Feature story on Dr. Demento
Jul 12, 2022 11:15:20 GMT -5
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Post by doofus67 on Jul 12, 2022 11:15:20 GMT -5
Good ol' Dr. D is still going strong on the Internet. In the '80s, I caught his syndicated show on Sunday nights at 10 p.m., right after Casey, on WRKR in Milwaukee.
This story by Richard Wagoner appeared yesterday in the papers of the Southern California News Group, including the Riverside Press-Enterprise. To be frank, Mr. Wagoner needs a proofreader. But it's still a fun read:
* * *
If you grew up in Southern California in the 1970s, you likely listened to the legendary KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM). And if you listened to KMET, you likely listened to one of the most famous programs to ever originate from album-rock radio, Dr. Demento.
Born Barrett Eugene "Barry" Hansen, Dr. Demento wasn't heard only on KMET. In fact, his show launched on KPPC (now KROQ, 106.7 FM) after a time in 1970 playing some of his personal record recollection as a guest of the disk jockey Steven Segal (not the actor, of course), who was known on the air as The Obscene Steven Clean, on KMET and later KPPC (now KROQ, 106.7 FM). Those personal records included unusual recordings, novelty songs and just strange and unusual songs dating back to the earliest 78 RPM records.
It was Segal who gave Hansen the name "Dr. Demento."
"I had no warning of this," Hansen says, explaining that it came about roughly the third time he was a guest. "He just decided he'd start calling me Dr. Demento." And the rest, as they say, is history.
He got his own two-hour shift on KPPC at the end of 1970; He moved to KMET in 1971, where over the years he'd do a four-hour show full of "hits" from artists such as Spike Jones, Jimmy Durante, Ray Stevens, Stan Freberg, Tom Lehrer, Nervous Norvus, and of course "Weird Al" Yankovic.
He remained at KMET until the station changed formats in early 1987. After that, he could be heard on KLSX (now on KNX-FM, 97.1 FM), where it remained until 1997. The show was also syndicated nationally in a two-hour format from 1974 to about 2010 when it became available only on the Internet.
But it was at KMET where he truly shined. The first three hours of the program included various records, not always funny but always interesting, the last hour devoted to the "top 10" where you'd hear such classic recordings as "Star Drek", "Pencil-Neck Geek", "Dead Puppies", "Shaving Cream", "Fish Heads," and many more.
Hansen was instrumental in bringing teenager Yankovic to a national audience when he played "Belvedere Crusin'" on his show in 1976.
As mentioned, Hansen still makes his show available on the Internet with new programs weekly at https://www.drdemento.com. He participates in the official Facebook fan page for the show at www.facebook.com/groups/drdemento.
I, too, have many memories, including the jingle used for the top song of the night: "It's time for number o-n-e! This is it, here comes NUMBER ONE!"
Don't forget to stay demented!
* * *
This story by Richard Wagoner appeared yesterday in the papers of the Southern California News Group, including the Riverside Press-Enterprise. To be frank, Mr. Wagoner needs a proofreader. But it's still a fun read:
* * *
If you grew up in Southern California in the 1970s, you likely listened to the legendary KMET (now KTWV, 94.7 FM). And if you listened to KMET, you likely listened to one of the most famous programs to ever originate from album-rock radio, Dr. Demento.
Born Barrett Eugene "Barry" Hansen, Dr. Demento wasn't heard only on KMET. In fact, his show launched on KPPC (now KROQ, 106.7 FM) after a time in 1970 playing some of his personal record recollection as a guest of the disk jockey Steven Segal (not the actor, of course), who was known on the air as The Obscene Steven Clean, on KMET and later KPPC (now KROQ, 106.7 FM). Those personal records included unusual recordings, novelty songs and just strange and unusual songs dating back to the earliest 78 RPM records.
It was Segal who gave Hansen the name "Dr. Demento."
"I had no warning of this," Hansen says, explaining that it came about roughly the third time he was a guest. "He just decided he'd start calling me Dr. Demento." And the rest, as they say, is history.
He got his own two-hour shift on KPPC at the end of 1970; He moved to KMET in 1971, where over the years he'd do a four-hour show full of "hits" from artists such as Spike Jones, Jimmy Durante, Ray Stevens, Stan Freberg, Tom Lehrer, Nervous Norvus, and of course "Weird Al" Yankovic.
He remained at KMET until the station changed formats in early 1987. After that, he could be heard on KLSX (now on KNX-FM, 97.1 FM), where it remained until 1997. The show was also syndicated nationally in a two-hour format from 1974 to about 2010 when it became available only on the Internet.
But it was at KMET where he truly shined. The first three hours of the program included various records, not always funny but always interesting, the last hour devoted to the "top 10" where you'd hear such classic recordings as "Star Drek", "Pencil-Neck Geek", "Dead Puppies", "Shaving Cream", "Fish Heads," and many more.
Hansen was instrumental in bringing teenager Yankovic to a national audience when he played "Belvedere Crusin'" on his show in 1976.
As mentioned, Hansen still makes his show available on the Internet with new programs weekly at https://www.drdemento.com. He participates in the official Facebook fan page for the show at www.facebook.com/groups/drdemento.
I, too, have many memories, including the jingle used for the top song of the night: "It's time for number o-n-e! This is it, here comes NUMBER ONE!"
Don't forget to stay demented!
* * *
