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Monday, September 28, 2009

SPRINGFIELD MUSIC LEGEND BENNY MAHAN DIES



Unfortunately, I never had a chance to see him perform live, but I've heard some recordings of his. I also recognize his name from countless marquees in Springfield during my youth. Local music legend Benny Mahan died over the weekend at age 65. The Springfield News Leader had a nice article Sunday on "The Local King" or music.


I also want to point you in the direction of a post on the Queen City Roller blog. It was posted about Benny Mahan on Saturday.


Tuesday evening, several people on Facebook mentioned his passing. A short time later, KSPR's Joe Daues mentioned he had talked to the family who said Benny Mahan was not dead but in the hospital. I didn't hear anymore, so I posted a message on Art Morris' Missouri Radio Message Board in hopes of hearing from someone who knew how he was doing. I had to keep bumping it because of the clogger/trolls that I mentioned in my previous post.


For some reason the subject of rock and roll and the local music scene upsets the clogger/trolls (They tend to listen to radio stations that don't play music), however, I received an e-mail on Friday from a friend of Benny Mahan's.

"It seems he had multiple bypass surgery on Monday and came through that ok. Sometime after that he had some plaque come loose in the arteries to his brain and suffered a series of mini strokes. He is in ICU and the prognosis is not too promising. Benny has a great love of life and hopefully his love of life will pull him through this. He certainly could use all the prayers you could say for him and if you're not a believer then just think positive and hopefully that will help pull him through this."

On Saturday, I contacted this person about the e-mail and they informed me that Benny Mahan had passed away.


I'm going to allow comments on this post for fans of Benny Mahan's. I will post them as soon as I can get them while screening out the trolls (I'm the unpopular one, not Benny). Also, you could post a message in the thread on the Missouri Radio Message Board (You will have to register).

Saturday, September 26, 2009

I HATE TROLLS!


I hate Internet trolls. Whether they are creeping around on message boards or posting comments on blogs, I don't like them! That is one reason I stopped allowing comments at all. They don't really contribute to the conversation.

There seems to be a glut of trolls in our area. There were some rather amusing ones who posted over on Busplunge's blog. Art Morris' Missouri Radio Message Board has been attacked by two creeps known as TommyT and AMMan. They may be either Mr. Mike, who was kicked off of the board last year, or the old Missouri Radio Message Board bully Talk Radio Guy. All I can say is both of these trolls butcher the English language as bad as the webmaster at the KSGF website. HHHMMMMM!

Worst post by a troll this week was on Ron Davis' Chatter, where a self-proclaimed conservative businessman said "Liberals should be aborted." Not a very classy person, if you asked me.

I'm also heard from several former and current News Leader employees, who are critical of the comments on the News Leader website. They point out the double-standard that the News Leader requires a name and a phone number for a letter to the editor, but people can hide behind fake names on the comments section. Also, remember all the editorials a few years back about anonymous blogging (I thought those were about me, but it was actually another blog - probably that Weenie-Blog run by a guy named Scooter).

Point is, I DON'T LIKE TROLLS AND I'M KEEPING THEM OFF MY BLOG!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

WHY IS HE ON THE COVER OF TIME? I'M COOLER!


Some idiot at Time magazine thought that putting scummy doofus Glen Beck on the cover was a great idea. WRONG!!!

I'd rather be on the cover of Rolling Stone or Fangoria.

Monday, September 14, 2009

THE LEGEND OF SHEBBA THE BELLY DANCER


This post on my blog has been over a year in the making. I had to go look through some of the old News Leaders and Daily News on microfilm at the Springfield Library Center to find the information I was looking for. It was in regards to a person known to many as "Shebba the Belly Dancer." When I was small, I remember that stories on the KY 3 6 o'clock news about "Shebba" sparked chuckles from my parents, but I also remember that the laughter stopped when "Shebba" took her own life. That name was stuck in the back of my brain for years, but I didn't know what it was that "Shebba" did.

Some of the info came from the memories of some veteran news people here in town, but most of it came from newspaper articles. I will not give her real name out of respect for any living family members. Also the photo above is not "Shebba" but a generic belly dancer.

"Shebba the Belly Dancer" first came to the attention of Ozarkers in 1977, when she asked to refuse her a place to display information of the benefits of belly dancing and how to get involved in belly dancing classes. City fathers thought she was going to be belly dancing in the courthouse. This spawned several visits to Springfield city council meetings where Shebba railed against the city council members for not listening to her when she tried to tell them what she wanted to do (They did allow her to set up a display with brochures in the courthouse rotunda).

The next time folks heard of her was when she showed up a city council meeting where a group called Springfield Council Against Pornography was pushing a tough anti-porn ordinance. Shebba told everyone that she recognized the preacher heading the anti-porn group as a man, who had tried to hire her and her dance troupe to perform a "nude fire dance" for a party with some of his male friends and possibly make some "films." The preacher resigned his position as head of the group. He didn't admit to Shebba's charges, but said the accusation drew too much attention to him (Some locals say that Shebba's accusations held water - one long- time Springfieldian referred to this as a "Baptist Boogie Nights").

The next month, Shebba had a scuffle at her home with Springfield PD when they came with a search warrant. It was believed that Shebba and her husband had reported a burglary and vandalizing of the home earlier. The police came to search for evidence that she had damaged the home herself as part of an insurance fraud scheme. This began a succession of assault charges, court appearances, police visits and fights with neighbors. One neighbor claimed that she tried to shoot him. She was charged with firing a gun into a building (she died before this went to trial).

In the middle of all of this, she would frequently call members of the media to tell them about the benefits of belly dancing and the "evils" of the Springfield city council and police department. One Springfieldian remembers that she once performed a sabre dance on the porch of the police department, facing Chestnut Expressway, and knocked the P & O off of the side of the building with her sabre, so it read "SPRINGFIELD LICE HEADQUARTERS."

Shebba's neighbors asked Mayor Paul Redfern to have her locked up. In August of 1978, she went to jail before being sent to Park Central Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. While on a weekend furlough from the hospital, she went back to her old neighborhood and walked around shouting "SHEBBA IS BACK!"
One of the neighbors snitched to the Assistant Greene County Prosecutor, who revoked her furloughs. A judge, shortly thereafter, ordered Shebba to be transferred to the State Mental Hospital in Fulton. While waiting for her transfer, she hung herself in a closet with a bed sheet.

The News Leader tried to interview neighbors, but many would not speak to the reporter. One neighbor, who said she never had problems with Shebba, blamed the other neighbors and the assistant prosecutor. Shebba's psychiatrist said he thought the prosecutor's office was over zealous, while the prosecutor's office said they believed that she was "a threat to the community."

A neighbor was quoted in the News Leader as saying "We didn't want her to die." It was a sad ending to a story that started with the same recurring theme that all problems start with - the Ozarker's repressed sexuality and there need to find "an enemy." Was Shebba "a threat to the community" or just to her nosy neighbors? Only God knows that.

The community has a problem with thinking that someone is "the enemy" or "a threat" to "the good life we have in the Ozarks." If Shebba was such "a threat" how come only those who dealt with her in someway remember the details and some of those feel she got raw treatment. Most current Springfieldian's have never heard of her and even some old timers memories of her are vague as to what she did.

I'm sure some people will be upset by this post. They will go into the entomology of some of the words I used in this piece or find a neighbor who "still has nightmares about Shebba" or call me "an unpleasant coward" because I "call people names" (That is like the pot calling the kettle black).

You might say Shebba the Belly Dancer was the original SUPER-VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Monday, September 7, 2009

STUPIDEST THING POSTED ON FACEBOOK


A well-meaning friend sent me an invitation to a cause on Facebook. Now I have no problem supporting causes that are non-partisan or dealing with public safety issues, but after reading the comments on this by supporters I decided not to join.


One comment struck me as one of the stupidest statements that a person could ever make. Some bonehead posted, "I don't remember where I was when I heard that Michael Jackson died, but I will always remember where I was on 9-11."


Well Dumb-bell, Michael Jackson died in June. I was at work producing a local sports call-in show. HOW COULD YOU NOT REMEMBER WHERE YOU WERE THREE MONTHS AGO??? DO YOU HAVE ALZHEIMER'S OR ARE YOU A METH & MOONSHINE ADDICTED REDNECK WITH NO TASTE IN MUSIC???


I wish Facebook would remove both the Michael Jackson-haters and the President Obama-haters from Facebook. Of course, opinions like this are why I'm considered the SUPER-VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

DISNEY & MARVEL BELONG TOGETHER

I'm a little late on the Disney buyout of Marvel. Here is the Washington Post story. I know this has upset some Marvel fans and would have upset me too when I was younger. However, below is proof it was meant to be.

MICKEY MOUSE CLUB



MIGHTY MARVEL MARCHING SOCIETY




Friday, September 4, 2009

POSITIVE CHANGES IN RADIO (in other cities)

ALL ACCESS reports: "After considerable hullabaloo, CUMULUS officially flipped "QUALITY ROCK" KDBN/DALLAS to Top 40 "i93" TODAY (9/4) at NOON (CT). Programming the new Top 40 will be JOHN FOXX from CITADEL Top 40/Mainstream KKMG/COLORADO SPRINGS.

The station spent the last couple days hyping a "legendary" change, using the KLIF call letters to symbolize the "Legends, Icons and Favorites" in the new playlist. Right before the launch, the station aired a potpourri of clips of Top 40 hits in a variety of genres, with some Country thrown in for intrigue. After a fade out, a variety of sound effects featured music and the voice of CHARLIE VAN DYKE, until a voice welcomed DALLAS and Ft. WORTH to "today's new music" and 93 hours of commercial-free music.

"In the tradition of our major-market Top 40 stations, The New i93 successfully launched today at NOON in DALLAS!" declared SVP/Programming JAN JEFFRIES, who supervised the launch. "i93 will legally identify with legendary DALLAS/FT. WORTH Top 40 call letters, KLIF-FM! It is an indescribable sense of pride to introduce a station of the magnitude and legend as KLIF-FM in such a legendary Top 40 market. It has been months of preparation which paid off today with a sensational and legendary launch!

"i93 has been designed to provide our DALLAS listeners with the hits of contemporary artists of today," station GM DAN BENNETT said. "The station’s slogan says it all -- 'Today’s Hit Music i93' -- and we expect it to appeal to a young adult listener.”

"i93 is a result of extensive research to provide a reflection of the DFW market area, JEFFRIES said. "continued. "It has been carefully crafted to offer a wide variety of contemporary hit music from the pop, rhythm, and alternative musical genres."

"It is a pleasure to have CITADEL Top 40/Mainstream JOHN FOXX from KKMG/COLORADO SPRINGS coming in as PD," he continued. "Many excellent candidates were considered for this plum position and JOHN was clearly head of the class. JOHN FOXX joins CUMULUS/DALLAS this week."

Yes, you read right - they are calling it a Top 40 station. Hallelujah!

Meanwhile in Detroit: "CLEAR CHANNEL has flipped "FOX COUNTRY" WDTW/DETROIT to Rhythmic AC "THE BEAT." Promising "maximum music," THE BEAT is playing 10,000 songs in a row.

TODAY's playlist includes the following:

  • DONNA SUMMER - Hot Stuff
  • JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - Summer Love
  • MARIAH CAREY - Fantasy
  • KEVIN LYTTLE - Turn Me On
  • HUMAN LEAGUE - Don't You Want Me
  • TAYLOR DAYNE - Tell It To My Heart
  • LOU BEGA - Mambo No. 5
  • PINK - U + Ur Hand
  • KYLIE MINOGUE - Can't Get You Out Of My Head
  • RICK JAMES - Super Freak
  • CRYSTAL WATERS - 100% Pure Love
  • KERI HILSON / Kanye West / Ne-yo - Knock You Down
  • EARTH, WIND & FIRE - September

Anytime you can change a country station to rock and roll or hip hop, I think you are doing America a big favor. I also believe that changing a talk radio station to rock or hip hop guarantees you a special place in Heaven, but opinions like this are why I'm considered the SUPER-VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

ANOTHER THING WRONG WITH RADIO

When I decided to get into radio in the mid-80's, there was a radio show that fired my need to program one of the local radio stations MY WAY. That show was the Dr. Demento Show. I had to listen to it over faint signals from Rolla, St. Louis and Kansas City. There was not an affiliate in the Springfield area.

I colleague of mine was wondering if the Dr. Demento show still aired anywhere in the country. I found both the Dr. Demento page and a Wikpedia page with the sad story. Only seven radio stations carry Dr. Demento's show. Compare that to the numbers of affiliates of right-wing talk radio low-life host like like Glen Beck, Sean Hannity, Mike Savage, Bill Cuningham and Rush "the Overpaid Scumbag" Limbaugh.

I feel the government needs to step in and force stations in every city to drop the talk low-life shows and carry Dr. Demento. Of course, opinions like this are why I'm considered the SUPER-VILLAIN OF THE OZARKS!!! Mwu-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

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