By Tom King
We continue our look at the music of 50 years agoâ¦.
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Iâll admit I didnât listen to some of the albums we will profile in these pages when they were new. Central Wisconsin was not exactly a breeding ground for cutting edge music and without an older sibling to get there first, I wasnât hearing alot of British prog rock. Yeah, the radio would occasionally play a cut from ELP or Yes or the Moody Bluesâ¦but a band like Barclay James Harvest was unknown to meâ¦until I was able to explore the vast stacks of wax at WWSP, the student run radio station at my alma mater, UW-Stevens Point. Iâve talked before how different this station was compared to other college radio stations. Here, the students actually ran the show and by the time I got there in 1975 the music library had been built up by guys like Jerry Gavin and Chris Shebel and others who went on to sterling radio careers around the country. To a kid who grew up on Top 40 radio, these seemingly endless racks of albums, many from bands and artists Iâd only seen mentioned in Rolling Stone, were a constant source of amazement. And the idea that I could use the equipment at the radio station to listen to as many of them as I could fit into day was a fantastic treat.