Yesterday Once More

This program features songs about different forms of entertainment. Starting with Scottish singer Donovan and his quirky Hurdy Gurdy Man  and followed up by Billy Joel’s somewhat cynical portrayal of life as a singer with  The Entertainer.  Other forms of entertainment are presented with Liza Minnelli’s  Cabaret  from the film of the same name, Simon and Garfunkel’s reworking of the old English fo...

The  TOSSING & TURNING theme features a range of diverse songs relating to sleeping or aspects thereof. Australian group Ray Hoff & The Offbeats lead the program with their version of the 1961 song Tossing and Turning . Roy Orbison, Colleen Hewett, and The Reels reference dreaming while Bryan Davies is revering his Dream Girl . The Rolling Stones want to spend a night together, The Romanti...

Composers and arrangers often include different sounds in their songs to create a distinctive and catchy element. In their masterpiece  Good Vibrations  as well as the title, an unusual instrument, the Electro-Theremin, is employed by The Beach Boys. Named the ‘father of exotica’, arranger/composer Martin Denny uses all kinds of sounds heard in an African village in his popular instrumental Quiet...

SUN, the centre of the solar system is the star of the show this episode. Opening the program are The Beach Boys sound alike The Sunrays followed by gems including, George Harrison’s masterpiece Here Comes the Sun . Neil Sedaka and Bobby Hebb go head to head with  Sunny , The Animals are singing about the woe of the House of the Rising Sun , Harry Belafonte acknowledges his homeland with  Island i...

This program features songs about Flora and Fauna. Bette Midler starts the program with her No 1 hit from her Golden Globe winning performance in The Rose.  Unusual fauna are mentioned in The Door’s  Peace Frog  and Culture Club’s  Karma Chameleon.  Flora heads  Build Me Up Buttercup   from The Foundations, Jud Strunk’s gently nostalgic  Daisy A Day  and Aussie singer Broderick Smith’s   Faded Ros...

In this episode  BODY PARTS, the human body is the backdrop for our song selection. The show kicks off with  Paul McCartney’s  My Brave Face and The Cowsills make a show of  Hair.  Moving down the body both Lynne Randell and Tony Bennett sing about the heart. The arms (The Supremes), hands (Edie Gorme & The Beatles) and thumb (The Rolling Stones) are acknowledged, Paul Anka incorporates two se...

It is surprising how many singers and other entertainers (especially in USA) have Italian heritage. This program features a few of them. Dion Di Mucci had many big hits in the 50s and 60s none bigger than his smash hit  Runaround Sue.  Some singers preferred romantic ballads such as Gennaro Louis Vitiliano (Jerry Vale) with  You Don’t Know Me  or Al Martino with  I Love You Because. Teen idols Wal...

Within the theme of  WATERCRAFT the songs refer to ships, boats, ferries and sailing. The Hues Corporation’s  lyrics refer to not rocking the boat of love, Gerry and The Pacemakers love crossing the Mersey river and Chris De Burgh is making a plea of love via ship to shore communication.  Styx and Enya are wanting to sail away while in Boat Drinks  Jimmy Buffett is wanting to get away to anywhere....

In this program Rob is joined by Rachel, longtime listener and friend. Rachel has selected songs which mean something to her or simply appeal to her. At a young age she was enthralled and influenced by the young Lesley Gore’s hit  You Don’t Own Me. Rachel  from Russell Morris also invoked memories of the Vietnam War and her father. The Vietnam War also provided a backdrop for Normie Rowe’s  Maybe...

For this episode, Rob is again joined by Joe as they indulge in songs they have chosen. Joe’s birthday was December 1963 so he chose Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons’ song December 63 (Oh What A Night)  as his first offering. Memories of a lost love welled up as Rob presented Air Supply’s  All Out Of Love.  Joe’s outlook on life shines through with two of his selected songs: Frank Sinatra’s  Tha...

For this episode, Rob Is joined by long time listener Pam. Pam introduces her favourite song of all time: Procol Harum’s A Whiter Shade Of Pale.  Rob also presents one of his favourite songs of all time: The Platters with  My Prayer.  Great Aussie talent is there in John Farnham with the slowed down arrangement of The Beatles’  Help  and Kate Ceberano leading the group I’m Talking with their cover...

With Mossy away, Rob is joined by longtime presenter and news reader, Joe. In this program, Rob and Joe present some of their favourite songs and songs which mean something to them. Both reference memories of parents: Joe with The Platters Twilight Time  and Rob with Sarah Vaughan’s  Broken Hearted Melody.  Two Aussie selections are Johnny O’Keefe’s classic  Shout Parts 1&2 and Joe’s recollect...

As we head into the month of June, we centre the show around our home grown performers. AUSTRALIANA includes 60’s artists Lana Cantrell, John Farnham, The Black Diamonds, Flake, The Seekers and Bobby Cookson. The Angels, The Sports, Peter Allen, Christie Allen, Wendy Saddington were riding high in the 70’s and Kids in the Kitchen were emerging during the early 80’s. PLAYLIST Rose Coloured Glasses...

This saccharine-soaked program focuses on songs about sweetness. There are two songs with the title Sweet Dreams.  One is the debut single from that great duo Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart singing as the Eurhythmics and the power ballad from ex Aussies Air Supply with their song of the same name. Other notable Aussie songs are Russell Morris’s knockout  Sweet Sweet Love  and Daddy Cool’s cheeky  C...

The songs within the theme of LANDSCAPES look at some of the world’s various environments. The selection mainly focuses on topographical places such as hills (Doris Day), lakes (The Cowsills), rivers (Christie) and fields (The Brothers Four and The Go-Betweens). A manmade landscape is depicted in Joni Mitchell’s  Big Yellow Taxi “where they paved paradise and put up a parking lot”. PLAYLIST Indian...

For JOY Radiothon Rob and Mossy are joined by Joe. The songs depicting togetherness are: Happy Together  by The Turtles;  I’ll Stand By you  from The Pretenders and  Together Again  by Rick Astley. The Beatles contribute with  Come Together  while Fern Kinney with  Together We Are Beautiful  adds a   soft quality to the program. Fittingly, the last song is Dr Hook’s  Sharing The Night Together. PL...

The years 1967 and 1979 were migratory for both Rob and Mossy. Rob moved from rural Ballan in Victoria and Mossy from sunny Brisbane to start anew in Melbourne. Apart from providing great music as presented in the playlist, these two years saw a lot of cultural, social and political change. During 1967 there was the escalation of the Vietnam war, Elvis married Priscilla and the first successful he...

Etta James was voted Number 22 in the top Greatest Singers Of All Time. She sang various genres including gospel, blues, jazz, R &B and even rock n roll. Her deep earthy voice can be heard on her signature song  At Last  and on the Mick Jagger/Keith Richard’s song  Miss You.  Hot Chocolate is an English band was a big success in the 70s disco era. They had  at least one hit song every year fro...

This episode is dedicated to all female groups who have sisters in them. The   Andrews Sisters were the most popular singing group in the war years and after, especially with their bright and toe tapping Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.  Other prominent all sister groups are, The Pointer Sisters (Slow Hand),  Sister Sledge  (We Are Family)  and the popular fifties group The McGuire Sisters  (Volare).  Aus...

This episode’s theme includes  a variety of songs that reflect an informal title or term of reference attached to PEOPLE . PLAYLIST: Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter – Herman’s Hermits The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde – Georgie Fame Material Girl – Madonna Me and Mrs. Jones – Billy Paul Mama – BJ Thomas Jack & Diane – John Mellencamp Big Time Operator – The I.D (with J...

This program focuses on songs about Inanimate Objects. Starting off with Donovan’s quirky I Love My Shirt, there are songs about the radio  Who Listens To The Radio  by Aussie group The Sports and the Dutch band, George Baker Selection with their big hit Little Green Bag.  Other popular Aussie bands are Skyhooks with  Jukebox In Siberia  and Stevie Wright fronting The Easybeats with Wedding Ring. ...

This program includes Bands that have named themselves after a Country, a City, or a Place. The Harborlites changed their named to  Jay and The Americans. While wanting to   appear more European, the Toys chose to rename themselves and be known as  Berlin . The hard rock Scottish group  Nazareth took its name from a place in Pennsylvania and eleven Grammy awards winner, Manhattan Transfer  opted t...

In this program, we feature some of the biggest stars in the history of Country music. There is the acknowledged ‘King Of Country Music’, Hank Williams, ( Your Cheatin’ Heart)  and the ‘Queen Of Country Music’, Loretta Lynn ( One’s On The Way). And up there is our own ‘King Of Country Music’, Slim Dusty with the song penned by his wife, Joy McKean ( Lights On The Hill).  There is a cavalcade of ot...

The arrangement of this week’s songs centres around the theme of  STRUCTURES and BUILDINGS . Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in the Wall , Little River Band‘s Love is a Bridge  and Gene McDaniels’  Tower of Strength  refer to structures. Castles in the Air  by Don McLean, Sweet’s Ballroom Blitz ,  School is Out  by Gary US Bonds   and Herb Alpert’s Casino Royale  are examples of Buildings....

One again we feature some outstanding Aussie music by icons like John Farnham and his poignant  A Touch Of Paradise,  Cold Chisel and their popular  Breakfast At Sweethearts  and Russell Morris with his soaring  Wings Of An Eagle.  Still performing Kids In The Kitchen sing their hit  Change In Mood.  Deborah Conway leads the band Do Re Mi with their powerful  Man Overboard.  Other forgotten singer...