Port Authority Retiree Hosts Internet Radio Show From Lyndhurst Home
LYNDHURST, N.J.– Joseph Shinnick of Lyndhurst has over 25,000 songs in his personal collection – on vinyl, cassette or CD.
The music spans from the 1920s to today's Top 20 – and everything in between – said Shinnick, who hosts "Jukebox Jamboree" on World Conscience Public Radio (WCRP).
Each week, Shinnick picks out 25 songs for his two-hour, Friday show and converts them to MP3. He then researches each artist and the particular number he selected before writing a script.
"The songs choose me," said Shinnick, 63, who records the program in his basement. "I don't just play music, I discuss the music. I really bring the listener into each song."
One constant in each episode of "Jukebox Jamboree" – which is entering its 23rd week on air – is a hit by Al Jolson, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and The Monkees.
In between, listeners will hear country, jazz, hard rock, hip-hop or even a novelty tune from the last century.
"It's like criss-crossing through time," Shinnick said. "My daughter calls it 'musical whiplash'.
"All music needs to be appreciated," he added. "I try to fill that void."
Shinnick remembers the days of AM radio, switching between WMCA and WABC.
"You'd hear rock, doo-wop, jazz, a show tune and country all after another," he said. "That's how it was. Then with FM radio, especially in the 1980s, came a separation of genres [by station].
"The great melding of music went away," he said. "I want people to remove their 'musical shutters.'"
The show counts actor Henry Winkler (known as The Fonz from Happy Days) and singer Linda Ronstadt as listeners and the ratings have increased each week, Shinnick said.
Shinnick longed to become a DJ or music programmer after retiring from the Port Authority in 2010.
His wife of 40 years, Donna, worked as an accountant while Shinnick was in charge of employee communications.
He started in the mailroom in 1976 and was promoted after earning a degree in Business Communications from St. Peter's College and a masters in Communications and Media Studies from The New School, located in Manhattan.
Both husband and wife worked in the World Trade Center, surviving the 1993 bombing and the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I feel like James Bond," Shinnick remarked.
In 2001, Shinnick was on the last Path train to arrive before service was suspended. The first plane had already hit.
He saw a mad dash of people in the concourse coming towards him, so he ran towards the nearest exit and saw the second plane crash.
Donna was on the 69th floor and Shinnick thought she was dead – neither had cell phones at the time – until he saw her later that afternoon.
The radio gig brings in some money, but Shinnick said he does it for his musical passion and desire to expose people to different genres.
"I want to turn you on to a song you may have loved but forgotten or play a song you've never heard before but come to love it," he said.
SOURCE: Click Here
LYNDHURST, N.J.– Joseph Shinnick of Lyndhurst has over 25,000 songs in his personal collection – on vinyl, cassette or CD.
The music spans from the 1920s to today's Top 20 – and everything in between – said Shinnick, who hosts "Jukebox Jamboree" on World Conscience Public Radio (WCRP).
Each week, Shinnick picks out 25 songs for his two-hour, Friday show and converts them to MP3. He then researches each artist and the particular number he selected before writing a script.
"The songs choose me," said Shinnick, 63, who records the program in his basement. "I don't just play music, I discuss the music. I really bring the listener into each song."
One constant in each episode of "Jukebox Jamboree" – which is entering its 23rd week on air – is a hit by Al Jolson, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles and The Monkees.
In between, listeners will hear country, jazz, hard rock, hip-hop or even a novelty tune from the last century.
"It's like criss-crossing through time," Shinnick said. "My daughter calls it 'musical whiplash'.
"All music needs to be appreciated," he added. "I try to fill that void."
Shinnick remembers the days of AM radio, switching between WMCA and WABC.
"You'd hear rock, doo-wop, jazz, a show tune and country all after another," he said. "That's how it was. Then with FM radio, especially in the 1980s, came a separation of genres [by station].
"The great melding of music went away," he said. "I want people to remove their 'musical shutters.'"
The show counts actor Henry Winkler (known as The Fonz from Happy Days) and singer Linda Ronstadt as listeners and the ratings have increased each week, Shinnick said.
Shinnick longed to become a DJ or music programmer after retiring from the Port Authority in 2010.
His wife of 40 years, Donna, worked as an accountant while Shinnick was in charge of employee communications.
He started in the mailroom in 1976 and was promoted after earning a degree in Business Communications from St. Peter's College and a masters in Communications and Media Studies from The New School, located in Manhattan.
Both husband and wife worked in the World Trade Center, surviving the 1993 bombing and the Sept. 11 attacks.
"I feel like James Bond," Shinnick remarked.
In 2001, Shinnick was on the last Path train to arrive before service was suspended. The first plane had already hit.
He saw a mad dash of people in the concourse coming towards him, so he ran towards the nearest exit and saw the second plane crash.
Donna was on the 69th floor and Shinnick thought she was dead – neither had cell phones at the time – until he saw her later that afternoon.
The radio gig brings in some money, but Shinnick said he does it for his musical passion and desire to expose people to different genres.
"I want to turn you on to a song you may have loved but forgotten or play a song you've never heard before but come to love it," he said.
SOURCE: Click Here
Lesley Gore
As most of you know, we recently lost one of the great pop vocal treasures of the 60s, the one and only Lesley Gore ("It's My Party", "Judy's Turn To Cry", "You Don't Own Me", etc.) I was honored to have met her just three years ago, and I told her that my two favorite songs of her's were two songs that most people do not know - "What Am I Gonna Do With You" and "The Old Crowd". When I told her that, she looked at me so surprisingly, and she said that they were also two of her favorite songs as well. She always wanted to perform them in concert, but she knew no one really knew them (except for Leslie and me, and some of her most dedicated fans!) Try to find them and give them a listen. She was extremely nice to talk to, and it was such a thrill to meet her.
Years ago, I thought up the perfect fantasy concert bill that I would have loved to have seen, featuring seven of my favorite acts in one show. I bypassed the obvious artists such as Sinatra, Elvis and the Beatles. And I also bypassed other artists that I loved as well such as ABBA, Bob Dylan, Gene Pitney, Manhattan Transfer, Bee Gees, Kate Bush and Fleetwood Mac. I chose the seven artists that, if I were looking through a bin of used LPs, any LP that I came across by any of these certain artists would make me stop, definitely check out the LP, and enjoy feeling a unique thrill from the excitement of their career-spanning work. I call this fantasy concert bill my "Dream Show" and the seven artists I would have loved to have seen on one bill would be (in alpha order): Lou Christie, Lesley Gore, Burton Cummings and The Guess Who, John Sebastian and The Lovin' Spoonful (with Steve Boone, Jerry Yester, etc.), Lulu, Felix Cavaliere and The Rascals, and Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons. That would be my "Dream Show". Everyone should have a "Dream Show".
As most of you know, we recently lost one of the great pop vocal treasures of the 60s, the one and only Lesley Gore ("It's My Party", "Judy's Turn To Cry", "You Don't Own Me", etc.) I was honored to have met her just three years ago, and I told her that my two favorite songs of her's were two songs that most people do not know - "What Am I Gonna Do With You" and "The Old Crowd". When I told her that, she looked at me so surprisingly, and she said that they were also two of her favorite songs as well. She always wanted to perform them in concert, but she knew no one really knew them (except for Leslie and me, and some of her most dedicated fans!) Try to find them and give them a listen. She was extremely nice to talk to, and it was such a thrill to meet her.
Years ago, I thought up the perfect fantasy concert bill that I would have loved to have seen, featuring seven of my favorite acts in one show. I bypassed the obvious artists such as Sinatra, Elvis and the Beatles. And I also bypassed other artists that I loved as well such as ABBA, Bob Dylan, Gene Pitney, Manhattan Transfer, Bee Gees, Kate Bush and Fleetwood Mac. I chose the seven artists that, if I were looking through a bin of used LPs, any LP that I came across by any of these certain artists would make me stop, definitely check out the LP, and enjoy feeling a unique thrill from the excitement of their career-spanning work. I call this fantasy concert bill my "Dream Show" and the seven artists I would have loved to have seen on one bill would be (in alpha order): Lou Christie, Lesley Gore, Burton Cummings and The Guess Who, John Sebastian and The Lovin' Spoonful (with Steve Boone, Jerry Yester, etc.), Lulu, Felix Cavaliere and The Rascals, and Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons. That would be my "Dream Show". Everyone should have a "Dream Show".
Joe Frankiln
As many of you know, television icon Joe Franklin recently passed away. I had the honor and thrill to meet with him on a number of occasions in his NYC office, a space that was wonderfully piled floor to ceiling with every piece of popular memorabilia known in existence. Joe was the pioneer of talk shows, is in the Guinness Book of World Records for his show's 40-year run and 300,000 celebrity interviews. Bette Midler and Barbara Streisand both got their first exposure on Joe's show. And I'm proud to say that my childhood friend, Lee Pfeiffer, celebrity author and publisher of Cinema Retro Magazine, was also interviewed by Joe on many occasions. During my visits to his office, as Joe was the king of popular culture trivia and I was but a prince (ha!) he and I would would discuss the lives of everyone from Al Jolson to Marilyn Monroe. The last time I saw him, he asked me to call him later on that day, as he wanted to ask me a few questions concerning The Three Stooges. At the end of that phone call the last thing he said to me was to be sure and stay in touch. Sadly now, that cannot happen, but I know that there is now a new bright star in the celestial heaven. Shine on Joe! (Pictured with Joe and me are my friend and great entertainer Stan Edwards as well as my friend Sal Russo.)
As many of you know, television icon Joe Franklin recently passed away. I had the honor and thrill to meet with him on a number of occasions in his NYC office, a space that was wonderfully piled floor to ceiling with every piece of popular memorabilia known in existence. Joe was the pioneer of talk shows, is in the Guinness Book of World Records for his show's 40-year run and 300,000 celebrity interviews. Bette Midler and Barbara Streisand both got their first exposure on Joe's show. And I'm proud to say that my childhood friend, Lee Pfeiffer, celebrity author and publisher of Cinema Retro Magazine, was also interviewed by Joe on many occasions. During my visits to his office, as Joe was the king of popular culture trivia and I was but a prince (ha!) he and I would would discuss the lives of everyone from Al Jolson to Marilyn Monroe. The last time I saw him, he asked me to call him later on that day, as he wanted to ask me a few questions concerning The Three Stooges. At the end of that phone call the last thing he said to me was to be sure and stay in touch. Sadly now, that cannot happen, but I know that there is now a new bright star in the celestial heaven. Shine on Joe! (Pictured with Joe and me are my friend and great entertainer Stan Edwards as well as my friend Sal Russo.)