One of my favorite on-air moments was when I was a jock in San Francisco. At the time, “Goodbye To Love” by the Carpenters was a hit. That particular song began cold, on the vocal.
As I cued up the record for the 300th time, a quarter-turn to the left, a quarter-turn to the right, the much slower manual speed drastically altered the sound of the Carpenters. In fact, I mused, it kind of sounded like the Righteous Brothers.
Uh-oh. I felt an idea coming on. The kind of idea that makes management nervous but strikes me as funny.
“In just a couple of moments,” I said, leading into a commercial break, “I’ll be playing the world premiere of the brand-new Righteous Brothers record.”
Coming out of commercial, I explained I’d managed to get an advance copy of their newest single, and surprisingly they had recorded the same song that already was a hit for the Carpenters.
“Here, I’ll play it for you. And then you can call in and let me know whose version you prefer.”
And I played the Carpenters’ 45 at 33 1/3 rpm.
I thought maybe people would get a chuckle out of the obvious stunt.
They didn’t chuckle. As soon as the song ended, they called in to vote for the one they thought was better. No one realized I was joking.
The highlight was the caller who said, “You know, at first I thought you were just playing the Carpenters at a slower speed. But when they got to the harmonies, I realized it really was the Righteous Brothers. Nobody can touch their harmonies.”
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Reminds me of when I accidentally played a Barbara Mandrell 45 of “If Loving You Is Wrong” at 33 on the air. It sounded exactly like Barry White — and that’s how I announced it at the end of the record. Not a single phone call. Nobody in the station even realized it! (Although one of the secretaries told me she thought it was horrible that Barry White was singing about loving a married man…)
OK, another one…
Play Atlanta Rhythm Section’s “Imaginary Lover” at 45 INSTEAD of at 33. You’d swear it was Stevie Nicks.
To this day I swear Chrissy Hynde’s voice and George Harrison’s voice are one and the same. (Come to think of it, I’ll bet she hasn’t released new recordings since George passed away. Coincidence?)