Dribs and drabs from the notebook
Baltimore's own "Black Elvis" is hitting the big time.
Well, not exactly, but he is appearing on next weekend's Children's Miracle Network Telethon on WMAR, Channel 2. Money raised during the telethon benefits Johns Hopkins' Children's Center.
Baltimore's Black Elvis (a k a Tony Dee) -- not to be confused with other Black Elvises from other cities -- is scheduled to perform on the telethon Saturday between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.
And if you watch, keep in mind what the King himself would say if he knew: "Thank you. Thank you very much."
John Wayne salute
Happy 89th, Duke.
All you John Wayne fans, check out TCM tonight for a nice triple-header birthday salute.
Beginning at 7 p.m., the channel will air "3 Godfathers," "True Grit" and "Fort Apache."
Both "3 Godfathers" and "Fort Apache" were directed by John Ford, who worked with Wayne on a handful of truly wonderful films, including the spectacular "The Searchers," the groundbreaking "Stagecoach" and the lighthearted "The Quiet Man." And "True Grit" features his Oscar-winning performance as the one-eyed Marshal Rooster Cogburn.
Automotive talk
So you're out there on a Saturday morning, torque wrench in hand, getting ready to drop the engine from your 1967 Mustang, when you realize the huge blob of metal before you bears no resemblance at all to the schematic diagram you've been studying for a week.
Looking for some free advice? Or maybe just someone to commiserate with over your ill fortune?
Beginning Saturday, you'll be able to check out "Nutz & Boltz," touted as "the world's best automotive talk show," on WLG-AM (1360 Baltimore, 1330 Havre de Grace). The show, which had been airing on WITH-AM (1230), will air from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. every Saturday.
Host David Solomon, listed in the Automotive Hall of Fame and JJTC member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, has been known to fix unfixable cars over the radio. In addition, he offers all sorts of advice, on everything from avoiding rip-offs to minor maintenance that will keep your car out of the neighborhood service bay.
Check those dates
Apparently, the folks at WOCT-FM (104.3) don't exactly believe in truth in advertising.
Twice in the past month, I've heard them play their I.D. blurb, about the Colt playing "the greatest hits of the '70s."
And both times, the very next song the D.J. played was the Beatles' "Back in the U.S.S.R."
Great song, guys, but it was released in 1968.
Calls to pharmacists
There sure are a lot of people in Baltimore desperate for free medical advice. How else to explain why more than 1,000 men and women took advantage of WJZ, Channel 13's "Ask the Pharmacist Day" earlier this month?
Beginning at 12: 30 p.m. May 10, Channel 13 viewers were urged to call an 800 number over the next seven hours to ask questions of pharmacists. And call they did, at a rate of up to 150 calls an hour.
Most of the calls had to do with whether it was safe to mix specific medications. One guy wanted to know how long it would take for birth-control pills to be effective after his girlfriend started taking them. An elderly woman asked about deliberately overdosing on medication and was directed to a suicide hot line.
Officials at WJZ and EPIC Pharmacies, which organized the effort, said they were planning to organize similar call-in days every three months or so.
Dance station needed?
Question of the week, from a caller who hoped maybe I could do something about a missing element he sees on the local radio scene: Why is there no station in Baltimore playing dance music? Whenever he visits a local dance club, this caller said, there are always plenty of people on the dance floor. Don't these folks deserve a radio station to call their own?
Do they?
Top radio stations
Here are the Winter '96 Arbitron rankings and audience share for listeners 12 and older for Baltimore's top 10 radio stations. Each share represents about 3,600 listeners in an average quarter hour.
1. WPOC-FM (93.1), 8.4
2. WBAL-AM (1090), 6.9
3. WQSR-FM (105.7), 6.8
4. WWMX-FM (106.5), 6.4
5. WLIF-FM (101.9), 6.2
6. WERQ-FM (93.2), 5.6
7. WXYV-FM (102.7), 5.5
8. WIYY-FM (97.9), 4.1
9. WHFS-FM (99.1), 4.0
10. WWIN-FM (95.9), 3.3
Pub Date: 5/26/96
