WTJU and Horn Bands of the '60's - Part 1

The show

Wednesday, February 16 from 6AM to 9AM I'll be hosting a program entitled "Horn Bands" on WTJU, 91.1fm Charlottesville VA (and online at wtju.net/stream).

For three hours I'll be playing music by rock groups of the late 1960's who had horn players as their members, as opposed to groups who used studio musicians when they wanted backup brass on their records.

The reason

WTJU, being a community radio station, has to raise a significant amount of money from its listeners to meet its operating budget. The station broadcasts four musical genres: classical, jazz, rock, and folk. For our fund drives, each department takes over the station for a week to celebrate its particular genre in all its diversity. Jazz did their fund-raising marathon in October. The Classical Department (which I'm a member of) did ours in December.

Now it's the turn of the Rock Department. The goal is to raise $30,000 while presenting some of the most diverse and in-depth rock programming anywhere. Programming that only WTJU can deliver.


The goal

My personal goal is to raise $3,000 in pledges. I think it's very possible. I only need 30 people to make a $100 pledge, and we're there. And I'm not buying the theory that only impoverished university students listen to our rock programming. Most of the volunteer announcers are well past their college years, and so are the listeners. I know we have doctors, lawyers, professors, and other professionals listening in, and to them -- and to you -- I say:


Tune in, pony up, and rock on.

We take VISA and MasterCard, and if you pledge online, you can even pay your pledge in convenient monthly installments.

Make no mistake: I intend to have a lot of fun this coming Wednesday morning, but I also intend to raise a lot of money for the station.

That's where you come in. No matter where you are, please tune in -- and be sure to call in. Better still, if you're one of our many online listeners, just open up a new window on your computer and pledge online.

In fact, you don't even have to wait until the fund drive starts. Pre-pledge now and avoid the rush!

The criteria

So what do I mean by "horn bands" anyway? I'm looking at a very small group of bands that flourished ever-so-briefly between 1966 and 1970. I'm staying away from more funk-oriented groups like Earth, Wind, and Fire and Tower of Power. Instead, I'll be playing groups that blend jazz and rock, as opposed to soul and rock.

Blood, Sweat, and Tears is an obvious choice. And so's Chicago (this is when they were still good). But who else fits? I'll provide a partial run down of the groups I'll be playing in Part 2.

#hornbands