The Voices of Classic Rock were the featured stars Friday on WPLJ-
FM's live Summer Blast-off Morning Show Special from the WWF
Restaurant in Times-Square. More than 1,500 fans and invited
guests were present at 5:45 AM as the band finished its sound
check and the famous radio tandem of "Scott and Todd in the
Morning" took to the mics. Shannon, in particular, is a legend in
classic rock radio circles.
VCR/WPLJ LIVE BROADCAST -- WWF CAFE, NYC BOBBY KIMBALL, AMANDA HOMI, PAT TRAVERS |
By 6:45 AM Voices of Classic Rock artist were "On
The Air". John Cafferty was performing his hit "CITY," followed
by Larry Hoppen and "Dance With Me." The 7:00 hour featured Bobby
Kimball with "Rosana," and Jimi Jamison with "High On You" and
"Search Is Over." As the Blast-off reached it full throttle in
the 8:00 hour, Jimi rocked the enthusiastic house with "Eye of the
Tiger," followed by JC (and "Tunes") with their double platinum
hit "On The Darkside."
Appropriate for its setting in the WWF Restaurant, the show then
got an in-person visit from a WWF celebrities Stephanie McMahon,
Stephen Richards, and Payl Heyman. Backstage a mutual admiration
society was underway between the stars of rock and the stars that
rock. The WWF segment led appropriately into Pat Travers' hit
"Boom, Boom Out Go The Lights." With a version of "Still The One"
at the top of the 9:00 hour, and a cover of "Ain't Too Proud To
Beg" thrown in for good measure, the Voices of Classic Rock sang
Scott and Todd off the air with a rocking version of "Smoke On The
Water" from Glenn Hughes and friends.
In total, the Voices of Classic Rock performed 12 of their
respective biggest hits live to New York's largest morning music
audience, numbering approximately 3,000,000 listeners. "It was a
challenge," noted Manager Charlie Schmitt, "we didn't get a lot of
sleep with a 3:30 AM lobby call for sound check, and we had the
inevitable nuances of live radio to deal with. But all of the
WPLJ staff from Scott and Todd to Tom Cuddy and Theresa Angela are
so enjoyable to work with that we all just had a blast. Last year
we got to work with them at Rye Playland, but this year actually
on the air to all those listeners was very cool."
The Voices of Classic Rock next performance together will be one
week from Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minnesota for a private
corporate event.