the song “Stressed Out” includes the lyrics “wish we could turn back time, to the good old days, when my momma sang us to sleep when I was stressed out.”
Stressed out as a baby? Are you kidding? What kind of band is this? Unfortunately, the lyrics are actually “when our momma sang us to sleep but now we’re stressed out.”
As with most misheard lyrics, this changes the focus of the song, and in this case makes it one that so many people can identify with — teen angst especially, but something even older adults often deal with … and I truly feel bad about making fun of them. Listening even more (I figured I’d try to make it up to them by buying the albums) I am now a huge fan. To make matters worse, I am told that they are actually really nice young men.
I have been meaning to do this for a long time; I promise not to make fun of them again.
Really? An Update?
I am hooked on Really? No, Really? … the podcast produced by Peter Tilden and Jason Alexander. Recent episodes cover psychics and psychic fraud, how ADHD can actually be a super-power, and why fungus could be the savior of our planet. Yes, really. Listen on your favorite podcast player or with video on YouTube.
Radio Reactions
“I love reading you column; it always brings back lots of great memories. In todays column of your favorite stations from the 70’s, you left out KLOS and KMET. I guess that wasn’t your kind of music but they were all I listened to during that time. Great music and personalities, Paraquat Kelly, Jim Ladd, Geno Michelini, Bob Coburn. Great times!” — Thank you, Larry Turnage
I didn’t totally leave out KMET — I mentioned Dr. Demento — but you are right; I was slow moving to FM, and I stayed with top-40 or its variations even longer than my AM listening. But that’s where you come in, and both KLOS and KMET were great stations with great personalities … and they will all get their due, as this will be an ongoing series!
Richard Wagoner is a San Pedro freelance columnist covering radio in Southern California. Email rwagoner@socalradiowaves.com
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