You are currently browsing the WAGRadio Online blog archives.

Video Goes Here


“BOOGALOO: THE

QUINTESSENCE OF
AMERICAN POPULAR
MUSIC” was about twenty
pages read by DJZigZag
before the Christmas
holiday. It is now twenty
pages short of being finished.
The non-fiction account of
basically three stories from
the history of New World
African Music is insightful
and extremely
well written by this Harvard man.
Author Arthur Kempton, an American of European descent, writes mainly about; Sam Cooke and his time which overlaps Berry Gordy Jr. and his era which leads into George “Funkadelic” Clinton and Hip Hop.

Here is an example of the more flamboyant side of the writing in which Mr. Kempton describes the California service that was held for Sam Cooke after his death. Renowned Gospel singer Bessie Griffin was much too filled with remorse to perform – the F.W. Alexander mentioned at the end of the vignette was a dear friend of Sam Cooke and leader of the gospel group the Pilgrim Travellers.

“The service in Los Angeles was convoked by Billy Preston playing “Yield Not To Temptation” on organ, and featured hymn-singing by Lou Rawls and Bobby Bland. The slain star was to have been sung to his eternal rest in the three-octave range of the great Bessie Griffin, who even her competitors said “could moan and move a mountain.” But Griffin was unable that day to move anyone; she was so overcome by the spirit of the occasion, she couldn’t perform.
Her incapacitation proved Ray Charles’s opportunity to steal Sam Cooke’s last show. He would find irresistible his chance at any room this charged and teeming, or any audience so exquisitely ripe for his taking. He stepped from the back of the church and was led down its center aisle, as the overflow congregation’s murmurings at their unexpected first sightings of him became exhortations once his intentions were clear.
He teased them as he would a nightclub crowd, by asking if they wanted him to sing. Then, after a “Sam, baby, this is for you,” as though addressing a colleague in the house who’d happened by some Thursday night to watch him work, Charles proceeded to sit at the piano and hold church so deep that even J.W. Alexander, holding the microphone for him and long inured to such theatrics as these, broke down and wept unabashedly.”

BUY THE BOOK . . .
DJZigZag

This song originally sung by the wonderful one Mr. Sam Cooke, embodies the clearing of eyes and the casting of hopes to the far horizon. A shore now made more plainly visible by accomplishments seen and positive inner strengths successfully attuned.

In 2010 I can only hope that WAGRadio puts a hop in your hip and a pop in your skip.

You all have been steadily increasing in listening numbers – but that’s not the most important thing to us here at the station that never sleeps . . . except when we get really tired and can’t stay up anymore. What we get our kicks from is that you and us are diggin’ the music together. This New World African Music that is our music cuz we luv it in our bones and brains and hasn’t got a lot to do with what the masses are told people today are diggin’!

WAGRadio Management


With the addition of this third Groovin’ Blue show – WAGRadio has topped last years output for New World African Music holiday cheer.

This Groovin’ Blue Soulful Xmas is derived from a series of tapes made available in the EAST END of Vancouver, Canada by Bill Reiter to his pals, associates and fellow music lovers during the 1970’s to the 1990’s.
In retrospect, they are a history of Black popular Christmas music from the late 40’s to the end of the last century.
And now they are the basis of the latest Christmas Groovin’ Blue special. Memo to wives – - this is why we never throw anything out!!!

Also, if you scroll down to REITER’S RECORDS (on the right) you will see a list of vinyl records enjoyed by DJZigZag’s alter-ego from 1954 to 1986 . . .

Here’s the TOP 10 of that list’s 222 titles;
1. “Please Come Home For Christmas” – CHARLES BROWN
[King] 1960
2. “Merry Christmas Baby”
- JOHNNY MOORE’S THREE BLAZERS
[Charles Brown - vocals] [Exclusive] 1947
“Merry Christmas Baby” – CHARLES BROWN
[King] 1960 [Aladdin] 1956
3. “The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You)”
- NAT KING COLE [Capitol] 1946
4. “Christmas Time Pt. 1&2″ – JIMMY McCRACKLIN
[Art-Tone] 1961
5 “White Christmas” – THE DRIFTERS
[feat. Clyde McPhatter & Bill Pinckney] [Atlantic] 1954
6. “Snow Is Falling” – RAY CHARLES TRIO [Swing Time] 1953
7. “Winter With McGriff Pt. 1&2″ – JIMMY McGRIFF [Sue] 1963
8. “I Hear Jingle Bells” – FREDDY KING [Federal] 1961
9. “Snowbound” – RAMSEY LEWIS TRIO [Cadet] 1964
10.”The Silent Night Sermon”
- ROBERT BANKS with The Golden Voices Ensemble
[Verve] 1967
WAGRadio Management

AH YES, A MAGICAL BUNCH OF SUNDAY NIGHTS – ALWAYS CULMIN-

ATING IN
END OF THE YEAR SPECIALS CELE-
BRATING
THE MOST JAZZIFIED,
STONE-SOULED,
BALLSY-
BLUE
CHRISTMAS SOUNDZ ! !
THESE WERE THE TIMES SPENT BY SUNNY ‘SWEET DADDY FONK’ WONG AND DJZIGZAG PRODUCING AND HOSTING THE NEW WORLD AFRICAN MUSIC SHOW GROOVIN’ BLUE ON THE MULTICULTURAL RADIO STATION OUT OF VANCOUVER, CANADA – CHMB – - AM1320.
WELL, NOW YOU CAN RE-LISTEN TO TWO OF THOSE YULE-TIDE MUSICAL EVENINGS WITH THE DISCOVERY OF A COUPL’A EIGHT YEAR OLD CASSETTE AUDIO TAPES . . .
SO, RETURN WITH US. . . TO THE DAYS OF YESTERYEAR – AS OUR TWO FUNKDIFIED DEE-JAYS RIDE SOUTH AGAIN ! !

MERRY SOULFUL XMAS Y’ALL AND AN IRIE NEW YEAR . . . .
WAGRadio Management

WELL, It looked like it WAS gonna be winter. . . .

NOW when we gaze out the WAGRadio Studio ‘B’ window we just see wet.
But it doesn’t dampen the magic time.
Christmas is upon us and Sunny ‘Sweet Daddy Fonk’ has found a transcription on a 2001 cassette tape (two actually) from when he and DJZigZag hosted Groovin’ Blue on CHMB AM1320.
Every Sunday nite, they would broadcast New World African music to their fans in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Sitting faithfully at home for those three years the show was on, was Mrs. Sweet Daddy Fonk – Cheryl . . . taping the proceedings.
Aside from tape hiss and a little bit of ‘bleeding through’ from another radio station, the sound quality is pretty good.
We will soon podcast this Groovin’ Blue CHMB 2001 RETRO – RADIO CHRISTMAS Show. SO Stay tuned! !
And . . . we may also call DJZigZag in so he can host a third CHRISTMAS OLDIES show (kinda like a Funk Shui Special) with or without the Sweet one.
WAGRadio Management

THE GROOVIN’ BLUE 2009 CHRISTMAS SHOW IS READY TO BE CARVED UP FOR YOUR DISCERNING EARS. YOLANDA ADAMS, THE WONDERFUL GOSPEL SINGER SHOWS THAT SHE CAN FILL THE BOOTS OF THE BEST OF TODAY’S JAZZ CHANTOOSIES RIGHT OFF THE TOP – AND MARVIN GAYE, BROOK BENTON, VERNESSA MITCHELL and BRIAN McKNIGHT STOKE THEIR WINTERY VOCAL FIRES WITH RENDITIONS OF XMAS CLASSICS OLD AND TO-BE.

SWEET DADDY FONK TELLS ME HE IS GETTING SOME CHOONS TOGETHER AND WILL BE JOINING DJZZ FOR A HOLIDAY FUNK SHUI SPECIAL IN ABOUT A WEEK. . . CAN’T WAIT ! !
Oh, and remember – You can still access the two Christmas 2008 Groovin’ Blue Specials . . .
DJZigZag

THE 2nd GROOVIN’ BLUE CHRISTMAS SHOW WILL BE A FUNK SHUI SPECIAL FEATURING THE GOLDEN OLDIES OF A SOULFUL YULETIDE“Merry Christmas Baby” by OTIS REDDING, “Christmas Tears” by FREDDY KING, “Christmas In The Ghetto” by BIG DADDY RUCKER, “Run Rudolph Run” by CHUCK BERRY and so many more of what have become EAST END XMAS PARTY FAVOURITES ! ! !

YES, IT WILL BE A GRAMPA AND GRAND-MAMA’S XMAS with SWEET DADDY FONK and ZIGZAGZ – - TO COMPLIMENT THE MOSTLY CONTEMPORARY GROOVIN’ BLUE 2009 PODCAST THAT WILL BE READY FOR LISTENING IN A DAY OR TWO . . . SO, STAY TUNED ! ! !

And to whet your appetite for those classic New World African Christmas Music sounds – here is a just-released video of the Genius himself in 1979 at the Ettal Monastery in Germany singing the Charles Brown classic “Merry Christmas Baby” as only Ray can.

DJZigZag

AND NOT ONLY THE ORGANISTIC STYLINGS OF MR. McGRIFF & MR. SMITH BUT THE FIRST OF THE TWO SHOWS (AN ALL – ORIGINAL 2009 XMAS PROGRAM) WILL FEATURE NEW CHRISTMAS MATERIAL BY TREY SONGZ, YOLANDA ADAMS, BRIAN McKNIGHT, ANGIE STONE and ANTHONY HAMILTON as well as CLASSIC NEW WORLD AFRICAN CHRISTMAS GEMS by THE IMPRESSIONS, BROOK BENTON, BILL COSBY, WILLIAM BELL, THE PILGRIM TRAVELLERS and the usual MANY, MANY MORE . . . . .

DJZigZag


OH BOY ! ! – - B3 ORGAN KING – MR. JIMMY SMITH – - LIVE IN SLOVAKIA 2004

Sunday, December 6, 2009 @ 06:12 PM
Author: admin

IS IT BECAUSE WE ARE GETTING CLOSE TO CHRISTMAS THAT JIMMY SMITH POPS UP ON THE WAGRadio RADAR ?

NOTHING SEZ XMAS TO US MORE THAN THE B3 ORGAN STYLINGS OF THE KING OF JAZZ ORGAN – MR. JIMMY SMITH.

THIS VIDEO HAS JUST SURFACED. IT’S MR. SMITH IN SLOVAKIA IN 2004. JIMMY PLAYS LIVE FOR ALMOST TEN MINUTES ! !

WAGRadio Management

WON’T SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT’S WRONG ? ?
YOU’RE JUST A FOOL – - – YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN LOVE WITH TINA AND THE IKETTES ! !

WAGRadio Management