Posted with permission, of course:
I just discovered the GD Hour site after some recent digging. Brought back quite a few great memories of ’88-’90 (high school), covertly taping the GD Hour off of 102.7 WNEW, covering the LED lights on the stereo with cardboard to bypass parental patrols, dialing in the station by feel to avoid static. Great to see those GD Hour show lists and, yes, actually still have some highly prized TDK and Memorex tapes safely tucked away in “the vault” here in 2007!
David, thanks for all of the hard work, the great music and, most importantly, the education the GD Hour gave to the listeners. The highlight was never the carefully picked GD shows, although they were always great – it was the ’30’s and ’40’s original versions of Americana the Dead covered, the Leadbelly, the country, the folk, the Delaney and Bonnie, the Dylan, the cuts you found that made up The Music Never Stopped, the original American tunes that the Dead were keeping alive that you tracked down and put on. Being a competitive teenager, my successful “the Dead are better than Zeppelin” arguments were always founded upon the wealth of raw, American historical music the Dead kept alive, all styles, all genres – folk/ country/ ragtime/ blues/ jazz/ western. As a big reader (and student) of history, I believe the Dead will go down as the band that kept American music, and the storytelling tradition, alive before recording technology, the oral/ singing tradition that was passed down through generations. That was the best part of the GD Hour – that every week, this young listener was taught American musical history, as well as being entertained. Thanks again for the great work.
Stephen C. Pinzino
Manhasset, New York
I kvell. Thank you, Stephen!