Will the river ever go down?

This is the second summer with rain, rain, rain, all through June.  But I don't ever remember the river being this high for so long.  A little drought anyone?  Anyway, our campsite at Goose has become a waterfront site... the ground is saturated and even away from the river we have new ponds!

Happy Friday!

I love funny stuff on Fridays... and this pic caught my attention!  Haven't we all known the guy in the top picture!!??!!

Stand By Me...

"Stand By Me' was a monster hit for Ben E. King in 1961. It has been re-released several times and recorded by over 400 artists.  John Lennon included a version of the song on his 1975 album "Rock and Roll". Released as a single by John, the song was a top ten smash in both the U.S.A. and the UK.  It was his last single for five years.  A great song, largely forgotten today.

Welcome Back...

There's an unwritten rule that most TV theme songs that become hits, also become Forgotten Oldies. That's especially true with today's tune. "Welcome Back" was the theme for the wildly popular Welcome Back Cotter. Performed by John Sebastian of Lovin' Spoonful fame, it roared to number one on both the Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts in May of 1976. It also hit #97 on the Country Chart.  Another forgotten oldie that was a number one smash hit.  So, does anyone remember the John Sebastian and Steve Martin concert at the old Mary Sawyer Auditorium in the fall of 1977...??

I love sunsets!!

Just continuing my series of sunsets taken at one of my favorite places on the planet... Goose Island Campground!  One of these days I'll catch the perfect shot.

Smith rocks it!

Today's Forgotten Oldie features the L.A. band Smith, who had a top five smash in 1969 with their copy of the Shirelles hit "Baby It's You". With Gayle McCormick singing, the song sold over a million copies and dominated the airwaves for four months.  It's a fabulous song, and yet it's disappeared from the airwaves...

Listener request...

Today's Forgotten Oldie may not tickle your memory, but an Eagle listener requested it and away we go.  The song "Shame shame" was a top 40 hit for the British group The Magic Lanterns in 1968.  They never made it to the Top 40 again.  It's a true "forgotten oldie" because I don't remember it... hopefully when it's played this morning I'll go "oh yeah... I remember that one!!"

Mud Monsters!

Congrats to the La Crosse Radio Group team that slogged through the amazingly difficult course on Saturday at Fort McCoy.  They finished!  We're proud of you guys!

Happy Monday!

It's always good to start the week with a laugh... here's my favorite photo bomb!

Friday funny...

If you love the music on the Eagle, you'll love this...

Remember this?

Today's forgotten oldie comes from Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, a band best known for their 1965 number two smash hit "Wooly Bully".  Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs were not one-hit wonders, they placed several songs in the top 40 in the 60's, but we only hear Wooly Bully.  In 1966, the band scored another number two hit with "Little Red Riding Hood".  The song was number two on Billboard, but Cashbox had it at number one.  It was every bit as big a hit as Wooly Bully, and yet today it's practically forgotten... and I think Little Red Riding Hood is the better song... I don't get it.

Hump Day Forgotten Oldie...

If I were to pick the one song that epitomizes Garage Rock, it'd be "Pushin' Too Hard" by the Seeds. A top 40 hit in 1968 it was selected by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. The song was a huge influence on garage and punk-rock bands... but to me, it's just one of those songs that deserves airplay!

If you're like me...

Do you instantly lose faith in something based on it's appearance?  Do you look at this and say "if the glue is so good... why isn't the label sticking to the bottle?"  So what do you do?  I used Elmer's...

The anniversary of D-Day...

June 6, 1944... D-Day, the Normandy Invasion, and it was 70 years ago today.  Here's to the young men that died fighting for our freedoms that day! Pictures then and now...

Thursday's Forgotten Oldie...

"Caroline No" was a top 40 hit for Brian Wilson in 1966.  It was later included on the Pet Sounds album as a Beach Boy song, but Brian is the only band member on the song.  Voted #214 of the 500 greatest rock and roll songs of all time by Billboard magazine, you'd think it would get some airplay... not much.

Wednesday Forgotten Oldie...

Buddy Holly's great song "True Love Ways" has been covered by many of the biggest names in music... Waylon Jennings, Charley Pride and Mickey Gilley all did country versions, while Joan Jett, Jackson Browne Bobby Vee, Johnny Mathis, Rick Nelson and many more did pop versions.  My favorite cover is Peter and Gordon's which was a top twenty hit in 1965.  Gordon Waller sang the lead and it's a great example of his abilities.  Gordon's birthday is today, he'd be 69 on June 4th if he was still alive.  So not only is this a forgotten oldie, it's a tribute to Gordon Waller.  (photo- Gordon, L, Peter, R)

Airfest 2014

I was an Air Force brat. I was raised around airplanes, flying with my dad on many, many occasions.  So Sunday I got to take my dad to Airfest at the La Crosse Regional Airport, and we had a great time.  The Blue Angels were magnificent as expected, but strangely my favorite thing about Airfest was an old B-25 bomber on display.  This proud old warrior still had the blunt noses of machine guns poking out through canvas ports and one could easily picture young airmen crammed in behind the guns battling to get through their mission.  It made me wonder if I could have done that, but more than that it made me proud of those young Americans.  We'll be back next year to Airfest 2015!