originally posted by: JinMI
a reply to: Flyingclaydisk
Ok, contextual question, where were you when you heard it, what year was it?
Reading your question a little more carefully... (I initially thought you asked when I heard it last, which is what my initial response was)
Where was I when I first heard it?
Well, believe it or not, I was actually an on-air personality as a disc jockey for a Top 40 hits radio station.
The year must have been early 1978. Thinking back now, it might have been one of the very first songs I ever played! I remember now why I liked the
song too. It was a very 'radio friendly' song, and it had a good intro with a beat you didn't have to have too loud under your voice to figure the
song out. Those were the days of talking intros to songs, where the DJ voiced over the top of the introduction to the song, usually saying something
about the song. The intro was 0:15...just enough time to say something quick and snappy and not sound too stupid for a rookie.
Talk about butterflies! The very first time you flipped that mic switch and the "On Air" light came on, and it was
real this time! Oh man!
You'd usually throw the mic switch about 15-20 seconds before the previous song ended. This would trigger the "On Air" light which would make
everyone else in the studio stop making noise, and the studio would go completely quiet. All the studio monitors would shut off and it would be
complete silence. Only the DJ could hear what was going over the air in his headset. Then, as the previous song ended you'd "pot up" the mic (i.e.
turn up the sensitivity basically so it was 'hot'). In the studio, the only thing you'd hear would be the DJ's voice, and nothing else.
Then as soon as the DJ said his piece he'd turn the mic back down, and throw the mic switch to the "off" position. (you did it in this order so you
couldn't hear the switch click over the air). Then the "On Air" light in the studio would go off, and the monitors (speakers) would come back
on...and you'd be listening to what was playing over the air in the studio.
The first time you went through that whole sequence (for real), knowing there were 10's of thousands of people listening, and worrying about tripping
over your tongue (or worse, choking), was akin to jumping out of an airplane the first time parachuting. It was an adrenaline rush to say the least!
You got used to it after a while, but the first time was pretty nerve racking...Program Directors, Producers, news people and assistants all looking
through the studio windows betting on whether the rookie was gonna' choke. Standby jock in the backup studio next door sitting there ready to jump in
if you did. I think I was probably shaking after the first live shot...no turning back then! Then everyone went back to what they were doing. You
were on your own.
I knew there was a reason I remembered these lyrics out of the blue like that. Now I know what it was.
edit on 3/7/2019 by Flyingclaydisk because: (no reason given)