Dedications to a Dedicated Radio Guy

I wasn’t sure what to dedicate to Brian “Cannon” Bannon, afternoon host, Chief Engineer, and former Program Director of Eastern Long Island’s WLNG. Both Bannon and WLNG itself were the deans of the format I call “Oldies XL.” I could elaborate on that, or I could just tell you that the last two songs WLNG’s Bonnie Grice played today before her lunchtime request hour were “Here Comes the Sun” by Richie Havens and “Win Your Love for Me” by Sam Cooke.

Bannon’s last day on WLNG was Tuesday, May 10. It was since announced that he is headed to NPR rival 88.3 WLIW-FM as Chief Engineer. Listeners do not request songs in the volume they used to. Listeners are rarely aware who programs a radio station; many can’t even name a personality outside mornings. Radio stations are considered magnanimous if they let a 29-year talent say goodbye on the air, rather than just disappear. They certainly do not make an event of their departure the following day. But on May 11, the bulk of Grice’s lunchtime dedications were from listeners to Bannon.

My first thought was that “Roll Me Away” by Bob Seger would be a good dedication. It’s about boldly going forward to the next episode in life. It certainly fits WLNG’s motif of “songs you don’t hear everywhere.” Among those who know that song, it’s sort of a secret handshake. But WLNG had just played “Hollywood Nights.” I sent Grice a list of possible dedications for her to choose from:

• Donna Summer, “On the Radio”
• Shalamar, “Make That Move” — you know it if you listened to WKTU during the time when New York had no real Top 40
• Timbuk3, “The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades”
• Led Zeppelin, “Ramble On”
• Charlie Dore, “Pilot of the Airwaves” — the sort of song that “Oldies XL” exists for, although I felt like it was somehow too obvious a choice. 

Now that I’m looking at that list, I’m not sure how I didn’t come up with “The Dedication Song” by Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon. Anywhere else, that song is an obscurity. In the world of WLNG and “Oldies XL,” it was a pretty major oversight from this list. But here’s what Grice played in the Noon hour. It began with a newscast that led with the police blotter. It featured an ad for Mickey’s Carting, a garbage remover whose slogan was “their best service goes to waste.”

• Beatles, “Magical Mystery Tour”
• Bob Seger, “Hollywood Nights”
• Rolling Stones, “Far Away Eyes”
• Chicago, “Happy Man”
• Bon Jovi, “It’s My Life”
• Shocking Blue, “Venus”
• Aretha Franklin, “Angel”
• Keith, “98.6”
• R.E.M., “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”
• Europe, “The Final Countdown”
• Turtles, “Is It Any Wonder” — from the Happy Together album. The P.F. Sloan/Steve Barri lyrics say pretty much what any of us would want said about them by a friend, family member, or colleague. But if you’re ever looking for the perfect words for that occasion, you really have to know where to look to come up with those. 

Now we were at the 1 p.m. news, which included the daily obituaries. Grice said she had to keep the all-request hour going just a little longer today. I only listened for a few more minutes, but she came back with:

• Donna Summer. “On the Radio”
• Culture Club, “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya”
• Elton John, “Sacrifice”

There’s more WLNG here, from a Fresh Listen I took to the station two years ago. But if you listen live instead, you’ll have your own “I can’t believe they played … ” story even faster.