That Thing With Rich Appel
Show InformationIf you loved the fast-paced top 40 radio of the 1960s and 70s - where DJs talked up to the vocals, acappella and “shotgun” jingles stood out, and the commercials were almost as good as the hits - you just might like that thing with Rich Appel.
That thing is a weekly three-hour celebration of that radio, highlighting the jingles, commercials and all the hits (from the rock ’n roll 50s through the rockin' 80s), with features such as “The Slow Dance Make-Out Song of the Week,” “A Year in an Hour” and “The World’s Shortest Countdown.” That thing specials include May and June's “Class Reunions” (this year for the classes of 1967, 1972 and 1977), April's countdown of the annual “I.R.S. (as in, 'It Really Shoulda' been a bigger hit!) 10-99," and this past Super Bowl weekend's first-ever "Tele-lection" counting down our listeners' all-time favorite TV show themes. That thing is built on a foundation of soundbites, drop-ins, songs attached to 'this week in history' events or birthdays, and just plain silly stuff. It all happens at the Chestnut Cabaret, where Inga handles the refreshments and Rich serves up the music. You can also join the fun on that thing's Facebook page. that thing was also recently immortalized in print (see back cover of the new book Ranking the '70s, at right)! that thing with Rich Appel airs every weekend on over 70 great radio stations worldwide. One-third of those stations air it twice weekly, several run it three times, and one airs a fourth "best of" Classic thing hour. How many radio programs can make the claim they're on somewhere nearly every day of the week? There must be something about that thing with Rich Appel that turns listeners into "Appleheads"! |
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DJ Bio
Rich has spent most of his life listening to and loving music and radio, and working in the radio, music and media businesses. From high school and college radio to recent on-air work at stations like WRNJ (where he hosted The Rest of the Week with Rich Appel and filled in mornings, middays and afternoons), WGHT and Pop Gold Radio (where he’s filled in as host for The Time Machine countdown), it’s all led up to that thing.
Rich’s background goes beyond just radio - far beyond. Following 20 years at Sony Music Entertainment (home to Columbia and RCA Records, among others), he was editor of Billboard’s Top 40 Update and continues to write for the magazine and website, with chart-based series such as “Hot 100’s Hottest Weeks” and "Revisionist History.”
Rich co-authored Book of Days 60s and Book of Days 70s - each a by-day pop culture reference for its decade - and wrote the radio and music newsletter Hz So Good from 1996 to 2015.
Want to challenge Rich with a little music trivia? Not only did he write the questions for Citibank’s online games, for over a decade he wrote and ran “M-T Bowl,” a New York City-based music trivia game show event that raised thousands of dollars for MusiCares, WhyHunger and 9/11 charities.
Rich also teaches radio, broadcasting, media, public speaking and writing classes at Seton Hall University and Felician University.
Rich’s background goes beyond just radio - far beyond. Following 20 years at Sony Music Entertainment (home to Columbia and RCA Records, among others), he was editor of Billboard’s Top 40 Update and continues to write for the magazine and website, with chart-based series such as “Hot 100’s Hottest Weeks” and "Revisionist History.”
Rich co-authored Book of Days 60s and Book of Days 70s - each a by-day pop culture reference for its decade - and wrote the radio and music newsletter Hz So Good from 1996 to 2015.
Want to challenge Rich with a little music trivia? Not only did he write the questions for Citibank’s online games, for over a decade he wrote and ran “M-T Bowl,” a New York City-based music trivia game show event that raised thousands of dollars for MusiCares, WhyHunger and 9/11 charities.
Rich also teaches radio, broadcasting, media, public speaking and writing classes at Seton Hall University and Felician University.
All show logos, facebook show's page, show information and personal information is from the website's page http://www.thatthingshow.com/ and is used with permission.
