Bee-Gees, Bubblegum & New Book

NEWS & VIEWS

By Jerry Blavat

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Nov. 9, 2011

Liza, Sammy and the Geator.

Once again, greetings and  salutations. Before you wink an eye or wiggle your nose, the holidays will be here, and the Geator will celebrate by kicking off our annual Turkey Trot at Chickie’s & Pete’s in Packer Park in South Philadelphia.  

But locally the big news is that KOOL 98.3 continues to dominate the market with great programming from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s. It really has rejuvenated interest in radio, and I’m proud to be a part of the family Monday through Friday 7-9pm. So hats off to Longport Media, Dave Coskey, Paul Kelly, and the rest of the gang for making radio fun again.  

And an update from Hollywood — the Lone Ranger film starring Johnny Depp as Tonto is back on track, partly because some of the principals, including Depp, took a pay cut. Johnny said, “Throughout the history of Hollywood, the Native American has always been a second-class, third-class, fourth-class citizen. I don’t see Tonto that way at all, so it’s an opportunity for me to salute Native Americans.” That’s my man. Now, let’s ask the Geator.  

Today when you played “How Deep Is Your Love” by the Bee Gees, you said 1976 Saturday Night Fever. The movie was released in December 1977. — Alan Rosenfeld, Philadelphia  

Generally, movie production can take anywhere from several months to several years before release. Though many of the songs on the soundtrack, including “How Deep Is Your Love,” were composed after filming, I began getting some of the music that eventually made it to the movie in 1976. I remember the year because that’s when we opened up Memories West in Philadelphia and I had received some of the songs from Robert Stigwood, who managed the Bee Gees and produced the movie.  

The XPN show you did of music from your book was sensational. You said that your record hops drew more people than anyone else because of the music you were playing — oldies that were new to your listeners. What were the other record hops playing at the time? — Arlene, EHT 

Only the current songs that were being programmed on radio, 60 percent of which were not danceable. The other stations were primarily playing the English sound, which was to me was “bubblegum,” and the kids did not want to dance to it.  

If you make a movie of your book, could you write Liza Minnelli into the screenplay? You could just pretend that you were with her (LOL). — Susan Pennypacker, Tacony, Pa. 

No need to pretend, I was with Liza many times over the years, last when she did an interview for my TV show On the Air with the Geator in the 1990s. Also, if you get a copy of the book, You Only Rock Once, you’ll see a great picture of Liza, Sammy, and yours truly when we had dinner together in Philadelphia after they were all appearing with Frank in The Ultimate Event.

Got a question for Jerry? Send it to AskTheGeator@acweekly.com or Geator Gold Radio, 626 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106. For more info on Jerry’s appearances, go to www.geator.net — and keep on rocking, ’cause you only rock once!