After a long, sad weekend following the assassination of John F Kennedy on Nov 22, 1963, Jean Shepherd took to the airwaves for his first show back on Monday Nov 25 with a somber, reflective program. For the entire week he declined to play his jaunty theme song, and took several days to discuss the American scene and mood.
Thanks largely to Shep fan Jean Tepper, we have three of these programs that were taped from FM over the air at the time of broadcast. The first show is actually a composite of three different recordings, starting with a very poor copy which was the most complete, tagging on a bit more from a slightly better recording, then the bulk of the show is from the very nice sounding copy from Jean Tepper. The other two recordings are flawed due to signal interference that comes and goes throughout the broadcast, but despite the whistling and hooning, Shep's words come through. Two of these programs have been aired in the past over WBAI, the third has never been replayed as far as I can recall.
During the coming week you will get a chance to hear them all on the radio or on the web. The first show from Monday Nov 25, 1963 will be played on the Saturday morning show on yesterdayusa.com.
The Thanksgiving show "Shadows and Haiku" will be aired on WBAI on Sunday evening. At some point during the week I will upload the third show to Mixcloud - this show was from either Tuesday or Wednesday of that week, and I call it "The Ugly American".
I hope you will listen.
(If you miss these, they will be archived here in the "Max Schmid presents Jean Shepherd" section)
November 22, 2013
NPR plays Shep's eulogy to JFK
interview with Eugene B Bergmann
On November 25th many NPR stations will be playing Jean Shepherd's November 25th 1963 show on which he talks about Kennedy and politics in general. How they affect our lives.
Gene talks about the effect that the assassination had on Shep
Shep did not play his usual theme song at the start or finish of his show for the entire week out of respect and spent the week doing shows related to the subject.
October 29, 2013
Scott Schwartz (Flick) poses next to the statue
Hammond statue to immortalize 'A Christmas Story' prank
By Andy Grimm Tribune reporter
Visitors to the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond will get a special treat now after the unveiling of a statue of Flick in the famous "Triple Dog Dare" scene from A Christmas Story. The statue was cleverly placed right up against the existing flagpole in front of the center to complete the scene.
October 1, 2013
Marching Band Pileup Nearly Takes Out High School's Entire Tuba Section
Where's Wilbur Duckworth when you need him?
Like a scene right out of "Great American Fourth of July" (upper left in photo) the Lake Travis High School Marching Band find themselves in a choreography snaffu. As the band goes into a reverse march, the leading (trailing?) sousaphone player trips and begins a 'domino effect' as the others back into and trip on each other.
September 23, 2013
Photo Credit: Elena Dijour / Shutterstock.com
How Corporations Co-opted the "Flash Mob"
AlterNet / By Paul Krassner
Paul Krassner who was one of many people inspired by Shep has penned an article about modern day flash mobs being used by corporations for marketing purposes. Beginning with the seventh paragraph he makes the "Shepherd" coinnection.
August 5, 2013
Gene on CBS
"Shep's Army" - on the march!
The Interviews (UPDATE 3)
Gene Bergmann kicked off his promotions for "Shep's Army" by appearing on CBS New York Sunday Morning July 21st at 8:40am.
Next on the schedule:
August 10 - Joe Franklin Show on Bloomberg Radio (taped phone interview)
August 11 - 7pm to 9pm - Golden Age of Radio with Max Schmid - WBAI NY Live on phone
August 16, 11:00pm - YesterdayUSA with John and Larry Gassman - www.yesterdayUSA.com
August 24 - NPR Weekend edition with Scott Simon, Saturday (taped interview)
September 1 - 8pm - 21st Century Radio with Dr Bob Hieronimus - WCBM 680 Baltimore
September 16 - BOB EDWARDS SHOW - SIRIUS XM SATELLITE RADIO
August 3, 2013
Early life in Trenton left mark on pioneering composer George Antheil
By Ross Amico/For The Times of Trenton
Radio personality Jean Shepherd (now of "A Christmas Story" fame) adored him, and played his music on his radio broadcasts, even providing an on-air eulogy following Antheil's death. Yet his music has failed to gain traction.
Read the whole article . . .
July 26, 2013
Happy Birthday Shep!
Shep would be 92 years old today.
It's been 36 years since his last WOR show on April 1, 1977 and 58 years since he first started on WOR. Don't that make you feel old!
July 8, 2013
Old Books, Fresh Eyes
A new Blog
Lois Nettleton's niece inherited Lois' book collection and has decided to do something contructive with them.
"For too long, the books sat neglected on my shelf. They deserve a closer look as a window into the artistic and cultural climate of 1950s, 60s and 70s. This blog is intended to give fresh eyes to these old books and learn something along the way."
June 26, 2013
Sheps Army - Bummers, Blisters, & Boondoggles
By Jean Shepherd - Edited by Eugene B. Bergmann
Thanks to the efforts of author Eugene B. Bergmann, who wrote the only book on Jean Shepherd, "Excelsior You Fathead, The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd", those verbal tales from the radio have been collected and painstakingly transcribed into book form as "Shep's Army - Bummers, Blisters, and Boondoggles"
