Our Featured Performer this week is the late, great Greg Kihn, with performances by Kihn and the Greg Kihn Band, an example of Kihn's collaboration with guitar hero Joe Satriani, and Kihn singing backup on Jonathan Richman's "Roadrunner," plus Joan Jett and the Blackhearts with "Be Straight," a song co-written by Kihn (with Jett and her manager Kenny Laguna). We filled out the rockin' pop radio party with all sorts of our expected and prerequisite shots of sonic bliss, new and old. But the show is dedicated to the memory of Greg Kihn.
I interviewed Kihn for Goldmine magazine in 1995. The resulting article was published in Goldmine's power pop issue in January of 1996. You can read the entire article here, but I want a few lines from the end of that piece entered into the official TIRnRR record:
"Ten years ago, I was a rock star," said Kihn, "with a # 1 record, [NOTE: # 2, actually--damn, that Michael Jackson and his "Beat It!."], and just cruisin' through life with a model wife, drivin' a sports car.
"Now here it is, 10 years later. I'm not a rock star. I'm Greg Kihn. You know, Greg Kihn transcends rock star," Kihn claimed, laughing. "I mean, it's not like I'm trying to be anything. You know, me playing the role of a rock star was just not me. If you give me a million bucks, I'd still wear a T-shirt and jeans, I'd still drive a crappy car. I'm just that kind of guy. I still go to the used bookstore, for Christ's sake, even though I could afford new books. I like finding old '50s paperbacks of Harlan Ellison and stuff. I got a couple of bookstores out here in San Francisco I go to that specialize in the good stuff, the stuff you're not going to find at Waldenbooks. There's a great literary tradition out here in San Francisco, from the Beats on. And it's really interesting when you walk down the streets of North Beach and it's raining, and you get that Jack Kerouac kind of feel."
Ultimately, it's clear that Kihn has held on to the sheer enthusiasm and elusive sense of wonder that lies at the heart of the greatest rock, pop, and soul. "When I'm an old man," said Kihn, "and I tell my grandchildren that I was a rock and roll star in the '70s and '80s in California--you know, it's a magical thing. And it'd be like being a big band leader during the Goodman era, or being a rockabilly cat in Memphis in the '50s. I mean, it's just a magical time. I never get over it, that I was in the right place at the right time, and it's just a great thing. And when I look back on all this shit," Kihn said with one more laugh, "It just seems so cool."
Everyman. Pop star. Godspeed, Greg Kihn. This is what rock 'n' roll radio sounded like on another Sunday night in Syracuse this week.
Hey, NEXT WEEK! It's The 13th Annual DANA'S FUNKY SOUL PIT! Attendance is mandatory.
This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream, and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio
You can read all about this show's long and weird history here: Boppin' The Whole Friggin' Planet (The History Of THIS IS ROCK 'N' ROLL RADIO).
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